high altitude hunting?

[old_goat2]

It can be a lot drier air that high depending on the weather so sinuses can be problematic but that usually isn't an issue till later in the winter. An aspirin a day is a good idea, Tred Barta said that would of kept him from having the stroke he had which was caused by a blood clot.

[robtattoo]

A saline nasal spray is worth it's weight in gold! Single digit humidity comes as a hell of a shock if you're not used to it. Nosebleeds can be easily avoided with a nosey-huffer of salt water.

Drink water NOW. Start to hydrate yourself at a rate of at least 3 liters a day as soon as you can, well before you set off. It's much easier to stay hydrated than get hydrated.
There's an excellent article on Rokslide right now that goes into detail about this.
As has been mentioned, Diamox makes life so much more bearable above 7k!

Electrolytes are important, so take drink powders in your daypack. I have a 3 liter bladder + a 32oz Nalgene bottle. The bottle is for drink mixes, the bladder purely for water. You seriously cannot drink too much at that altitude.
I've spent a few weeks at over 10k & the first week of every trip is still miserable.
The one thing no-one has mentioned yet is sleep. The first few nights will suck, unless you're well prepared. Again, hydration & Diamox help a lot. You want to be waking up a couple of times to pee. If you're not, you'll be waking up every 2 hours trying to breathe & get back to sleep with a splitting headache.
Salt is also your friend. There's a reason that Mountain House use a ton of sodium    You will lose a tremendous amount through sweating & exhaling & it needs to be replaced. Eating salty snacks (with a LOT of water) will replace this. If you don't, it can lead to muscle cramps & headaches again.

I know I'm making it sound like it all sucks, all the time, but it really is amazing being up that high. You just need to be well prepared.

As far as pre-existing conditions go: I suffer from osteo-arthritis & I've found it actually improves when I've been out West. Whether it's the altitude or the excercise, I don't know but it hurts noticeably less. Allergies are a pig for me though. Different pollens & grasses than you're used to can affect you more than the stuff at home.

[LB_hntr]

I spent alot of time snowmobiling at 12k-14k as a flat lander in michigan going out west for  week trips (usually 5-6 times a year).
 As mentioned hydration is huge. you must drink alot of water. watch your pee, if it has any color drink more water. Motrin helps with the head aches (not many of us got bad head aches).
 Sleeping at 10k and up is hard with the thin air. a little shot of nyquil helped when needed.

Also keep in mind a good rule is all excursion is doubled. Travel time when walking is doubled, time to skin and qtr doubled, etc. Everything takes longer as you have to move slower.
 Also keep in mind storms build instantly that high up and have little warning. make sure you have all your preps and gear in order. The terrain is tough, the air is thin, and everything is harder.
 That being said you will have the time of your life. I've probably done 20-25 trips from mich to rockies in the last 5 years with all of them being over 10k the whole time. Some of the most amazing scenery and views I have ever seen.

[bro-n-arrow]

I am 75 years old & have hunted colorado all my life.I noticed now that it takes my body 4 days to start feeling better.And I drink gatoraid non stop while i'm there!

[md126]

Thanks for the info and replies. real great stuff. im 44 & put off  a trip like this for a long time. we're prepping as best we can and really looking forward to it.

[Bill Kissner]

A lot of great info here. The posts about staying hydrated and acclimating yourself at an altitude a few thousand feet lower than your hunting elevation are very important. I have seen 3 cases of altitude sickness and believe me it can be very serious. If you are too sick to hunt, get yourself to a lower elevation in a hurry. I have a fiend that lives at 7000 feet. He vacationed a couple weeks at low altitude and went snowmobiling up to 12,000 feet when he returned home. He got altitude sickness and spent the next 3 weeks in the hospital and most of that time in intensive care. He was 26 years old and in great shape so it can happen to anybody.

[The Hawk]

For 20 years I lived at 1,000' and hunted elk between 10,000 &12,000. I have read that it takes 3 days to acclimate to 7,500' and then you can acclimate 1,500' per day. That's probably a military study done on 18 year olds. I have also read that it takes around 60 days to athletically acclimate meaning, being able to preform at a high altitude as well as you can at your home altitude. Being in the best cardio shape will help you but, it takes time for your body to acclimate. For me the most important thing is leg strength. Get those leg muscles in condition!  Get in the best shape you can without hurting yourself! Drink lots of water. I use a camelback and sip all day.  I tend to leave a water bottle in my pack and not drink but, a camelback is easy. I now live at 7,000' and still notice that it takes 24 to 48 hours to acclimate to 10,000'.  Had an Air Force fighter pilot get altitude sickness a few years ago. It can happen to anyone and it's serious.

[stack]

So if all the flatlanders have a problem with thin air in higher altitudes, does than mean the guys that live higher blow up like balloons when they come to the flatlands? LOL

[Kapellmeister]

No, stack - it's the opposite... the flatlanders are the ones that risk blowing up when they reach the high altitudes!  You should see the bags of snacks in the grocery stores that were made in the lower elevations and shipped here to Colorado... they look like balloons ready to pop!

Some people are much more affected than others.  I would try to adjust to the altitude for a couple of days at least before exerting yourself.  "They" say it actually takes a couple of months to get completely acclimated... your body makes more red blood cells to compensate for the lack of oxygen.  A little over a year ago, I moved from 300 ft. in PA to 7,000 ft here in CO (and I'm on the plains!).  I'm 60 years old and I can go up to 12,000 now and not feel much of an affect, but over 12k - then I feel it if I exert myself or even bend over!

As said by others, keeping hydrated is the best advice.  Just because you don't think you're sweating (you actually are, but it evaporates instantly) and you may not feel thirsty, you need water.  Carrying a bottle of water with you is a way of life here.

Enjoy your hunt!  Colorado is beautiful!

[Roadkill]

There is another aspect I forgot to mention.  Foot wear.  A narrow toebox tends to give really sore feet-no matter how well broken in the boot was, because of the downhills.  The weight of the pack and the constant "down" pushes toes into contorted shapes causing blisters.  and worse.  Side hills are hard onall joints, especially with a pack.  Boots twist and the resulting torque causes blisters on the side of the feet.  At the Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center we monitored thousands of students in the various courses.  I checked our hospital daily to determine the casuality count and the most frequent admissions were dehydration and infected feet.

there are some serious suggestions on this thread.