Where Do Folks Lose It Mentally?

[Rich M]

I've lost enthusiasm deer hunting at times - too many day with no sightings pretty much. But I'm talking over several months of hunting, not a short 10-15 day season.

Are we talking about physical exhaustion after climbing & hiking miles and hours every day for 7-10-15 days straight? Or is it about not seeing anything and keeping going instead of sleeping in?

Curious as to what folks say.

I find the competition on public land and private hunting leases to be more of a mental challenge than miles of thick pine trees. Private leases are the worst. At least on public you know what you're up against. On a private lease, your "buddies" are the guys screwing you over.

 

[TreeWalking]

Never worn down on a hunt where at end of day you head to running warm water, hot meal, bed and television. Not sure what the stress would be there.

Have gotten worn down out where your sleeping bag gets soggier from sweat night by night, you start to reek, are negative on calories, negative on water intake, muscles are not healing, digestive system is disrupted, the thin air makes going up ridges a lung burning journey while descents beat up tender knees, the ground seems harder each night and are not sleeping soundly. You know if get a critter down will need to make 5 pack outs over iffy terrain. Add in some crappy weather and Day 4 is tough. Keep putting one foot in front of the other and often will make some luck before run out of season.

 

[150plusB&C]

It’s freaking awesome


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[nursul]

I've lost enthusiasm deer hunting at times - too many day with no sightings pretty much. But I'm talking over several months of hunting, not a short 10-15 day season.

Are we talking about physical exhaustion after climbing & hiking miles and hours every day for 7-10-15 days straight? Or is it about not seeing anything and keeping going instead of sleeping in?

Curious as to what folks say.

I find the competition on public land and private hunting leases to be more of a mental challenge than miles of thick pine trees. Private leases are the worst. At least on public you know what you're up against. On a private lease, your "buddies" are the guys screwing you over.

If I keep it simple and go with the basic formula of attitude + effort = outcome. This often explains where things get off course for me in the backcountry.

 

[hardscrabbletoo]

I’ve been after whitetails for 50 years and turkey for 30...so long that when I started if you encountered any flavor of ‘big game’ in the woods you called all your pals and talked about it for weeks. I still get excited. Elk hunting in WY on a general tag this October and I get butterflies just thinking about it.

Just two things: altitude kicks me right up in the butt for a couple days and if I over do it I’ll be ready to quit before sundown; and I can’t stand chilling that approaches hypothermic. If my teeth chatter because I haven’t anticipated the conditions I am minutes away from climbing out of the stand and heading for the cabin, electric heat, a bowl of soup and a long nap.

I used to say the USMC removed whatever quit I had in me, but I’m not a kid anymore (like all you youngsters 50 and under) and a dose of discretion goes a long way towards curing the trouble your pride might get you into. Nevertheless, I’ve lost 20 lbs, I’m doing 50 minutes of high intensity strength training every other day, walking some serious hills for at least 3 miles every single day rain or shine and now that the weather is straightening up I’ll get back to some serious trail busting here in the GSMNP. The one thing I know for sure is that my mind gets tougher the more confidence I have in my legs!

 

[Stilpr]

For me, it is whenever I lose confidence in my plan. Usually at some point, I wonder What the hell im doing and whether I actually have any chance at all at finding or shooting Something.

I try to combat it with multiple spots, multiple back up plans, multiple strategies, and enough planning that I can convince myself that what I’m doing is based on a good strategy.

 

[*zap*]

I think that patience is important in avoiding mental/physical burnout. Good nutrition and a good amount of restful sleep will go a long way to keep your fire burning.

 

[FlyGuy]

I’ve thought about this a lot but its not a simple answer I don’t think. It’s a combination of things for sure, but it think it comes down to confidence, or a lack of it. But it seems to me that the more INexperienced you are, the more it’s a problem. Conversely, Years of dealing with unexpected problems and still finding success gives you confidence to fall back on when things go wrong. For the average first timer, the mental battle is going to be way different for a guy going solo - vs - a small group of buddies all on their first elk hunt - vs - a guy going out with a seasoned vet or outfitter.


These are the things that I think all play into it. Collectively, they can be tough on anyone, but much worse for those that haven’t had much experience overcoming them.


