Well yesterday started our workout program for our Alaska Moose/caribou adventure in September.
I figure about 500 miles in my boots and pack between now and then. Plus too much heavy lifting to total. LOL
Got my first mile in yesterday and will be doing one mile a day this week without pack. Just too get the kinks out. Then the fanny pack will go on with 20# for a couple of weeks as we move up too 2 miles. After that the back pack will come into play with a 40# bag of wood pellets.
By August we should be up to 4 miles with full packs.
We will also be doing some core strength training on the universal gym. Just got to find it in the garage. LOL
Already excited and 8 months too go.
Mike
Awesome!! Are you guys doin' a float or drop?
I hear ya Mike,
I have a wilderness elk hunt in Wyoming this year and I have started getting ready for it myself. I now have to pratice with my bow to be able to come to full draw it instead of being able to hit with it.
The one thing I can't get ready for though is the 12 hour horseback ride back into camp.
I used to think that those older guys were full of it when they would go on and on about how they hurt but I now see what they were talking about, I go to bed hurting and wake up hurting sometimes in a totally new place.
Good luck, we will get there by time to go.
Mike
Yep, after 40 I started to remember my dad getting out of bed and hobbling to start the fire.
Heck as 60 approaches it's just hard to get out of bed.
We are doing a drop camp with John Havard. Same place they got the big bull this year.
Mike
Mike Yancy, Get a nice thick sheep skin to put on that saddle! They may laugh at first, but they'll probably be jealous later!
wingnut - don't forget, lots and lots of pictures! Seriously, I hope you have a great adventure!
Mike,
Another tip is bike shorts under your jeans when riding long distance. Try to find a horse to ride this summer so you can legup before you go.
I hate horses!!
Mike
I am with in the same boat!
Planning a Sept. moose hunt also. I went XC skiing yesterday for about 6 miles. Snowshoing tomorrow. Hope to alternate these two activities until the snow melts, then start running!
Sept.'s coming!!
chris <><
I have done some 14+ milers on horseback into a wilderness area here in Oregon. Almost couldn't stand up when I got off the horse! Now I know why John Wayne walked like that!
I'm with you fellas...Wilderness elk hunt in Wyoming if I draw or Colorado if I don't. I have not been on a horse in 10 years. Gonna take the offer from a friend and try to ride some this summer. My 7th elk hunt in 10 years but first on a horse! Training for/doing 3 triathlons this summer to offset my 40th birthday blues to get ready...Come on September!
Good luck, Mike. Eight months of the same for me until my punishment in Colorado.
Mr. wingnut,
Good to hear of your common sense approach and being as prepared as you can be, to hunt in this wonderful country of ours. It does offer its challenges but the rewards can be great.
Best of luck on your hunt!
Is this your first trip up North?
Best Wishes
Wingnut way to go! My health has been bad the last 6 years due to an injury but I'm going this fall to Northern Alberta to hunt Moose or Elk with my son who guides up there .So much to get ready .All the best and enjoy the Whole process.
Mike,
The total gym is right there in the garage with the wet clothes hanging on it- same place my Bowflex is!!!!
Mike Yancey, How many miles does 12 hours on horse back get you?
Hey Mike! Didja' get my recipe for Bacon Cheeseburgers with extra sauce, and garlic fries?
Have a wonderful hunt and don't hurt yourself doing the conditioning, 40# is quite a bit of weight-would be for this old fart anyway.
Good to see you've got your conditioning incrementally planned out. Too many guys rush into conditioning and end up getting burned out or hurt. They end up in less shape than if they eased into it (speaking from personal experience). It's much easier though when you have a hunt like that to look forward to!
What part of Alaska are you going to hunt, Mike?
MG
We will be flying in out of Tok.
Bjorn,
40# is light compared to carrying the moose back too the strip.
Mike
Here ya go Mike! I took this from sled hill I think the a day after your last trip here! Glad to see that you'll be ready for the hills! Also leave that flu bug at home this time! LOL!!
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/TokJohn223/Dsc01221.jpg)
Let me know your schedule when the hunt gets closer
Shall do John.
That's the place all right. And no flu this time for sure. Going to get some of that flu med to take on the trip jsut too make sure.
Mike
Hey Mike,
Get comfortable in hip boots!
Hey John,
long time, hope you had a great xmas and new year!
I wanna go :( Sounds like my dream hunt. Good luck with the conditioning.
Good luck, Mike! I want to do that someday. i saw a moose in person in Canada last year and they are cool looking critters.
Bisch
Just got back. 498 to go!!
LOL
seems like a long ways but heck ya can't eat a whale at one sitting either.
Mike
Wingnut,
I can't wait to hear from you as the year progresses with your conditioning, but more over your trip when it comes around. I desperately want to do a wilderness moose/caribou hunt myself, but haven't a clue on how to start planning it. Can't think of any hunt I'd rather do.
