Going Elk hunting in 1 month and I live at sea level

[Laguna Madre]

After 3 years of applying me and some buddies have drawn elk tags in unit 66 of Colorado and we're planning on backpacking deep into the La Garrita Wilderness area in about a month. The Wilderness area is a roadless area that prohibits all motorized vehicles.

I literally live about 200 yards from the bay and I haven't hiked up a hill in quite a while. I've been doing the stair stepper and lunges at the gym for about a month but starting to think I may be screwed. The last hunt was for mule deer in 2009 and it snowed for the first three days and was around 10 degrees out but we stayed in wall tents with heaters and drove around on 4 wheelers. This hunt is going to be without the creature comforts of a cot, heater or 4 wheeler. Any advice to a Texas guy who lives at sea level about dealing with altitude sickness and who hasn't hiked up mountains in 20 years?

[Bulldog0156]

Don't do it.

[GadwallGetter530]

Its gonna suck big fat donkey dick......

[AKPirate]

After 3 years of applying me and some buddies have drawn elk tags in unit 66 of Colorado and we're planning on backpacking deep into the La Garrita Wilderness area in about a month. The Wilderness area is a roadless area that prohibits all motorized vehicles.

I literally live about 200 yards from the bay and I haven't hiked up a hill in quite a while. I've been doing the stair stepper and lunges at the gym for about a month but starting to think I may be screwed. The last hunt was for mule deer in 2009 and it snowed for the first three days and was around 10 degrees out but we stayed in wall tents with heaters and drove around on 4 wheelers. This hunt is going to be without the creature comforts of a cot, heater or 4 wheeler. Any advice to a Texas guy who lives at sea level about dealing with altitude sickness and who hasn't hiked up mountains in 20 years?

With only one month I would be careful to not push too hard in your training. Definitely walk with a heavier pack each day. Stair stepper is a great tool. Strengthen the core and back muscles. In all honesty, if you want an elk badly, you will be able to take that next step up the hill when your lungs are busting and confidence is waning. When we sheep/goat hunt, we plan about a 5-7 day hunt as your body is getting wore out without amenities after that. Also, have you looked into having horses packing you into and out of the area? Good luck and have fun LM!

[bill herian]

I'm going to sideline my sweltering jealousy for a minute.

From my little experience and that of those i've talked to, there is a big difference between being "in shape" and being conditioned for a hunt like that. Being in shape lets you hunt up the mountain, being conditioned lets you do it every day for a week without problems. The stair stepper is good, do it with your back on, you need your muscles and more importantly your joints to know what your in for.

Where you're going to ruin yourself is coming back down the mountain, going up makes the muscles ache, coming down makes the knees and ankles ache, and that can keep from going back up the next day.

Go and swim in the bay every morning, that's great exercise.

[AKPirate]

I'm going to sideline my sweltering jealousy for a minute.

From my little experience and that of those i've talked to, there is a big difference between being "in shape" and being conditioned for a hunt like that. Being in shape lets you hunt up the mountain, being conditioned lets you do it every day for a week without problems. The stair stepper is good, do it with your back on, you need your muscles and more importantly your joints to know what your in for.

Where you're going to ruin yourself is coming back down the mountain, going up makes the muscles ache, coming down makes the knees and ankles ache, and that can keep from going back up the next day.

Go and swim in the bay every morning, that's great exercise.

Good points Bill. Forgot to mention in my post, For coming back down, the hiking pole (some people use two) works good for taking pressure off your knees/ankles and gives you more traction coming down off steep slopes.

[bill herian]

Good points Bill. Forgot to mention in my post, For coming back down, the hiking pole (some people use two) works good for taking pressure off your knees/ankles and gives you more traction coming down off steep slopes.

A pair of trekking poles would be a good investment, even if you leave them someplace you can find them if you know will have a long climb down.

[rebelp74]

You're going to have a blast, especially if you get an elk. However, depending on your health and physical stature, it may be one of those love/hate things that you think not worth it in the future. I've had a few friends not go back to the mountains with me because of it.

[bill herian]

And don't even worry about "acclimating" to the elevation. It isn't going to happen in a week. Taking a shit is going to leave you winded if you're coming from sea level.

[3legged_lab]

I know there are pills you can take to help with altitude sickness, they might help.

What about something that restricts your breathing during exercise to make your lungs work harder, like wearing a dust mask?
I'm just talking out of my ass on the last part, don't know if it would actually help.

