Fair Weather Day Pack to Stay Alive in the Outdoors
Key Takeaways
SHIT THAT WORKS!
Day pack (fair weather)
layering
Kifaru pack (heavy vs. lightweight)
lightweight saw - for cutting bones
belt (tourniquet if needed)
food
firearm (rifle, pistol… both)
Wide mouth water bottle to fill up in stream (iodine tablets)
fleece or down for layering
pain medication in case of serious injury
headlamp
rain gear
firestarter (weather impervious/windproof matches and a lighter)
Transcript
Hi folks! This video today is being filmed at one of our wilderness camps that we packed into using horses and four-wheelers. We've got tables, big wall tents, and a beautiful stream nearby. We may only be a few miles from the trailhead, so it's not super remote, but we're still out in the wilderness. I want to talk about what it takes to stay alive when hunting in fair weather with just a day pack.
When I hunt, I always have my day pack with essential items to keep me safe because even in fair weather, things can go south quickly. It might be warm during the day, but at night it’s barely hitting freezing here in the Rockies in October. You can easily break a leg, sprain an ankle, or face unexpected snowstorms or windstorms. For instance, yesterday, my wife and I went on a four-mile hike, and gale-force winds kicked up, causing dead trees to fall around us. It was pretty dangerous, with trees even falling over the trail.
As for the pack I use, it’s an old Kifaru, which I’ve had for 15 or 20 years. It doesn't interfere with my shoulder holster, and the gun is easy to access. Let’s quickly go over the gear in this pack. I carry a wide-mouth water bottle for easy filling in streams. For layering, I have a lightweight REI jacket, a rain jacket that also acts as a windbreaker, and a heavier fleece for added warmth. If I were hunting in cold weather, I’d add another layer.
I also carry some basic essentials like toilet paper, a lightweight saw for cutting skull plates (not for bones), food, spare ammo, painkillers, and my truck keys. Flashlights are essential, so I carry a headlamp, a hand-held light, and spare batteries. Redundancy is key—if you're in the woods with just one flashlight and no extra batteries, you're asking for trouble.
For fire starters, I’m a big fan of WetFire. It works even in snow, and I carry windproof matches and a lighter. Fire has saved me many times while out in the wilderness, keeping me comfortable and alive through the night.
This is the gear I carry for a warm-weather hunting trip in a day pack. The only difference for cold weather would be an extra layer and gloves. My hands don’t get cold, so I don't need gloves, but many people do. I also drink from streams and have never gotten sick, though some people prefer to carry iodine tablets for treating water.
Situations can change in an instant out here, and people do die in the wilderness if they’re not prepared. I've been living in Salmon, Idaho, for about 35 years, and I remember a man who died in a snowstorm the year I moved here. They couldn’t recover his body until spring, and they knew they were close because they found pieces of his jeans in bear scat. He was wearing cowboy boots and jeans, which aren’t suited for this environment. He broke his leg while hunting an elk, and that’s how they found his remains.
Do things right, and you can enjoy the outdoors with very few worries. Hopefully, this video is educational and benefits someone out there. Thanks for watching! Now, we’re off to go skinny dipping.
