What I learned on my first backpack hunt. (Cold weather)

Taylorbok

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Had a great time, didn't harvest an Elk but saw a ton just nothing that met the size requirement. We had temps from -7 to -18*c

1) I need more space, I managed to get all the necessities in/on my ALPS 3800 CI pack plus a few extra layers I didn't use, I would ditch those but there are some other items I will be adding in and I don't want my sole reason for not bringing an item being "I can't fit it" Looking at the Kuiu 7000 CI pack.

2) Hydration pack was good and bad. It allowed me to take a quick sip during the hike in but on the second day eventually the hose froze which led me to trying to thaw it near the fire and an ash melted a hole in the bladder. I found a small company called One Bottle that allows hydration hose onto a Nalgene bottle so going to try that. We melted snow for water at night and that's just not possible in the bladder good thing I had another bottle.

3) Kuiu gear is sweet. I went with the Axis Hybrid pant and Jacket, their Heavy Weight 290 fleece mid layer and some old Merino base layers I had around. Never once was I cold. I will get to use this gear for other hunting adventures so I didn't mind spending the money and the water proof was key, it snowed the whole time.

4) Socks/ feet. I know it's a problem for me my feet sweat but then as you sit they get cold. I was using some heavy merino socks. Ultimately the biggest problem was at night when I didn't change them. In the future I will keep heavy socks for bed time and put some thinner ones on for the day. I ordered some of those puffy slipper booties for night also.

5) I over packed food, I now know what amount of food I will need to keep myself fed for this time. The other crappy thing is in these temps unless your adding hot water to a freeze dried meal your gonna have to warm the food up by the fire for a bit. Cliff bars are awful hard to eat when they are frozen.

6) Hand saw, buddy brought one and that was key for getting larger pieces of fire wood during the night. We only needed one but it is something I will be adding in.

7) The BRS-3000T mini stove works just as good as a jet boil. I made my own little cooking/ water boiling kit in a 700ml stainless cup worked great but again between us we only really needed one.

8) Coghlan's Fire Lighters came in key. There was a wicked snow storm the night before we hiked in and any wood was coated in ice/ snow and these helped us to be able to melt that off and get a fire going. I also tried the cotton balls in Vaseline and that worked well also.

9) Gloves. I had a lined deer skin Watson glove that I wore most of the time these were especially useful for tending the fire and while gathering firewood so you don't ruin your expensive synthetic gloves. The synthetic Kuiu ones worked well while out hunting also.

10) Boot Gaiters are an absolute must. We had 7" or more of snow, without them my boots would have been full of snow.

11) Warm up your water and sleep with it at night. Buddy had mentioned this to me but I forgot to put it in my sleep sack as I went to bed. In the morning part of the water flash froze when I took a sip, I had to thaw by the fire again.

12) I managed with bino's just fine but with a spotting scope it would have been easier to tell if a heard was worth getting close to or not, still not sure if I'd want to carry the extra weight.
 
Good lessons. Having been backpack hunting seriously for awhile now I've learned how to really pack. The food thing is something I think many people do. I learned how to count calories and stick to packing foods with more than 100cal/ounce. I can get 2500ish calories into about a pound of food per day if I'm smart.

I take a spotting scope. It's worth it. But mine is a small maven 12-27x56 model.
 
Good lessons. Having been backpack hunting seriously for awhile now I've learned how to really pack. The food thing is something I think many people do. I learned how to count calories and stick to packing foods with more than 100cal/ounce. I can get 2500ish calories into about a pound of food per day if I'm smart.

I take a spotting scope. It's worth it. But mine is a small maven 12-27x56 model.
I never really looked at the calories but I should have. And I should have weighed my food just to know. Maybe I will recreate a days worth pack and weigh that just so I know but Ya I know what I can shave off for sure now.
 
How many days did you pack for vs. spend out in the field?

I use a 6000ci pack for a one week+ trip. The Kuiu 7000 ci pack would serve you well as long as you don't over-pack due to the "extra" space - ha!
I packed for 3 days and that's what we did. I did have one extra dinner just incase but aside from that there was almost nothing in my pack I didn't use/need aside from the extra layers.
I'm curious, what was your pack weight and how far in did you go?
My pack with the rifle weighed right at 55lbs. We went in about 3km all up hill, the last K was very vertical. We stayed right on top of a ridge so we could see down into 2 main spots.
 
I never really looked at the calories but I should have. And I should have weighed my food just to know. Maybe I will recreate a days worth pack and weigh that just so I know but Ya I know what I can shave off for sure now.
The 100 cal/ounce rule is a good one for packing food. Aside from a Peak Refuel or Mountain house I usually pack almonds, jerky, heathers choice pakaroons(or my homemade version), F-Bombs or Almond butter or peanut butter, honey stinger waffles, Fritos, green belly bars, or rx bars. Just different varieties of these sorts of foods. In order to not overpack food I shoot for 2000-2500 calories per day depending on how active I anticipate being. I weigh out my foods, discard the wrappers of what I can and vacuum seal one days food all together to save space in my pack. Only thing I don't vacuum seal is my freeze tried dinner. That's just cause I'm lazy. I just make up a bag for every day I plan to be in the backcountry.
 
