Physical Training ForMountain Hunts
Last spring I realized there was a hilly spot away from my normal travel routes but only 30 miles from my house around the other side of a big lake near me. A long, rocky escarpment parallels the waterfront there, providing 250 feet of very abrupt elevation gain. I determined that number by using Google Earth before I even drove over there for my first training visit.
In mid-April I began my outdoor training regimen. About 5 days a week until the time of my June 1st hunt I would climb up and down the hills above the lake surface. I'd spend an hour to an hour and a half doing laps up and down. It's a developed hiking trail that is so steep that railroad ties are used for part of it to reduce erosion. Parts of it are steeper than most developed trails in the western national parks. There is also an optional observation tower that I would challenge repeatedly. It has about 60 steps. On wet days it enabled me to continue training when the natural earthen trails were dangerously wet and slippery.
It is a very scenic, pleasant spot to spend an hour or so. I did not find it hard at all to go there day after day. The final two weeks before the bear hunt I wore a 27 pound backpack. I also did some hiking in town on level ground and some biking but the hill climbing was about 90% of my total program in terms of its effectiveness.
Since I was 25 years old horseback riding has been painful for my knees. In the past on horseback hunts my knees would hurt so much after as little as 30 minutes of riding that I would sometimes dismount and hike while others continued to ride. This year on my bear hunt I never once dismounted to favor my knees. I was comfortable 98% of the time astride "Steel", my new favorite horse.
I even remember feeling an unfamiliar, slight muscle soreness developing in my inner, upper thighs. Soon I realized my knees were so comfortable that I was now using my upper legs the way you're supposed to in balancing on horses. I had never had knees that wouldn't scream at me if I had tried doing that before.
I did less hiking and more riding on the hunt than normal, and I killed my bear on the second evening of the 6 day scheduled hunt. So it remains to be seen on my first mountain hunt this fall whether this new training regimen is the magic solution to training effectively. But at this time I am optimistic that it is and I look forward to my fall western states hunting season. I'll be on one guided Wyoming mountain hunt for deer and another for elk with my son Andy. In addition Andy and I will be on a DIY deer hunt together at 4,000 feet on foot in Montana.
In mid-April I began my outdoor training regimen. About 5 days a week until the time of my June 1st hunt I would climb up and down the hills above the lake surface. I'd spend an hour to an hour and a half doing laps up and down. It's a developed hiking trail that is so steep that railroad ties are used for part of it to reduce erosion. Parts of it are steeper than most developed trails in the western national parks. There is also an optional observation tower that I would challenge repeatedly. It has about 60 steps. On wet days it enabled me to continue training when the natural earthen trails were dangerously wet and slippery.
It is a very scenic, pleasant spot to spend an hour or so. I did not find it hard at all to go there day after day. The final two weeks before the bear hunt I wore a 27 pound backpack. I also did some hiking in town on level ground and some biking but the hill climbing was about 90% of my total program in terms of its effectiveness.
Since I was 25 years old horseback riding has been painful for my knees. In the past on horseback hunts my knees would hurt so much after as little as 30 minutes of riding that I would sometimes dismount and hike while others continued to ride. This year on my bear hunt I never once dismounted to favor my knees. I was comfortable 98% of the time astride "Steel", my new favorite horse.
I even remember feeling an unfamiliar, slight muscle soreness developing in my inner, upper thighs. Soon I realized my knees were so comfortable that I was now using my upper legs the way you're supposed to in balancing on horses. I had never had knees that wouldn't scream at me if I had tried doing that before.
I did less hiking and more riding on the hunt than normal, and I killed my bear on the second evening of the 6 day scheduled hunt. So it remains to be seen on my first mountain hunt this fall whether this new training regimen is the magic solution to training effectively. But at this time I am optimistic that it is and I look forward to my fall western states hunting season. I'll be on one guided Wyoming mountain hunt for deer and another for elk with my son Andy. In addition Andy and I will be on a DIY deer hunt together at 4,000 feet on foot in Montana.
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