Getting physically burnt out on day one of elk hunt

A

americanbwana

New member
Sep 3, 2017
396
Man one of the things I dislike about elk hunting is getting completely spent on day one of the hunt.

I spend all summer long running and getting shape, yet by the end of day one I\'m exhausted :sick: . My legs are cramped up, and my arse is dragging.

This happened to me last year. I\'d spent the better part of the summer carrying my training back pack with 50+ lbs of sand, was running, and dropped 20 lbs.

Opening day, I got up, made sure to eat, drank an extra bottle of water then headed off. The tactic that morning was to silent call. So I went about .5 mile from camp (not a steep climb, almost level actually), sat and called for an hour, then moved a quarter mile and did it again. At each break I made sure to drink water and have some trail mix. However by about 11 AM I was spent.

I looked at the GPS track when I got back to to the house and saw that I had only traveled a little over a mile that day. I even strapped the pack on (With training weight) and did my 4.25 mile walk in about an hour and 15 without an issue.

Honestly I can\'t understand it. What did I do wrong? :dk:

AB
 
Even with all of the weight, there is no real way to simulate the altitude as well as the terrain. Walking down the sidewalk is a lot different than walking sidehill, uphill, and downhill. It sounds like you are on the right track to stay hydrated with water. I would maybe try to add some gatorade to the mix as well. That does a little more than just water. I typically try to drink one gatorade for every 3 or 4 waters that I drink. Another thing you could try is those little 5 hour energy bottles. Those don\'t do much to me, but I know for some they work great. One other suggestion would be to maybe take it a little slower. You might not cover the same ground as quick, but it might help you cover more ground.

When you are out walking, are you out there all day Dana? Or are you coming back for lunch? If you are out there all day and just munching on trail mix, I would suggest mixing that up a bit and bringing a sandwich or something. Eating good meals always tends to help with keeping the energy up.

I\'ll admit that typically by the end of the day, I am spent as well. A couple of advil combined with a good dinner and a good nights rest and I am ready to do it all over again the next day :D
 
AB,

Here are some things that have helped me over the years.

First off, how much did you change up your daily waking/falling asleep hours.

Before I head off to my hunt, I will start waking up earlier to correlate with the times I will get up for my hunting days.
For example, during my normal work week, I wake up at 4:30AM and I am usually in bed by 9.

Well during the hunting weeks, I can be up anywhere from 3-4AM. So it goes against my natural sleep pattern that I have already established and that will tire me down a little.

So if you can adjust your sleep pattern before you start your hunt, that will pay off.


Now hydration. You mentioned that you drank an extra bottle of water the morning of your hunt, how about the day prior.
I\'ve played many years of sports, I am a avid runner, and hiking nut. When it comes the hydration, you need to be prepped the day before as well. If you drank like crap the day before, you will feel it the next day. This is the same for foods as well. I am always planning for the future days.


My last thought is on heat. Whenever I am too warm or that morning light hits my face, the inner sleepy man wants to come out. I always make sure I am not overdressed for the occasion.






I am sure you know all of this, but these are just some tips that have helped me through the ages.
You are talking to a guy who last year took 30 days off to hunt 5 different states (whitetail)
Everyday was up at 3:30 and bed at 8-9. I also hunt all day with no naps, so I have really gotten in tune with my body, so I am able to do it!
 
Really? You gotta be kidding me! You covered only a little over a mile on mostly level ground with at least two one hour breaks for silent calling along the way, at you were spent?

Sounds like you have a serious problem. Are you diabetic? When was the last time you had a good physical and an A1C?
 
Don\'t forget the mental energy you burn during the hunt that you don\'t burn in training.
 
dana i have alot of the same issues. i know some guys that dont work out a day an go all over the mnts. then i work out 5 times a week an it kills me. im not sure there is a good answer other than i believe in genetics. how your muscles fire an recover. theres not much you can do about it.
 
Add extra potassium to help with cramps. I get leg cramps if I do not add extra potassium. I use potassium capsules and Endure Performance Electrolyte drops in my water which has Magnesium, Chloride, Sodium and Potassium. I do not like sports drinks or energy drinks. I also have the Endure Electrolytes in capsule form. This has helped me the the last few years. No more leg cramps.

2nd thing is to stretch at least a little before sitting down. I learned this the hard way when I did CO Ride the Rockies multi day bike tour over CO mountain passes. I would stop at rest stops too long and have a hard time getting up. I learned to stretched before sitting down to snack and it worked out well.

I am really bad about stretching. However, it helps a great deal.

I like to hike in and hurry up to sit down in my calling spot. 30-60 minutes later it is hard to stand up. Each year gets harder, so stretching is becoming more important for me to last all day and for multiple days.

It my be a simple lack of the right minerals that is zapping you.
 
Dana......You live in Colorado. Do you train at the same altitude that you hunt?
 
