The Most Unnecessary Sh*t

[WCB]

Not me but other people....the "Butt Out" tool. Absolutely pointless whether you are 10 miles from the truck or 5 ft.

My buddy brought a hatchet everyday in his pack on a truck camping type archery deer trip (western SD in Sept) no trees to be seen.

Im sorry but shoulder high fricking gloves for gutting a deer. Buddy of mine pulled them out in their nice neat little package...Needless to say I had the deer gutted before you got them and the cute little latex gloves on over them.

 

[Dos Perros]

My friend took a trumpet (and case!) on a backpack fishing trip in Wyoming. I remember I wore jeans. Oh to be young and dumb again.

 

[S.Clancy]

Working trail crew one year I packed in a big ol watermelon 5 miles to the work site. I was everybody's friend that day.

I've also packed elk steak and canned chili to the Stillwater plateau, 6 packs of tall boys to elk camp and a 12 pound cot into the Bob Marshall.

 

[cornfedkiller]

My friend took a trumpet (and case!) on a backpack fishing trip in Wyoming.

What?!

 

[gbflyer]

While not a backpack trip, when I was a kid my mom packed a chest of drawers on a pickup camping trip.

 

[Firestone]

Beer.

OK, yes... I've done it (not hunting, but technical packing 30 years back- when I was 20 something). I ALSO insisted on taking BOTTLES (yes I was a dumb-ass... plain and simple). I had a 12 pack next to my 6 oz stove in the bottom of my pack (obviously, I also REALLY loved beer- GOOD beer and back then it DID NOT come in cans!).

It was about the stupidest thing I've ever done as I had to pack OUT the empties! The plan was a couple a night, after the day's run... I was OUT of beer by the third day. On day five (when we got back to the truck) my buddies were already done laughing at my dumb-ass. (*But those F***ers had a few of my beers, so they didn't lay it on too hard)

I have pack hunted (elk/mule deer) well over a dozen times since with one guy that was in the group back then, and EVERY year we get together to fly fish... we (he) tell(s) the same damn old story about me and my damn beer back in 1989. Stupid as hell, but makes for a good (old) story for us "old dudes" to re-tell (every year since).

BUT... dumb as it was THEN, I sure as hell learned to pack better for the upcoming hunts we took after then. Now I take a "touch" of cannabis (rag weed went to good vape) and a "little" scotch (not in a glass bottle). Leaves room for the 3 lbs of jerky and WATER! And the gun is ALSO lighter now.

I actually haven't "packed" in the last five or so years and I miss it like hell. You young guys get out and DO IT every chance you can! It starts getting hard after to get to your 50s. There is nothing like a REAL deep hunt into places FEW hunt. AND packing it out 5-10 miles (*on several trips with multiple kills) means you need some room in that pack to get meat home!

Don't take beer!!!

one year my brother and I had to ditch camp and came back in a week later, we most definitely split a 30 rack between us and I thought it was worth every ounce. Lol. Food seems to build up in mine throughout a season or hunt. Left over lunches and snacks hide at the bottom of a pack and accumulate rather quickly

 

[Dos Perros]

What?!

Yup. He was a music major at the time. Liked to backpack, liked to play the trumpet, figured he'd do both. On the same trip I took my setter pup, he was maybe a year old. I ended up packing most of his food.

Also, I remember I looked at the back of the Mountain House meals and it said 2 servings, so we planned to share one each dinner. I'm a smaller guy and my metabolism just kind of adjusts for calorie intake, but my buddy was starving after just a couple days. Could hear his stomach groaning at night. Young and dumb.

 

[beachbunny]

my x's shite......

 

[rclouse79]

I already replied once to this thread, but it jogged my memory from the past.
Fresh out of college I operated under the premise that I was tough and that luxury at camp was more important than pack weight. I was on a backpacking trip with a friend going into Grebe Lake in Yellowstone. Everything in my pack was more suited to car camping than to backpacking. For example, I had the giant foam roll up Cabelas mat to sleep on. The weight of each individual item seemed inconsequential, but when added all up it made for quite a load. We actually hiked in with float tubes and waders, and my pack filled up quick. Eventually my only option was to strap crap onto the outside of the pack. I think I needed a spot to get the dang thing on, and had to lean forward at a 45 degree angle to keep from tipping over. On the way in I was lagging behind my buddy. If memory serves me correctly I believe I was suffering from a hang over as well. On the way out I vowed I would keep pace with my friend no mater how bad it hurt. Well, I ended up pulling my groin trying to keep up. That ended up being an expensive trip, as it convinced me to replace all of my camping gear with legit lightweight backpacking stuff. To make a lesson to stick, sometimes you have to learn it the hard way.

