14 Day Stone Sheep Gear List - Resident DIY, Solo, Early August

[WCS]

Jeez, I guess I've been used to a 6.9 R Pad for 10 years now, trying the 3.2 R was a rude awakening. Definitely returning the EtherLight XT Pad, going to grab the Extreme

I also just ordered a Soulo, the Enan wasn't for me then the Niak was within about a lb.

I owned a Soulo in the past, ended up selling it and replacing with a Niak. I didn't mind carrying the Soulo when I was guiding and needed a tent that I didn't have to worry about folding...or sharing if a clients tent got shredded. They're heavy for a one person tent, but I don't think I've seen a storm it wouldn't shrug off.

I know I'm a little late to this, but here is my gear list from last year with a few updates for this year (https://lighterpack.com/r/8o3f31).

 

[StopMakingSense]

I owned a Soulo in the past, ended up selling it and replacing with a Niak. I didn't mind carrying the Soulo when I was guiding and needed a tent that I didn't have to worry about folding...or sharing if a clients tent got shredded. They're heavy for a one person tent, but I don't think I've seen a storm it wouldn't shrug off.

I know I'm a little late to this, but here is my gear list from last year with a few updates for this year (https://lighterpack.com/r/8o3f31).

Sweet list their man, thanks for sharing and giving some insight.

I'm seriously looking at my stove setup right now. Might send you a PM if that's ok to ask some questions.

 

[WCS]

Sweet list their man, thanks for sharing and giving some insight.

I'm seriously looking at my stove setup right now. Might send you a PM if that's ok to ask some questions.

Absolutely, shoot me a PM if you have any questions.

 

[StopMakingSense]

https://lighterpack.com/r/59kl93

A lot has changed on the list for the better. I've tested quite a bit of it on bear hunts this April and May and changed a couple of things. I did get a new stove per everyone's recommendations finally. I also switched to Sitka, not much weight savings. Toying with going with an Ascent Pant + Knee pads and a Lightweight Bottom vs just a pair of the Mountain Pant.

I think I'm close to my final list at this point.

 

[j33]

https://lighterpack.com/r/59kl93

A lot has changed on the list for the better. I've tested quite a bit of it on bear hunts this April and May and changed a couple of things. I did get a new stove per everyone's recommendations finally. I also switched to Sitka, not much weight savings. Toying with going with an Ascent Pant + Knee pads and a Lightweight Bottom vs just a pair of the Mountain Pant.

I think I'm close to my final list at this point.

How many days can you get on a 4oz vs 8oz fuel can with that Soto Windmaster? I'm doing a 7-8 day sheep hunt with morning .6L and evening .5L water heat up and my BRS3000 won't take care of that without a 8oz can so looking at that Soto for a 4oz 7 day hunt.

 

[mtwarden]

https://lighterpack.com/r/59kl93

A lot has changed on the list for the better. I've tested quite a bit of it on bear hunts this April and May and changed a couple of things. I did get a new stove per everyone's recommendations finally. I also switched to Sitka, not much weight savings. Toying with going with an Ascent Pant + Knee pads and a Lightweight Bottom vs just a pair of the Mountain Pant.

I think I'm close to my final list at this point.

The Ascent pants are what I'll be bringing on my Dall hunt, along with some Kuiu Peloton 97 zip-offs; I think the Mountain or Timberline would be too warm in many cases

How many days can you get on a 4oz vs 8oz fuel can with that Soto Windmaster? I'm doing a 7-8 day sheep hunt with morning .6L and evening .5L water heat up and my BRS3000 won't take care of that without a 8oz can so looking at that Soto for a 4oz 7 day hunt.