[rebelp74]

I know there are pills you can take to help with altitude sickness, they might help.

What about something that restricts your breathing during exercise to make your lungs work harder, like wearing a dust mask?
I'm just talking out of my ass on the last part, don't know if it would actually help.

It works, I use to do it for mma and cross country training. Put where a snorkel and tape your nose off then go running, it's sucks but helps endurance like a mofo.

[3legged_lab]

So maybe I'm not talking out of my ass then.

[(MT)Montanafowler]

you're probably fucked. you need to run EVERY DAY for as far as you can possibly go. after a week, you probably need to start running with a 35 pound ruck and after a week and a half, add the snorkel. you just don't have enough time to fully build up the endurance for the trip, but you can make it less of a killer. I used to pour concrete at 10,000 feet, once you acclimate you're good, but the first month blows donkey cock, this coming from a guy who lives at 4500 feet.

[3legged_lab]

This coming from a guy who is getting evicted from his apartment for walking like a fucking gimp.

[rebelp74]

This coming from a guy who is getting evicted from his apartment for walking like a fucking gimp.

10000 feet of concrete will do it to you

[(MT)Montanafowler]

This coming from a guy who is getting evicted from his apartment for walking like a fucking gimp.

10000 feet of concrete will do it to you

so will having a microburst bring a fully formed 23' wall down on you.

[rebelp74]

This coming from a guy who is getting evicted from his apartment for walking like a fucking gimp.

10000 feet of concrete will do it to you

so will having a microburst bring a fully formed 23' wall down on you.

bummer

[RonE]

Unless you plan on going and never coming back, don't sweat it. You will know when to head back to camp by how you feel and the weather. The toughest part will be packing out the animals so take an extra pack frame or two. Leave the hide on the quarters and be sure to take some 50' hanks of cloths line rope, it is cheap, light and easily used to hang a quarter in a tree overnight should you have to leave some of the meat there till the next day. Unless a storm is coming, don't be afraid to stop and rest whenever you need to. Packing elk quarters up hill is no fun but when it is done it is time for a drink. Don't leave camp with out a supply of firewood for when you return, it is shitty work trying to find firewood in the dark. Try to get some USGS topo maps for the area you will be hunting. We used to rent a couple of horses if we shot an elk down in a canyon, they can carry a lot more than three guys can but in a wilderness area it might be hard to get the horses in with enough feed to keep them the whole hunt. Make sure someone in the party has a small hatchet and a saw to quarter your animals. Unless you have a chain saw, sawing down the backbone is hard work and a pain in the butt. Also you might want to take a couple of rolls of surveyor flagging tape so that you can find your way back to any spot.

On the trip out to Colorado be courteous to one another and don't take advantage of anyone in the group. On my first hunt in Colorado in 1978 one hunter from Texas shot another hunter in his party over an argument as to who was going to ride in the middle of the front seat of a truck. The killing happened in front of a restaurant and hour before we got there.

Hunting in Colorado for mule deer and elk isn't like sitting in a box in front of a corn feeder in Texas. You need to be in shape, but lets not get over balanced here, take it easy, hunt hard and have a great time.

[QH's Paw]

I have to first say, I didn't have time to read over all the responses. So, I apologize if I'm repeating.
First, yes continue to condition your legs. Your lungs are gonna burn like a mother fer but, anything you do to help keep from cramps is going to make your trip better. Also, how ever much water you would usually drink in a similar situation at sea level, double it, at least. I can not stress the drink more water thing enough.
Lastly and most important, make sure everyone in your hunting party knows and can recognize the classic symptom of altitude sickness. Go online and research. It is nothing to be messed with. Everyone should be aware that at anytime when some one starts complaining about bad headaches, it may be time to move down the mountain.
DRINK MORE WATER!!!

How high elevation are you planning on hunting?

[assateague]

I know there are pills you can take to help with altitude sickness, they might help.

What about something that restricts your breathing during exercise to make your lungs work harder, like wearing a dust mask?
I'm just talking out of my ass on the last part, don't know if it would actually help.

I generally just use a cigarette for that.

[3legged_lab]

I know there are pills you can take to help with altitude sickness, they might help.

What about something that restricts your breathing during exercise to make your lungs work harder, like wearing a dust mask?
I'm just talking out of my ass on the last part, don't know if it would actually help.

I generally just use a cigarette for that.

Or a coca leaf?

[flight control]

I know there are pills you can take to help with altitude sickness, they might help.

