CO Kicked My A$$

[SD_Prairie_Goat]

I just got back from my first elk hunt ever this year, and man let me tell you it kicked my ass... Here are some take away's that I learned:

1. Altitude is killer, being at 9300' + the whole trip meant:
   1. Constant headaches, worst of my life by far
   2. Couldn't breath, I could make it 20 steps before needing to take a rest to catch my breath. And I was pretty fit before the hunt started...
   3. Motivation was difficult when your head is constantly hurting, luckily I brought a lot of Ibuprofen which helped a lot
   4. It's difficult to want to eat enough calories when you feel like crap up high. The first couple days of the hunt I was dragging bad because I wasn't downing enough calories
   5. Always felt like I needed more water in that high dry air
2. I wish I could have scouted the unit before applying, but really wasn't an option for me this year.
   1. The timber was much thicker than anticipated which made spotting impossible in the planned area of the hunt
3. Oak brush is brutal
   1. Finally had a stalk (the only of the trip) on a 5x5 bull. 3 miles and up to 10,200' later no elk seen. Oak brush made the stalk impossible from what we thought we would be able to do
4. Besides not being able to breath, my body was in great shape for the hiking, except for my hip flexors, they were for sure the weak point. Not sure, but I think the way I wear my backpack may make this worse
5. Gun bearer and trekking poles are life savers. I wouldn't hunt in the mountains without this combination
6. Packed in way too many clothes, but its hard not to when the low the first couple nights was near below zero, made for a couple real cold nights of sleeping
   1. Wish I had one nice compact jacket that was warm, water-proof, and relatively light weight
7. Water is a much bigger deal than I thought.
   1. To try and help my head I was drinking 4L+ a day of water. With the closest water spot close to a mile from camp, you can see how this is a problem.
   2. I tried not to drink so much, but man I just felt constantly dehydrated while up there and couldn't drink enough water to fight back that feeling
   3. Also creeks that appear to be running, may be completely dry by the time its season, which can mean a big change in plans, or a longer hike for water
   4. Mountain house meals are great, except taking 0.4L of water to cook them really eats away at your water storage. Going forward I am not going to plan for so many meals using them
8. A good sleeping pad and bag are huge. I'm very glad I spent the extra money, space, and weight on a super wide (35") pad and a 10 deg bag (night 1 and 2 I wish I had about at -10 deg bag for that cold....)
9. Always bring a spotting scope. I was convinced by many people that a spotter wouldn't be required, when we moved camp I made room for it. without the spotter we would have never known that there was a legal bull in our one failed stalk
10. Talking with a couple of boys from Texas whom have hunted this unit for 25+ years, lack of up high pressure has made hunting the unit very difficult. They said even 5 years ago, outfitters would be high in the unit and displace the elk making it a much easier hunt. Nothing can be done about that, but I think that's why the statistics of this unit appeared much different from reality

Now, would I do it all over again in the same unit? No. The unit was very difficult for me, maybe I would do it again if it wasn't 9000' plus, but for sure no at that altitude. Going forward altitude is going to be a huge driving force in a unit if I decide to hunt it or not. Going from 1200' to 9000'+ just isn't realistic for my self, and asthma really doesn't help any with that either.


We'll see if I try to go back elk hunting somewhere next year. It was tough, and expensive at the end of the day. Have a lot of soul searching before I'd do it again, that's for sure.



Hope everyone else had/has better luck than I did!



Beautiful scenery at least:

 

[SD_Prairie_Goat]

Forgot to add, Thanks everyone that helped along the way, you guys are great

 

[Deleted member 28227]

Thanks for taking the time to do a write up of your hunt, I think a lot of times people only publish the success stories and as we all know failure is what really helps us learn.

That is a tough unit, no two ways about it. It’s kinda hard to explain the wall of oak brush to people, you just kinda have to see it for yourself.

Interesting comment about outfitters, I’m not entirely sure the number has changed, I know it’s the same number of outfitter permits, certainly though there are years where a bunch of DIY guess bring in horses. I do think the bigger change had been archery pressure, it’s up 400% in the unit since 2005, I think that heavy pressure early in the season really drives the elk into the nooks and crannies.

 

[Muskeez]

Altitude sickness pills may help on your next trip. Ask your Dr. for a prescription, and follow the directions completely. Especially the two days after the hunt when you are back down lower.

