Dreaming of the west

As with the majority of bowhunters the whitetail deer is one of my favorite game animals to pursue.  They are plentiful in most parts of the country and their keen senses make them a definite challenge.  The old adage of "any deer with archery gear is a trophy" definitely holds the truth.  The natural level of progression for bowhunters to graduate from whitetails and turkeys is to elk, pronghorn, and mule deer.  I have been fortunate to have taken two mule deer in Kansas with a bow and have hunted pronghorn in the sunflower state as well but I have never had the opportunity to hunt elk.  Not yet anyway.  I have been applying for preference points in several western states and I am within a year or two of hopefully drawing a tag and making the trek west.  

Likely the biggest drawback to hunting elk is the expense.  Besides the tag, there are many pieces of specialized gear that are needed to successfully pursue this large game species.  I have been saving up and purchasing pieces of gear necessary to get me successfully up and down the mountainous terrain.  This can be an arduous task in itself.  There are so many quality brands to choose from and decisions to make about pieces such as rain gear, base layers, tents, sleeping bags, the list goes on and on.  After much research I finally decided on a pack.  I wanted something comfortable and capable, I also wanted something as lightweight as possible.  After over 6 months of researching and debating the pro's and cons I went with the Stone Glacier Sky 5900.  

What sold me on the Stone Glacier is the ability to go from a tightly compressed pack to a day pack that allows me to easily secure my bow, to a 5900 cubic inch pack for multiple day trips.  Plus the ability to add or remove a lid and a built in load shelf between the frame and the pack.  It took me some time and some research in learning how to attach the pack to the frame, and how to convert the pack from bivy mode to the expanded mode.  I have only had the pack for a few days but it seems very well built and I can't wait to load it down and begin training with this pack in preparation for my upcoming backpacking trip with my young boys but also for my first elk hunt whenever the time arrives. 

If you haven't started preparing for whatever you will be pursuing this fall don't put it off any longer!  You owe it to yourself and the game that you pursue to be in the best physical and mental shape possible.  This includes shooting your bow and working on shooting from different ranges and positions.  It will make all the difference in the moment of truth.