When it comes to backpack hunters and their gear, two extremes can be seen. On one end is the hunter who stubbornly refuses to part with his tried and true equipment, proven over many adventures despite solid advances in technology and/or weight savings. On the other is the hunter whose equipment is like a revolving door, foolishly parting with hard earned money on every latest whiz bang gadget and camo pattern.
We like to think we’re somewhere in the middle. We’re admittedly tight fisted and value gear that has proven itself over several years. But we also try to keep an open mind and are always on the look-out for ways to lighten our load with a modest investment.
So we research (that’s guy speak for internet shopping). Researching gear can be almost as fun as sleuthing out a new secret sheep honey hole. There's lots of time in the winter to figure it out at home and then spring/summer allows for testing to see if new stuff is worthy of the pack come August 10.
I took a couple veterans of past youth hunts this year. Both filled tags on their first youth hunt, but Solomon’s was a little fella so we were hoping to get him onto a larger bear this time. Solomon and Wyatt are a couple of young men that I’ve enjoyed investing in for several years now and with this year’s hunt, I was hoping to let these guys take this hunt to a new level, with them leading the stalks and me following their lead.
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Proving Trail Adventures had a presence at both shows this year and the booth was a popular place. There's a few more updates from the shows on our Facebook page. Follow the link below (bottom left of this page) or go to facebook.com/ProvingTrailAdventures
Here's a few pictures of the booth and the happenings. Of course it's the people we meet that makes this so much fun. We met lots of great people and its good to hear how many of you have been inspired or encourage by our video "Lace 'em Up." We're looking forward to hearing how your hunts go.
On the note of great people, we have to highlight Dick and Page; our inspiration at the Anchorage Show. After a weekend listening to folks telling us they are too old to hunt backpack stye, we were feeling low about our prospects of sheep hunting into our later years. Then we met Dick & Page, seasoned... veterans of the backcountry. Dick's experience harkens back to the days of Trapper Nelson packs. They are both still hitting the trails with no end in sight. Paige was more concerned with how a boned out Sitka black-tailed buck would ride in a new Stone Glacier backpack then letting some silly thing like age get in her way of hunting. They renewed our expectation to be sheep hunting for many, many years to come.
We're already looking forward to next year. Thanks everyone for making it great.
Ryan Miller of Explore Alaska Photography will also be at our booth with several framed images of his amazing pictures of Dall Rams. He’ll be giving this 16x24 picture away for a 2nd Place winner in the drawing. Same rules apply at the pack giveaway.
For more images of rams and wild Alaska, check out Ryan’s website:
www.explorealaskaphoto.com