 

[dan.kirkpatrick]

Taking ginko balopa,and magnesium ahead of and during high altitude I think really helps,,I've been at 9000 to 10800 for over a week now w no headaches and now going after 2 ND season deer tomorrow at 11500

 

[recon6036]

I hunted Colorado 4 times. All 8500' and up. First 3 times I didn't have much trouble but the 4th time, the altitude really got to me. I was in pretty decent shape each time. I plan on going back to Colorado next year after taking a couple years off to chase Wyoming Whitetails. I'm a little worried, but going to try it again. Guess as flatlanders, you never know when altitude will affect you.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

I hunted Colorado 4 times. All 8500' and up. First 3 times I didn't have much trouble but the 4th time, the altitude really got to me. I was in pretty decent shape each time. I plan on going back to Colorado next year after taking a couple years off to chase Wyoming Whitetails. I'm a little worried, but going to try it again. Guess as flatlanders, you never know when altitude will affect you.

My wife has explained to me several times that there are a lot of factors and that some people are just effected more than others, fitness doesn’t really seem to be related, obviously giving your body time to adjust helps.

 

[SD_Prairie_Goat]

Altitude sickness pills may help on your next trip. Ask your Dr. for a prescription, and follow the directions completely. Especially the two days after the hunt when you are back down lower.

Never even thought about that. Next time I'll have to chat with the doc about it. Thanks for the heads up

Thanks for taking the time to do a write up of your hunt, I think a lot of times people only publish the success stories and as we all know failure is what really helps us learn.

That is a tough unit, no two ways about it. It’s kinda hard to explain the wall of oak brush to people, you just kinda have to see it for yourself.

Interesting comment about outfitters, I’m not entirely sure the number has changed, I know it’s the same number of outfitter permits, certainly though there are years where a bunch of DIY guess bring in horses. I do think the bigger change had been archery pressure, it’s up 400% in the unit since 2005, I think that heavy pressure early in the season really drives the elk into the nooks and crannies.

I think it was a change in unofficial outfitters from the sounds of it. Also, I didn't even see a hunter in the outfitters camp, so maybe they aren't filling the seats like they used to?

My wife has explained to me several times that there are a lot of factors and that some people are just effected more than others, fitness doesn’t really seem to be related, obviously giving your body time to adjust helps.

Probably didn't help I drove out after work and hiked a couple miles in on 2 hours of sleep at a rest stop on I80.... Learning important life lessons here.

 

[Big Slick]

We got to camp a couple of days before season which was at 9600’. It seemed to help get acclimated before working hard at that elevation.

 

[brownbear932008]

Elk gotta be one of the toughest critters out there in my book. They can live in some unforgiving country that makes them hard to get to. You learned a lot been there done that.

 

[LopeHunter]

As for gun bearer and walking sticks...you nailed it. This has saved me so many tumbles and scope crashes as slip and fall.

As for the dehydrated meals using water, well you need water. Quite a bit of the water we get in our normal, everyday life around the house is from food we eat. Fruit, veggies, meat...they all are sources of water. So, you need water and whether mix into a dehydrated meal or carry heavier and less shelf-stable items such as fresh fruit or veggies or meat to camp...you are carrying water one way or the other.

I find water is the toughest element for an early to mid-season spike hunt. Gathering water often requires dropping down in altitude which means you are not hunting if is daylight or you are not sleeping if is dark as gather the water. An option is to have a drop camp where horses carry the water and other items for you. That can limit your ability to shift locations if the critters are not in the drainage and will cost money to have the drop camp packed in. Sort of depends on your goals for your hunt and testing yourself vs. the mountain. I no longer feel the need to suffer just to know I can survive the suffering so will scratch a check for a drop camp or an outfitted camp. I do like being in the wilderness more than a motel-based hunt in a unit with roads every couple of miles criss-crossing the unit.

The altitude sickness can be very serious. A few people die yearly in Colorado when the symptoms are ignored and leads to the rare case of death. Often you can drop down in altitude 2000 or more feet for a night and recover. Is also best to not exert yourself the first couple of days at altitude though that is hard to do if only have a handful of days in the unit. Avoiding alcohol is reported as a good strategy when at altitude. If you use the medications then I think all of them make carbonated soda taste like skunk.

