And It Begins! Pack Workout!

[Catahoula]

Wow! That much snow down there. About 2” here.

 

[keithstrausbaugh87]

PA guy here not much for steep trails nearby have been doing 65lb up,and down 16 flights of stairs without stopping planning on getting to 80lb up,and down twice. Hope its enough. I'll find out in 120 days

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[IaTrent]

Those of you adding weight to your packs, are you carrying the weight at the bottom of the pack or getting it up higher somehow? I'm a new EXO owner and I see Steve talks about getting the heavier items higher in the pack. Just curious if you are all adding anything on the bottom to get the heavier items, sandbag, etc higher?

 

[keithstrausbaugh87]

I use sleeping bags and clothes to get a sand bag and barbell plates higher in the pack

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[netman]

I’m walking without a pack right now. I walk all the time. I’m headed to Montana for a month of scouting, hiking and camping in the near future.
When I get back I have a appointment at Mayo Clinic. Looks like I’ll be getting another heart ablation(PVC’s).
I want to get my heart in good shape before the surgery.

 

[Ross]

Does this count as training for elk activities

 

[ElkNut1]

I ended up at 37.5# this morning for the 1st day! I did 3.5 miles of level in town stuff. From the start & finish it felt like I had no more than 20# in my Exo 3500. This thing is amazing how it distributes the weight. It's the best pack I've ever had on my back!

I put a couple of heavy longsleeve pullovers in bottom of pack on top of my 4 elk bags that are always in the pack. I added a 25# steel weight to that for my total weight, the pullovers keeps the weight off the bottom. When hauling out elk quarters I put them between the pack & frame & use the meat shelf to raise or lower quarter as needed. I will up weight to 40# on next trip.

Here's a photo of close to 100#, I like the weight higher up for best balance.

ElkNut/Paul

 

[camping1601]

It'll be late June or early July before I start. I'm starting to get the slightest bit of knee pain in recent years and I'm hoping to keep it that way.

 

[Elk97]

I've got the pack at 30# now, hiking a steep power line road that switchbacks up the island. Get out about 2-3 times per week and will increase both weight and number of days per week as it gets closer. Uphill is a grind but downhill is harder on my knees. No matter what I do when I leave here at sea level and get to hunting altitude 7-9000' I'm running on fumes. Just hope there isn't any smoke this year.

 

[5MilesBack]

Wow! That much snow down there. About 2” here.

Yep, pretty varied down here. Just a couple miles south and only 1-2", and a few miles north and they got 19.5". If we'd gotten that much I'm not sure I'd have any trees still standing. Lost a LOT of branches with 1/2 dozen of those being big branches. Heck, we generally don't get even this much snow during the entire winter, let alone the end of May.

During the summer I'll load up my pack the way I hunt with all that water and stuff, and then I'll run and shoot the 3D and field courses.

 

[Btaylor]

Yall keep getting snow and we keep getting rain. Bout wore out with this mess. We still havent gone 7 consecutive days without rain since 9/13/18. I quit washing behind my ears cause I didnt want to get soap in my gills.

 

[Bowhuntone]

Those of you adding weight to your packs, are you carrying the weight at the bottom of the pack or getting it up higher somehow? I'm a new EXO owner and I see Steve talks about getting the heavier items higher in the pack. Just curious if you are all adding anything on the bottom to get the heavier items, sandbag, etc higher?

I cinch bottom strap tight and put 2 25# dumbells on top and use the top strap to keep from moving around in my EXO.

 

[ericF]

Yep, pretty varied down here. Just a couple miles south and only 1-2", and a few miles north and they got 19.5". If we'd gotten that much I'm not sure I'd have any trees still standing. Lost a LOT of branches with 1/2 dozen of those being big branches. Heck, we generally don't get even this much snow during the entire winter, let alone the end of May.

During the summer I'll load up my pack the way I hunt with all that water and stuff, and then I'll run and shoot the 3D and field courses.

View attachment 101481

Our local paper in Fort Collins had an article today stating that in 72% of the days in the last 2 months, there has been either rain or snow. Definitely more than average, but I guess winter is trying to make up for the 50-60 degree days that occurred all through December to February.

 

[Usi05]

Good for you Paul!

Started December 28th with working out for my first elk season.

Started practicing calling in January (taken a back seat with turkey season)

Started shooting a new compound bow after years away on Feb 14th.

Started yoga last week.

Keep working at it!


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[oake]

I've been pack training for about a month now. I only do 1 day on the weekend. Using 50# sack of corn in the Stone Glacier, going 4 miles.

I workout 5 days before work, alternating cardio - Mon, Wed, