I went hiking two weeks ago on a two night three day trip. This was an equipment shakedown for my back country hunt next month. So I packed 5 days worth of food, and my pack weight was 74 pounds. That included 15 pounds of hog bait, a 10 pound rifle, optics package (rangefinder, binos, spotting scope, tripod), butchering kit, and two days worth of water. We were forced to come back when we ran low on water, and ALL the streams and springs on the map were dry. Saw no hogs, so they live to destroy more habitat. Saw a lot of deer sign, and a couple of does. Saturday was the opening day of muzzle loader elk and we jumped a big bull 25-35 minutes after the season opened. No tag though.
If.this were a hike instead.of prep for a hunt, pack weight would have been about 35 pounds including food and water. I hike to hunt, so UL concepts work, but I don't see my pack weight getting any lower than that. For example, breakfasts are protien powder and oatmeal in a freezer bag and water is boiled in a foster's can. But my 5.5 pound pack will not be replaced with a lighter one, since it has to be able to haul 120 pounds of meat and be comfortable enough to make 3-5 trips from trailhead to campsite/butchering location in a 30 hour span.
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