If I only knew this when I first started backpacking....

[cahunter805]

You have a pic of the cozy used that retains the heat that matches the mtn house package?
I'd be curious of the trade offs of one mtn house bag and rest in ziplocks or all ziplocks and one cozy.

Make the cozy from the foil/bubble wrapped duct insulation and reflextix foil tape. You can make it custom size to fit MH meals or ziploc bags of your choosing.
Google search for plenty of DIY plans.

 

[DamascusSteel]

I dont know if anybody has mentioned it but buy and use high quality socks and bring mole skin for blisters, been there before.

 

[crock239]

Thanks to the advice from so many on this forum my first high country backpacking hunt went pretty well, a couple things I learned ...

....it actually turned out to be helpful that my partner and I carried different technologies for water, stove, etc....i had a sawyer squeeze w bags and he had a water filter pump--some streams were too shallow to fill bags for sawyer easily so better to use the pump, other times it was easier/faster to fill some bags and filter later w the sawyer.

i had a primus stove he had msr and we had fuel cannisters of different brands....at 11k+ feet and 25F the primus stove was less finicky and was faster cooking but was probably due to the fuel cannister brand differences.

 

[Huntnut60]

Don’t pack for the “might” and “what-if” moments. Make sure you have an emergency kit, but you don’t need every piece of clothing from your closet just because you “might need it.”

I've always thought those who know what they are doing are always looking for something to take out of their pack, not put something in.

 

[RG_Adult_Onset_Hunter]

I adopted trekking poles WAY to late in my backpacking journey. I thought they were a fad when they first came out. They are great. Not only do they help you up and down mountains without destroying you knees, but they make a great set of shooting sticks (thread the hand loop over of one over the other ones handle, repeat for the other side, make an x and presto, stable shooting rest), I use mine instead of a bino tripod, and in horrible tick country you can use them to sweep tick laden grass prior to walking through it. So yeah, trekking poles are great.

Also the importance of organization in your pack. It's insane how much time most people spend packing their gear perfectly at home, and then they lose all that order at the first campsite. I alleviated this problem by grouping my stuff into lightweight bags, or packing cubes and then grouping my gear in a way that made sense to me. I have a first aide survivale dry bag that goes on every trip, a sundries bag if it's a bit deeper or longer, a kill kit, then a stuff sack for clothes, food gets packed seperately. I keep my gear packaged this way out of my pack when it's not in use so I can just grab the stuff I need in a few seconds (i.e. if I am going scouting, the kill kit can stay home). My stuff stays organized regardless of how many days I am in the bush, or how many times I unpack. It's a big time saver to just come up with a good packing system that you do the same way every time, and makes sense to you.

Last one, holy crap good boots. I recently bought a pair of Schnees Beartooth boots at a pricepoint that made me wince. My feet are so screwed up at this point from years of abuse, adopting good boots earlier would likely have prevented a good deal of the damage. Get good boots, your feet will thank you. Mine have.

 

[thusby]

Every pound of body weight you can cut is another pound you don't have to carry.

 

[nettereo16]

Make the cozy from the foil/bubble wrapped duct insulation and reflextix foil tape. You can make it custom size to fit MH meals or ziploc bags of your choosing.
Google search for plenty of DIY plans.

I did this last backcountry hunt and it worked well. I only bring a couple nights of mtn house and the rest are dehydrated meals I made beforehand and rehydrate in ziplock.
The only thing I didn't like was when there was a minor leak in the bag (pinhole from being stuffed in pack for a week) the foil tape occasionally leaked at creases or where it had folded. It was annoying having small drippings in my lap while trying to eat.

I'm considering using a clean mtn house pouch this year as my cozy. I think with the zipper and the reflective liner it will keep it warm to rehydrate. Definitely won't leak. Thoughts??

 

[TwistedSage]

May be location specific but a Multi-tool, pliers or similar to pull cactus and thorns from your clothing and skin.

With that, and to harp on boots again, boots with a vibram sole and a rubber rand or at least full leather upper will save you some pain and frustration. Brushing past or stepping on some emerging cholla or prickly pear is all too easy and those cactus needles will go right through synthetic.

 

[BuddyBoombox]

Make the cozy from the foil/bubble wrapped duct insulation and reflextix foil tape. You can make it custom size to fit MH meals or ziploc bags of your choosing.
Google search for plenty of DIY plans.

Fleece of decent density works great too and can be tossed in the wash. Make it a little long and roll the top when it's time to eat and it functions like a bowl and is much easier to eat from.

I move all my meals to ziploc freezer bags, prepackaged or home made, it makes mealtime fast and easy, and after a long day, fast and easy is good!

+1 again for good boots, but appropriate ones! if you can get away with trail runners, that saves you lbs, and like unsprung weight on a car, dropping weight at your feet saves A LOT of energy compared to off your back.

