Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting I feel old as F

This is good advice.
I planned an elk hunt in 1984. I started jogging 5-6 days a week, and I got in pretty good shape. After the elk hunt, I kept up the jogging for many years, until my doc said it’s to hard on your knees and hips. He suggested a tread mill, walk at a fast pace and add some incline. I’ve been doing that since I stopped jogging, 4-5 days a week and a couple days I’ll work out on a weight machine.
It takes a lot of dedication and some days I’d much rather do something other than work out. But it’s good for your health and gets you into hunting at an advanced age.
I’m 71.
I’ve hunted elk the last two falls and will again this fall. And I do lots of other hunting.
Get in the habit of taking care of yourself. You’ll be glad you did.

We all hit "that" with a different number. I made it well into my fifties in quite honestly fabulous shape. I am not going to hit my '60s quite the same. I was a lot of physical work never a gym rat. Then when I lost my dad in 17 I took over a lot of other stuff that required more sitting and doing. I've caught the age my mother was when she had knee replacements and all the arthritis is catching up punishment from the let's just say less than intelligent stunt I pulled as a youth. And starting to get a little bit of that pudgy. It's all good we'll get there well I'll end up in the same places

Yes sir, you are only as old as you feel. And having said that, yes, ha, we have to just "do it differently". I will be 70 in February of '23. I've had multiple surgeries on my "frame and running gear", so I feel I've "earned" the right to hunt private ranches, lower elevations and cow elk....lots of good eating, lots of fun. I have never, ever, come up on a bull elk when I had a tag! I don't believe in jinxes...but man! ha

I'm 64 and can't wait till my next elk hunt. Stay in shape year round.....not like my buddy does....."Well, we're headed out in two weeks.....guess I better start walking around the block a few times (250' above sea level). He drove all the way to Aspen one year, tried to pull one hill first morning. Went back to the hotel, took a nap and drove back to GA. What a damn game plan that was....

My inspiration comes from an 86 year old hunter I see at the ranch I hunt. He gets nowhere fast....but by God, he's out there hunting.

My job has me walking at least 3 miles a day....sometimes close to 5....I'm 52 now. The shoulders are starting to give me problems but the legs are still good....so far....
I live at 6600 elevation, so I'm lucky for that when it comes time to climbing the hills

Good luck with that. I quit hunting elk when I hit 50. I had a good string of luck with them and just plain no longer wanted to hike up the mountain and figure out a way to carry 500 pounds back down.

41, that is still young. At that age, you should still feel like you can whip the fu cking world. I'm only 48 and I still feel that way. Not much slows me down, so you should maybe think about going to see a doctor.. See wtf is wrong.

Will be 63 this year & am planning on at least 8 more elk hunts. The moving activity & heavy lifting on a little farm & a lifetime of hunting in the mountains have helped but there is no substitute for training climbing with a pack.

Flexibility & balance are what I’ve noticed declining as I get older. I’m doing a lot less jumping down from rocks & fallen trees than I did before & moving much slower than as a young man. But last year I packed out my deer the climbed back up 4 miles to haul out a young man’s cow hindquarter. iPhone said I di 13 miles & climbed 4000 feet that day, average elevation 8000 feet. Didn’t break any speed records but also didn’t break any bones or ligaments. Slower & more careful is essential but elk hunting is a gray motivator for me to keep moving.

If you're feeling like that at 41 you've got a long road ahead of you... best get yourself a gym membership or some sort of exercise routine to get back in shape or you will have a tough time making it to retirement, much less enjoying it...

I'll be 70 next spring and going elk hunting this fall and hopefully for quite a while longer, God willing...

I started slowing down at 60, but once I passed 75 the rate of change dramatically increased.Now at 79 I am not in very good shape.

I turned 70 in May, but keep pretty active. Yesterday I cut, split and stacked a cord of red oak. I've noticed that if I go a month or so without physical activity, like in the dead of winter, it takes longer to get back strength and endurance. Keep at it!

Irving D;
Good afternoon to you sir, I trust the day is behaving for you and all in your world who matter are healthy.

Thanks for the interesting thread you've started and for sure thanks to those who've answered making it so.

