Forums
New posts
Search forums
What's new
Articles
Latest reviews
Author list
Classifieds
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles and first posts only
Search titles only
By:
New posts
Search forums
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Forums
Hunting
How To Hunt Big Game
Elk hunt
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Frog4aday" data-source="post: 1598929" data-attributes="member: 9308"><p>So much great advice given already. Having lived in CO off and on for 16 years, I will add this: </p><p>1) Pack a LOT of water! You will need it. You will drink it. It is very dry and you will sweat a ton hiking at high altitude. Pack the amount of water you THINK you'll need then double that. Perfect.</p><p>2) Bring aspirin/tylenol (pick your favorite headache medicine.) You WILL get headaches coming from Louisiana. Altitude sickness is a real thing. The older you are, the more likely you are to be affected. People have died from it. No lie! Google it. Remember that tip about "bring lots of water"? Drinking water helps you feel not so bad and can help the altitude sickness pass quicker.</p><p>3) Bring sunscreen and use it. You WILL get sunburned. When you are hiking around at 7000 to 12000 feet, there is a lot less atmosphere between you and Mr. Sun. And that means the intensity is much higher. It takes no time at all to get a sunburn at altitude.</p><p>4) Along those same lines...bring SUNGLASSES! It is bright when the sun comes out and if there is snow on the ground, you can even get 'snow-blindness' (basically your corneas get sunburned.)</p><p>5) Bring a 4X4 truck or SUV. You drive up to your hunting area. The road is fine. You go hunting and over the next few days it snows and then snows again. The road is now a complete, rutted mess and slippery as hell. A 4X4 becomes your best friend. Chains are recommended, too. Mountain passes are often restricted access during inclement weather and are only open to those with snow tires (they have a snowflake on them and are NOT your 'all-season' radials) or chains. If you don't have a 4X4, at least bring a truck with a differential lock. Every little 'edge' helps you get to where you want to go and get you back home again. Those tire chains for the snow? They help in the mud, too.</p><p>6) Bring a dedicated GPS. Don't just trust your phone! When you get to your camp/base site, mark that as a HOME BASE in your phone and in the GPS. Take both devices with you every time you hike out of camp. You will thank me for this... Phones get lost. Batteries die. The darn map/gps function goes tits up because of that fall on the rocks yesterday. The back-up GPS can save your a-s-s. Bring extra batteries for it. That dedicated GPS is also GREAT for marking an area you find after hiking all day that seems to have tons of sign (and bugling?) but you have no idea if you can find THAT spot again tomorrow. I just checked and Garmin even has some GPS units with Satellite Communication functions. AWESOME! You get one, your buddy gets one and you can communicate even when there is no cell signal. And plan for there to be no cell signal. Seriously. It's mountainous and you are in the middle of nowhere.</p><p>7) Pray for snow the first day of your hunt. That's crazy, right? But here's the deal, it will help you figure out where the elk are MUCH FASTER. You can find their tracks so much easier if there is snow on the ground. You have no control over this, I know. I'm just saying. Don't see snow as the enemy. It's your friend when it comes to an out-of-state hunter trying to cut elk sign so he/she can search in the right areas.</p><p></p><p>I'm sure as soon as I hit "Post Reply" something else will pop into my mind, but this should be good for covering what others haven't yet. Guide or not, I say GO FOR IT! You'll have a blast. You'll have great memories. And maybe, just maybe, you'll get an elk. Odds aren't in your favor, but if it was easy and guaranteed, it wouldn't be as fun and rewarding. Good luck.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Frog4aday, post: 1598929, member: 9308"] So much great advice given already. Having lived in CO off and on for 16 years, I will add this: 1) Pack a LOT of water! You will need it. You will drink it. It is very dry and you will sweat a ton hiking at high altitude. Pack the amount of water you THINK you'll need then double that. Perfect. 2) Bring aspirin/tylenol (pick your favorite headache medicine.) You WILL get headaches coming from Louisiana. Altitude sickness is a real thing. The older you are, the more likely you are to be affected. People have died from it. No lie! Google it. Remember that tip about "bring lots of water"? Drinking water helps you feel not so bad and can help the altitude sickness pass quicker. 3) Bring sunscreen and use it. You WILL get sunburned. When you are hiking around at 7000 to 12000 feet, there is a lot less atmosphere between you and Mr. Sun. And that means the intensity is much higher. It takes no time at all to get a sunburn at altitude. 4) Along those same lines...bring SUNGLASSES! It is bright when the sun comes out and if there is snow on the ground, you can even get 'snow-blindness' (basically your corneas get sunburned.) 5) Bring a 4X4 truck or SUV. You drive up to your hunting area. The road is fine. You go hunting and over the next few days it snows and then snows again. The road is now a complete, rutted mess and slippery as hell. A 4X4 becomes your best friend. Chains are recommended, too. Mountain passes are often restricted access during inclement weather and are only open to those with snow tires (they have a snowflake on them and are NOT your 'all-season' radials) or chains. If you don't have a 4X4, at least bring a truck with a differential lock. Every little 'edge' helps you get to where you want to go and get you back home again. Those tire chains for the snow? They help in the mud, too. 6) Bring a dedicated GPS. Don't just trust your phone! When you get to your camp/base site, mark that as a HOME BASE in your phone and in the GPS. Take both devices with you every time you hike out of camp. You will thank me for this... Phones get lost. Batteries die. The darn map/gps function goes tits up because of that fall on the rocks yesterday. The back-up GPS can save your a-s-s. Bring extra batteries for it. That dedicated GPS is also GREAT for marking an area you find after hiking all day that seems to have tons of sign (and bugling?) but you have no idea if you can find THAT spot again tomorrow. I just checked and Garmin even has some GPS units with Satellite Communication functions. AWESOME! You get one, your buddy gets one and you can communicate even when there is no cell signal. And plan for there to be no cell signal. Seriously. It's mountainous and you are in the middle of nowhere. 7) Pray for snow the first day of your hunt. That's crazy, right? But here's the deal, it will help you figure out where the elk are MUCH FASTER. You can find their tracks so much easier if there is snow on the ground. You have no control over this, I know. I'm just saying. Don't see snow as the enemy. It's your friend when it comes to an out-of-state hunter trying to cut elk sign so he/she can search in the right areas. I'm sure as soon as I hit "Post Reply" something else will pop into my mind, but this should be good for covering what others haven't yet. Guide or not, I say GO FOR IT! You'll have a blast. You'll have great memories. And maybe, just maybe, you'll get an elk. Odds aren't in your favor, but if it was easy and guaranteed, it wouldn't be as fun and rewarding. Good luck. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Forums
Hunting
How To Hunt Big Game
Elk hunt
Top