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

Took a buddy out on his first ever backpacking trip during a scouting trip in the sierras. Steep country and I told him to pack light as possible.

We hike in and he’s dying of course after the first couple miles. No problem. Take lots of breaks for him I’m okay with that. Base camp was a small lake up at 9,200 feet and 7 miles back in. Nothing too major but a decent length climb for a first timer.

We get to camp late and do a quick set up and crash early for bed. The next morning he starts unpacking his “breakfast” and I’m in complete shock.

He pulls out a frying pan, shoe box with a loaf of bread in it, and a plastic egg container. He also takes out a full tube a salami and French press for coffee.

Not gonna lie it was the best back country breakfast Ive ever had, but holy heck was he clueless haha.

 

[ODB]

I take too much rope. Don’t know why. But when 50’ weighs next to nothing, taking 150’ that weighs a smidge seems perfectly logical to me.

 

[Moserkr]

Im a light packer so never brought much that I didnt need twice. I have watched my friends bring way too much though, usually to my benefit. Most useless pile is my friend’s “UL” 2.5lb helinox cot. Its 30* out, hes in a fancy 15* bag, we have a wood stove, and he wakes me up out of one of my best backcountry sleeps ever, calling the stove a “dirty whore” cause hes freezing and cant get it lit again at 2am. Same friend also usually packs extra rations so I end up eating some since Im bringing just enough to make it. I like to hunt hungry and figure its incentive to kill food. Last was a friend who brought mtn house desert for every meal on our trip. He was so tired he never ate one of them. Again I helped him out by eating a few since i never bring anything like that. On short trips though, under 4 miles in, I will pack a few luxuries. Maybe some beer or a real steak for the first night. Brought leftover pizza once wrapped in tinfoil, and heated it up over the fire. That was absolutely divine with a cold coors.

 

[N.ID7803]

Probably the 15 different knives, one for each pocket you know. And then I only use one when it comes down to processing. Maybe if I get in a bind sometime I can McGeyvor something with all of them....

 

[GSPHUNTER]

Years back after we moved into our first house I became friends with the net door neighbor and found we had similar interest. I owned 160 acres in the Mt. and asked him if he would like to go Mt. quail hunting, of course he jumped right on my offer. I went out to pick up some supplies and gas up the vehicle. When I returned he had his gear spread put on the front lawn, I shit you not I thought I was at a army surplus clearance sale. I went through the excess gear and reduced it to a manageable amount.

 

[Ratbeetle]

I take too much rope. Don’t know why. But when 50’ weighs next to nothing, taking 150’ that weighs a smidge seems perfectly logical to me.

 

[Dos Perros]

I don't think I have ever taken rope once in my life.

There's a spot in Colorado I've been thinking on stashing some rope in a dry bag. If I can scale a little rimrock and loose shale it shaves 4 miles of tough hiking.

 

[11boo]

Rookies. You pack the beer in on scouting trips. Stash in the stream and live the dream after a long day of this.

 

[NorCal 707]

I don't know about worthless shiz on the way in but when I was younger I packed a small hatchet with me and would take the rib cage off of elk. My Dad always taught us to bring out every piece of meat so I'd use that hatchet to whack off the ribs right at the spine and leave behind just vertebrae from my kills. I'd pack the heart, liver and tongue too. Off an elk were talking an extra 15 lbs of weight I'm sure. Nowadays the rib meat gets cut out and ground up. No more bbq ribs at the end of all the fall hunts at my Dad's house but hey we sure enjoy the burger. That's the difference between a guy in his 20's vs a guy in his 40's.

 

[WeiserBucks]

Approximately 85% of elk hunters bring a gun or bow for no reason.

 

[SaltySailor]

Years ago on a goat hunt my dumb ass hauled a bottle of jagermeister up the mountain with me. Pretty sure just the bottle itself empty weighed 13 lbs......