Tim
You are all lucky dogs!!! Good luck.
Sounds like a dream come true!
Mike Yancey,
As a former mounted cop, I can understand what you will feel like after 12 hours when not conditioned to it. The muscles on your inner thighs hardly get used except for the same activity.
After doing that for many years in all kinds of weather ... my back hurts ... and I like my car better.
However, I would never turn down a trip to hunt like that and would relish the opportunity.
Well - there you have a dedicated hunter ! I bet you will have a good hunt ahead, since you take the workout so seriously (as one should if you ask me;) )
Speaking of core strength I went to a pilates class with my wife last summer just to be sociable and was amazed what a good workout it is. No equipment required except for a mat, male to female ration of 1:15.
Well today we not only get to walk but test our cold weather clothing. 23 degrees adn 30 mph winds.
Got my new Microtex outfit and will change and head out afte work.
Mike
If I could make ONE SUGGESTION- Take one of the buckets of Baby wipes along. You may laugh, but I have hunted off horses ( 10 days each time) twice in BC. You will cover a lot of miles and if you don't keep the bottom clean, you will really be sorry. I laughed at the outfitter when he used them the first couple days. Then I started looking for them myself. :bigsmyl:
Mike - Beings that I am a few years older then you and knowing how distances get longer & hills steeper with time and knowing the general area that you'll be hunting I just got to ask. You have any hills around where you live that you can walk up & down?? Getting the old ankles and calf muscles strenthened as well as stretching the old achilles should be all a part of it if possible. I'm looking at a draw only sheep hunt where I have my cabin and been snowshoeing my line with backpack & side bags load with about 35lbs of my trapping stuff. The line runs up the side of the Alaska Range here and I do this trek about twice a week instead of using my snow machine all the time. I want to be half way in shape if I draw that sheep tag. If I do then the conditioning program will be upped a few levels.
AkDan - Back at ya!! I've been laying low & just having fun from spending tons of time out in the bush the past few months.
I will be following this closely, as a Moose hunt is on my short list Mike!
I can feel the excitment...
John,
Yep I'm doing hills everyday. They are not as big as in Alaska but will do the trick.
Also doing stretching to make sure this old body will move when needed.
LOL
Mike
Follow everyone's advice to do some riding (take it SERIOUSLY from a horse person!)beforehand. Otherwise, no matter what kind of shape you are in, you WILL have thighs that will be screaming at you (constantly).
The horses that most outfitters have are what we call "easy keepers".........which is just a polite term meaning that they are almost as broad as they are long!!!! Just joking of course, but seriously, you won't see many "skinny" horses on an outfitter's string. To a non-horse rider, it is difficult to explain the "stresses" that a horse's back will place on your inner thighs......it is something that will be eventually discovered (following a multi-hour ride over rough country).
No matter what shape you are in, if your legs are screaming at you, it will make walking excrutiating (even on flat ground).
My advice.....find someone with a horse that will let you ride (often) or sign up to take lessons (at least you will get some saddle time).
Well my hunt is plane ride not horse ride. Mike is on his own. LOL
Been hitting the road each day in temps that are dang cold here in TX. Got to test my new MicroTex parka yesterday. It was 23 and it was dang warm.
Going to try the whole outfit today.
Next week I'll wear my fanny pack on my one mile walks.
I'm doing the mile in 14 minutes so it's a pretty brisk pace.
Starting to feel better too. The soreness in the legs has gone away and the body is kicking into got get em mode.
Mike
Mike,
Well I guess I wasted your time with the horse information......sorry about that...guess I just assumed along with some other folks.
Seems like you got the conditioning part or plan down to an art and science.
Maybe a trip or two to Colorado to do some high county workouts (sure does a world of good for the endurance factor).
I don't recall that many good hills in your part of Texas (at least not in the area of Cleburne or Glen Rose - where I worked for a few years), but if there are, search them out.
I have relatives in AK, so have been there a few times.....if you'll be in any area with a good bit of water (ie; anywhere in AK other than where you would be hunting Dalls), buy a set of Cabela's trapper's hip boots (you'll notice the right ones in their catalog). Wear them some and get used to them. Good heavy duty hippers that fit better than most. One pair should last the average hunter a lifetime.
I envy you being able to go......maybe next year for me (or at least when the job allows).
Good luck with your condition......and better luck with the moose and caribou.
Tony
Mike,
Don't forget to exercise the smaller, oft forgotten muscle groups. The arm and finger muscles involved in manual dexterity will help with hand eye coordination. Such excercise can be gotten by feeding osage through band saws, working rasps and files, tillering bows etc... In fact, I suggest you get to work on this immediately on a 57# bumblebee oracle... :bigsmyl: :bigsmyl: :bigsmyl: