General ? about elevation gains/hiking….

[Speaks]

I'm probably not a good one to answer that. Elevation seems to hit my harder than most, when it comes to sleeping. Generally, it sounds like you respond well to it. Just pay attention to how you're feeling and have a backup plan.

I dont have a problem performing at elevation on day one, but sleeping at elevation is hard and my recovery is next to non-existent. Hiked up 13ers 2 days in a row last summer after sleeping a little over 10k feet and it was rough.... Took me a few days to get my HR right after that. And I was in really good shape.

 

[getcervid]

YMMV, but most of the people I know, and myself included, look at 1000 ft gained per mile to be an aggressive rate of gain. It’s the kind of steepness that I look for in a training hike, but may avoid during a season. Especially if holding that gain rate for 3 miles, gaining that 3,000 feet is time consuming. It’s a different deal than just doing that for the last 500 or 750 vertical feet to get to a glassing knob or ridge that’s adjacent to a main trail.

Example: I did a 3 mile/3k feet hike on a trail for spring bear and it took 3 hours of hiking and a 30 minute break in the middle with a day pack on. That was to get from 3800’ to 6800’ (I do cardio 2-3 times a week for the last year and have trimmed myself down to an acceptable BMI in this last year).

Another thing I keep in mind- steep hikes mean steep country. If a hike is that steep, it may mean that any game I spot off of or beyond my trail could be exceedingly difficult to get to, and navigating off trail could be an issue. Harder to hunt, but not impossible.

If you have the time and the opportunity, I say give it a go. It’s good to push yourself, you will learn a lot, and it will help you plan future hunts and hikes.

 

[justinspicher]

I’d say don’t be in a hurry. The mountain isn’t going anywhere and nobody cares how fast you get up. Whats the point of hauling ass to the top if all you do is scare everything away or you’re too out of breath to take a shot?

I live in colorado, I’m out all the time and I still adhere to the convo rule. If I can’t have a conversation while I’m hiking up, I’m going too fast and I certainly can’t take a shot.

 

[taskswap]

Everyone is different. I'm 50, in moderate shape, 183lbs as of this morning. I've hunted CO since 2016. For me, a "well, that was a lot of work" day is >= 8mi and 2500'. I have friends that would barely make it half that distance, and others who think I'M the slowpoke. You're going to have to know your limits.

I would say the biggest risk for any flatlander is altitude sickness, not general exhaustion. You get above 9500' or so and you could just be stacking firewood and get laid low. And a common misconception with it is that fitness matters - trained athletes regularly suffer from it. Everyone is different. Go slow, give yourselves plenty of time to get acclimated, and good luck!

 

[ckaz34]

What elevation are you starting at? I struggle to recover when I’m above 10K ft. I’d try to stay in zone 1-2. I’m miserable once I hit zone 4. I did one mtb race above 10K ft and will never do that again. I couldn’t get my HR below 150 even when coasting.