You could stumble across that trophy of a lifetime or nothing at all. The only guarantee is that when you get home those squiggly lines on the topo map will now hold a memory of time well spent. Within that, being able to live out of your backpack provides a sense of freedom that's hard to replicate. You can camp where you want, eat when you want and go as far (or near) as your mind and body will let you – or to the extent the wilderness allows. Everything you need to thrive and survive is within arm's reach nestled on your back.
Once you've got the essentials packed, the decisions you make with the gear you carry have a massive influence on your experience. There's a certain level of sacrifice navigating between comfort and discomfort at various stages of the hunt. The more luxuries you carry, the more comfortable you'll be around camp, but the more you'll suffer on the hike. The same can be said the other way around- with a lighter pack the hiking is easier, but you might be less comfortable when you stop moving. This balance varies from person to person and trip to trip. Through my experiences so far, I've found I enjoy the comforts of good food, plenty of warm clothes and a proper night's sleep. When you add our filming equipment to the mix, our packs are usually on the heavier end of the spectrum. The focus of this hunt was to change that: we were going lightweight.
We had five days up our sleeves aiming to traverse the length of a mountain range in search of a pre-roar Red stag for the wall. Light, fast and far was the plan.
