A Compact Packing List for Mountain Hunters

Backcountry packing lists vary among hunters, and even amongst those who hunt in the mountains, the details can differ greatly. On online platforms, you’ll come across meticulous bean counters who painstakingly measure every ounce of gear. Conversely, you’ll also find hunters who simply throw some equipment in their packs and head out to the mountains.

Your ideal packing list will depend on the specifics of your hunt – the location, timing, and method of hunting – as well as your personal preferences. When I played football in high school, I always feared forgetting an essential piece of gear. To overcome this anxiety, I developed a system. For road trips, I packed my gear in an old army duffle bag. I would start by placing my shoes in the bag, then continue with socks, pants, pads, and so on. Once I finished, I would dump everything onto the locker room floor and repeat the process. I approach hunting gear in a similar manner, although less haphazardly.

The Functionality of Backcountry Gear

When compiling a backcountry packing list, the focus should not be solely on specific brands or gear items; instead, it should revolve around the functionalities you require. Your gear should enable you to camp and hunt efficiently. Every item, from your sleeping bag to your cooking utensils and water treatment tools, serves a purpose.

Personally, I don’t work off of a rigid checklist, but rather, I roughly list down the less prominent items as I gather them for a hunt. This helps me avoid forgetting essentials such as a spoon or toilet paper. My approach is task-oriented – I think about the various components of an upcoming hunt and identify the necessary tools and equipment. I consider the clothing required for different weather conditions, camping gear, means of communication, repair equipment, hunting tools, and potential animal processing and packing-out requirements. The key is to assign a specific job to each piece of gear. I only bring select repair or emergency gear, as any additional items are not worth the weight.

Water collection and storage are crucial on a backcountry hunt.

Striking a Balance on a Backcountry Packing List

Sheep, goat, and other high-country backpack hunters obsess over ultralight gear, and it is indeed a logical focus. Reduced gear weight allows for carrying more food for longer durations or moving with greater ease and speed. However, the importance of weight reduction is often emphasized excessively, and finding a balance among comfort, effectiveness, and minimalism is crucial.

My uncles once knew an old-time sheep hunter who hunted with a mere 25-pound pack. He wore all wool clothes, carried no rain gear, and only had a sheet of Visqueen for shelter at night. His food consisted of just a jar of peanut butter and a small bag of dried apricots. As my uncles recall, this hunter would say, “If you have to defecate more than twice in a 10-day hunt, you’ve brought too much food.” One time, my uncle Tracy, who was young and fit, attempted to keep up with this tough old hunter but failed, only finding a couple of cigarette butts on the ground where the hunter had briefly stopped.

Most of us aren’t as rugged as Bill or that generation of sheep hunters. However, despite the romantic fascination surrounding these legendary hunters, technological advances have equipped us to hunt more effectively. This is essential considering the considerably lower numbers of sheep compared to the 1950s and 1960s. While there are opportunities to reduce weight, you ultimately need the necessary gear to accomplish your tasks effectively.

My Essential Backcountry Packing List

In my 19 years of sheep hunting, this might be the first comprehensive packing list I’ve written down. Through trial and error, I have honed in on what I truly need, what I can do without, and what I bring for added comfort. Once you have the main items covered, the rest are merely details. Here’s what I packed for my 14-day sheep hunt in 2022.

Clothing

• Boots: Lowa Alpine Expert GTX
• Camp shoes/ creek crossing: Crocs
• Underwear (x2)
• Socks: Under Armour Heat Gear (x2), Swiftwick Flite XT Trail (x1)
• Base Layers: Stone Glacier Chinook Merino (bottom), Kuiu Ultra Merino 120 LS Crew-T (top)
• Pants: Stone Glacier De Havilland pants (x1)
• Gaiters: Outdoor Research Crocodile
• Light Jacket/Hoodie: Outdoor Vitals Ventus Hoodie
• Insulating Puffy Layers: Kifaru Lost Park Parka and Lost Park Pants
• Rain Gear: Grundens Tourney Bibs and Tourney Jacket
• Baseball cap (x1)
• Stocking Cap: Browning Reversible Fleece Beanie
• Gloves: Sitka Mountain Gloves