Pete,
Yep in Denver. I\'m actually changing up my routine a bit this year. I have a personal goal to summit a 14r in June, then spend a weekend up at altitude in July scouting, checking gear, and where I\'m at in terms of conditioning.

I think the problem is more around hydration, food and medication. I setup camp the day before during breaks in the rain and probably got dehydrated. To make matters worse (Looking back in hindsight), it was muggy that night so I sweated a lot. The water the next morning was a 16oz gatorade, bottle of water and coffee.

This year I\'m planning on heading up to the hunting spot two days before opening day. This will give me two nights at elevation (One day to recover from the hike in) to acclimate. Oh and loosing weight allowed me to get rid of some meds I was taking. They would dry me out no matter how much water / Gatorade I drank.

Lessons learned.
1. Drink way more water than you think you\'ll need (The day before also)
2. Make sure you eat right (The day before also)
3. Slow down when making camp. Don\'t over do it.

AB
 
Yes, staying hydrated is very important at altitude. I\'ve gotten away from using Gatorade, and use Wilderness Athlete now. I feel it works much better. I get the tub of powder, and mix my own.

<!-- m --><a class=\"postlink\" href=\"http://wildernessathlete.com/shop/energy-hydration/natural-hydration-drink/\">http://wildernessathlete.com/shop/energ ... ion-drink/</a><!-- m -->
 
Dana you may want to do a dry run in this summer and see how the hike in will affect you.
A full pack with a weeks worth of grub, and all of your hunting gear.
Unless you do a lot of back packing you may not like the outcome.
 
Lew,
Yea that kind of the plan for the July trip. I\'ll pack up everything except the hunting specific gear (replace it with some fishing gear), then head up the trail. Set up camp, stay two nights (Scouting and fishing), then head back to the home stead.

Just training with the heavy sandbag laden pack really helped my stamina for my 1st Rifle Season hunt last year. I\'ll continue with that regiment two or three days a week, and \'hopefully\' one or two trips a month on one of the hog back trails by Chatfield.

My plan is to have an elk hanging by Sunday August 31st :upthumb: , so I\'ll only need four days of food in the pack (Thurs - Sunday). If not then I\'ll run down to the truck to reload (About 4 miles on an established trail).

NOTE to Elk. Ignore the man in the camo. I am not the human you are looking for. The spoon is not real.

AB
 
You say have one hanging by August 31st. When does your season start out there? I will hope to have my antelope down by then. Maybe I can make some antelope jerky for my Elk hunt! :D


If you don\'t mind me asking, what does your workout routine look like?
 
Opens the 30th.

Deer/elk (west of I-25 and Unit 140) Aug. 30?Sept. 28

Last year I was running three times a week (about 3 miles), with one or two days of pack training (Saturday morning usually). My pack trail is about 4 mile long with a 500\' elevation gain.

This year has been running, biking and now starting the pack training again. To be honest I haven\'t been as disciplined with fitness this year as last. I did 3.1 miles yesterday in 58 minutes with a 35# pack. Not a marathon, but better than sitting around watching TV.

AB
 
Dana, I think you hit the nail on the head that you must have been dehydrated and/or lacking in nutrition. With the training you are doing, there is no way the altitude should have that much of an effect on you. I don\'t do anything close to what you are doing but am able to get around pretty good. Keep at it, but definitely pay attention when you are up there. Altitude alone requires more to stay hydrated. Keep tabs on your urine as well...how frequent and what color. Keep it clear and you should be good.
 
I read once and I forget the exact details but your body can only absorb a ounce or so of water every 10-15 minutes. The amount that it can\'t absorb goes to urine. So its better to sip more often than guzzle down a great amount at once. Again I don\'t remember the exact amount or time frame. Probably one of those hydration bladders and tubes would be the way to go.
 
Dana I don\'t think you did anything wrong, and pretty much everything right. If you conditioned as you said you did and live in Denver, then a little over a mile with stops in between did not exhaust you! Eleven months of anticipation and planning, coupled with a little less sleep for a few days, (big bulls), first day adrenalin, equals more mental than physical tiredness.

Just get in the flow and you will be fine. When running crosscountry in high school that first half mile was bad, but get in your rhythm and you could finish strong! It\'s not a sprint!
 
Don\'t discount the energy used mentally during the hunt. I know I mentioned it already, but it\'s important to be aware of it.

Try to stay relaxed and calm. If you get yourself too jacked up with excitement. It can drain you.
 
Dana: I suspect your body has not had sufficient time to adjust to the high altitude. Everyone is different. I was told about a fellow that was hospitalized due to going to a high country Colorado hunter rendezvous. The guest of honor was not accustomed to the high elevation. Probably you need a day to set up camp, then another day to just hang out before you start your hunt.
 
i tell my hunt group, they have to be honest and vocal.

last time, one guy was trying to put on the brave face. we crushed him. he lost toe nails and everything. he was done. he packed up his truck and left. brutal..what a waste of time and money.

he needed to be honest and we would have taken it easy a few days to let him acclimate. he didnt say a thing.
 
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