Walk-in Dall Sheep List

[carsonkeys]

I've never sheep hunted so take this with a grain of salt but you may consider bringing a bino adaptor to use your binos from your tripod.

You may also want to add some trekking poles.

Also like I've said, I've never sheep hunted but I'm certain you ought to bring some bullets too but they aren't on your list.

Good on the bino adapter.

Yes trekking poles will be taken and added.

Ha, fair point. Playing with some handloads at the moment, however, 10 factory round would do for a good placeholder.

 

[chasewild]

I'm using the Fire Maple pot with BRS stove. It's efficient, compact and light. With Jetboil cozy, lid, BRS stove and mini bic, it weighs 7.4 oz. There’s another quarter pound weight savings over your jetboil.

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@carsonkeys Send me your mailing address and you can have my BRS for free. I'll use my soto with a heat exchanger pot every day and twice on sunday.

 

[B_Reynolds_AK]

What Fire Maple pot is that, Ben? I’m assuming the JB cozy is off of the flash or MicroMo?

Petrel Ultralight Pot with heat exchanger 600ml

Optimize your solo trips with our 600ml ultralight pot. Enhances fuel efficiency, fits G3-110g canisters. Perfect for the outdoors.

firemaplegear.com

Jetboil Flash cover and I cut the handle off the FM pot with a dremel.

 

[carsonkeys]

@carsonkeys Send me your mailing address and you can have my BRS for free. I'll use my soto with a heat exchanger pot every day and twice on sunday.

Man, that’s incredibly nice of you but I actually have a BRS stove. The one piece I’m missing is a heat exchanger pot, but with Ben’s post below I think I’ll rectify that this week.

Thanks again man. You’re a stand up dude.

 

[chasewild]

Man, that’s incredibly nice of you but I actually have a BRS stove. The one piece I’m missing is a heat exchanger pot, but with Ben’s post below I think I’ll rectify that this week.

Thanks again man. You’re a stand up dude.

I use this method with the micro-mo pot.

UL fuel efficient cook system

velcro for the cozy.

rokslide.com

 

[diamond10x]

This year will be my first sheep hunt and I'm walking in as well but going solo, so take what I add with a grain of salt...
-swap the kifaru bag for a much lighter down bag/quilt
-get a lighter pad, pretty easy to shave off almost a half pound just from that. Are you using the rectangle xtherm? I use one and with the inflation sack and repair patches its 17.5 oz
-I'd be shocked if you really even needed a headlamp other than breaking down a sheep overnight. It's august and light for 18-20 hours a day
-caribou game bags are the best in durability but heavy duty and therefore heavy. Could take fewer or smaller size? or go with an"ultralight" model?

If you want I can post my personal list i've been working on to compare with. I'm pretty much done and have weighed out everything to keep it as light as possible while still being comfortable and safe. I'm sure mine has plenty of critiquing that can be done but my goal is for my base pack weight to be less than 40 lbs for a 14 day adventure.

 

[medvedyt]

i do not know the terrain you are in nor the altitude you are nor the time you will be in but i always have a merino long john and for 2 reasons: they will not get wet too long and the warmth they can bring will help you for any night especially if you not happy with your sleeping bag system it my advice as a yukoner not as alaskan. ...

 

[FAAFO]

Don’t break your budget trying to go UL. Everything you already have will work just fine. But if you do have extra money laying around I echo what others have said. Different bag and fock that SG tarp.

And take a headlamp. A headlamp should always be in your pack year round.

 

[carsonkeys]

This year will be my first sheep hunt and I'm walking in as well but going solo, so take what I add with a grain of salt...
-swap the kifaru bag for a much lighter down bag/quilt
-get a lighter pad, pretty easy to shave off almost a half pound just from that. Are you using the rectangle xtherm? I use one and with the inflation sack and repair patches its 17.5 oz
-I'd be shocked if you really even needed a headlamp other than breaking down a sheep overnight. It's august and light for 18-20 hours a day
-caribou game bags are the best in durability but heavy duty and therefore heavy. Could take fewer or smaller size? or go with an"ultralight" model?

If you want I can post my personal list i've been working on to compare with. I'm pretty much done and have weighed out everything to keep it as light as possible while still being comfortable and safe. I'm sure mine has plenty of critiquing that can be done but my goal is for my base pack weight to be less than 40 lbs for a 14 day adventure.

Yeah throw it in here. I’d love to peak at it and maybe folks in the future can learn something!

