A little thanks and a question for you

[mathews8pt]

First off I wanted to say thanks for all the help in choosing gear and making the process of western hunting seem do-able to a guy from Ohio. I just got back from my second diy trip to Idaho and was fortunate enough to take my first elk while there. All my gear performed great but i cant say the same for my body.

Admittedly I wasn't able to prepare physically as much as last year. We bought a house in late July and moved in mid august which really hurt my prep time for this hunt but thats the way life goes i guess. Anyways, I was wondering if people have a lot of foot pain when packing meat out? I carried more then i probably should have at one time, but due to the weather(85*) i felt obligated to work as hard as i could to save the meat. The bottoms of my feet hurt so bad it felt like i could just peel it off and be better off. I had my softer Meindl ultralights on for most of the packing which i think really made a poor boot for packing meat. My Crispi Idaho's got worn on one trip up and down the mountain but by then my feet were toast.

The idahos rubbed my heels and started to blister on my first trip up scouting is why I didnt have them on the whole time. After taping my heels i didnt have an issue while packing meat. I guess breaking them in back here in Ohio just didnt involve steep enough terrain to cause the rubbing.

That was on Sept 1st and my left foot is still all callused up and feels a little sore. I admittedly have soft girly feet but i dont look forward to packing another elk out if thats what i have to deal with. Anyone have that problem and does the stiffer boot help that much?

Here is my first elk!!!

The amount of meat is crazy compared to a deer!

 

[KurtR]

I have the ultra lights and my feet hurt on the bottom when doing some long distance heavy packing so i stepped up to the perfekt hikers and dont have that problem any more. I would bet if the crispis would have been wore the whole time you would not be experiencing the same foot pain.

also awesome job on the elk hope to be feeling the same pain in a few weeks out there

 

[archer wapiti]

Congrats on the elk! I can't speak much to the boots, but to the weight you were carrying:
Obviously meat care is no. 1 priority and good on ya for getting it all out. But if you're new to the west and elk hunting, you probably were overly conservative on getting that meat out. If you could have found a grove of trees in the bottom of that valley below you where you were confident the bags weren't going to catch sun, you could have hung them for days in good game bags with no problem. I use the 'good game bags' caveat because I had flies lay eggs through a crappy cotton mesh bag last week. I got them taken care of that same day so no harm done, but if I'd had to leave them for a couple days, it would have been a disaster. Looks like you were high enough in elevation at that latitude it must have been getting into the 40s at night. As long as it doesn't catch solar radiation in the day time, it's not going to heat up very much in the shade. Thin, rather dry air doesn't transfer heat real well, and breezes keep air moving for a cooling effect as well.

Congratulations again. I'm sure you'll be back out west chasing bulls as soon as you can!

 

[Cinch]

Congratulations you did well...

 

[mathews8pt]

Congrats on the elk! I can't speak much to the boots, but to the weight you were carrying:
Obviously meat care is no. 1 priority and good on ya for getting it all out. But if you're new to the west and elk hunting, you probably were overly conservative on getting that meat out. If you could have found a grove of trees in the bottom of that valley below you where you were confident the bags weren't going to catch sun, you could have hung them for days in good game bags with no problem. I use the 'good game bags' caveat because I had flies lay eggs through a crappy cotton mesh bag last week. I got them taken care of that same day so no harm done, but if I'd had to leave them for a couple days, it would have been a disaster. Looks like you were high enough in elevation at that latitude it must have been getting into the 40s at night. As long as it doesn't catch solar radiation in the day time, it's not going to heat up very much in the shade. Thin, rather dry air doesn't transfer heat real well, and breezes keep air moving for a cooling effect as well.

Congratulations again. I'm sure you'll be back out west chasing bulls as soon as you can!

Thanks, the wife already knows its a yearly trip for me at this point. lol

I was surprised at how well the meat cooled and stayed cool. Im sure we had some time to spare but i just wanted to be safer then sorry.

 

[mtnrunner260]

Nice work on a great bull.
Do you get calluses on your feet?
Hiking with weight on steep uneven terrain will help toughen them up but I've found regular application of lotion along with the cheese grater type deal to be the best thing for my feet.
It's almost like the buildup of calluses is just enough extra volume in the boots that it causes hot spots.

 

[Soj51hopeful]

The stiffer boot soles are specifically for humping heavy weight in nasty terrain. They keep the soles of your feet from stone bruises. A lot of guys will preemptively tape their heels before hiking. Stick with your crispi's and try to get some steep flexing breaking in on them. Good job on the elk.

 

[Where's Bruce?]

You're paying your dues for not having adequate footwear for the hunt. Your feet will ache for 6-10 weeks and hot water will help. A hot tub is good therapy. Some Ibuprofen and time in comfortable tennies will fix you up but then train in your hunting boots and hike regularly in them. No hills? Hit the stairs. Get some Darn Tough medium socks with cushioned bottoms and wear em. Blisters in the field are horrible. Learn from your mistakes and the second elk will be a walk in the park. Congrats...you got it done. The pain just makes the elk taste better.

 

[SLDMTN]

Nice work on the elk! As the others have noted, soft flexible soles on rocky terrain will bring the pain! It's no fun being gimped up but you got it done and have plenty of time to heal

 

[mathews8pt]

Thanks guys, my feet are finally feeling more Normal. I think I'll just tape up and wear the Crispi's next year. I should have a lot more time to prep in the months leading up then I did the past season.

PS, This elk is tasting great on the grill!!


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[LIWolverine]

No thoughts to add on the feet. Just want to say congrats on a great bull.


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