Great news is you are obviously observant and will improve your strategy and gear based on this hunt. Your learning curve will be quick. Not everyone achieves incremental improvement and ends up having the same struggles over and over.

 

[Muskeez]

My altitude pills were Acetazolamide, 125 mg, 2 times a day, one day before going up and continued 2 days after descent. The last time I used them after a big loop and 4 passes in the Maroon Bells, I stopped taking them once we got out of the mountains. When I got home I was incredibly sick! Next time I will follow the directions! The worst part of taking them is that it makes that much needed beer after a trip taste like crapp, same with Soda (anything carbonated)

 

[tteel]

I second Muskeez its also called Diamox. You can also use prednisone. The Diamox will make any carbonated beverage taste like a metal coin. I feel you on the oak brush and not being able to find good glassing points. I feel like i cant see past several hundred yards during archery season unless I am looking at a granite covered peak. Did you bivy or truck camp?

 

[Kiwi]

Useful report, thanks for posting. I also suffered in CO last year at 12000 feet, from sea level. Was fine after dropping down and going back up after 4 days or so.

 

[SD_Prairie_Goat]

1 step above a bivy:

As for the dehydrated meals using water, well you need water. Quite a bit of the water we get in our normal, everyday life around the house is from food we eat. Fruit, veggies, meat...they all are sources of water. So, you need water and whether mix into a dehydrated meal or carry heavier and less shelf-stable items such as fresh fruit or veggies or meat to camp...you are carrying water one way or the other.

Very true, I need to research food options better for the future. Peanut butter and tortillas was a good option, a little heavy but fairly energy dense.

I second Muskeez its also called Diamox. You can also use prednisone. The Diamox will make any carbonated beverage taste like a metal coin. I feel you on the oak brush and not being able to find good glassing points. I feel like i cant see past several hundred yards during archery season unless I am looking at a granite covered peak. Did you bivy or truck camp?

You guys and my experience this year, convinced me next time I go out I'm having a talk with my doc before leaving. I can live with pop tasting a little off if I avoid those freaking headaches next time!

 

[Gr8bawana]

You learned a tough lesson on your first elk hunt for sure. Elk hunting has a very steep learning curve.

 

[seigeto]

This sounds like my backpacking trip this past summer - altitude whipped my ass and sent me out days earlier than anticipated. It was a real bummer and I can only imagine how I'd feel if I'd had the same experience on a hunt. Do you think acclimating a few days in advance would have helped? I'm toying with that idea, for when I get to go on my first elk hunt (hoping for 2021). Appreciate the honesty and trip report!

 

[Bambistew]

Sounds like a rough hunt, but one you'll remember.

I'm glad I don't get altitude sickness. I was worried about it last fall. We hunted at 10k and I've been living at 200ft for the last 10 years. We don't hunt very high here in AK, maybe 5500-6000 tops. Where I hunt in MT its rarely over 9k. I grew up at about 4500. I could tell when I hit about 8500+/-, it got much harder for me to breath, but luckily I never had any issues associated with altitude sickness.

I've read that people with higher red cell counts do much better with altitude. I'm not sure how you could increase them prior, but I eat a lot of red meat and dark greens, not sure if it helps or not? I know that people that live at high altitudes have higher red blood cell counts.

 

[Bullshot]

I have found that even one night sleeping at altitude and being well hydrated before you "have at it" really helps with the altitude adjustment. As opposed to driving straight into it from a starting point of 1000 feet, and then splitting and stacking a weeks supply of wood right away.

 

[Ben Sellers]

My altitude pills were Acetazolamide, 125 mg, 2 times a day, one day before going up and continued 2 days after descent. The last time I used them after a big loop and 4 passes in the Maroon Bells, I stopped taking them once we got out of the mountains. When I got home I was incredibly sick! Next time I will follow the directions! The worst part of taking them is that it makes that much needed beer after a trip taste like crapp, same with Soda (anything carbonated)

I asked my Dr for a prescription last year since I live at 600ft and camped at 10,000 for my hunt. He told me absolutely no. He wouldn’t prescribe them unless someone was going very high, 14ish and higher, because of the side affects. He said they could be more dangerous than the altitude. He’s not a hunter but does a fair amount of up high backpacking.