The Proving Trail Blog
Layered Up
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.
Youth Hunt 2013
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.
Yup - We're on Facebook
It was a big step for Steve and I to join facebook. We’d always been ambivalent to the whole social media thing, but it’s been fun. We even briefly contemplated opening a Twitter account but figured you all would get pretty bored reading these kind of tweets:
"Breakfast on the mountain with a storm rolling in."
“Hey y’all, just sitting here wishing I was scouting or hunting dall sheep.” - 547 times a day.
“Lunch: Ramburger, noodles, Sweet Baby Rays. Yumm.”
“My boot laces weigh .0023 ounces more than Scott’s. Drat.”
“Giving my kids piggyback rides is mid-winter training for sheep season.”
“Eating sheep meat for supper…again.”
“Just figured out our 2019 sheep hunt.”
“Killed two giant broomed rams in my dreams last night. Does that make me over the limit?”
“ Hope I don’t blow out my knees playing “head-butt” with the kids.”
“…What? Oh sorry, I was just staring at my sheep horns.”
“Sheep hunters, fueled by Peanut M&M’s year round.”
“Spaghetti with meat sauce or Turkey Tetrazzini Mt. House meals, I can’t decide.”
“Deer hunting is great practice for sheep season.”
"Breakfast on the mountain with a storm rolling in."
“Hey y’all, just sitting here wishing I was scouting or hunting dall sheep.” - 547 times a day.
“Lunch: Ramburger, noodles, Sweet Baby Rays. Yumm.”
“My boot laces weigh .0023 ounces more than Scott’s. Drat.”
“Giving my kids piggyback rides is mid-winter training for sheep season.”
“Eating sheep meat for supper…again.”
“Just figured out our 2019 sheep hunt.”
“Killed two giant broomed rams in my dreams last night. Does that make me over the limit?”
“ Hope I don’t blow out my knees playing “head-butt” with the kids.”
“…What? Oh sorry, I was just staring at my sheep horns.”
“Sheep hunters, fueled by Peanut M&M’s year round.”
“Spaghetti with meat sauce or Turkey Tetrazzini Mt. House meals, I can’t decide.”
“Deer hunting is great practice for sheep season.”
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ProvingTrailAdventures
Highlights from the Sportsman's Shows
Great Alaska Sportsman's Show and the Fairbanks Outdoor Show
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.
Explore Alaska Photography
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
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Free Downloads
Sheep Hunting Gear List
All the gear and food used in the Lace'em Up video listed in a free download.
The Keys to Success
What it takes to be successful as a dedicated backpack sheep hunter.
7 Rams, 7 Mountains
Steve completed the first ever walk-in Alaska sheep slam this past August 2012. Read about his journey here.
