Altitude Training

joelkdouglas

Handloader
Jun 5, 2011
1,310
3
I try to do something every day to prepare for elk season. I don't get it done every day, but any day shooting, doing PT, even taking Kelly to the antique shop (so she is happier while I'm away!) I count as effort toward elk season.

The recent move to Wyoming (6000 ft) from North Dakota (0 ft) is tough. The altitude is kicking my ***!

So today I did some tougher altitude training. Training grounds in the background:

ArlpJNE.jpg


The trailhead starts at 8650 feet. The high point on the trail is around 8950 ft. Here's a picture of the trail:

rDcRVZi.jpg


I ran / walked when the terrain was too rocky just over 6 miles.

Here's the 3 mile turnaround point:

bjNbtdy.jpg


261DVqJ.jpg


There is a small herd of elk that lives in this area, but it's a tough tag to draw.

How do you guys acclimate to the altitude?

Oh yeah, Bill will not be surprised to hear I took a spill and bloodied my knee a bit. He knows I can be clumsy!
 
That is all the right stuff, Joel. Living in the higher altitude will work better than about anything, though hiking, as you are doing, will ensure that you begin to increase oxygen capacity.
 
I'm soon to be 55 YO , I'm a non smoker . I live around 1500 / 1800 elevation . I walk a lot , almost daily . I wear my heaviest hunting boots . I used to wear ankle weights , but I have stopped doing that ,my knees won't take it , and they screw up my gate . I have a loop around through the woods that is made up of dirt road , deer trail , making my own path , side hill , up and down hill , I walk at a very fast pace . when my walk starts to get quick , or I'm not getting worked hard , I put my pack on and start to add weight . I keep my walk about 45 minutes as near as I can figure it's about 3 miles . I add water filled bottles for weight , this way if I twist an ankle I dump the water and lighten the load . I've drove a few places that has a steeper incline , but not often . what I find when I go west at 8000- 10000 ft . I can keep up . I huff and puff . I usually can't close my mouth , but I can do whatever I need to do, or want to do . the guys that live at high elevation make it look so easy . the guys that live at low elevation , and don't try to get in shape suffer .
 
I am a odd duck here. I have never noticed a difference in altitude. I live in Iowa 1100 feet and even when I go to Colorado and have camped a 9000 feet and hunted higher never noticed a difference.
When I hike in some of our parks in Iowa I huff and puff on steep grades just like in Colorado the difference I see is in Iowa a big hill is 400 feet tall where in Colorado they just keep going and going.
I do fly a Plane for work and most days I will have a cabin altitude up around 10,000 feet.
Sounds like you are doing everthing you can just keep walking.
 
I agree with Scotty. It's almost cheating to be able to train in elk country! :)

I have been alternating through running, cycling, and hiking in a weighted pack to work on my conditioning. I live at about 500'.

Yesterday I took a 2.4 mile hike that went from 695' to 1590'. Some real steep grades and lots of PA's glacial rock. I was actually on THE Appalachian Trail for about 2/3 of the hike. Took 53-54 minutes to climb the slope with a 40lb pack plus hydro bladder with 1.5L.

Reversed course to get some work in descending through the rocks and on slopes with some weight on my back, bringing total hike to 4.8mi.

Never thought of Jim's water bottle idea, but I'm gonna use it now. Makes a lot of good sense.

My road runs are in the 5-5.5 mile range and I get 300' to 500' of vertical gain on an average run.

Cycling is 13-25 mile range and 1100' plus in vertical gains on most rides.

I try to get 4-6 workouts with a mix of the above so I don't break anything from overdoing one activity. Running is the toughest for injury avoidance.

I use a heart rate monitor and watch for improved HR recovery. So far, seeing great trends in resting heart rate and time to return to normal HR after exertion. I am hoping that translates to better acclimation to altitude. I'll know for sure in October. ;)
 
I forgot to mention , about 2 or 3 weeks before the hunt I keep doing my thing , but I stop carrying weight , I don't want to chance an injury . I feel if I'm not in shape by then another couple weeks is not going to make up for poor planning , if I get hurt I might not be 100% by time the hunt starts . I keep walking to try and keep what I have , but I'm way more careful .

Tom , you should be an animal with this training regimen .

Joel , nice pics .
 
I train at 1,000 feet and hate those who live in the mountains. My training focus is on doing uphill climbs, walking on flat ground buys you nothing. My frequent PT hike is 1200 vertical in a mile. As the season gets closer I add some weight to my day pack. I keep track of my times and distances and try to improve as the season gets closer. I do arrive at camp two or three days early and hike and scout at elevation. I cannot keep up with the guys I hunt with as they are nearly 1/2 my age, but I can get where I need to go. I have found after nearly 60 years in the woods that knowing where to go is more important than how fast you get there.
 
Elkman":3gflp433 said:
I train at 1,000 feet and hate those who live in the mountains. My training focus is on doing uphill climbs, walking on flat ground buys you nothing. My frequent PT hike is 1200 vertical in a mile. As the season gets closer I add some weight to my day pack. I keep track of my times and distances and try to improve as the season gets closer. I do arrive at camp two or three days early and hike and scout at elevation. I cannot keep up with the guys I hunt with as they are nearly 1/2 my age, but I can get where I need to go. I have found after nearly 60 years in the woods that knowing where to go is more important than how fast you get there.

You are an inspiration to us all Bill!
 
I hope to get out here to do some scouting for my buck tag and it's never too early to start watching the elk so I'm going to throw on my pack and take my dogs and go hike around. My house is about 3300 feet and over where I'll be hunting runs from around 4000 to 8000 feet.
 
Back
Top