Seeking help from all members.....
- Thread starter Finsandtines
- Start date
tdub24
Veteran member
Heading downhill is a killer for me. I played basketball too many years on hard surfaces it's done a number. Like others have said, heavy packs can be an issue when successful while solo.
kentuckyhunter
Member
Timberstalker
Veteran member
My feet are my biggest issue! I never seem to find the right boot. Packing heavy loads is second on the list, I did buy a new pack this year hoping that it distribute the weight better. I have found knee braces and a trekking pole to be a huge help in steep terrain. Dead fall is hard on my hips, it wears me out but I just keep pushing though it. Aleve is my friend, I don't go anywhere without it. I don't "train" for hunting, I just try to stay busy all summer working and taking walks with the wife now and then. Only once has my body let me down, it's a long story but it was an elk hunt in Hells Canyon and it was a foot race to the elk, I wasn't in as good of shape as the competition. I don't try to keep up with anyone but me after that experience, I pace myself for the long haul.
Last edited:
Fink
Veteran member
Two things stand out for me..
1: Climbing up the mountain, obviously.. When you come from 900ft elevation, anything north of 9,000 feet, and you're sucking air, regardless of physical conditioning. All summer long, I keep 75 pounds in a backpack, and hike the best local hill we have, a 250 ft elevation change over about 1/2 mile. Hitting that hill 4-5 times a week really helps me, in addition to running on the treadmill and stationary bike. When i exercise for a western hunt, I basically only focus on building leg, lung and heart strength and endurance.
2: This one is a little more tricky, but for me, it can be real difficult to get up early enough to hike to my spot in the dark, and also actually hunting until DARK, and then hiking back in the dark. If im being honest, it can be a little intimidating hiking longer distances, in the dark, in unfamiliar territory.
1: Climbing up the mountain, obviously.. When you come from 900ft elevation, anything north of 9,000 feet, and you're sucking air, regardless of physical conditioning. All summer long, I keep 75 pounds in a backpack, and hike the best local hill we have, a 250 ft elevation change over about 1/2 mile. Hitting that hill 4-5 times a week really helps me, in addition to running on the treadmill and stationary bike. When i exercise for a western hunt, I basically only focus on building leg, lung and heart strength and endurance.
2: This one is a little more tricky, but for me, it can be real difficult to get up early enough to hike to my spot in the dark, and also actually hunting until DARK, and then hiking back in the dark. If im being honest, it can be a little intimidating hiking longer distances, in the dark, in unfamiliar territory.
shootbrownelk
Veteran member
Timberstalker
Veteran member
P
I don't like dark either, I rarely stay till dark. I don't mind hiking in in the dark, just out. Not sure why.
B&C Blacktails
Active Member
- Mar 1, 2015
- 237
- 0
Packing meat out is bar far my toughest part of the hunt. I do it in as little trips as possible.
When you throw 100+extra lbs on the back at 10,000', that definitely changes the ball game.
Horsenhike
Very Active Member
JimP
Administrator
I have often wondered why it is that hiking out after dark is a problem for the same hunter that goes in before daylight?
Could it be that when they go in early that they know that it is going to get lighter as the day goes on and at night it is along time before daylight is going to come back?
I do know that one of my hunting buddies won't hike in either early or after dark just because he is scared of bears and mountain lions. I asked him one time why he was scared even when he was packing a rifle and he said that he just doesn't like them.
Could it be that when they go in early that they know that it is going to get lighter as the day goes on and at night it is along time before daylight is going to come back?
I do know that one of my hunting buddies won't hike in either early or after dark just because he is scared of bears and mountain lions. I asked him one time why he was scared even when he was packing a rifle and he said that he just doesn't like them.
Once after shooting a buck way up the side of a mountain, I finished cleaning it out just at dark. So my hands and arms are covered in blood.
I started walking down the mountain as my flashlight was getting dimmer and dimmer. Of course I'm thinking mountain lion in the back of my mind. I just about crapped myself when a sage grouse jumped up at my feet, I just knew it was the end.
I ended up getting back to our truck after 10pm.
My brother was asleep in the front seat so I know he was worried sick. Yea right.
Packing a heavy load when hiking over tundra is tough. Tundra lives to trip you; it's spongy and loose and wet. Especially when I'm carrying too much weight myself. I've done good so far this winter...down 27 pounds and exercising pretty regular, so maybe it will be a little easier this season.
Hiking at night is simply scarier. We're not the top of the food chain and are at a disadvantage in the dark.
Hiking at night is simply scarier. We're not the top of the food chain and are at a disadvantage in the dark.
MuleyHunter
Active Member
SunnyInCO
Member
That's my plan. To make sure the plan is executed properly I just don't bother shooting anything.
missjordan
Veteran member
My biggest struggle is coming down off steep hills, I feel like a newborn calf trying to stand sometimes! Especially in the snow, I'm hoping some trekking poles will help with my balance
Colorado Cowboy
Super Moderator
At different stages of life, different things are harder than others. When I was young, the hardest part was getting into the mountains enough.
Over the years the hardest thing for me has always been getting myself off the mountain. My knees have been in bad shape since I first hurt one of them playing college football. Altitude has never been a problem nor has been packing meat out.
Now that I am in my mid 70's the hardest part for me is knowing that I don't have all that many years left to climb the mountain. So today I'd have to say the hardest part now is going home from a hunt, as it might be my last one I get to go to the top of the mountain!
Over the years the hardest thing for me has always been getting myself off the mountain. My knees have been in bad shape since I first hurt one of them playing college football. Altitude has never been a problem nor has been packing meat out.
Now that I am in my mid 70's the hardest part for me is knowing that I don't have all that many years left to climb the mountain. So today I'd have to say the hardest part now is going home from a hunt, as it might be my last one I get to go to the top of the mountain!