Critique my scouting plan for CO/1st rifle

[Hnthrdr]

Hot springs? Man, the cabin has running water and I assume it's hot.

I'm not opposed to a leisure/touristy/rest day *if* we have a solid hunting plan after the first couple days of scouting. But, again, I went to great pains to be sure she understood what she was signing up for. I honestly think she's going to be OK without a lot of pampering.

The problem with staying far away from elk until season opens is that there's no way to really know they exist without getting sorta close to them. I'm willing to risk bumping them for the chance to know they actually exist. It's a dilemma, I'll admit, but outside of having a giant block of private land to hunt or having a decade of experience on a particular spot of public land, I don't see a better way through it than to scout on foot and when we see elk or find sign, get out of there.

Glass man glass! I can know right where elk are from 2-5 miles away and not bother them in the least.

I’m sure you let her know what she was signing up for, but she is 13 and your daughter, remember it’s her tag and try to let her hunt if ya know what I mean, one of my best friends dads almost ruined him as a kid cause he always pushed him and he was a hunting fool but quit for a bit cause of dad… I’m am certain that your memories will last far longer than any elk meat or trophies, make sure she has fun the whole trip! Lots of grown men can’t hunt hard for 10 days in the mountains let alone a 13 yr old young lady, just my 2 cents

 

[cnelk]

I can’t wait for the hunt recap.

You don’t know what you don’t know

 

[TaperPin]

You’re going from essentially sea level to well above 10k’. . . odds are very good one or both of you will feel like crap from the altitude if you’ve never been at altitude for long periods before. Not just sluggish, but headaches, sick to your stomach and not even caring if you’re going to keep hunting. You may be lucky, but you need to understand how it effects you two and there has to be a backup plan for that - maybe sleeping down low to minimize the amount of time at altitude, worst case go way down in altitude and only hunt up high part of the day. Even when I lived in Colorado and enjoyed hiking 14ers regularly, I’m only good for 7,000’ of elevation gain over where I lived for overnight camping. Above that altitude I have to start limiting my time or I get grouchy quickly when over doing it.

You’re lucky to be there a number of days before the season to experiment and see how each of you do - every day helps you acclimate a little more.

 

[Bluumoon]

Whether we debone and pack out, or pay a packer, will depend on weather and distance and terrain, of course, but it's something I have considered. I don't mind paying a packer at all.

Packers aren’t widely available in my experience. Arrange and expect to pay before hand whether you use them or not.

 

[justinspicher]

I like your enthusiasm. I say go for it, you only live once.

 

[Chris in TN]

Glass man glass! I can know right where elk are from 2-5 miles away and not bother them in the least.

Again, that's the plan for the first two days. Day one is an easy hike (I said 6 miles round trip but we could be glassing within the first couple hundred yards). Day two is a much harder hike but there's glassing to be done the entire way up, every few hundred yards opens up new spots.

 

[Chris in TN]

You’re going from essentially sea level to well above 10k’. . . odds are very good one or both of you will feel like crap from the altitude if you’ve never been at altitude for long periods before. Not just sluggish, but headaches, sick to your stomach and not even caring if you’re going to keep hunting. You may be lucky, but you need to understand how it effects you two and there has to be a backup plan for that - maybe sleeping down low to minimize the amount of time at altitude, worst case go way down in altitude and only hunt up high part of the day. Even when I lived in Colorado and enjoyed hiking 14ers regularly, I’m only good for 7,000’ of elevation gain over where I lived for overnight camping. Above that altitude I have to start limiting my time or I get grouchy quickly when over doing it.

You’re lucky to be there a number of days before the season to experiment and see how each of you do - every day helps you acclimate a little more.

I've been above 11k a few times, I've hiked at 10k within the last 2 years, she's been at 8k-11k for several days in a row and even did some hiking (it was Yellowstone, which is a big place, I'd have to go look to see what the elevation was where we walked the furthest).

We have 4 spots picked out for a backup plan where we can camp between two of them and within 2-3 miles of the other two, for a contingency if either of us get sick at altitude. All of those spots are below 10k. I honestly don't think we'll have to use them but I've considered it seriously enough to have a plan.

Even on guided hunts we've done in the past dad and I have always showed up a day early, or more, to acclimate, and it's never been a problem. But admittedly we've never hunted at 10k.