Smoke effects?

[elkyinzer]

Looks like I'm going to have to deal with smoke from the wildfires this year in Idaho....never experienced that before. What kind of effects can I expect over the course of a week and a half?

Does it affect your ability to hoof it uphill? I think I am in good enough shape...young, athletic, and healthy but I'm not an extreme super bivy wildnerness man either. I may kick up my cardio training the last few weeks if it will have an effect.

Also I wear contacts and my eyes already get crispy in the bone-dry air out West, can I expect that to be worse with the smoke?

 

[bivouaclarry]

It's not good right now. Red flag at the moment. It really depends on where you are hunting. Check this link for the latest conditions:

http://www.deq.idaho.gov/air-quality/monitoring/daily-reports-and-forecasts.aspx

You'll feel it in your lungs and nasal passages. More irritation. It'll affect your contact lenses as well.

 

[BroodBuster]

I've always noticed it most in the mornings waking up with a sore throat and a desire to suck down a gallon of water. And you'll want to pack some eye drops as it sucks on eyeballs too. I thought my lasic surgery would fix that but my eyes seem to be as sensitive to the smoke with or without contacts.

But you get sort of use to it. Until the next morning anyways.

 

[trdhunter]

We are getting lots of smoke in the air here in utah from the fires further north. I noticed a little irritation in my eyes but I really noticed glassing very far away is a pain the ass. Makes spotting animals on hillsides I would normally be able to glass impossible to even see.

 

[Ryan Avery]

The air is terrible in Coeur D' Alene. Was out checking trail camera this morning and my eye were burning!

 

[The John]

As others have said, your throat, nose and eyes will be the most affected. I would try to not seriously exert yourself as it could be unhealthy for you. Its totally manageable to get though and hunt hard, but not without some irritation/issues.

 

[airlocksniffer]

To tag on this topic, any insight on to how smoke affects elk and other huntable critters? Other than us not being able to glass effectively, perhaps they need more water, are more active during the day, etc? Maybe it doesn't affect them at all but I'm guessing that's not the case.

 

[Archerm]

In 2007 we had a lot of smoke in SW Montana. It didn't seem to affect the animals where we were hunting. More of a mental thing. The smoke normally settles in the valleys at night.

 

[brewer427]

I will say I think it helps mask human odors. I was hunting in the Pintlers a couple years ago and ran into elk a few times with the wind heading there direction. I don't think it gets rid of it completely, but from that experience I do believe it helps mask us.

 

[BroodBuster]

Good point on the vis. Probably effects the hunter more than the prey. Just like being in a cloud all week. Which sucks!

And good point on it settling in the valleys at night. Smoke makes for an excellent visual confirmation of how thermals work.

Great cover scent though .

 

[Scot E]

itchy eyes and headaches are what I have to worry about. We had pretty bad smoky conditions 3 years ago and glassing dawn and dusk was nearly impossible so be prepared to change up your hunting style a bit if needed. Once the sun hit your glassing area you may have real issues.

I agree, it is a great cover scent. It definitely affects how they smell.