Physical exhaustion and days and days of discomfort: sleep deprivation is a killer. The anticipation and frantic packing, combined with long drives usually lead to a lack of sleep before you even start the trip. I recall thinking that I would be able to catch up on sleep once I got there and had no work deadlines. But the truth is you never get enough sleep on a hunt. And you are sleeping on the ground, which takes me a few nights to adjust to. You are typically losing weight from the negative calorie balance. This is all common stuff, but it sets the stage for your mind to start getting squirrelly on you.

Extended days of generalized anxiety: Being outside of your comfort zone for extended periods of time is very mentally taxing. To the inexperienced, just spending 5 nights in a tent w/o cell service is far outside of a persons comfort zone anymore. Being cold. Worrying about being cold. All the worry’s about stupid stuff like is everything is your pack that you actually need (which is why it’s so nice when you have your system down and your routine in place, but before you had that you probably wasted a lot of mental energy thinking about that kind of stuff.) The constant question, either in your head or from a partner, “what should we do next?”, when you really have no clue. Where to set camp? Where to hunt in the morning? Why aren’t we seeing any elk? Why didnt that elk come in to my calls? Did I filter that water correctly, is it going to make me sick? Not knowing the answers makes you keenly aware of how inadequate your knowledge is and erodes your confidence.


Dealing with and facing Fears, realistic or not, is extremely taxing mentally: Something as simple as hiking a few miles in the dark in unfamiliar areas. That alone can be stressful to anyone who hasn’t done it very much. And if that walk alone in the dark is weighing on your mind all day, then it takes away from the enjoyment of the day. Plenty of other fears to deal with other than that. Predators. Getting lost. Losing your headlamp. Falling/getting hurt. none are a deal killer, but they all add up.


Dealing with disappointment and unmet expectations:
it’s always way harder than you imagined it would be. It’s steeper that you expected. It’s way farther to reach that meadow than it looked to be on google earth. That glassing knob marked on your map turns out to be a freaking ridiculous 4 hour climb that you don’t even attempt. Too many other hunters. The altitude is just draining your energy. You didn’t train hard enough. The elk are quiet. For the previous 6-9 months you’ve been hyper-focused on how awesome this trip was going to be. Then the mtn punches you in the mouth as soon as you step out of the truck. Everything feels like it is going all wrong. That stuff starts to beat you down. Makes you want to get out and re-group.


Guilt: this one can be the hardest for me. After 7 days of no success and constantly dealing with all the challenges listed above, you start to feel bad about spending all this time and money for yourself and not with your family. I start to feel like I have to punch the tag to have some kind of proof that the investment was worth it. And, if my confidence is gone and I feel like I’m just aimlessly walking around for 3 more days with no clue what I’m doing and almost no chance of punching my tag, then I start to think that I should get home early and spend that time with them instead. It’s not correct, but I’ve had to fight my mind from going that way.

The funny thing is, all these hardships quickly become the most cherished memories of any hunt. But you don’t feel that way at the time. Right then it just sucks and you start asking yourself WTF am I doing out here?

Once you let your mind go and start to think that being in the truck driving home feels better than facing another day of getting your ass kicked on the mtn, then it’s almost impossible to turn it around.










You can’t cheat the mountain

 

[mountainman406]

Multiple spots are backup plans are a must have. If you’re confined to a single lease or spot, I’ve always just picked a high glassing point and sat down. Looking over everything sure does have a way of making you feel small and that’s when you can just enjoy being away from civilization and all the lights and sounds that go along with it.

Also, this story helps. A few years ago I hiked 11.5 miles without even seeing a track in the snow on the last day of rifle season. As I got to the last .25 mile mark I texted my dad saying my season was over. Right as I put my phone back in my pocket, a bull stood up out of his bed 35 yards from me and just stood there looking at me. I got back to my truck around midnight on the last day of the season with all of the elk quarters/head strapped to my four wheeler. IT ONLY TAKES 1 SECOND TO TURN YOUR WHOLE SEASON AROUND!

Sorry for the long winded response but I hope that helps. If you don’t suck it up and go over that next hill you will never know what you missed out on.


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[wyosteve]

I don't use seeing/killing something as the ultimate goal. Everyday there is something seen in nature that makes it a successful day. Might be an eagle catching a fish out of the river, a grizzly on the hillside, etc. So to me, every day is a success in some respect and that keeps me going.

