Hyperboles aside, sure I feel your pain. But it's just another variable in the equation now a days and it puts the onus on us to know our units better than ever before. Too many people are focused on where the humans are, when. We should be focused on where the animals are.
Crispi’s all day. I have the Colorados and the Kenais. The wider toe boxes on the Crispis help on those long days when your feet swell or you want to wear a thicker sock. Highly recommend an aftermarket insole for a little extra cushion.
Vo2 max training will help. I also like zone 1 training for long durations (preferably with a heavy pack) to simulate the long arduous grind of packing in/ out. As others have said get there early and sleep as high as you can drive and then come down to get some light hiking/ glassing in.
I use the INNOREL ST344C. It is a solid performer for me so far. For sure on the heavy side, but very easy to deploy. Takes some getting used to for glassing with a ball head, but opens up a ton of different shooting positions. Most important thing, regardless of what you choose, is to practice...
Hey Stretch, I am not aware of any service out there, but I am in the same boat as you. The one thing I did was download google earth pro, flipped my map upside down (south was facing up) and the did the flyover mode on google earth. Opened up some new areas that I wasn't looking at in my hunt...