Backpacking -- What Clothes To Take?

Cal Jones, Cedar Springs, MI: "A friend and I have been backpacking for 10 years. We have lightened up most of our gear; the only thing left is clothing. What do you take for clothing? Do you wear your camo as you pack in? Or do you wear "civvies" and carry camo clothes in your pack?"

Anything you can do to lighten your pack will only save you energy for the important aspect of the trip -- hunting. Generally, I wear my hunting clothes while packing in, usually shirt and pants of lightweight fleece or Cabela's Microtex, plus a baseball-style cap. Then in my pack I carry light rain-gear, longjohns, sock hat, warm fleece jacket, one change of underwear, and one change of socks. With that I can mix and match to meet most of the conditions on a September elk hunt. You might ask:Don't your clothes get sweaty and stinky while you're backpacking? Sure. But if you can carry the spare clothes and scent-elimination products needed to stay scent free, you're more of a man than I am. When backpacking, I say go as light as possible and keep the wind in your favor.

Some Whitetail Scents

D.B., Monroeville, NJ: "I have been trying rut scents and know I'm using them correctly. However, I have had success with only a couple of lures. The majority of them spook the deer I hunt. Do any lures work consistently for you during the rut?"

Without knowing which scents you have tried, I can only list scents that have worked for me. Keep in mind, however, that no scent works all the time on every deer. I firmly believe you have to catch the right deer in the right mood for scents to be effective. That said, here are some whitetail scents that have worked for me:Wildlife Research Center's Grunt N' Lure (especially when used in conjunction with a grunt tube and estrous doe bleat call), Special Golden Estrus, Trail's End #307, and Excite; Robinson Outdoors' Almost Steamin' Synthetic Peak Rut Doe Estrus; Tink's #69 (I've had better success with the gel than the liquid, although I don't know why); and Hunter's Specialties' PrimeTime Dominant Buck Urine and Premium Doe Estrus. Hope this helps.

Lighter vs. Darker Camo Patterns

N.W., via e-mail: "My question pertains to camouflage. I have a ScentBlocker fleece outfit from Robinson Outdoors in Mossy Oak's New Break-Up pattern, and it seems pretty dark to me. Is this a good western pattern, say for elk? Thanks."

This relatively dark camo will work very well as long as you're hunting in deep woods, such as evergreen forests, and set up in the shadows. Whenever you blind-in to call an elk, place yourself in deep shadows where you are not silhouetted against light vegetation. If you're hunting in a lighter environment, say in aspen groves, a lighter camo pattern like Mossy Oak Brush or Advantage MAX-1 HD, both new "western" patterns unveiled at the 2005 ATA Trade Show, would probably be more effective.