 

[LongWayAround]

For me, it is whenever I lose confidence in my plan. Usually at some point, I wonder What the hell im doing and whether I actually have any chance at all at finding or shooting Something.

I try to combat it with multiple spots, multiple back up plans, multiple strategies, and enough planning that I can convince myself that what I’m doing is based on a good strategy.

I agree. Continually planning helps keep my head in the game. I'm usually pretty hard headed that I just need one opportunity and it might be just over the next rise. It's easy when the prospects look good. Once you've been at it for several days and it seems like your day-to-day success has diminished, you realize that you're tired. Then the reasons to quit start creeping in...

Oh it would be nice to rest for a day before returning to work/life. Camp food sucks. I'm tired of sleeping on the ground. Maybe it's been raining. Maybe it's too hot/too cold.

"Fatigue makes cowards of us all."
-George Patton

I've gone home a day early, feeling good about the decision until about the next afternoon. Then I regret it. I've never quit a couple of days in or halfway through a trip. It's that day seven or eight where the grind hits me. Other times it's been a reduction of effort. This happens when I don't feel pressured to succeed. Or when I have a group atmosphere. Alone, I just plan and push (often to a horizon I don't reach). But with a group, it's easy to have a few more beers. To bitch to your buddies. To let someone else decide.

Alone, you have to make your decisions and live with them. It's the next eleven months of regret or second guessing that will eat you.

If I go home empty, having given it my all, those months of waiting are much easier. The one that got away becomes the one that won't next time.

 

[5MilesBack]

I have no idea where they lose it.

 

[njdoxie]

very interesting thread, love all the responses..... for me, I run into issues because I’m so excited to be out elk hunting, and amped up with all the possibilities of how to spend the next day, that I don’t sleep well, so every day I wake up a little more tired than the previous day, which after 3 days or so, requires a rest day, otherwise I’m worn down and useless. Combine that with seeing no elk and it feels all my efforts are worthless. And on my rest day, I’m anxious because I feel I should be out hunting...aasahhhhh. IF I could just relax at night and sleep like a baby, I would be a much better hunter. I struggle with this when hunting and the rest of my life, been fighting it forever, and tried everything thing under the sun and then some.

On a side note, having a long hike back to camp in the dark is a weird thing, I do it, but don’t like it but can’t figure out why, but yet it’s exciting also and I feel really alive when I’m doing it.

But I’ve never given up or left early.

 

[*zap*]

Valarien root tea will help you sleep real good.

 

[150plusB&C]

Great post guys


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[netman]

I tell myself if I aint out here I aint killing nothing. You cant kill an animal at home or on the interstate rolling home. Stay in the game for your moment to shine.

 

[elkyinzer]

Grinding through physical pain is the hardest for me. Blisters, achy knees, sprained ankles, that kinda stuff really adds up day after day. You just gotta keep going one step at a time.

 

[Wrench]

I'd lose it if I had to lease a piece of land to hunt. I just hunt America.

 

[Professor]

I'd lose it if I had to lease a piece of land to hunt. I just hunt America.

You are right about that Wrench. It has come to that where I live in Georgia. We have very little public lands in Georgia. However when I was young all the millions of timber company acres served that purpose. You could hunt, fish, look for arrowheads, hike, camp, or whatever. Then the timber companies learned they could get some extra revenue leasing lands to hunters. Add to that all the people that have moved here. I had 20+ private properties I could hunt 20 years ago. Now I am down to my brother's property. There is no way around it. If I am to continue hunting here in Georgia I am going to have to join a club. It is terribly depressing.

 

[Newtosavage]

Only time I've ever lost patience with the hunt was back in the 70's and early 80's when there were so few deer in E. Texas that just seeing one was an accomplishment. Killing one with a bow was almost unheard of in those days. But I was young and eager and I usually stuck it out. Later on I learned more about where to hunt and when, and my sightings were much more frequent.

I've never lost interest while hunting the West. Too many things there to hold my interest besides the animals I'm pursuing. I have taken an afternoon "off" during a 9-day elk hunt from time to time, to rest or fish or because of weather.

I know some guys who approach hunting like a job and if you do that there will always be times when it's just not fun. I don't care to do that. If I'm not having fun, I do something else. A couple years ago, after having back surgery, 7 days of hunting 10K feet was all I could take and I was glad to be headed home to see my wife. We've been married a long time and it gets harder and harder for me to be away from her for more than a week or so.