CO - 66 unsuccessful hunt feedback

[Xxtavixx]

Hello everyone,

We hunted CO 66 first rifle last year and Im hoping to bounce some thoughts off those who may be more familiar with the area.

We didnt really expect to be successful our first year in the unit, but we were surprised to that many of the places we e-scouted did not match our expectations.

I don't know if the sat imagines that are used for that area are out of date or if that unit has a very high growth rate but places we found that looked like theyd be a good glassing knob were so thick that we couldnt see out of and some places that we expected there to be a meadow we found it was forested.

I also experienced my first time being altitude sick, like clock work over 12-12,500. I live at sea level. Ive been over 11-12 a few times but never experienced any issues.

If there is anyone familiar with the area, Id be interested in sharing some of the locations I looked at to see if maybe I should not have been surprised or if i was looking at the location and should not have identified it as a spot to either glass from or into.

Thanks!

 

[GringoBling]

I hunt that area, but not 66 specifically. Anytime you're going above the timberline, you probably should acclimate a bit. I started taking Diamox last year the day before getting into higher elevations and it works great.

 

[ELKhunter60]

When I was 19 I went out to Colorado mule deer hunting without doing any training. I was young and thought I was bullet proof. Got to about 11,000 and got altitude sickness pretty bad.

Since then I work out any time I plan on going on a hunt out west. My personal rule is I need to be able to jog 2 mile non-stop 3x a week before I go. I know, not a marathon but at any rate - I haven't gotten altitude sickness since I started doing this and I'm 55 now. The Diamox comment above is a good suggestion as well. Never used it but I've heard good things about it.

 

[Gerbdog]

Google earth vs reality is a kick in the pants for everyone on their first time out west, wouldnt let it bother you, now you know what to expect. To your growth rate comment... i dont know if you were looking at an old burn on the satellite image? maybe? if so, yes, they do fill in very fast if it wasnt a super hot burn.

 

[CAElkhunter]

Hydrate, Hydrate and then drink some more water. That helps ease altitude in my experience.

 

[prm]

Stay hydrated, and when you get to CO, spend a night at something like 8k elevation before moving up higher.

 

[trophyhill]

Yep I'll echo what Gerbdog said. The satellite images are deceiving. Thats why those who rely soley on escouting can be fooled when they get there. Boots on the ground and doing it the old fashioned way still rules.

 

[TheHammer]

Sounds like a great way to get educated! Failures or downturns are perfect lessons for your next trip. It happens to a lot of people. We all come up with systems that work for us individually. None of them are wrong as long as they work for that person. Took the wife on a scouting trip this year, she’s not in great shape(she looks like she could work out, but she doesn’t*) she applied my system and was able to climb to 13,132’ no issues.

 

[Amos Moses]

Bright moon and relatively warm weather with little snow made this year challenging in a lot of areas in Colorado.