I think the Soto and the Pocket Rocket Deluxe are very (very) similar- with my PRD I pretty safely get about 5 days out of a 4 oz canister (two boils a days); I'd definitely be bringing an 8 oz canister for a 7-8 day trip though

 

[StopMakingSense]

How many days can you get on a 4oz vs 8oz fuel can with that Soto Windmaster? I'm doing a 7-8 day sheep hunt with morning .6L and evening .5L water heat up and my BRS3000 won't take care of that without a 8oz can so looking at that Soto for a 4oz 7 day hunt.

I'm doing some testing on a 4oz can in a couple of weekends to figure this out. I'll boil 0.5l at a time close to sea level.

 

[Wyobohunter]

I'm doing some testing on a 4oz can in a couple of weekends to figure this out. I'll boil 0.5l at a time close to sea level.

I’m doing my testing this summer. Bringing just a bit over the bare minimum fuel that the stove manufacturer claims I’ll need. This may mean some mornings with cold coffee and some cold soak dinners (or making some small fires if there’s no ban). Going to try my 100+ mile trip on a single 100 gram canister. This will be between 10k’ and 12k’.

 

[WCS]

How many days can you get on a 4oz vs 8oz fuel can with that Soto Windmaster? I'm doing a 7-8 day sheep hunt with morning .6L and evening .5L water heat up and my BRS3000 won't take care of that without a 8oz can so looking at that Soto for a 4oz 7 day hunt.

Having ran both, there will be a difference in fuel savings over 7-8 days with the windmaster. However I don't think the windmaster would make it 7-8 days on a 4 oz can. Over 10 days I have noticed that I save weight with the windmaster over a BRS, and I've made it 10 days on an 8 oz can with the windmaster. Any bit of a breeze and the BRS starts to chew through fuel provided you're not using some sort of wind break.

 

[B_Reynolds_AK]

Having ran both, there will be a difference in fuel savings over 7-8 days with the windmaster. However I don't think the windmaster would make it 7-8 days on a 4 oz can. Over 10 days I have noticed that I save weight with the windmaster over a BRS, and I've made it 10 days on an 8 oz can with the windmaster. Any bit of a breeze and the BRS starts to chew through fuel provided you're not using some sort of wind break.

This is similar to what I’ve found with both my BRS and Soto. On my 6-10 day trips I would need to bring 2 4 oz cans with either, so the BRS is the one I almost always bring.

As far as efficiency, I use an old jetboil cup that I cut down so that it only holds 10 oz of water. I get the benefit of having the heat exchanger on the bottom, which the BRS arms fit up inside really well. This greatly increases the efficiency in my tests and real world use. Boil time is significantly faster.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[StopMakingSense]

Thank you everyone, I was pretty stubborn in the beginning.

A lot of your advice on what to cut and replace was definitely taken. Still in the air on my GoPro right now but the LighterPack list on the main page is my final list for this year.

Looking forward to what this solo adventure brings. I take off July 29th and I'll be back August 16th.

I can't wait to share it with the rest of you. Good luck everyone!

 

[mtwarden]

Best of luck!

 

[Grassymike]

Hope he actually made it back.

 

[Raypo]

Well?

 

[Rambucsabillbul]

BC resident here also wondering how was your adventure?

 

[DuckDogDr]

Any luck on the trip?

 

[StopMakingSense]

Ha, I don’t get reminders on this stuff! No luck but I got to dry fire on what we eventually found to be a 7 year old. The trip had it all besides killing one. Can’t wait to go back next August.

My best advice to anyone who can do this in BC and has put it off is to just to get out and do it.

