What's In Your Pack ?

The other day I took my hunting pack apart to see what needs added for elk hunting which starts August 30. I try to carry enough to stay in the woods overnight in case I have to. Yet at the same time I don't want much extra weight either. Here are a few things in my hunting pack: two flashlights and extra batteries, game bags, extra knife, knife sharpener, Gerber hatchet, folding saw, compass, GPS unit(new this year), lighter, game calls, scent, allergy pills( for bee stings),toilet paper, flagging ribbon,space blanket, extra socks and gloves,and hunting license and tags. I also will have food and water and a jacket or wool shirt tied to the outside of the pack. Binoculars will always be worn around my neck and on my belt will be a favorite hunting knife and pepper spray in case I run into a grizzly bear.

A rigid framed pack will be left in the pickup in case I need to transport meat. I recently tallied all the bears, elk, moose, deer, and caribou that I have packed out for myself and other people over the years. The sum is around 30,000 pounds! No wonder my back aches. Some packs were a light load and others a big burden over difficult terrain. One of the worst packs was a bull elk Ardella shot across a canyon and took three days to get it out. It was so steep that I lost my footing on the first pack and quickly threw off the pack with an elk quarter which bounced down the slope into the creek bottom about two hundred yards away. More about that elk hunt in a later blog.

Some times people carry heavy burdens due to what comes along in life. Some of these burdens we cause ourselves , others just catch us off guard. Luke 11: 28 - 30 tells us Jesus is ready to carry our burdens for us. He tells us in Him we can find rest for our souls. I find that very comforting that we have a Lord and Savior who takes on our burdens. It means He loves us and wants to help us through all our trials and heavy loads. The more I turn over to Him the better my life goes. So if you are carrying a heavy load, why not turn it over to Jesus and walk with him and get refreshed.