Lightening up the load with a Forbes 20B +

[North61]

Getting older (and fatter) sneaks up on you. Last year I drove my Polaris Ranger up to the beginning of a mountain range and went after some caribou. Fiasco! My old equipment was too heavy and so was my old body. Apparantly working in a high stress and largely sedentary business for 50-70 hours a week takes a toll. Last month my 12 year old son extracted a promise to take him sheep hunting in August here in the Yukon. I started watching my diet and excercising and am down 15 pounds with 80 to go.

I am also converting gear. I switched to a Forbes 20B and lost a pound off of my old Rem 600. Pretty expensive gain. I found that Salewa Repace boots (On Sale 199.00) fit my feet well and took 2 pounds off of my warn out Norwegian Welt monsters. Found the MSR pocket rocket and took off another pound from my Svea 123 (Yes I am that old). A Bear Paw design tarp is 4.5 pounds lighter than the old North Face Mountain tent, even if I include the optional bug nest. Also lightening up the clothing load, wool and Impertech is giving way to more modern alternatives.

Reading Skurka and Clelland and trying to update my gear by 30-40 years and test it as part of a series of fitness hikes and camps. Today it's a 10K hike and ski. Tomorrow range development of the 308 with Leupold CDS system and weight training.

The only thing not fun is switching from sausage to porridge. Oh well. I am making this quest into a series of videos. Still have lots of decisions to make. Love to get some advice from folks who have stayed current.

Non-monetized video (for a month or so) is here: Give it a look and give me some thoughts if you have the time.

 

[.284]

Too bad the Forbes is 6oz over what they stated but it seems to shoot ok. I was thinking about adding a kimber Montana in 270 to my options.
I run mystery ranch packs and although they are heavy I think they fit me the best and are built well.
I would say your on the right path with the healthy lifestyle as priority number one for getting ready for the hunt.

 

[HARPERC]

I'll follow your progress! I've been seeing a trainer a couple of times a week, on a track similar to yours. Good Luck!

 

[WildRose]

I appreciate your dilemma. I went with Mario on an Elk Hunt this year in NM and even though we were only working at around 9,000-9,500 feet the first 300' climb reminded me I'm not 12 or 15 any more and I can't bounce around those mountains like a Mountain Goat like I did when I was a kid! I was doing pretty well by the end of day three but the first hour damned near killed me!

I think you'll probably find though you could have saved a lot of money on new gear once you reach your minus 80lbs goal.

One thing I'd say is that going with the tarp instead of the tent is not something I would do at the elevations you'll be chasing sheep. Things can turn very cold and very wet in a hurry up there and if a tarp is your only means of shelter available it could turn into an incredibly miserable trip in a hurry.

Best of luck on reaching your goal though.

 

[North61]

I appreciate your dilemma. I went with Mario on an Elk Hunt this year in NM and even though we were only working at around 9,000-9,500 feet the first 300' climb reminded me I'm not 12 or 15 any more and I can't bounce around those mountains like a Mountain Goat like I did when I was a kid! I was doing pretty well by the end of day three but the first hour damned near killed me!

I think you'll probably find though you could have saved a lot of money on new gear once you reach your minus 80lbs goal.

One thing I'd say is that going with the tarp instead of the tent is not something I would do at the elevations you'll be chasing sheep. Things can turn very cold and very wet in a hurry up there and if a tarp is your only means of shelter available it could turn into an incredibly miserable trip in a hurry.

Best of luck on reaching your goal though.

I'll think on this. The tarp is tent shaped and quite weather worthy when properly set up. Will do lots of training runs starting in May and will know whether this is a worthy shelter or not by August. Down another 2 pounds even through the holidays! I do agree the best and cheapest way to lighten the load is to exercise more and eat less. Also my son can carry some of the load so a tent is not out of the question. Some very nice options out there but I'll practice the tarp.

 

[mtnwrunner]

Tag. Lots of great light weight gear out there. Also check out the website Rokslide.com for some more great info on backpack hunting/gear.

Randy

 

[WildRose]

I'll think on this. The tarp is tent shaped and quite weather worthy when properly set up. Will do lots of training runs starting in May and will know whether this is a worthy shelter or not by August. Down another 2 pounds even through the holidays! I do agree the best and cheapest way to lighten the load is to exercise more and eat less. Also my son can carry some of the load so a tent is not out of the question. Some very nice options out there but I'll practice the tarp.

My dad and a couple of friends were on a SUMMER backpacking expedition back around 73 in S. Colorado.

On July 4th it started snowing and they had winds from the low 20's to low 50mph range along with it.

Even though they had top quality gear for that era they did not have a four season tent and almost died of exposure during the 3 day surprise blizzard. They were near Canejos Peak in CO hiking from one of the high mountain lakes to another when the bad weather blew in. If I remember right they were right around the 12,000ft level when they finally gave up, set up camp and had to dig in and ride it out.

Fortunately they had plenty of "backpacking food", fuel, and fresh trout to much on but it was still a very harrowing experience.

I've also found myself in some bad places surprised by very wet, cold, windy weather and I can promise you that even if you do survive it will be one of the most miserable and scariest things you will ever endure if you find yourself in a similar situation.

 

[HARPERC]

I was on a BC, Mt. Goat trip in mid-August. What was supposed to be a nice summer pack-ended up looking like a National Geographic Himalayan expedition.

That weather pattern socked in the Yukon as well.

Good but not great tents, that got replaced after the experience. Elevation was in moderate range, 6000 +/-.

 

[COBrad]

I switched all my backpacking gear over to ultra light stuff about 10 years ago. I got my 3 day pack weight down to 23 lbs, including the clothes I was wearing. Ultra light stuff can cut weight, but it is not as sturdy or durable. I found I had to be careful with my gear, and it all had to be top end stuff to perform as needed. On a spring mountain goat scouting trip I found myself at 12000' on top of 5' of hard spring snow, in 30-40 mph winds, with more snow falling. I use a MSR tarp tent, and had snow blowing in under it. I stayed warm and dry, but it was a tense 24 hours. There is almost no room for error using ultra light gear.
That said, google ultra light backpacking and you'll find a bunch of great information. I'm getting too old and fat to carry all the heavy stuff I used to take for granted. I really like ultra light rifles now too.

 

[huckfin]

Look Andrew huberman on YouTube and watch his video on endurance, this might help you train more efficiently, also look into intermittent fasting. If you can take take 30lb off of yourself that is a total game changer which will allow you to pick your gear based on its effectiveness(w/weight in consideration)not weather or not its a couple Oz lighter.

 

[feelinducky]

7 years later........