small folding chair with a back rest,hand warmers,toe warmers,cheap 6-8 ft. plastic tarp in case of bad weather in pack, toilet paper in a plastic bag,new throw away lighter that works,new MRE`S just in case
A small folding chair on your pack? I hope I am reading that wrong. Pete, have you ever seen the Rockies? You are advocating packing a chair up mountains after elk? I hope not.
I carry a small tarp. My bro carries an old backpacking pad folded small. Nature has an infinite number of "chairs" in the mountains, if you pack something to keep your ass warm/dry.
I carry a plastic bag with a bunch of folded paper towels as well as a Bic lighter for a fire starter. It has yet to fail me. For example: my brother, 10 year old son, and I got caught in a blizzard last year. None of us thought to check the weather that day. We knew it would be snowing, but the temp dropped below zero and the whiteout moved in after we had gotten to the top of where we were hunting. The dead branches along the bottoms of various species of conifer worked great for kindling and wood, and a couple paper towels was plenty of firestarter, and . The trees produced natural shelter. If we would have spent the night, a bunch of pine boughs can be made into a decent shelter when using the tarp and ground pad. Luckily it moved off by mid-afternoon and we were able to get down. It was a lesson in the benefits of being mentally prepared, as well as having the right gear.
My shooting sticks can double as a walking stick. Bare bones is awesome when you finally get an elk down.
