You don’t have to wear anything under your waders! I live in my G3’s in AK year round for work, and if it’s hot I just go with a pair of running shorts or boxers underneath. If it’s not warm enough for that I switch to the Sitka fleece wader pants(Gradient?), which are outstanding. By Oct...
I wouldn't worry about strapping a mostly empty pack to the bow of my boat. Sounds like you know what you are looking for and the Seek packs seem like the best option for pack rafting anyway because of their waterproof materials(I bought one!), but for other folks who might be reading this...
Something to keep in mind when looking at the HMG packs is that their volume measurement are only the interior volume of the pack, so while 5400 porter is 85L, any of the pocketed 4400 packs have over 80L of usable volume as well.
I wouldn't be afraid of the HMG, especially for your use case. I've got a ton of time under one, and if they fit you well they will carry a lot of weight quite well, especially if you pay attention to how you pack. I've hauled >80lbs(science is fun!) in a HMG 3400, definitely not recommended...
I'm new to this aging sheep thing, could someone edit your photos to point out the annuli they are counting to get to over 10 yrs old on either sheep? I'm pretty sure I'm getting 9 years old on both.
The Thermarest AirHead Lite is awesome. At this point I'd probably bring mine even when going hardcore ultralight, like 3/4 z-lite and no sleeping bag! So small and raise the quality of sleep so much.
For goats I wouldn't even bring the spotter and tripod! You'll use the glass more to figure out if you can get to them then to actually look at them, until you get a group in position and have to pick an animal, and at that point the binos will be plenty.
If you've got the time and are looking for a rowdy adventure, it's also possible to hike in to where the 'bou are! Feel free to PM me if you want beta on routes.
Very doable to get both on a 10 day hunt. My party got a goat, a bunch of deer, and a bear in a week long hunt late october last year. Could have added caribou too if anyone in our party had a tag. I would focus on the goat for sure, you will probably get plenty of chances at deer...