I hunted Unit 39 as a nonresident with my brothers for the second time, 2021 and 23. The pressure seemed higher than a couple years ago. We hunted 7 days from the opener. Weather was all over the place. Seemed like we saw less bucks being packed out or hanging at camps than we saw 2 years ago. I...
My background is in backpacking and mountaineering, so a lot of my hunting layers are neutral color/earth tone layers from those days. I have an Arcteryx Atom that has been through a ton of abuse and still looks as good as new except for a few stains.
Definitely lighter pack and footwear. Most thru hikers use trail running shoes now days. You can shed a lot of weight by being more minimal without having to buy a whole new set of gear to go completely ultralight.