Went on a shoulder season elk hunt in central MT last weekend that required snowshoes which gave me a whole new outlook/ perspective on fitness/ workouts. Went with a buddy who didn't fill his non-resident tag during the general season so I was focused on getting him one. The hike in wasn't so bad at about 30-40deg as we were able to stay on top of the snow for the most part. Got in to a few cows bedded down under the trees and out of the wind at the base of a hill. Buddy and a guy we teamed up with both got small cows. I passed on a shot because I knew packing out 2 was going to be difficult and thankfully my freezer is full. Boy am I glad I passed. I packed out 2 front shoulders for my buddy and we post-holed most of the 2+ mi back to the truck because we could not stay on top of the snow with the added weight. It was exhausting in the crusty windblown snow, never-mind the steady 20-30mi winds once we got out from behind the hill, and the plummeting temperature- it read 5deg when we got back to the truck; god knows what the wind-chill factor was. In the end we estimated we snow-shoed at least 6mi that day. Going to have to adjust my workouts accordingly.
We have enough youth, how about a fountain of SMART???