What about something that restricts your breathing during exercise to make your lungs work harder, like wearing a dust mask?
I'm just talking out of my ass on the last part, don't know if it would actually help.

I generally just use a cigarette for that.

Or a coca leaf?

Autoerotic asphyxiation. Come on guys get on the ball

[FlintRiverFowler]

I don't live at sea level but I'm a low lander in Georgia, I've been out west a few times snow skiing and on summer vacation once where we went over some really high passses where the elk were at. I can't say I've ever really been able to tell a difference out there with the altitude, skiing makes you tired as hell anyways. Ski all day go to sleep early and get up and do it again for 3-4 days then get back on the plane and go home you don't have time to notice. But I reckon with skiing all you're doing is riding a lift up and riding gravity down, not hiking and stalking elk so what do I know?

[Bulldog0156]

Seriously, don't do it.

[jehler]

No biggie, just bring plenty of liquor. Thinking back every time I've been hiking in the mountains I was tripping my balls off and never had an issue, maybe bring some LSD also

[Woody]

No biggie, just bring plenty of liquor. Thinking back every time I've been hiking in the mountains I was tripping my balls off and never had an issue, maybe bring some LSD also

LSD is to mountain climbing what a decompression chamber is to deep sea diving.

[Laguna Madre]

Thanks for all the advice. I used to live in Colorado back in the early 90's and backpacked all over the State and I climbed Mount Evans which is a 14k. But I was in my early 20's and fresh out of playing college soccer.

I am concerned about the altitude sickness which is why I'm leaving the whiskey back at base camp for celebratory purposes after I drop my first elk. I know to stay properly hydrated. I have a sleeping bag that is rated down to -30 and I've got my pack weighted down to about 70 lbs. We're going to hike in about 5 or so miles and set up a spike camp then glass the area and day hunt around our spike camp. If we don't see anything we'll pack up and keep moving until we find the herd. I'm super pumped and love hunting the high country. Again thanks for all the advice.

I'm interested in another opinion for those that wish to answer. I'm still doing some research on the best round for my 30.06 and am leaning towards a 180 grain nosler partition. I usually hunt with Winchester 150 grain silvertips (for Texas) and I have a really tight group and it drops whitetails and 250 lb wild hogs with no problem. Any recommendations for a good 30.06 round for elk. Again-thanks for all the advice.

[Bulldog0156]

I would try to lighten the pack even more. It may be really tough, but if you guys dump some elk you will be wishing you had. Honestly, I'd probably set up a base camp on a road somewhere and do day hikes from there. Starting 5 miles back and then dumping an elk another 3 miles farther from the truck would really suck without horses. I don't want to naysay too much, but realistically you guys might not be feeling too great by the time you get to camp!

Partition is the bullet. I shoot the 165 out of my 30.06 and can't complain.

[Laguna Madre]

I would try to lighten the pack even more. It may be really tough, but if you guys dump some elk you will be wishing you had. Honestly, I'd probably set up a base camp on a road somewhere and do day hikes from there. Starting 5 miles back and then dumping an elk another 3 miles farther from the truck would really suck without horses. I don't want to naysay too much, but realistically you guys might not be feeling too great by the time you get to camp!

Partition is the bullet. I shoot the 165 out of my 30.06 and can't complain.

Do you find the 165 has adequate knock down power and is flatter shooting than the 180 and an overall better round out to 300 or 350? I know about the weight of my pack but with my old Marine Corps gear that is as light as I can get it. As funds allow I'm going to start replacing my backpacking gear with more lightweight gear. Right now I'm going with what I got. If I knock down an elk I'll have two other buddies to help pack it out.

I'd like to stay close to base camp but I think we'll need to get away from the roads and day hunters if we're going to be successful. Everybody says packing out an elk sucks but again the plan is to just take it slow. I've always had to learn the hard way and I really want to get one and am willing to work for it. Here a few pics of our base camp from 2009. I have the Cabelas deluxe Alanak II mountain tent and it was awesome. It was 10 degrees and snowing but a comfortable 70 degrees inside our tent.

[Bulldog0156]

A 30.06 will kill an elk farther than most people could comfortably and realistically shoot. They do drop a lot compared to something like a 7mm, and I haven't shot mine past 200 yards. I know the 180 will have more energy at longer distance, but if you boiler room an elk it won't matter. I'm hunting elk with my .243 this year cuz I shoot it way better than the 30.06 and am way more confident in my ability to make a good shot with it past 50 yards.