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.

 

[Huntinmechanic]

The trick to getting more elevation gain than you should be able to without burnout or injury is taking a lot of breaks. One year fire fighting in an Oregon wilderness area I watched some out of shape, over weight guys go up some really steep challenging dry creek beds, 10 miles round trip, day after day outlasting guys in much better shape. Fascinating. So one day I had the opportunity to hang back with the crew they were on to chat and pick their brains. They were the first to admit they were out of shape and barely passed the minimum fitness test, but they also knew the trick to surviving was taking breaks regularly if they felt like it or not. Every half hour they stopped for 10 minutes so they were not the first up the hill by a long shot, but they could grind it out at that pace day after day when many of the faster thinner guys were dropping out with sore knees after the first week. I’m still fascinated by it.

My Marine Corp recruiter in 2002 told me the same thing. I was 20 years old, 250# and 6' 5" at the time. We did basic rucking and hiking exercises in the hills around my hometown to get in shape. I wasn't the fastest of the recruits, but I paced myself and was able to go further with less discomfort. I ended up getting very lean and ran sub 7 minute miles. What I'd give to be my prime 20 year old body with my mid 40's knowledge!!

 

[HairyScandinavian]

49 years old and hunting with three 23 year olds. Stay with the truck and send the 23's up lol. Let them blow the Elk out and catch them on the way down.
Edit: Having said that I'm 49 yo and 230 lbs going in this year and I will outlast my 24 year old 165 lb son and 125 lb wife and it won't even be close. If you have long legs, good leg strength so they're not operating at peak strength, and pace yourself you'll be fine.

 

[5MilesBack]

I know there’s a ton of variables but wondering what the general thoughts are on what is considered “a lot” or “too much”?

I've been hunting elk for 45 years. Never have I even checked what my elevation gains have been. If I want to hunt somewhere specific, I hike to it. I know my GPS tracks that stuff, but I always blow right past that screen. The numbers aren't important to me.

Someone mentioned the Manitou Incline above, I've done that thing many many times since it's just across town. This is the first I've even paid attention to of what the actual elevation change is. There's one particular place I like to hunt that getting into it is very similar to the Incline except without the steps. It's somewhere around .60 mile hike. There have been times when I'm solo several days into a hunt when I started up it, and then asked myself "do I really want to pack an elk out of here today". Then turned around and hunted elsewhere that day. Let your body dictate how much is too much.

I've told the story here before about not letting your heavy pack get ahead of you while hiking down. It was on this particular slope while hauling out a load of meat. The weight got ahead of me as I cross-sloped, and gravity took over. If a tree hadn't stopped me after about 50 yards, I probably would have made it all the way to the bottom. Luckily the pack load hit the tree, and it was a grassy slope area of the hike instead of the rocky portion. Like someone said above, there are times when coming down hurts more than going up.

 

[mad_angler]

Not really. Southern MI is awfully flat. One of the main reasons I took the wife out and hiked in this area was to get a feel for where I was at training wise as well as the general layout of the area. Was very worthwhile. Lots of good responses here so far though so I appreciate all the insight! Trail head is around 8 and where we are looking at is around 10,200 fwiw

2,300 feet in 3.2 miles is about 7% incline (I think).

You could load up your pack and do that on a treadmill. It would give you a rough feel for it. BUT... we have oxygen in the midwest. There is no oxygen in Colorado

 

[bz_711]

If it's too steep you learn to work some sidehill into the approach

 

[taskswap]

Another hack for lots of terrain is to take lots of breaks. And I don't mean that "every 10 minutes" nonsense. I timed myself once. I did a hill climb on a local trail here where I went straight up without stopping, at a moderate pace. I think it was about 800' at about 6%. I was exhausted at the top, barely made it (and I'm used to the O2 levels) and it took a minute or two to get my breath and energy back.

The next day, I tried the same thing but I stopped like every 30 steps. I must have stopped two dozen times on the way up. But I only stopped for about 20-30 seconds tops, just to catch my breath and let the lactic acid wash out of my muscles. I don't remember the exact timings but I remember getting to the top in almost the same amount of time. And I wasn't wiped out when I was done.

You don't need to sprint and there's nobody to see you and make you feel embarrassed.

 

[HairyScandinavian]

The next day, I tried the same thing but I stopped like every 30 steps. I must have stopped two dozen times on the way up. But I only stopped for about 20-30 seconds tops, just to catch my breath and let the lactic acid wash out of my muscles. I don't remember the exact timings but I remember getting to the top in almost the same amount of time. And I wasn't wiped out when I was done.

You don't need to sprint and there's nobody to see you and make you feel embarrassed.

I've had to do this a few times and it works. On really steep gains I feel like a snail going up but once I get over the hump I'm fully functional and able to march along without extra breaks.

 

[HornPorn]

My Marine Corp recruiter in 2002 told me the same thing. I was 20 years old, 250# and 6' 5" at the time. We did basic rucking and hiking exercises in the hills around my hometown to get in shape. I wasn't the fastest of the recruits, but I paced myself and was able to go further with less discomfort. I ended up getting very lean and ran sub 7 minute miles. What I'd give to be my prime 20 year old body with my mid 40's knowledge!!

Wait, what? You said you are 49, but were 20 years old in 2002. I am 47 but I was 24 in 2002. You should have been 26 in 2002

Anyway, it sounds like you are going to be just fine since you already went out there and didn't have issues with the altitude. If it was going to knock your di*& in the dirt, it would have then. Assuming you are archery hunting given the dates and 4 people all going together, my biggest piece of advice is make sure everybody's knocks are pointing up and not down while hiking, and be very careful you all secure your arrows. The brush, especially when hiking through thick brush or blowdown, has a tendency to snag arrows out of your quiver which is a danger for everyone. Good luck!

 

[ozyclint]

Hiking into tahr country I did 4000ft in 1.8 miles in 8 hours with 55-60lb pack. walking in for 2 weeks.

 

[DrBeetleKill]

I think the main thing is to give yourself a day or two to acclimate, take scheduled breaks during the ascent, and start hydrating a couple of days before you get to CO. I’m a flatlander from Tx and I made the mistake of not hydrating and jumping right in once. I spent all day and night trying to recover.

 

[RedSmoke]

A hike like that is definitely a workout. My best advice to anyone who hasn't rucked in terrain like that is be conservative. Always keep in mind that every step into the mountains is another step it'll take to get out, and you'll want plenty of energy for the actual hunting and hopefully the pack out.