GREAT story! I really appreciate your honest narrative. Combined with the photos, I can really get a sense for how you must have felt.

Even with the beautiful scenery and the romance of chasing sheep, I think this thread cured me of wanting to hunt Dall-------at least with Brett! I can only hope to be in the physical shape you're in someday.

Please tell me more about the Kifaru Slick bag. Could you get a sense of the comfort range, or was the weather cold enough that you were spot on with the bag rating? The clothes-drying feature sounds intriguing. That's a much bigger selling point than simply not absorbing water like down.

How well did the ID eVent windbreaker breath? Personally, I move a LOT of moisture when I'm hiking hard so I'm curious if eVent can "keep up."

Thanks again for the essay and photos. I really glad you made it back in one piece, and with a beautiful bear.

222Rem

Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery.
--Winston Churchill