I'm just wondering what some of the guys on here in their 40's, 50's, and 60's do each year to keep in shape so they can hunt the mountains?
...Sounds like some of you get to hunt so much that this is not an issue.
That's awesome and would be my first choice!!
I'll give you a little background as to why I would ask....My first hunt last year was a archery elk hunt in New Mexico. We did our homework, got lucky in the draws, and went DIY. After a several months of early morning exercise, we were all smiles and headed for the mountains. We camped on the edge of a wilderness area and hit the trailhead at first light on day 1 with spike camps in tow. We had decent gear and were carrying about 38 lbs. Well, from here on, the plan kinda went south. One time a guy on this forum said "when you look at Google Earth, expect everything to be twice as rough in person..." All I'm going to say is "Amen to that." We hiked towards our first intended hunt area and realized we had overestimated how far we could hike in a reasonable amount of time + considering the realities of getting a bull packed back to camp. A few miles into the wilderness, we opted for Plan B and went cross country to some canyons that looked promising. We lost about 1700 feet in elevation to get there. That was rough on the legs.
A buddy of mine once told me "trails are where they are for a reason." I think I have a listening problem. Anyway, we reached the canyons pretty whipped around 1pm. We actually found some bulls doing some mid day bugling at this point. After a quick check on the GPS and map, the realization sat in that we were get going to have major problems getting an elk out of the canyon as well. After a break and some discussion, we thought that the best thing to do would be to jump on the nearest trail and grunt it back to camp, scratch the spike camp thing, and just start fresh hunting out of base camp. After a hailstorm, gaining the 1700 feet of elevation back, and crawling through a mess of deadfall in the dark, we stumbled back into base camp a little before midnight. The next day my hunting partner and I felt like we'd be run over by a herd of horses! Day 2, we put our plan to work and had an uneventful but good day. We hunted out of base camp with much lighter day packs. On day 3, about 3 miles from the truck, my knee started to hurt. It got progressively worse where I couldn't walk on it. Fortunately, I was able to limp back down the trail about 2 miles where my buddy could pick me up with the truck. That was the end of the hunt for me. After getting home and getting checked out by the doc, they told me nothing was torn and I'd just "aggravated" the joint from not stretching out good. I'm very humbled to say that I'm doing good now and have started working out again for another try this fall.
I have to admit this was a sobering experience for me. I know there is a lot written about "extreme hunting" and "wilderness athletes" these days. More power to anyone who would put themselves in that category. I would just tell anyone who is new to hunting out west to go slow, have a plan, and be smart about it. Be careful not to get yourself into something that you can't get out of.
Like I said at the beginning of the post, I'm just wondering what some of the older guys have say about staying in shape so that their legs and back can make the trip each year and hopefully pack some meat back to camp. In a few years, I'll be knocking on 40 and I want to be able to get out there and enjoy these hunts as long as possible.
...Sounds like some of you get to hunt so much that this is not an issue.
That's awesome and would be my first choice!!I'll give you a little background as to why I would ask....My first hunt last year was a archery elk hunt in New Mexico. We did our homework, got lucky in the draws, and went DIY. After a several months of early morning exercise, we were all smiles and headed for the mountains. We camped on the edge of a wilderness area and hit the trailhead at first light on day 1 with spike camps in tow. We had decent gear and were carrying about 38 lbs. Well, from here on, the plan kinda went south. One time a guy on this forum said "when you look at Google Earth, expect everything to be twice as rough in person..." All I'm going to say is "Amen to that." We hiked towards our first intended hunt area and realized we had overestimated how far we could hike in a reasonable amount of time + considering the realities of getting a bull packed back to camp. A few miles into the wilderness, we opted for Plan B and went cross country to some canyons that looked promising. We lost about 1700 feet in elevation to get there. That was rough on the legs.
A buddy of mine once told me "trails are where they are for a reason." I think I have a listening problem.
Anyway, we reached the canyons pretty whipped around 1pm. We actually found some bulls doing some mid day bugling at this point. After a quick check on the GPS and map, the realization sat in that we were get going to have major problems getting an elk out of the canyon as well. After a break and some discussion, we thought that the best thing to do would be to jump on the nearest trail and grunt it back to camp, scratch the spike camp thing, and just start fresh hunting out of base camp. After a hailstorm, gaining the 1700 feet of elevation back, and crawling through a mess of deadfall in the dark, we stumbled back into base camp a little before midnight. The next day my hunting partner and I felt like we'd be run over by a herd of horses! Day 2, we put our plan to work and had an uneventful but good day. We hunted out of base camp with much lighter day packs. On day 3, about 3 miles from the truck, my knee started to hurt. It got progressively worse where I couldn't walk on it. Fortunately, I was able to limp back down the trail about 2 miles where my buddy could pick me up with the truck. That was the end of the hunt for me. After getting home and getting checked out by the doc, they told me nothing was torn and I'd just "aggravated" the joint from not stretching out good. I'm very humbled to say that I'm doing good now and have started working out again for another try this fall.I have to admit this was a sobering experience for me. I know there is a lot written about "extreme hunting" and "wilderness athletes" these days. More power to anyone who would put themselves in that category. I would just tell anyone who is new to hunting out west to go slow, have a plan, and be smart about it. Be careful not to get yourself into something that you can't get out of.
Like I said at the beginning of the post, I'm just wondering what some of the older guys have say about staying in shape so that their legs and back can make the trip each year and hopefully pack some meat back to camp. In a few years, I'll be knocking on 40 and I want to be able to get out there and enjoy these hunts as long as possible.
