Late-season wilderness hunts are tough on packs. Cold, wet and dreary days of travel can put a lot of wear on gear before things even start to get tough. So it makes sense to build your gear decisions around the tough decisions you'll have to make along the way – i.e. how to stay warm on the move, how to keep dry gear dry at camp, how to navigate in foul weather, and what non-essential gear you can afford to leave behind. Here's an example of a typical guided hunt, and how you might adjust various items to fit the specifics of said hunt. Start with the route, not the gear
One simple way to begin to prepare for a late season wilderness hunt is to outline the simple aspects of a typical late season hunt. A long approach to base camp and then to a remote spike camp. Poor weather. Overnight stays at remote camps. Then list all of your gear, outfit, clothing, food, etc. and go through one by one determining if they are needed for the above outline.
Ask your guide for the details that can change the rest of your packing decisions. For a long approach to a remote spike camp, will you be hauling all of your cooking gear or can you leave some behind? Will you have access to water for treating or can you bring enough to last the duration of your hunt? Will you be hauling in any meat or equipment? What safety items will you need and how will you be communicating with your guide and the rest of your party? Are there any restrictions on fuel or batteries?
Organize your gear by function within the different categories of gear. A good example of this would be a shelter or sleeping system, clothing, food, water treatment, navigation, first aid, communication and hunting gear. Each of these categories should have a clear purpose for being brought on the hunt and items that cannot serve a purpose should be considered carefully and often discarded for their weight. Build a layering system that works while moving
A layering system for late-season hunting will typically need to handle two opposing problems. When you're climbing up steep trails to glass for deer, you need to be able to remove layers as you warm up. Then, when you stop to glass, you need to put back on that warm layer as soon as possible. Consider a hat, gloves and socks as some of the best items to bring for a late-season hunt.
In the morning throw a warm sweater in the pocket of your hunting boots at the base of your sleeping bag. On long ascents to ridges open up all ventilation points on your hat and gear. Take off the layer and stash it in a dry spot on your pack or in a pocket as you descend to glass. Re-don layering immediately upon arriving at your glassing spot. A dry hat, gloves and pair of socks can make a huge difference in keeping you warm on a long hike into camp.
Pack clothing, which has been wet from the day's activities, in waterproof bags even if your main pack is touted to be "weather-resistant." It is not a matter of whether water can or will penetrate through seams and openings; it will. And, wet clothing against dry clothing can cause damage to the former. Reserve one complete dry change for camp and for sleeping. It is not to be used as a second set of clothing for the remainder of the day's activities on the trail. Treat sleep as a dry system
On a hunt like this, a damp sleeping bag does not just feel bad. It could even affect how much sleep you get to get before another long start. That is why the dry sleep system is a chain: ground, under-insulation, sleep-insulation, outer-shelter and storage.
Use waterproof liners or dry, sealed bags for your sleeping insulation and pack it at the bottom of your bag in a position where it won't get crushed by sharp items such as your hunting gear. Open up your bag in the evening and let the moisture that has accumulated in the bag escape if the weather is permitting. Do not bring damp base layers from your day's hunting into your bed. Change into your dry camp clothes, bring in your dry socks and isolate your wet items.
Pay close attention to the ground upon which you will be sleeping. Even in cold weather, moisture can seep into your sleeping bag and give you poor sleep. Be sure to choose a camp site with good drainage, do you best to avoid windy and exposed sites and watch for overhead obstructions. A lighter sleep setup is probably not the best choice for a long remote hunt as opposed to a short, supported trip. Keep navigation and communication independent
Even when you bring a phone for the maps, notes and weather updates, you should bring a map and compass as well and tell your clients how to use them. In the best case a GPS device is a bit more comfortable, but it has batteries which can die, a screen which can fade and map data which can be wrong. So before you leave, study your route and mark important turns, campsites and retrace routes with your GPS and also on your map.
Even if the guide will have an emergency communication device with him, every hunter should know how to call for help or to report that he has gotten lost. Test an emergency communication device at home before you go on the hunting trip, according to the manufacturer's instructions, and register it or configure it as required. Charge the batteries before you leave.
Misreading a turn on the trail can occur due to a variety of reasons including conversation, fade of a screen or map, or an incorrect assumption that the return route will look similar to the inbound route. It is better to stop and verify your location than to continue for a longer period of time and risk becoming lost and having to spend time and effort to find your way back to camp. Spend weight on resilience
Food for hunting should serve the same purpose for your body as the trip itself does for your work, that is, it should serve as the best means of fueling your work for the day to come, as well as the following days on the trip and on return. These same foods, packed in separate bags, can then serve as your best means of bringing adequate nutrition to your camp for a delayed return. Pack in reserve, for example, a small cache of chocolate and other food items for that 'unexpected' wait. Follow the guide's terms for distribution of packed food between hunters, shared meals at camp and pack out.
Water planning is highly personal and depending on where you are hunting and the terrain, will demand confirmation on where you can refill water, if any treatment is required, and how much space your water will require between sources. Bring a water treatment method that will work in the conditions you expect to encounter, and bring a back up as recommended by your guide. Do not mistake dehydration for fatigue or cold. Drink before you get thirsty.
A simple battery system is to verify that all of your gear will operate at home before you leave, bring spare batteries in a separately protected part of your pack and keep them warm. This will ensure that headlamps, GPS, cameras, and your emergency communication devices will be operational when needed.
Make your final hunting pack list realistically. Don't pile all your favorite gear into your pack for the trip. Instead list out the layering clothes, the dry sleep system, the various ways of navigation and communication, food, water treatment, and the required hunting gear for that specific trip. Test the ramifications of the 'less is better' theory on a shorter trip before you actually start heading out on your long anticipated hunting trip. Review the weather, the terrain, your approach, the current regulations and the guide's requirements for your trip before you depart.