These are my own personal experiences with cold/warm weather backpacking, I'm not big on hydration packs or Nalgene bottles, that's added weight, I go for the cheap water bottles that you buy in bulk at Walmart, no weight to them and you can crush them down easy for the trash bag out, only take a couple to start and keep reusing. Warm bottle of water in your bag is a good trick but I prefer the larger hand warmers for that purpose, no chance of leakage and you can use them for their intended purpose. Your pack weight is awesome. I also like the Wyoming saw, not to heavy and has blades to cut wood and a blade for bone. That's a great adventure you had, hope you have plenty more
 
Good lessons. Having been backpack hunting seriously for awhile now I've learned how to really pack. The food thing is something I think many people do. I learned how to count calories and stick to packing foods with more than 100cal/ounce. I can get 2500ish calories into about a pound of food per day if I'm smart.

I take a spotting scope. It's worth it. But mine is a small maven 12-27x56 model.
How do you like that maven spotter?
 
I spend a lot of time in those kinds of Temps, last month we had a dip for a few days that caught me off guard without some of my tricks.

I've got a 200 wt Merino long sleeve base layer with a hood, seems redundant but allows me to manage head temp all the way down to base layer. I've a few different mid weight technical polar shells in various thickness from various companies. I like hoods and huge chest pockets, my favorite that just died was an older marmot but have one from rab and a Mammut thst just got rotated in the mix. The big chest pockets are for snacks, nothing worse than chipping and tooth on a bar. Chest is the best way to warm them in a mid layer. And the light weight polar hoods fit very good and keep the neck and cheeks from getting cold as you roll around in the bag.

Insulated bladder hoses combined with a few chemical heat packs can keep the hose thawed for the times it can't be kept sub layer. Wife and I have switched to carrying with us a runner bladder harness and it stays sub outer layer after we setup camp. Have an ultralight stuff waterproof sack for the bag, bladder goes in between the legs in the stuff sack in the sleeping bag every night. Stuff sack might be not needed unless you toss and turn like me, knocked it open one time and that sucked...

Its all a process of learning, sounds like you figured some things out. Wife and wander around every fall more than were home. I'm still trying to figure out the "perfect" socks, and inevitably I'm hungry or overpack on food.
 
I've done all that with MUCH less comfort...... cotton long johns,cotton gloves, rubber boots and wool coat.....
your preparedness was key....
paying twice as much for equipment is hard to do...... BUT..... worth it....
your real life test was proof that there is justification for price.....
VERY GOOD DISSERTATION....... REAL LIFE EXSPIERIENCE IS THE BEST......
your explanations were the key.... for all to take heed......
Thank You........
 
How do you like that maven spotter?
Works for my needs. I'm not much of a trophy hunter. It's plenty to see if a coues deer has antlers or not out to a mile or so. Or to see how big an elks frame is from a mile and a half away but I'm not using it to try to score on the hoof. I won't be changing it anytime soon. It's my third spotter in the last 6 years and I finally found the one that fits my hunting style/size/weight needs. I also tried a vortex 20-60x80, a athlon 15-45x65 and now the maven. The maven has the best clarity of the three.
 
During the day, regularly blow air into your camelbak hose, it'll keep it from freezing. Sleep with it at night so it doesn't freeze, plus, as you said, you can heat it up and sleep with it.

When you hit a glassing spot, untie your boots and let them air out. I usually take mine completely off. It's cold but it's better than being wet and cold.

Lastly, I would recommend taking a look at Mystery Ranch packs if you're in the market for a larger one. I've carried around 90lbs in their packs for a lot of miles. They are great.
 
These are my own personal experiences with cold/warm weather backpacking, I'm not big on hydration packs or Nalgene bottles, that's added weight, I go for the cheap water bottles that you buy in bulk at Walmart, no weight to them and you can crush them down easy for the trash bag out, only take a couple to start and keep reusing. Warm bottle of water in your bag is a good trick but I prefer the larger hand warmers for that purpose, no chance of leakage and you can use them for their intended purpose. Your pack weight is awesome. I also like the Wyoming saw, not to heavy and has blades to cut wood and a blade for bone. That's a great adventure you had, hope you have plenty more
IMO being able to melt snow in the Nalgene near the fire was key to getting water, it'd be risky with a disposable bottle. It would have been a long hike to a stream.

Warming up and sleeping with the bottles was more about keeping the water from freezing than it was about keeping me warm. I did have some hand warmers in my pack but never found I needed them.

During the day, regularly blow air into your camelbak hose, it'll keep it from freezing. Sleep with it at night so it doesn't freeze, plus, as you said, you can heat it up and sleep with it.

When you hit a glassing spot, untie your boots and let them air out. I usually take mine completely off. It's cold but it's better than being wet and cold.

Lastly, I would recommend taking a look at Mystery Ranch packs if you're in the market for a larger one. I've carried around 90lbs in their packs for a lot of miles. They are great.

I'll try the tip about blowing into the hose, Thanks.
We never sat super duper long but I will try and remember to untie my boots next time. Taking them off wasn't really an option with the amount of snow your socks would inevitably gotten wet.

I really like my Pack I just wish it was bigger. I actually messaged the company to say they should make a larger pack for the system. I feel like I'd get away with a 5000. The 7000 CI does seem over kill but it would save me from having to ever buy another pack and a guy can always under pack it and synch it down. I like the "wing" pockets on their bigger packs that look like would fit a spotter really well. The 7000LT is lighter than the 6000 PRO so I figure may as well go that route
 
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