# First Archery Elk Trip - Public Land OTC Colorado



## WMU05 (Oct 16, 2004)

Awesome! I leave for my fist archery elk hunt in 9 days. Bridger-Teton here we come! Good luck to you on your adventure.

Is it September yet?


----------



## Sewey (Jan 10, 2017)

WMU05 said:


> Awesome! I leave for my fist archery elk hunt in 9 days. Bridger-Teton here we come! Good luck to you on your adventure.
> 
> Is it September yet?


Sweet! WY is another place I'd love to hunt/explore. Is that an OTC hunt? 

Good luck! Hope to see some pictures and stories of the hunt.


----------



## FREEPOP (Apr 11, 2002)

We leave Saturday at 2 am for Colorado :woohoo1:


----------



## MuddybootsGB (May 14, 2016)

First..jealous as can be, waiting for shoulder surgery.
1 - pack everything up and weigh it, the weight will scare the dickens out of you. Then start looking over your gear with objectivity and realistic expectation of carrying how much weight at altitude. You cannot carry as much as you think at altitude and sustain good hunting. See what your buddies are carrying and share what you can to eliminate duplicates. Small compression bags are great to reduce volume in pack. Once you squeeze air of of bag, amazing how small it becomes.
2 - training is absolute critical, walk at least 7-10 miles a day (minimum) 3/4 times a week in one session. If you can carry your pack, do it, you will find out how it fits and what adjustments you need to make real fast even on level ground.
3 - Mountain House - I use them and they are pretty good. But buy the 2 man packs, you will need more calories at end of day. Pasta type meals for dinner are great. Carb up in morning with all you can. I brought quite a bit of oatmeal packs with dried fruit as well. Eat all day to maintain energy. You can burn 4-6,000 calories a day easily.
4 - Hydration can be your most limiting factor when at altitude. You lose a lot more moisture thru breathing at dry air altitude than you think. Carry twice as much and drink twice as much as you think. You really need to be urinating about every 2-3 hours if fully hydrated. Bring electrolyte packs such as Gatorade (also some carbs in them). I also brought dried banana chips as added potassium bonus. If cramping you are not hydrating enough and or need electrolytes ASAP.
5 - Get a couple of trekking poles, you will be amazed how much they help in climbing and stability for your pack especially if loaded down with meat. Climbing is so much easier with them you will be shocked.
6 - get a good bow sling as back up since if pack is loaded with you may need it to help carry bow hands free. Some packs do not allow you to put bow on them easily once loaded with meat.
7 - I didn't see rope, you will need it. Paracord is fine but to hang up food etc, rope does seem to work better. All you need is one good hank of it between your group. One - to hang your food etc up between 2 trees at least 100 yds from your camp to bear proof it. Yes, CO has bears. I had one go thru the side of my tent even though kept fly open. Guess he didn't like the opening....No other damage since our food stuff and food trash (foil bags, etc and carry it out) was hung up a ways from tent. Don't eat in your tent unless absolutely need in bad weather, even then take out food scraps, bury them far from tent. Brush teeth as far from tent as possible. Bears like toothpaste. Put toothpaste in the bear bag as well. Second, if successful, rope can help a lot moving an elk for butcher. Plus allows you to hang meat up from bears. Just hang the meat up a safe distance from kill site.
8 - Hard to maintain hygiene on pack in hunt. Bring non-scented baby wipes to "refresh" your really important areas. OK, you can guess where. I took them out of their container and put into zip locs. Amazing what a baby wipe bath can do to raise your spirit.
9 - Bring a really good heavy duty sharp tweezer than has serious gripping power. Everything from slivers to ticks will be easy. First aid kit should include foreceps, sutures and butterfly strips at minimum. Everyone in your group should go over basic first aid to insure decent response to a medical emergency. CPR would be nice. You are going off grid and you are the response.
10 - If you can, the new Garmin InReach GPS has texting available which allows you to have contact even off grid. I never had phone coverage where I hunted. Sat phone is nice but having GPS as dual purpose is better on weight.
11- Last thought. Get to altitude couple days in advance if you can. Stay locally as high as you can for 2-3 days. Your body adjusts to altitude in about 3 days. If you already start it by staying there before hunt, you will hit the ground running. We started to do that and our hunts were so much better and enjoyable. You are hunting the dream, why not maximize its potential by getting better adjusted to the altitude? Age has nothing to do with altitude adjustment. I saw runners that were in unreal condition get sick at altitude. Had to get him off mountain, lucky we had an outfitter that checked in our drop camp and was able to take him out. He recovered fast at lower altitude but if he hadn't gone down, not sure of consequences and glad we didn't have to find out the hard way. Be ready to recognize altitude sickness (read up on symptoms) and make the hard decision to get off the mountain ASAP. Don't underestimate the seriousness of this. It can kill easily when off grid.

