It’s always difficult packing enough clothing for a serious hunt without creating a huge burden.
On our recent D6 horse pack trip, I worked hard to keep clothing to a minimum. Having recently purchased some Sitka clothing, a 90% jacket, 90% pants, suspenders and base layer, I made this the core of my daily clothes. I added a down vest and a windbreakers/rain suit. The result was quite effective for the weather on Sonora Pass during September.
Now I’m beginning to make preparations for my BC deer hunt in mid November. Once again I plan to use the Sitka gear as my core clothing. I’ve added thermal underwear, a pair of wool trousers and today I went to the Good Will Store and found a perfect fleece pull over. With the pull over, base layer, down vest, hooded rain/wind jacket and 90% jacket, I should be able to handle whatever BC has to offer. According to the weather records, the temps should vary from a low of 15 degrees to a high of about 40 degrees farenheit. These are great temperatures for deer hunting.
By adding a warm hat, neck gater and warm gloves, I can cover most any expected weather situation. This system will be luggage friendly and I won’t have to pack around huge amounts of clothing – a bugaboo for late season trips.
All I have left to cover is purchase of new boots with thinsulate insulation. I’ll probably purchase them from the nearby Red Wing Shoe Store, they’ve done well for me in the past. My current boots have no insulation and I want to keep my feet warm.
For the trip, I’ll pack my hunting clothes and wear jeans, shirt and a light jacket for traveling and in the airport. That will give me one set of clothing for travel and another for hunting. That’s enough for me.
