Recently did two High Peaks in the Adirondack Mountains this past weekend. Let me tell you something: I thought my legs were in shape with all of the mt. biking and road touring I do, not a chance was I prepared for the soreness that I have had the last two days! One peak is 5,114 feet and the other is 4,587ft to the summits. The starting elevation is 2,201 ft. Although I had no trouble doing the climb and the hike down, total being 15 miles round trip back to the vehicle. Just didn't see it coming. But the next day, I could barely get my legs to move. Jumped on the bike somehow the next morning, which actually felt pretty good until I tried to walk down the Post Office steps when I made it to town. I felt like I aged 20 years! While on the hike I had twenty pounds on my back, mostly water weight. The terrain was nothing less than climbing I would have to say, some areas you needed to claw your way up, stretching from point to point. Made very good time for not being there in awhile.

Hats off to the guys and gals out west that hall the elk quarters back to camp:-) It's likely you deserve every bit of the elk you carry, no questions asked. I am going to do much more steep climbs before I do go to the west, it can only help.

I was a little over 60 when I saw the light about backpacking elk quarters. The legs weren't going to be doing that too many more years. I got llamas and life has been good.

Inferring from your post, it looks like you climbed 3000+ vertical feet. Absolute elevation comes into play with lack of oxygen but I find the lack of oxygen more important than leg strength. 3000 vertical feet is alot. I do alot of hiking in the Smokys which have tbe highest peaks in the east. I also hunt out west every year. I find anything much over a 2000 foot vertical climb is tough. Last Thursday I climbed 2100 vertical feet in Wyoming over 1.35 miles at 9000 feet elevation. It sucked. I decided I didn't want to pack an elk from there plus I didn't care for the elk sign/habitat. I will be hunting an area a couple miles away. I'll be climbing 2000 vertical feet over 2.5-3 miles. The first 1.5 miles is fairly flat so most of the climb will be in last mile or so. It is doable. I'll leave 2 hours before daylight to get on top without rushing and sweating.

What peaks did you do? I did Seward on Saturday. Pack in was about 42 pounds, pack up was about 26 pounds.
I agree packing Elk quarters is a young mans game. But at 45, I was glad I was still able to do it.

The two peaks were, Algonquin and Wright. About 15 miles total where I parked.

They are on my list. Great job!

Thanks maybe see you there someday.

Did Algonquin last year along with Phelps. Did Marcy and giant mountain this year. Love it up there, wish there were more game to hunt.

I agree. The ADK's are dead to game. It's a playground for the granola crunchies. They need logging and some wildfires to clear out the tall growth and allow undergrowth for browse for the rabbits, deer, turkey, raccoon...........More meadows, beaver ponds....more game is needed
Heck, I saw one red squirrel and heard what seemed like one bird the whole time I was there.

Agreed, I get a really good laugh at the forced use of bear canisters at the loj. For the imaginary nuisance bears.

Hauling heavy loads almost never gets my quads but hip flexors and glutes on the other hand....

Not too many years ago there was a bear nicknamed, "Yellow Bear" She frequented Panther gorge Lean-to on a regular basis. I think two years ago the bear was taken by a hunter and the outcry was insane. Somehow, the bear became a local novelty with people which in itself is sad.

I almost ran into a bear coming out of the gorge one morning from a stay over when we did Marcy, Little Haystack, and Haystack mt, one big loop. I felt an eerie presence and the hair on my neck was standing up, and it was dead calm. Not a comfortable feeling. The bear was there, I had seen a fresh track in the mud so I just knew it wasn't far off. Being in a Boreal forest and a thick canopy of trees was almost surreal, the Adirondacks are quite unique to this type of forest, bigger timber then Ontario but much the same in some parts I gather.

I ran into a sow with a cub yesterday. They were bedded down next to the carcass of my elk. They'd eaten part of a shoulder I had hanging. If I'm going to lose meat, I don't mind a sow/cub getting it so much.