Photo by Michael Anschuetz
By Rikk Rambo, Hunting Editor
Four days of non-stop trekking across high alpine peaks in Alaska’s Brooks mountain range with a 55+ pound pack and 73⁄4 pound rifle/scope combo was taking its toll. My hunting partner and I were hunting Dall sheep approximately 180 miles north of the Arctic Circle in Alaska’s northernmost mountain range and everything necessary for surviving 14 days of this grueling brand of high-country hunting was secured in our packs. These necessities included a sleeping bag, ground-pad, mountain-tent, freeze-dried food, cook-stove, raingear, spotting scope, binoculars, and other critical gear. Every single ounce counts when it comes to pack-weight, and in that regard, I had even cut my tooth-brush down to a mere nub with some bristles attached. It was early fall, 2006, and while advances in mountain hunting gear had come a long way, affordable ultra-light rifles were still nearly a decade in the future. This fact was not lost on me after my hunting buddy and I shot our sheep, simultaneously, nearly 12 mountain-miles away from our tethered-down Piper Super-Cub. With two definitive rifle shots, the already challenging 12-mile return trek to our aircraft abruptly increased to 36 miles. Quite simply, it is nearly impossible to pack your meat, cape, horns, and gear out of the back-country in one trip. This is where the phrase “If it was easy, everyone would be doing it” comes into play, because you have to cover the same rugged terrain three times, in relays, to extract all of your meat, trophy, and gear out of the alpine and back to your aircraft, ATV, or watercraft.
[Continue reading "Pack It In! " in the October 2024 issue]
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