Camp Gear

• Tent: MSR Hubba Hubba NX2
• Extra Vestibule: MSR Hubba Gear Shed (carried by hunting partner)
• Emergency/Bivy Shelter: Stone Glacier SkyAir ULT w/vestibule (carried by hunting partner)
• Sleeping Pad: Nemo Quasar 3D Long/Wide
• Sleeping Bag: Kifaru Slick Bag 0-degree-rated
• Pillow: Sea to Summit Aeros pillow
• Stove: Jetboil Sol
• Coffee Cup: TOAKS Titanium Cup
• Silverware: UCO Spork
• Water Storage: Platypus 2L water bladders (x3), Powerade Bottles (x3)
• Water Treatment: Aquamira chlorine dioxide drops
• Bug Spray: Ben’s 100% Deet

Hunting Gear

• Binoculars: Swarovski 10x42mm EL Range
• Bino Pouch: Hornady Binocular Harness
• Lens Wipes: Zeiss lens wipes (x4)
• Spotting Scope: Swarovski STS 20-60x65mm
• Tripod: Slik Pro 700 DX, with Outdoorsman’s Jim White Pan Head (carried by partner)
• Glassing seat: cut-down portion of an old Therm-a-rest Z-Lite Pad
• Rifle: Christensen Arms Ridgeline Titanium, .308 Win.
• Riflescope: Leupold VX Freedom 4-12x40mm CDS
• Ammo: 15-rounds of Federal Premium 175-grain Terminal Ascent, .308 Win.
• Bipod: Spartan Precision Pro Hunt Tac
• Kill Kit: Havalon Piranta-Edge w/8 extra blades, T.A.G. Bags 18”x30” game bags (x3)
• Black Contractor Bags, 4-mil, 42-gallon (x3)
• Trekking Poles: REI Flash Carbon Snap-lock trekking poles (pair)
• Head Lamp: Petzl Tactikka headlamp

First Aid

• Adventure Medical Trauma Pak
• Additional Band-Aids (x15)
• Sterilizing wipes and Antibiotic Ointment Packs
• Suture Kit
• Super Glue (x1)
• Medications: Motrin, Cold/Flu, Tums, Vitamins
• Blister treatment and prevention: Second Skin Blister pads (x4), Leukotape (1/2 roll)
• Toothbrush and travel-size toothpaste
• Chafing prevention/treatment: Body Glide
• Chapstick (x3 spread out in gear)

Read Next: My 3 Favorite New Pieces of Mountain Hunting Gear

Gear Repair, Emergency, and Miscellaneous

• Compass: Brunton TruArc Compass
• Gps/Comms: Garmin InReach Mini 2
• Leatherman Skeletool CX
• Allen Keys for Scope rings and optics mounts
• iPhone
• Extra MSR Ground Hog Mini shelter stakes (x4)
• Fire starting: Lighter (x2), UCO Safety Matches (x1), Wetfire tabs (x3)
• Extra Pack waistbelt buckle (x1)
• Extra 1-inch small buckle (x1)
• 8-inch Zip ties (x5)
• Cordage: 100ft Atwood Micro Cord (100-pound-test)
• Tent pole repair splint (x1)
• Tent/Gear repair: Gear Aid Tenacious Tape and tent/sleeping pad repair kit
• Battery Bank: Anker 20,000mAh powerbank

Food

If you’re embarking on an extended trip, food will significantly contribute to the weight of your pack. It is common to carry around a pound and a half of food per day. Ideally, you want food with high calorie-to-weight ratios, although after several days, your body will consume the food as quickly as it is provided. The specific food items will vary based on individual preferences, but here’s what a typical day’s worth of food looks like for me.

• Coffee: BRCC Black Powder instant coffee (x1)
• Instant Oatmeal (x2)
• Granola, protein, oat bars: Bobos, Clif, ProBar, etc (x1)
• Tortilla or pita bread with string cheese and salami (x1)
• Jerky (snack-sized zip-lock for some days)
• Freeze-dried dinner: Mountain House, Peak Refuel (x1)
• Candy or chocolate for dessert
• Nuun electrolyte tablets for water