I shared some of the trip in this thread https://rokslide.com/forums/threads/close-calls-in-the-sheep-mountains.288196/#post-2871662

 

[StopMakingSense]

Tough to not post pictures without giving away the sky line

 

[StopMakingSense]

As far as gear in August
- Soulo is bomb proof, I witnessed two brand new Kuiu carbon pole tents snap on a ridge line. With that said, I think the Niak would have done just as well. Soulo (26.9sq/ft 5lbs 5oz Soulo) vs Niak (36.1sq/ft 3lb 12oz) ... lose space on the ridge but gain it in the flatter areas and save 25oz? Most likely something I'll go for.
- I wasn’t a fan of the Exo, sold it and bought a Kifaru Duplex Lite for my 14-day moose and elk hunt. Night and day with 70lbs. I love the Exo though sub 40lbs, the Kifaru is stiff.
- The FHF bear spray harness did not last, I lost my bear spray 25 miles deep. I don’t think I’m bringing spray anymore. The Kifaru gun bearer gave me a lot more confidence.
- All the Sitka gear crushed. I loved the synthetics. The cotton ball cap though sucked, I ended up grabbing a Sitka cap for my elk hunt. The sweat management and breathability were huge.
- I may go with a synthetic sleeping bag next trip. It was so wet for the first week due to rain and river crossings.
- In regards to river crossings, I would have paid thousands for a pair of crocs by my 20th crossing.
- I tore my Scarpa Ribelle HDs apart with a 70lb pack, trying La Sportiva Aequilibrium LT's right now and they're trucking
- Around day 4 or 5 of glassing I would have done a lot for a chair to sit in, I'm definitely bringing one next year. I know I'll glass longer with it.

Here's the journal I took on my phone, random thoughts, I hope it helps someone. I'll have to see if I can find some time to do a proper write-up with pictures.

::edit:: I added some notes to my journal (Note) to give context

======

Random Thoughts
- You need a lot of back strength for this
- Ruck ruck ruck with intended weight fully stacked
- Need to get rid of wart on bottom of right foot
- Sitting in tent contemplating a synthetic sleeping bag, I’m so wet i want to heat up but I don’t wana soak my bag. I’m too tired to make heat with push-ups. The next day I washed my pants in the stream. I went into the sleeping bag and soaked the bottom. I left it in the tent and it magically dried up! (Talked about going in the sleeping bag with soaked clothing to dry off, a synthetic bag would have done well)
- That beaver dam was on the map too!
- The weather is real. You should be able to move to where you need to go from morning until the afternoon when the weather picks up again. 3 days to hike in? I don’t think it’s a good plan of leaving takes 3 days.
- Really need to work the small glute muscles and hips, the pack tears them apart
- you can slightly control the weather variable with work, record heat? Leave next week. Tons of moisture? Leave next week (Talked about making my time off dates flexible, I'm lucky with work that I could push my vacation around)
- soaked boots are wearing on me. There’s only so many times before I just can’t keep putting them on. (My Ribelle's wetted out within 2 hours of starting an 18 hour trek)
- how to manage spotter and binos from fogging? Is a good system sleeping with them in tent? (It was just so wet from rain)
- anyway to tell if morning will be socked in or not?
- theory, if you can see the blanket coming the whether is going to be too nasty, if it’s just cloudy and crappy in spots then stay out. (This was alluding to a wall of rain coming at you)
- e-scouting posisitioned me bad on the saddle as I’m looking at north facing slopes
- never open a pro bar again to vac seal, so much oil m
- so worth it to pay a bit extra for the good jerky
- olive oil packets? Try with dinner first. Coconut oil was a disaster!
- sheep love to sit above little cliffs, the winds swoop up to cool and push away the bugs
- may want to split the spotter up for next time

Questions to ask
- best way to run ridges? You don’t want to sky line. Are you always dropping down?
- what are you doing with weather?
* super hot
* rainy … the variables of rain from light mist, to rain, to heavily coming down
* when do you make the decision to go in a tent vs stay out in tarp
- how you are figuring camp spots?
- are you ever dropping camp to go out further? Or are you always running with camp? Changing spots from sky lining
- absolutely socked in, would now be a good time to move?