Looking forward to the trophy pic! Best of luck!
Muddy


----------



## Sewey (Jan 10, 2017)

FREEPOP said:


> We leave Saturday at 2 am for Colorado :woohoo1:


Good Luck!! For how long and what area are you headed to? Don't have to drop a unit number of course lol


----------



## Sewey (Jan 10, 2017)

MuddybootsGB said:


> First..jealous as can be, waiting for shoulder surgery.
> 1 - pack everything up and weigh it, the weight will scare the dickens out of you. Then start looking over your gear with objectivity and realistic expectation of carrying how much weight at altitude. You cannot carry as much as you think at altitude and sustain good hunting. See what your buddies are carrying and share what you can to eliminate duplicates. Small compression bags are great to reduce volume in pack. Once you squeeze air of of bag, amazing how small it becomes.
> 2 - training is absolute critical, walk at least 7-10 miles a day (minimum) 3/4 times a week in one session. If you can carry your pack, do it, you will find out how it fits and what adjustments you need to make real fast even on level ground.
> 3 - Mountain House - I use them and they are pretty good. But buy the 2 man packs, you will need more calories at end of day. Pasta type meals for dinner are great. Carb up in morning with all you can. I brought quite a bit of oatmeal packs with dried fruit as well. Eat all day to maintain energy. You can burn 4-6,000 calories a day easily.
> ...


Lots of good information there, thank you for taking the time to write that up! I've got some of those measures covered, including first aid training, I took a course 2 years ago on trauma care and will have a tourniquet as well in the kit. If anything bad like that happens we will be stabilizing and pressing the SOS button on the InReach.

I was curious about the bears, I know CO has them but I didn't know if people took the same measures with food in camp as they do with Grizzly's. We'll be sure to hang our food and hopefully meat. As for training, I'm going to continue to hike heavy and I've also been running, but like you said, can't compensate for altitude. I've been to CO twice before, but never really hiked. So I've been to 10k or so, but we'll see how I do under weight, I am slightly concerned and hoping I don't catch altitude sickness easily. 

Thank you again for the tips and your well wishes. I will be sure to take plenty of pics, and hopefully some video if we can get a bull coming in.


----------



## FREEPOP (Apr 11, 2002)

Sewey said:


> Good Luck!! For how long and what area are you headed to? Don't have to drop a unit number of course lol


North we're headed back on the 7th


----------



## FREEPOP (Apr 11, 2002)

Sewey said:


> Lots of good information there, thank you for taking the time to write that up! I've got some of those measures covered, including first aid training, I took a course 2 years ago on trauma care and will have a tourniquet as well in the kit. If anything bad like that happens we will be stabilizing and pressing the SOS button on the InReach.
> 
> I was curious about the bears, I know CO has them but I didn't know if people took the same measures with food in camp as they do with Grizzly's. We'll be sure to hang our food and hopefully meat. As for training, I'm going to continue to hike heavy and I've also been running, but like you said, can't compensate for altitude. I've been to CO twice before, but never really hiked. So I've been to 10k or so, but we'll see how I do under weight, I am slightly concerned and hoping I don't catch altitude sickness easily.
> 
> Thank you again for the tips and your well wishes. I will be sure to take plenty of pics, and hopefully some video if we can get a bull coming in.


Animal rights people really messed up the bear hunting in Colorado and there has a been big increase in numbers. 
Yes, please do watch for sign of altitude sickness.


----------



## Sewey (Jan 10, 2017)

FREEPOP said:


> North we're headed back on the 7th


I saw a few spots North that were appealing, but thinking we will focus more to the west to start with. Maybe we'll pass you along the way, we'll be leaving the 7th sometime in the afternoon/evening.



FREEPOP said:


> Animal rights people really messed up the bear hunting in Colorado and there has a been big increase in numbers.
> Yes, please do watch for sign of altitude sickness.


Well I've never seen a bear in the wild, so sounds like my chances are good this trip! We will definitely keep an eye on the altitude sickness and stay hydrated and take it easy the first few days, it's definitely on all of our radar's.


----------



## FREEPOP (Apr 11, 2002)

Sewey said:


> I saw a few spots North that were appealing, but thinking we will focus more to the west to start with. Maybe we'll pass you along the way, we'll be leaving the 7th sometime in the afternoon/evening.
> 
> 
> 
> Well I've never seen a bear in the wild, so sounds like my chances are good this trip! We will definitely keep an eye on the altitude sickness and stay hydrated and take it easy the first few days, it's definitely on all of our radar's.


Chicago at rush hour on Friday, that's the most scary of all! :SHOCKED:


----------



## Sewey (Jan 10, 2017)

FREEPOP said:


> Chicago at rush hour on Friday, that's the most scary of all! :SHOCKED:


And the pistols have to be locked up and separated from ammo, probably the most dangerous part of the whole trip! haha


----------



## MuddybootsGB (May 14, 2016)

Sewey, black bears are much bigger pain than griz with food in camp. Do not underestimate them, they can ruin a trip real fast and highly recommend bear proof camp. I carried bear spray for tent at night, much better defense than firearm. 

