If you ask ten sheep hunters how they pack their backpack, you’ll probably get ten different answers.
None of them are necessarily wrong.
Packing a backpack is personal, and it evolves with experience.
My system today looks very different than it did during my first sheep hunt—not because I carry dramatically different gear, but because I understand how I actually use it throughout the day.
After spending days climbing mountains, digging through my pack in bad weather, and living out of it for over a week, I’ve learned that where an item rides can be just as important as whether I brought it at all.
This isn’t the only way to pack a sheep hunting backpack.
It’s simply the system that’s worked well for me.
Start With the Right Pack
For this hunt, I’m using the Stone Glacier Sky Guide 7900.
It’s a large pack, but that’s intentional.
For a ten-day fly-in sheep hunt, I would rather have a little extra room than spend every morning fighting my pack to make everything fit.
As food disappears throughout the hunt, the pack only gets easier to manage.
My goal is to start this hunt at around 65 pounds or less. That’s still a heavy pack by backpacking standards, but sheep hunting isn’t normal backpacking. I’m intentionally carrying about 2 to 2.5 pounds of food per day to support roughly 3,000 calories and around 210 grams of protein. It’s heavier than many hunters prefer, but it’s one of those necessary compromises I make for performance and recovery. Every day I eat, the pack gets a little lighter.
I’ve Stopped Using Stuff Sacks for Everything
When I first started backpack hunting, nearly every piece of gear lived in its own stuff sack.
It looked organized.
It wasn’t always efficient.
Over time I’ve started packing much differently.
Today, I often load soft items directly into the main compartment without individual stuff sacks. Clothing fills empty spaces naturally, dead space disappears, and I can fit more gear into the same pack volume.
The exception is anything that absolutely has to stay dry.
My sleeping bag rides inside a waterproof compression sack because it’s one item I simply can’t afford to get wet.
I’m still deciding exactly how much I’ll use stuff sacks on this hunt, but after experimenting over the past year I’m leaning toward packing much looser than I used to.
Accessibility Is More Important Than Perfect Organization
One lesson I’ve learned is that the gear you need in the next five minutes shouldn’t be buried underneath the gear you’ll need tonight.
Everything has a purpose and a place.
Side Pocket
One of my favorite features of the Sky Guide is its dedicated spotting scope pocket.
My Leupold SX-2 Alpine spotting scope lives there full-time, making it easy to access without unpacking half my gear.
Right beside it rides my Leupold tripod.
These are some of the most frequently used items during the day, so I want them available immediately.
Lid
The lid carries the things I reach for constantly.
Usually that includes my food for the day, gloves, and any other small items I’ll likely need while hiking.
Keeping these separate means I don’t have to open the main bag every time I stop for a snack or the weather changes.
Front Pocket
The front pocket is my “utility compartment.”
This is where I keep:
- Medical kit
- Toiletries
- Contractor bags
- Kill kit
- Other miscellaneous gear that I may need quickly but not constantly
It’s easy to reach and keeps those items from getting lost inside the main compartment.
Main Bag
The main compartment carries the bulk of my camp.
That typically includes:
- Tent
- Sleeping bag
- Sleeping pad
- Extra food
- Stove
- Fuel
- Puffy layers
- Rain gear (unless weather dictates otherwise)
- Tarp
- Clothing
- Other overnight equipment
These are items I generally won’t need until camp or extended breaks.
My Clothing Strategy
One thing that surprises people is how lightly I start the day.
If it’s dry, I’ll usually leave camp wearing:
- Stone Glacier Chinook Merino Hoody
- Stone Glacier De Havilland Pants
- Injinji toe liner socks
- Hollow heavy wool socks
- Lowa Tibet GTX boots
- Stone Glacier gaiters
- Mechanix gloves (conditions depending)
- Baseball cap
- Garmin Fenix 8 Solar
I intentionally begin the day slightly cold.
Sheep hunting is incredibly physical, and if I start warm, I’ll quickly sweat through my layers during the first climb.
Instead, I warm up naturally as I move.
That helps keep my clothing drier throughout the day.
My Helio mid-layer and Stone Glacier M5 rain gear stay packed where I can reach them quickly if weather changes.
I also carry Stone Glacier Graupel fleece gloves and their Glassing Mitt depending on conditions.
Camp Clothing
I don’t pack dedicated sleeping clothes.
Instead, I usually sleep wearing my pants, socks, and a lightweight base layer.
That may sound strange, but it serves two purposes.
First, I don’t have to waste time changing every morning.
Second, my body heat helps dry clothing overnight if it’s damp from the previous day’s hiking.
It’s a small system that’s worked well for me.
For camp, I do carry Crocs.
They’re lightweight enough to justify bringing, make river crossings easier, and give my feet a chance to breathe after a long day in mountain boots.
One New Luxury I’m Excited About
If there’s one piece of new gear I’m genuinely excited to test, it’s the FlexTail ultralight air pump.
On my previous sheep hunt, I dreaded blowing up my sleeping pad every single night.
It’s not difficult.
It’s just one of those little chores that becomes surprisingly annoying after several exhausting days.
The FlexTail adds a little weight and another electronic device to manage, but I think the convenience may be worth it.
This hunt will tell me whether it earns a permanent place in my pack.
A Lesson I Learned the Hard Way
One of the biggest lessons from my last sheep hunt happened on the final night.
We were caught out late in pouring rain and eventually ended up camping in thick alder on an extremely steep slope.
Our tent was soaked.
The rain fly was soaked.
We hurried to get everything set up and climbed inside for the night.
What I didn’t do was think about ventilation.
Sometime during the night I woke up struggling to catch my breath.
The tent was essentially sealed up.
Between the soaking wet rain fly, the wet tent fabric, and the lack of ventilation, there simply wasn’t enough fresh air exchanging inside the shelter.
Opening the door immediately solved the problem.
It wasn’t a gear failure.
It was a user error.
Now, no matter how miserable the weather is, I’ll always make sure there’s enough ventilation for proper airflow.
It’s one of those lessons that’s easy to overlook until you’ve experienced it yourself.
Why We’re Bringing a Base Camp
One of the biggest differences this year is that we’re flying into the hunt.
That changes how we think about camp.
We’ll establish a base camp using an Argali Absaroka teepee with a half liner and stove.
That camp becomes far more than just a place to sleep.
It’s where we can:
- Dry wet gear
- Store emergency supplies
- Keep extra fuel
- Leave additional food in case weather delays our pickup
- Store meat if we’re fortunate enough to harvest early
We’ll also be bringing a bear fence to help protect any game meat stored at camp.
A fly-in hunt provides opportunities that simply aren’t practical on a backpack-only hunt.
At the same time, weight still matters.
Every pound flown into the mountains may also need to come back out.
If we return with sheep, bears, and camp, exceeding the aircraft’s weight limit could mean paying for an additional flight.
That’s a strong incentive to remain disciplined with every piece of gear we bring.
Final Thoughts
People often obsess over buying the perfect backpack.
In my experience, learning how to use the backpack you already have is just as important.
A good packing system saves time, reduces frustration, protects important gear, and keeps the equipment you rely on most within easy reach.
Mine continues to evolve after every hunt.
I’m sure this one will teach me something new as well.
That’s one of the things I love most about sheep hunting.
No matter how prepared you think you are, the mountains always have another lesson waiting.
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