I saw someone mention Cotton is a no go "cotton kills" is a real thing. Exposure is more important that food and water cause it'll kill you quicker. I spent the extra coin on as much wool as I could and have no regrets. I fell in and ice melt stream in the rockies when daytime temps were just above freezing, but wool retains most of it's insulative properties while wet and I was warm enough to hike another mile to my camp and get properly dry there. I will never look for base layers that aren't wool again after that experience!

 

[Jim/Wa]

Food packaging takes up a lot of space and adds weight. I've been doing the Mtn house (and mac-n-cheese, instant taters, etc) -> ziplocks for years now. I can easily fit all my trash into an empty quart freezer bag even after 10 days.
If I know where I'm going to set up camp and I'm doing pre-season scouting trips, I often carry in a bear vault with my food, fuel canister(s), etc and stash it nearby a month or so beforehand. It saves weight and space later on. This is exactly what I'll be doing in a couple weeks for my high buck hunt in September.

 

[teej89]

Food packaging takes up a lot of space and adds weight. I've been doing the Mtn house (and mac-n-cheese, instant taters, etc) -> ziplocks for years now. I can easily fit all my trash into an empty quart freezer bag even after 10 days.
If I know where I'm going to set up camp and I'm doing pre-season scouting trips, I often carry in a bear vault with my food, fuel canister(s), etc and stash it nearby a month or so beforehand. It saves weight and space later on. This is exactly what I'll be doing in a couple weeks for my high buck hunt in September.

It's funny you say the high buck, that's specifically the hunt I'm going to be backpacking for

Have you been out scouting?

 

[Jim/Wa]

Not for that hunt yet. I already know where I'll set up though, at least initially. I'm heading up the 1st week of August for an overnighter.

 

[Festus]

As stated already, I use the clothes and socks in the bottom of the sleeping bag trick so you're not putting on cold clothes first thing. Not a morning person so this helps me.

 

[Wyohunt]

Wet wipes
moleskin
a prescription of vicodin (I’m 53yo)
water filtration
starbucks singles
one waterproof outfit w layers
sleeping pills
earplugs ( wind)
muletape
lots of socks
a good first aid kit
red duct tape wrapped around a BIC lighter
backpacking chair (rei)

i prob shouldn’t give this away but my son and I hunt far away from trailheads and trails. We mostly hun in spots without water because nobody else will. We pack in 10 gals of water preseason and a 5 gallon bucket of food. Hang in tree with CHAIN! We don’t like hunting around other people. The nastier the better!

 

[1100RemingtonMan]

Don't pack what you think you might need, just pack what you need.

 

[1100RemingtonMan]

[QUOTE="Wyohunt, post: 3053209, member: 45895"i prob shouldn’t give this away but my son and I hunt far away from trailheads and trails. We mostly hun in spots without water because nobody else will. We pack in 10 gals of water preseason and a 5 gallon bucket of food. Hang in tree with CHAIN! We don’t like hunting around other people. The nastier the better!
[/QUOTE]

Just FYI cache on National Forest Service is illigal. I don't but watch out.

 

[BuddyBoombox]

Don't pack what you think you might need, just pack what you need.

Medkit being the notable exception!

 

[Wyohunt]

Kind of a "you don't know what you don't know situation"

So I'm outright commited this fall for washington's high buck hunt, with some encouraging words from @JLS I went head in and this summer is going to be a scouting overload until opening day.


With that being said I've never backpacked for more than 3 days. We're looking at doing 7 days.

From your experience what didn't you know then that you know now? Or what didn't you bring that you wish you did? Or what'd you leave behind that initially brought and just weighed you down?

I know this post is old but when I saw it a flood of old memories came back. On my first backpack trip 33years ago our packs were so heavy that we had to set them on the tailgate and slip into them. We were dumb kids then. Canned food, tons of white gas, waaay to many clothes, too heavy boots, booze, too heavy poly sleeping bags, way to much food Etc. I’m a lot older now so smaller pack, not too heavy down bag (sleep in clothes), light tent, lighter boots, pocket rocket stove, non steel cookware (sea to summit), not too much food (count calories), water filter, light food, ONE set of clothes, extra socks. Hacks I bring are red duct tape, Starbucks singles, mule tape, rei camp chair (1.1lb), insulated coffee mug, BIC lighters BIC, tent lantern, small bathing towel, NALGENE one quart bottles, moleskin, lots of medicines, leatherman. I bring Norco too because of my age. Ear plugs!
hope you shoot a big one!

 

[Wyohunt]

[QUOTE="Wyohunt, post: 3053209, member: 45895"i prob shouldn’t give this away but my son and I hunt far away from trailheads and trails. We mostly hun in spots without water because nobody else will. We pack in 10 gals of water preseason and a 5 gallon bucket of food. Hang in tree with CHAIN! We don’t like hunting around other people. The nastier the better!

Just FYI cache on National Forest Service is illigal. I don't but watch out.
[/QUOTE]
Wow can’t believe I didn’t know that! No law where I’m at so guess I’ll risk it. No Freddie’s there. Thanks for the tip.

 

[sodak]

Chapstick.
Lubricating eyedrops if I’m planning on glassing most of the time.
Tylenol PM.