I live 7' above sea level. If I left now for an elk hunt in the mountains with no training, I would probably die.

for context in case anyone has visited these cities

Colorado Springs is 6k ft
Durango Co is 6500 ft
Pagosa springs is 7k ft
Denver 5500ft

you will be fine. I go from 700 to 14k on two different hunts last year alone and made it.

Its not exhausting for say, its just limiting. You just move at a slower place and need to stop and catch breath more often.

Gotcha.

Just dive in and do it. Stop thinking about it. Just like first time you wade fished a sand bar. Its daunting until you just start walking out there

I am 43 years old and about a hundred pounds overweight, I live at about 863 feet above sea level in Missouri. I unload 42k pounds of freight in the rockies fairly regularly. On unloading days I also walk about 12-13 miles. And usually get it done in under 6 hours.

You only live once, if I had the time I would hunt the rockies for anything I could get a permit to hunt. They are awesome.

it's half price German beer today at Krauses. I'll work out with a liter. It seems to get lighter as time passes.

The only thing you're missing is the van down by the river.

I see your true colors

I see you have no sense of humor.

Whatever

If I am being really honest, a van down by the river would make a huge improvement over my current living situation. Big rig at a Love’s in North Dakota! At least there is a beautiful landscape

First time I went elk hunting i realized all those articles about having to be in triathlete shape to go to the mountains was complete b.s.

It makes it easier, but it’s not impossible.

Properly acclimating to the altitude would be equally, if not more important IMO. Altitude sickness is a real thing. I get mild symptoms 1/2 the time, I've seen kids and adults be totally down and out with it.

You will never fully acclimate unless you spend the rest of your life at altitude. Even still, enough altitude will probably kill you.

Couple weeks at altitude should keep you from getting sick, but we are not all made for it.

That is the thing about humans. Some of us are incredibly brilliant, others have down syndrome, and there is a broad spectrum most of us fit into.

Same applies to your physical capability.

Also, the air is much thinner at 5,000 feet in a big city like Denver than it would be in a rural setting.

There are steps to take to prepare yourself for strenuous activity at altitude. Ideally a night at moderate altitude with little activity and hydrate well on this day. Go to your max altitude while continuing to hydrate the next day and you'll feel much better and have less chance of getting sick. This is how I have prepared myself and family on probably 35+ trips to the mountains. I've seen people make the drive, let their kids play hard in the snow when they get there, don't hydrate and then spend the next few days watching everyone else have fun.

how many weeks of PTO you get?

Best advice is try to spend atleast first night under 8k, after that acute process is 3-5 days but full will take weeks.

Diamox and cialis are easy to get as a safety net.. More hydrated you are the better

I pushed the limits last year pretty hard, Flew into Csprings in morning, climbed to 11500 that evening to glass and broke 13500 next morning. Next few days suxed. A rough day was 5k+ and 12miles with majority of it all over 11k and as high as 14k. 6 days to kill out on a LO BH Sheep tag is stressful.

Movement is life. work out parlor tricks are just that tricks. Movement is key to injury prevention. But you damn sure dont need to be able to pistol squat to hunt mountains, or run. I dont run. ever

@Bobo & Heimann: I believe I stated "properly acclimating" is important. Who's talking about getting "fully" acclimated? Is that even possible for a Texan that travels to Co. for a week or two? Don't think so.

and as I stated its still 3-5 days for acute. For Most people traveling from TX getting proper acclimated before hand doesn't exist, and as far as AMS there are meds if you are prone.

End of the day its one foot in front of the other

All i can tell you is after 9 solid months in Kabul (about 6,000 feet), and another time 9 solid months in the mountains at the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan, most dudes still could not perform with the same level of endurance as they could stateside.

And somebody will still get sick retrieving supplies that drift into the ridge.

To be real honest with you I don’t think I ever got used to it myself, nor could i tell a big difference after a week.

at Airforce Academy 7250ft, it took me about 6 months to be able to be at peak, but some of my line men buddies it took 8plus months. This is 6 months of basic training, daily hazing and football. blood gets thicker the longer you live at altitude.

My point is, screw the altitude, plan your hunt while you have an able body and the time to do it. If my fat a** could do it you can, too.

You don’t HAVE to take a week to acclimatize if you don’t have it. You might never feel any better. Go do your hunt!