Totally agree on Illinois firearm measures. Keep in case that actually has a lock. The case cannot be opened without a key. Just carrying it in a case is not enough.

I knew you were heading out soon but added some thoughts for others that may be headed out later. Still highly recommend trekking poles that will really help the first couple days when acclimating.

Wish I was headed west but need to get this surgery behind me so looking forward to next year.

Safe hunting!
Muddy


----------



## Sewey (Jan 10, 2017)

MuddybootsGB said:


> Sewey, black bears are much bigger pain than griz with food in camp. Do not underestimate them, they can ruin a trip real fast and highly recommend bear proof camp. I carried bear spray for tent at night, much better defense than firearm.
> 
> Totally agree on Illinois firearm measures. Keep in case that actually has a lock. The case cannot be opened without a key. Just carrying it in a case is not enough.
> 
> ...


You made excellent points and suggestions, reason why I listed this site as a resource on my original post. 

Thank you!


----------



## WMU05 (Oct 16, 2004)

Sewey said:


> Sweet! WY is another place I'd love to hunt/explore. Is that an OTC hunt?
> 
> Good luck! Hope to see some pictures and stories of the hunt.


All elk tags are a draw in WY. I think this year required 2.5 points to get a general tag (though most with 2 drew). And wilderness area's required a guide for non-residents, which is what we're doing. 

I've got an entire thread going down the page. The fun is about to begin.


----------



## Sewey (Jan 10, 2017)

WMU05 said:


> All elk tags are a draw in WY. I think this year required 2.5 points to get a general tag (though most with 2 drew). And wilderness area's required a guide for non-residents, which is what we're doing.
> 
> I've got an entire thread going down the page. The fun is about to begin.


Gotcha, I still have a lot to learn on other states and how their draws work. I'll get into that after we get back from this trip lol. 

I just found your thread, I stumbled upon it a while back, just gave it a read through, good information in there and it sounds like it'll be an awesome trip. Hope you guys have a safe and successful hunt!


----------



## brushbuster (Nov 9, 2009)

MuddybootsGB said:


> Sewey, black bears are much bigger pain than griz with food in camp. Do not underestimate them, they can ruin a trip real fast and highly recommend bear proof camp. I carried bear spray for tent at night, much better defense than firearm.
> 
> Totally agree on Illinois firearm measures. Keep in case that actually has a lock. The case cannot be opened without a key. Just carrying it in a case is not enough.
> 
> ...


Trekking poles are a must have. the difference between 2 wd and 4wd.


----------



## Sewey (Jan 10, 2017)

brushbuster said:


> Trekking poles are a must have. the difference between 2 wd and 4wd.


That’s what I heard, so went with the Black Diamond Alpine Cork’s, super light. It certainly makes a difference even on flat ground, I’m sure they’ll pay off big time out in the mountains.


----------



## HTC (Oct 6, 2005)

FREEPOP said:


> Chicago at rush hour on Friday, that's the most scary of all! :SHOCKED:


I would normally agree, but then I drove over Ophir Pass in SW Colorado.....You are driving on loose shale...when the truck's back tires start to spin and jump a little you will shart. If you are in the passenger seat on the way up you cannot see the road out the passenger window looking down....what you can see is car wreckage a couple thousand feet below. While terrifying, it has become a tradition to drive this every trip...we use it to jump over to Silverton for a beer and a burger, 50% of the time we get snowed out at the top and have to turn around. Quite exhilarating really. Bunch of videos on line of it....


----------



## steelyspeed (Apr 10, 2016)

Sewey said:


> That’s what I heard, so went with the Black Diamond Alpine Cork’s, super light. It certainly makes a difference even on flat ground, I’m sure they’ll pay off big time out in the mountains.


They make a huge difference, especially when hauling heavy loads. Hopefully you will get to use them hauling elk quarters


----------



## Sewey (Jan 10, 2017)

HTC said:


> I would normally agree, but then I drove over Ophir Pass in SW Colorado.....You are driving on loose shale...when the truck's back tires start to spin and jump a little you will shart. If you are in the passenger seat on the way up you cannot see the road out the passenger window looking down....what you can see is car wreckage a couple thousand feet below. While terrifying, it has become a tradition to drive this every trip...we use it to jump over to Silverton for a beer and a burger, 50% of the time we get snowed out at the top and have to turn around. Quite exhilarating really. Bunch of videos on line of it....


That looks awesome! I've driven in the mountains out there before, but not on anything like that.



steelyspeed said:


> They make a huge difference, especially when hauling heavy loads. Hopefully you will get to use them hauling elk quarters


I'm hoping to get that experience too! Finally got a scale and weighed my pack last night with the sand I've been using to hike with. Came in at 64#, felt heavier than that! lol. But that should make camp feel light and I know I can go heavier, those pack frames are awesome.


----------