As a broad beginning statement, I'll say that I'm a year younger than Brad is and do not honestly believe I could come close to keeping up with him in the places he's posted that he hunts, kills and packs out elk.

We do live in a valley in BC where there are mountains just up behind the house and besides a generous 3 month season I'm up cutting firewood, scouting and this year was morel picking to help stay in "mountain shape".

Honestly there's two or three things I've done which allow me to keep hiking in spots where we've hunted coming up on 40 years now. I'll share them in order of what I feel is importance, but please know that I'm cognizant what works for me might not work for anyone else.

About 7 years ago now, my wife and I decided to get up an hour early on weekday mornings and go for a 3.2km walk. We do it pretty much rain or shine, sleet or snow, though if it's too, too cold or pouring sometimes we'll take a morning off. We decided from the start to make it a brisk walk too, so we've kept it to about 35 minutes for the loop over that time. More or less then we're a bit slower than 4mph, but for us and our leg length, I'm 5'6" and she's a bit shorter so we're pretty evenly matched, it's a steady pace.

I noticed that after the second year of doing it, I was heading further and further from the pickup during hunting season, going into places I'd not gone since I'd turned 50.

At about 55 or so, while hunting solo as I most often do, I lost my footing in the snow and managed to knock the wind out of myself enough to make a change. That change was a cheap aluminum walking stick.

I picked up a couple of them that actually locked properly when they were on a clearance sale at the local Canadian Tire. I want to say they're Kelty brand maybe? They were cheap enough that I didn't care if one bent or got lost.

This season when a younger buddy of mine got a crazy high odds, one of two "any ram" tags up behind the house, he, another buddy who is younger than me, his nephew and I have been pounding into spots I'd not been into for 31 years. That silly stick helped me going up the mountain with the others not waiting for me once or feeling like I was about to need a life flight out.

I'll note that my buddy thinks - has said to me - that "sticks are for old guys" and that's a commonly heard refrain and opinion for sure. But the stick helps me keep two points of contact downhill and helps me use my upper body assist going uphill.

Lastly I've learned to drink "lots" during the day. I carry at least a liter Platypus bag in my pack and more in the pickup when I get back to it. For me, learning to drink even when I don't feel particularly thirsty makes a big difference in how my whole body can keep chugging along.

Anyways as always sir, there's a bunch of roads leading to Mecca, some of them California Bighorn trails for us again this year - but that's what's worked for me.

Hope that made sense and was useful. Good luck on all your hunts this fall and into the future.

Dwayne

If I am reading your post correctly you did 8000' of ascent/descent in 7 miles. Even if it took you all day that is a pretty decent workout and would be more than the average hunter could or would do. Trekking poles will make those steep and long days less painful and make for a faster recovery.

Good work, keep it up.


mike r

That's why the Good Lord made these.

54 here and a couple heart stints later..........but just packed out my 2022 archery elk (cow) solo last night and this morning. Getting tougher every year but still getting it done.

I'm 83 Deer season starts this coming Saturday, We can and do hunt exotic's all year round, I don't do any mountain climbing any more, killed my first Elk in 1948, and to many to count since then, most of what i read on this forum about Elk hunting makes them sound bullet proof, I will kill a couple of cows this year, but I will have a lot of help bringing them in. What i miss is Quail hunting, walking threw the brush wears me out fast, getting old ain't bad, being old SUCKS. Rio7

Keep at it buddy! Sounds like you're making due with what you got!

This year, at 73, I've definitely lost a step and am not real sure I'll be able to backpack this year. 2 weeks ago, I went down fairly hard while riding my Kawasaki 250. I sprung some ribs and hurt my back. I can walk and climb OK, but it hurts a lot. Nonetheless, I spent 400 bucks on a new pair of boots, so I plan on using them. I'll hunt my backyard elk at first and see about the backpack trip later. It has occurred to me; I feel old because I may be approaching old! GD

Lol just finished up 18 days in Idaho. At 57 I had a 24 and a 29 year old follow me around. They started calling my hunts death marches. We covered 174 miles in 16 days. But I had them boys on bulls every day..

That time lag for getting shape starts about 40 and gets longer and longer every year.