Agreed on the bag. I have a EE 30* quilt on the way per the recommendation of Ben. I’m still not entirely on the down train and this seemed like a really solid compromise. I’ve also used quilts before and found them comfortable. My pad (specifically the R value), though probably a touch on the heavy side, will become more necessary now. It’s a long wide, which I don’t think I included in the description and probably accounts for the weight discrepancy.

You’re probably right. I rarely use them up here, but it’s just one of those things that feels sacrilegious to leave behind.

Think I’m going to take fewer of them, get a real good idea for how many I actually need, and then maybe sink some money into some Grakasaw (sp.?) next year!

 

[carsonkeys]

Don’t break your budget trying to go UL. Everything you already have will work just fine. But if you do have extra money laying around I echo what others have said. Different bag and fock that SG tarp.

And take a headlamp. A headlamp should always be in your pack year round.

Sound advice. The sleeping bag and tarp were the resounding low hanging fruit, and I took note.

I have a 30* EE enigma on the way, and have ditched the SG tarp. Pending some classifieds sale I may me able to whittle away at a few more items, but I’m already saving 50 oz with just those TWO items!

Headlamp is coming 100%.

 

[chasewild]

Ya, the thermarest neoair xlite in regular short (6ft) is like 9 oz and as comfortable as my old exped synmat 7. Got lucky and found it at a gear exchange for $40.


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[diamond10x]

Yeah throw it in here. I’d love to peak at it and maybe folks in the future can learn something!

Agreed on the bag. I have a EE 30* quilt on the way per the recommendation of Ben. I’m still not entirely on the down train and this seemed like a really solid compromise. I’ve also used quilts before and found them comfortable. My pad (specifically the R value), though probably a touch on the heavy side, will become more necessary now. It’s a long wide, which I don’t think I included in the description and probably accounts for the weight discrepancy.

You’re probably right. I rarely use them up here, but it’s just one of those things that feels sacrilegious to leave behind.

Think I’m going to take fewer of them, get a real good idea for how many I actually need, and then maybe sink some money into some Grakasaw (sp.?) next year!

If your pad is the long wide that’s probably why it seemed heavy when I read it.

I should have put take the headlamp but forget the extra batteries as a fresh set I would think should be more than plenty.

I also had a tarp in my original list (Kifaru sheep tarp) until I realized 9 oz was crazy. Then looked at dcf tarps and that was still 5-6 oz and I couldn’t justify buying one right now. I ended up swapping for the idea of a emergency heat reflective bivy at 3.5 oz that will double as a bivy if I need it as well as a tarp in the event I need one. The bivy idea came from a hunt recap on here from siwashing and doubling as a tarp came from the ultralight thought process of gear having multiple uses.

Here’s my list, I just need to weigh my “survival gear” and that’s pretty much it and I’m right around that 40 lb base weight mark. A lighter rifle would make a huge difference for me but that’s going to have to wait a while.

https://lighterpack.com/r/9n95no

 

[ljalberta]

Great list already I’d say. As you go you’ll find what works and doesn’t work for you.

For the quilt life, get some practice sleeps in before heading out to ensure it’ll work for you, and if temps are looking brisk, then those puffy pants could be a great addition over the long Johns. If temps aren’t crazy, I think long Johns are the play.

Everyone goes differently, but based on my walk in sheep hunts, and what works for me, I’d consider the following tweaks (largely dependant on expectant temperatures)

- Base layers such as underwear and base layer tops, I only bring the single set I wear. If filth is a concern, just give them a creek wash one day.

- I don’t use pack covers, but I have a contractor bag inside my pack for keeping items dry. It’s lighter and works better. When hauling with the terminus and meat in the sleeve, you’ll want to put all your gear in a contractor bag anyway. Otherwise the blood will make its way through into your gear.

- again, weather dependant, but I’d ditch the cirque and bring a lighter mid weight fleece. My buddy loves bringing both his cirque and SG down puffy though, so that’s just preference and weather dependant.

- unless you’re really attracted to the shemagh there are other options for protecting your face from the sun and weather such as hoods and lightweight neck gaiters that will be lighter.

- as you’ve already noted. Less game bags and a lighter knife will lighten the load.

Great list though and the above are just my preferences. Really no change is required, it’s just about how fine you want to hone the balance between lightweight and comfort margin.

 

[carsonkeys]

Great list already I’d say. As you go you’ll find what works and doesn’t work for you.

For the quilt life, get some practice sleeps in before heading out to ensure it’ll work for you, and temps are looking brisk, then those puffy pants could be a great addition over the long Johns. If temps aren’t crazy, I think long Johns are the play.