Gear
- Want taller gaiters, kuiu keeps falling down also don’t like the button when putting tight
- Need to use water shoes on these hike in, practice in these and in water
- alumina covers or scope coat or both
- I always want a 0 stop now for a gun. The scope gets absolutely bashed. Ideal scope is FFP, mil, floating dot, Christmas tree with dots, 0 stop
- Need to figure new boots
- Can get rid of a few stakes
- kestrel would be nice but not needed, just extra weight
- Arca attachment clamp for gun
- side baffle brake
- Do not bring a cotton hat ever again. It is so wet
- Scarpa wetted out unfortunately, need a new boot
- decision on a synthetic or down sleeping bag. I don’t like the smell and the down keeps worrying me when it’s wet
- no more down pillow, does anyone have a taller one?
- maybe not bring spiked feet for tripod, they’re a liability
- do I need a kifaru or SG for this? I don’t know. Exo just doesn’t seem the pack meant for this.
- will probably be able to bring 2 or 3 canisters of gas next time. I’m just not boiling like I did with the reactor. More mindful of usage. Never throwing away hot water. Ran out of gas on morning of day 7, 3 canisters would definitely last. 2 is pushing it with wind.
- non rusting screws on Talley rings
- put orange reflective rope around Bino post
- how to not lose InReach mini?
- don’t think I’d bring the knee pads,
- with the 95, experiment with two sections of the spotter to keep weight up top

Lose weight
- Can probably roll with one pair of boxers, maybe…
- Get rid of cords on the hille stake, can draw them out with coordage. Ground is so soft here … note took them out then lost a few staked too deep
- can remove a few stakes
- new boots and new sleeping bag, think of weight
- Get rid of platypus, just use Nalgene, easier to mix. Can then remove platypus attachment. Add one more Evernew? See how trip goes
- sunglasses? Didn’t use
- protective cloth for GoPro? Didn’t use
- both Bino blocker adapters can go
- if you bring extra contacts there’s no point in eye solution. It’s humid and they don’t dry out. You’re also good at putting them in now.
- too much gas. Day 5 I’m still using the 4oz. No more ramen. Using only as much water to boil as needed.
- just two ear plugs for gun
- phone case, use phoneskope or metal back plate

Stoked I have the soulo on day 4, the rain came in super hard. Windy on the ridge. It helped keep Me warm and safe. Still haven’t staked it fully down yet. Only 6 stakes!!!

What’s a tarp good for?
- shelter, in so many ways though. Added space to your tent, ability to stay out glassing, quick shelter for unexpected storm. Rain water collection. surface for cleaning a ram.

Staying efficient solo
- when it’s raining, what to do? Do people tent up or use a tarp? Depend on how severe?
- if it’s not raining and it’s nice and warm, it’s too warm and the heat waves will kill you
- how does the cadence of the day go? Going to bed at 11pm and getting up at 3:30am is grueling. Later in month?

Day 1
- hiking in, terrain is massive
- luckily found my first horse trail

Day 2
- cruising
- caught in the most terrifying lightning storm
- fell into a beaver damn

Day 3
- drying out from the beaver incident, didn’t realize how soaked everything got
- did some glassing on the first hill that looked sheepy
- heavy rain at 1:45 still going at 6

Day 4
- topped out on the ridge, just figuring this out as I go
- saw mountain caribou and elk, small herd of caribou male female and calf
- saw bull elk later
- rain came in pretty hard around 2, passed out, woke up at 6:30, raining harder. Put out the tarp to catch rain.
- bathed in the rain!

Day 5
- slept in till 7, happy I did as it’s socked in!

You can’t ever expect to get out in one day. The weather will tell you if you can or not.

Missteps
- trying to dry out socks and boot stuff on gloves and pants, they stink, had to wash in river

Wish I learned more
- rucking at weight
- using my boots in rain storms and busting through Dewey grass and shrubs. Does any boot hold up to the dry test?
- not setting my tarp up every time my camp went up
- bears and problems, reading first hand accounts etc..

 

[StopMakingSense]

Going back in 2023, new list is here - https://lighterpack.com/r/rpmr3z