When I was making my first yesteryear solo ventures into the deer woods, compared to today, my pack was, well, okay…it didn't exist. As I would leave the communal campfire before dawn, wishing everyone good luck, my deer hunting mentor, “Old Man Weasel,” would stop me in my tracks and ask, “Got yer knife and a length of rope? How about a piece a wire for tagging? Don't want to be cutting your boot lace.” All that stuff, plus some extra ammo rounds, maybe a liverwurst sandwich, plus a compass pinned to my jacket, had to be crossed off my mental lest before I headed to my stand. 

What about a pack, you ask? Nah, just my pockets were enough to carry supplies ‘till the deer drives began around 9-ish. 

Fast forwarding to today, a “pack” of some sort always accompanies me from scouting to hunting every time I hit the woods. Sure, I look back on those simpler days fondly, but, like most of us, I hunt differently now, and, for sure, more wisely.

Back then our entire hunting crew was in the woods with me, and the plan was always to meet up at certain times and places for our very strategically planned deer drives.

Today, however, whether rifle, bow, or muzzleloader, which requires self-sufficiency, I am often by myself. In other words, in these current hunting solo times, getting ourselves out of jam is totally dependent on one person, you! If you have means to signal, I suppose you could call up the rescue crew for any little thing, but, as they say, don’t be that guy, at least try to save your own butt.

So, what goes in my 21st Century pack? Well, let me grab it and we will take it apart together.

A water bottle always is along. Sometimes I even use some of those hydration packs if I am busting ground spring scouting. Got to stay hydrated, you know.

My most easily accessed pocket always has a bit of food, perhaps some jerky, a protein, or a good old Snickers, bar. Moving along, an extra knife and a flashlight are also in my easy to access pocket. Around my neck is always a compass. Yeah, I know, there is one on my phone. But I am still at heart, old school.

Digging deeper in the interior of the pack, I get into true survival gear. Survival can be summed up with the five basic needs:

1. Positive Mental Attitude: if you get in a jam and freak out, you’re dead. Stay calm and think.
2. Maintain Body Temperature: simply put stay warm or cool depending on the current environment. In most cases, regarding deer hunting, we are concerned with staying warm.
3. Water: hydration impacts mood and physical strength.
4. Shelter: this assists with maintaining your core body temperature by staying dry and warm by blocking chilling winds or, in some cases, shaded from the sun.
5. Food: you can live along time without food, but low blood sugar can really impact your attitude, like in “hangry,” and in the case of diabetes this lack of food can become very serious.

So, in terms of the above list, I choose my pack gear to ensure my ability to build a fire and to stay dry. I also simple Bic lighters. I keep at least one in my pack and one in my pocket. I also wrap the lighters with either duct or electric tape. Tape, of course, has hundreds of uses, one of which, believe it or not, is being a good fire starter. Along with my lighter is a medicine bottle with Vaseline-soaked cotton balls. Wow, do these light up and stay burning. This will also help you get a fire going when you need it most. 

Not too long ago I was hunting way back on some county land and long story short, I went through some ice on a beaver channel up to my thighs. Because my wool pants kept me warm and I wanted to keep hunting and I was too far to go back and change, I made a fire and dried my gear, just like Jerimiah Johnson in the movie. Due to the fact I had fire-starting gear in my pack, I was then back to hunting in an hour or so. 

Regarding shelter, the idea again is to stay dry and warm. This can be remedied with a simple garbage bag when an unexpected rain arrives. It is always unexpected, right? That is why you didn’t have your rain gear? So, I keep a good-sized garbage bag, cordage, and a couple of those survival blankets tucked away just in case. With those supplies and small folding saw, I can make a quick shelter to keep me out of the elements.

Did I mentioned I am pushing 60 now? So, as many of you who are in that club already know, our physical stamina is not what it was back when we were pick-up truck camping and sitting around that communal campfire. I am older now and with age comes age related risks. And, having Type 2 diabetes, I definitely keep some of those glucose tabs in my pack. Since a few friends my age are having heart issues, even heart attacks, I keep aspirin handy just in case my ticker starts acting up. I also add a small tin of basic first aid items such as assorted bandages and moleskin.

That is about it for basic survival. I have what I need to be comfortable and stay alive if I get in a jam for 24 hours or so. Since I always tell someone roughly where I am going, so in that respect I am confident the rescue folks will find me. Hopefully, comfortably tending a fire.

Now for the most important 21st Century pack item, the cell phone. Realistically, my cell phone is with me all the time. When they started to become normalized in our society, I hesitated to take it with me into the woods as the woods have always been an escape from technology for me and I would head out alone often far from easy help. My wife then started asking me to send a text occasionally, proof I am alive so to speak. Turns out your last messages can also be used by search and rescued to help find you. And, yes, I gave in and, safety-wise, my cell phone is is my most import hunting tool.

I mentioned how a phone has a compass, but keep in mind, it also has weather apps to warn you, ya dummy, that you should have packed raingear because the storm is going to hit your location in precisely 30 minutes.

I mostly use my phone when scouting and hunting via hunting apps such as HuntStand and OnX. Last April, in fact, while spring scouting, I used the app to set a track to mark a new trail I will be constructing later with a skid steer at my camp. The property line feature kept me from trespassing. 

Continuing my hike, I was able to easily mark new rubs, scrape sites, and bedding areas. All of which can be marked as pins on my new age version of a handheld map to later study on my computer screen. And, most importantly, to find them again. I also located several new potential stand locations and marked colored-coded trails on them so I can find them even in the dark by following my phone. Seriously, my phone allows me to get off the beaten path on the vast public lands with the security of always knowing where I am located and how to get back. Moreover, it allows me the total freedom to explore way back in the boonies with the comfort of knowing getting back is a piece of cake.

As an added benefit, my phone lets me capture videos like the otter that bumped into me as it was cruising a beaver channel. 

As for actual hunting, my hunting phone app has a feature that shows the current wind analysis in relation to a stand site, which very much helps me pick a stand as well as the direction to enter to lessen the chance of game detecting my approach. 

Because my phone is so very important, one more item that goes in my pack is a pre-charged power-pack to recharge my phone if necessary. And, finally, who doesn’t use their phone to stay connected even while hunting? I know our camp starts a group text to keep all of us entertained as well as in touch with informational items like who is heading back to camp for lunch and what stands are open? And of course, the all so important, “Hey, who shot? Sounds like it came from the west, must be Joe?”

Well, that’s my 21st Century pack, maybe a decade later than some, but when combined with the old reliable gear, I feel perfectly safe and secure to explore off the beaten path or the back forty.

Yup, you just never know when a simple stumble or who knows what might get you in a jam. Like Benjamin Franklin once said, “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”

Images courtesy of Duluth Pack.