500 miles to Moose camp '10

[kadbow]

I wanna go   :(   Sounds like my dream hunt.  Good luck with the conditioning.

Good luck, Mike! I want to do that someday. i saw a moose in person in Canada last year and they are cool looking critters.

Bisch

[wingnut]

Just got back. 498 to go!!

LOL

seems like a long ways but heck ya can't eat a whale at one sitting either.

Mike

[far rider]

Wingnut,
I can't wait to hear from you as the year progresses with your conditioning, but more over your trip when it comes around. I desperately want to do a wilderness moose/caribou hunt myself, but haven't a clue on how to start planning it. Can't think of any hunt I'd rather do.

Tim

[leatherneck]

You are all lucky dogs!!! Good luck.

[razorsharptokill]

Sounds like a dream come true!

[Ghost Dancer]

Mike Yancey,

As a former mounted cop, I can understand what you will feel like after 12 hours when not conditioned to it.  The muscles on your inner thighs hardly get used except for the same activity.

After doing that for many years in all kinds of weather ... my back hurts ... and I like my car better.

However, I would never turn down a trip to hunt like that and would relish the opportunity.

[riivioristo]

Well - there you have a dedicated hunter ! I bet you will have a good hunt ahead, since you take the workout so seriously (as one should if you ask me;) )

[Rick_H]

Speaking of core strength I went to a pilates class with my wife last summer just to be sociable and was amazed what a good workout it is. No equipment required except for a mat, male to female ration of 1:15.

[wingnut]

Well today we not only get to walk but test our cold weather clothing.  23 degrees adn 30 mph winds.

Got my new Microtex outfit and will change and head out afte work.

Mike

[acolobowhunter]

If I could make ONE SUGGESTION- Take one of the buckets of Baby wipes along.  You may laugh, but I have hunted off horses ( 10 days each time) twice in BC.  You will cover a lot of miles and if you don't keep the bottom clean, you will really be sorry.  I laughed at the outfitter when he used them the first couple days.  Then I started looking for them myself.  

[John/Alaska]

Mike - Beings that I am a few years older then you and knowing how distances get longer & hills steeper with time and knowing the general area that you'll be hunting I just got to ask. You have any hills around where you live that you can walk up & down?? Getting the old ankles and calf muscles strenthened as well as stretching the old achilles should be all a part of it if possible. I'm looking at a draw only sheep hunt where I have my cabin and been snowshoeing my line with backpack & side bags load with about 35lbs of my trapping stuff. The line runs up the side of the Alaska Range here and I do this trek about twice a week instead of using my snow machine all the time. I want to be half way in shape if I draw that sheep tag. If I do then the conditioning program will be upped a few levels.

AkDan - Back at ya!! I've been laying low & just having fun from spending tons of time out in the bush the past few months.

[buckster]

I will be following this closely, as a Moose hunt is on my short list Mike!

[RayMO]

I can feel the excitment...

[wingnut]

John,

Yep I'm doing hills everyday.  They are not as big as in Alaska but will do the trick.

Also doing stretching to make sure this old body will move when needed.

LOL

Mike

[hayslope]

Follow everyone's advice to do some riding (take it SERIOUSLY from a horse person!)beforehand.  Otherwise, no matter what kind of shape you are in, you WILL have thighs that will be screaming at you (constantly).

The horses that most outfitters have are what we call "easy keepers".........which is just a polite term meaning that they are almost as broad as they are long!!!!  Just joking of course, but seriously, you won't see many "skinny" horses on an outfitter's string. To a non-horse rider, it is difficult to explain the "stresses" that a horse's back will place on your inner thighs......it is something that will be eventually discovered (following a multi-hour ride over rough country).

No matter what shape you are in, if your legs are screaming at you, it will make walking excrutiating (even on flat ground).

My advice.....find someone with a horse that will let you ride (often) or sign up to take lessons (at least you will get some saddle time).

[wingnut]

Well my hunt is plane ride not horse ride.  Mike is on his own. LOL

Been hitting the road each day in temps that are dang cold here in TX.  Got to test my new MicroTex parka yesterday.  It was 23 and it was dang warm.

Going to try the whole outfit today.

Next week I'll wear my fanny pack on my one mile walks.  

I'm doing the mile in 14 minutes so it's a pretty brisk pace.

Starting to feel better too.  The soreness in the legs has gone away and the body is kicking into got get em mode.

Mike

[hayslope]

Mike,

Well I guess I wasted your time with the horse information......sorry about that...guess I just assumed along with some other folks.

Seems like you got the conditioning part or plan down to an art and science.

Maybe a trip or two to Colorado to do some high county workouts (sure does a world of good for the endurance factor).

I don't recall that many good hills in your part of Texas (at least not in the area of Cleburne or Glen Rose - where I worked for a few years), but if there are, search them out.

I have relatives in AK, so have been there a few times.....if you'll be in any area with a good bit of water (ie; anywhere in AK other than where you would be hunting Dalls), buy a set of Cabela's trapper's hip boots (you'll notice the right ones in their catalog).  Wear them some and get used to them.  Good heavy duty hippers that fit better than most.  One pair should last the average hunter a lifetime.

I envy you being able to go......maybe next year for me (or at least when the job allows).

Good luck with your condition......and better luck with the moose and caribou.

Tony

[Steve Kendrot]

Mike,

Don't forget to exercise the smaller, oft forgotten muscle groups. The arm and finger muscles involved in manual dexterity will help with hand eye coordination. Such excercise can be gotten by feeding osage through band saws, working rasps and files, tillering bows etc... In fact, I suggest you get to work on this immediately on a 57# bumblebee oracle...