Flatlander Fitness

[midwestcowboy]

Thanks @T-town best of luck to you this year as well!

 

[Marble]

3 days of acclimation goes a long way. Don’t just sit around. Work on camp. Set up. Cut wood. Take a few medium hikes. Get used to the time difference. Eat good meals and get some sleep. That’s way better than jumping out of the truck or worse yet off of a plane, strapping on your backpack and hitting the mountain.

When I saw three days, I was impressed.

I'll mention also for the OP: Be sure to drink plenty of fluids those first few days. You will lose a significant amount of fluid daily at altitude compared to lower elevation.

I would set out 3-4 liters in the morning and make sure you drink it all during the day.

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[midwestcowboy]

Definitely going to remind him keep up on the fluids. I drink so much damn water every day just existing out here. Elevation + sun sucks it right outta ya @Marble

I forgot to mention in the original post that thankfully my buddy is driving out here. Long trip but IMO it makes sense having two rigs for the span of time. Cover more ground if we split up for a few days, extra gear, water, and food storage at the trucks.

 

[LaFever]

Don't forget people come to Colorado and become seriously sick hiking in the mountains.
So be aware of your friend's condition during your hunting trip
My feelings are that he's not gonna understand his responsibilities during y'all's hunting trip until he tries the first time.

 

[Poser]

It normally takes me at least 3 -4 days to acclimate to the altitude. Until then, I definitely question if any of my training prep was helpful.

The more time, the better. I have a partner that comes out every year from close to sea level for what always ends up being a total grind fest of a hunt. After the first couple of years, he started giving himself about a week in town to acclimate (just hanging out) and then he would head into our base camp (about 3,000 feet higher than town) 3-5 days before me so he would usually end up with 10-12 days at altitude before the hunt. Once he started doing this, his performance improvement was dramatic.

1 day is better than nothing, but it really doesn't gain you much on a dramatic acclimation adaptation. 3 days is quite a bit better than 1, but. 7-10 days will come close to equalizing the situation. Think about how dialed in you feel at the end of a 7-10 day hunt. Now consider if that is your starting point.

 

[midwestcowboy]

@Poser I can really only get him out here 3 days prior because of his job. But I totally hear you - if I was able to get him out here for 1-2 weeks prior around 6.5k before going up to 9k, it'd be a night and day difference from an elev acclimation perspective.

I really wish he would've taken me up on training this summer using my oxygen depletion mask. While it def can't mimic the effects of altitude fully, it can at least restrict your breathing and prep those longs for some strain.

 

[cbuck516]

I think each person uniquely responds to altitude based on their own biology, training, and nutrition. I really don't have any issue going from 1200' up to around 7000-9000' and doing 12 or more miles on day one with a heavy bag, but I have my system dialed to be able to do that. My first trip out west I bonked pretty hard by day 7, but I needed that experience to understand where my shortcomings were in my training an nutrition.

I definitely notice my breathing being a little labored when I arrive in the mountains, but I don't feel like it has ever slowed me down. A friend of mine gets sick every time he comes out west with me and has yet to fill his tag, but his biology and preparation are way different than mine.