the feet is a big one for me too.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.
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.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.
Packing meat out is bar far my toughest part of the hunt. I do it in as little trips as possible.Definitely, packing game out is the toughest part. I never make the drive non-stop, and always sleep as high as I can (even in a motel) before the pack in. Then be the turtle and not the hare. I find it is easiest when hunting solo, as I can set my own pace and there is no "competition. Properly packing meat and hiking poles are my saving grace. And the biggest lesson learned....don't take any shortcuts unless you absolutely KNOW where it goes and what the terrain is like.
It sure can. Where how sometimes I shake it off, and others it shakes me up.the dark sucks when alone
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.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.
That's my plan. To make sure the plan is executed properly I just don't bother shooting anything.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.