Everyone goes differently, but based on my walk in sheep hunts, and what works for me, I’d consider the following tweaks (largely dependant on expectant temperatures)

- Base layers such as underwear and base layer tops, I only bring the single set I wear. If filth is a concern, just give them a creek wash one day.

- I don’t use pack covers, but I have a contractor bag inside my pack for keeping items dry. It’s lighter and works better. When hauling with the terminus and meat in the sleave, you’ll want to put all your gear in a contractor bag anyway. Otherwise true blood will make its way through into your gear.

- again, weather dependant, but I’d ditch the cirque and bring a lighter mid weight fleece. My buddy loves bringing both his cirque and SG down puffy as well, so that’s just preference and weather dependant.

- unless you’re really attracted to the shemagh there are other options for protecting your face from the sun and weather such as hoods and lightweight neck gaiters that will be lighter.

- as you’ve already noted. Game bags and knife will lighten the load.

Great list though and the above are just my preferences. Really no change is required, it’s just about how fine you want to hone the balance between lightweight and comfort margin.

Really helpful, actionable pieces here. I’ll be including some contractor bags in my kit for sure now. Thank you!

Your sleeping bag for example, are you just shoving that into a contractor bag or putting it in a dry bag, in a contractor bag?

 

[StopMakingSense]

I go back and forth with a tarp every year but I usually end up bringing the 11oz. I only bring 6 stakes to guy out my Niak. From there, I have a Tarp5 that uses the Niak stakes during the day when the tent is in the pack.

Where we hunt water is at a premium when staying on ridges. Passing storms will give us extra days up high for water collection instead of pushing back down 3-4k. We've spotted rams with small breaks in the weather from the tarp that would normally push us inside a tent. Tarps also help when breaking down animals to keep the meat clean.

They're multi-purpose enough that I've grown on it to be more efficient. However, this is from the perspective of someone with a partner. If I was going solo I would be thinking twice.

My list I'm always tweaking - https://lighterpack.com/r/ivd3ra

 

[ljalberta]

Your sleeping bag for example, are you just shoving that into a contractor bag or putting it in a dry bag, in a contractor bag?

Matter of preference. I don’t use a dry bag for sleeping bags, but I do use lightweight stuff sacks, and then those go in the contractor bag in my pack along with all my clothes and items that I’m protecting from rain and blood.

I know some guys ditch the stuff sacks entirely, but I still keep mine for my sleeping bag as the 10D and 20D materials can be pretty fragile.

 

[StopMakingSense]

I usually stuff my sleeping bags with a DCF for longer trips - https://zpacks.com/collections/stuff-sacks

I think its the medium-plus for my WM20 Alpinlite

 

[carsonkeys]

I go back and forth with a tarp every year but I usually end up bringing the 11oz. I only bring 6 stakes to guy out my Niak. From there, I have a Tarp5 that uses the Niak stakes during the day when the tent is in the pack.

Where we hunt water is at a premium when staying on ridges. Passing storms will give us extra days up high for water collection instead of pushing back down 3-4k. We've spotted rams with small breaks in the weather from the tarp that would normally push us inside a tent. Tarps also help when breaking down animals to keep the meat clean.

They're multi-purpose enough that I've grown on it to be more efficient. However, this is from the perspective of someone with a partner. If I was going solo I would be thinking twice.

My list I'm always tweaking - https://lighterpack.com/r/ivd3ra

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Water up high will be a premium here too. You make a damn good case for a tarp, and I will be with a partner making it more palatable.

Is the tarp5 the tarp to get? This would be a stretch I could work, but I do not have the coin for a DCF tarp unless similarly priced.

I’ve eyed your list several times actually! Did you end up killing a ram??

 

[StopMakingSense]

Not sure if it’s the tarp to get, it certainly hasn’t let me down but I only have two seasons now with it.

I didn’t cut my tag last year on my dall hunt in the tat but we cut one later that season on my friends stone hunt. Pretty incredible with how lucky we are to hunt these animals each year. I never take a day for granted when hunting them.

With that said, if you forego it, you aren’t going to die and it won’t make or break your hunt. I wouldn’t stress about it especially if the funds aren’t there. I will stress my biggest lesson was to pack lighter and keep items compact.

 

[IBen]

I would use much lighter pants like <12 oz and take either the long johns or puffy pants. I’ll be going into my 4th year with the enlightned equipment apex 30 deg quilt. 20d will last longer. get longer and wider than you think you need.
i would bring more food 4500 calories per day.