Ardent
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Too heavy for backpack hunting, get an inreach. We guide mountain hunts in BC and sat phones are a rarity and usually left at a base / drop. On horse back, sure, but pure mountain backpack hunting you debate how many squares of toilet paper you really need, or if your toothbrush is really better than a modified twig, let alone a sat phone.
Advice as a mountain backpack outfitter, LIGHT. Forget all the “nice to haves” and focus on the utter essentials. Spend the money on gear if you can afford to, it’ll make your experience better, doesn’t mean you can’t with heavier kit you just won’t go as far or be as comfortable. Some of the best is the Dyneema stuff, Uber light. Plan to camp near an excellent, and high, spot with open spotting / views. Spend a couple days there and if you see nothing pack to another drainage, avoiding skylining yourself on ridges.
The hardest thing to learn is patience, can’t tell you how many times an area will seem dead, and your mind start to wander and wonder what you’re doing, then bam the game is there from nowhere. Leave your excess gear (ammo is a common item too much is carried of) at your first camp, and spike out lighter with five days of food, that you could stretch to a week. You should be able to hunt with five rounds of ammo.
90% of backpack hunting is survival, not that it’s life or death it can be completely routine and safe, but be prepared to survive and know how, you’re on your own. Watch the weather very carefully, don’t BS your floatplane pilot when he’s inbound to get you on weather because you want to go home. I’ll wrap up could natter for an hour, be patient, be light, be safe. You’ll pack way more than you need and have unused items on your return even with this caution, I do too. Then you cull the things you didn’t or rarely used or find alternatives that are lighter. Don’t pack Nalgene bottles they’re a hidden weight suck, get bladder style bags. Lots of little things like that add up huge.
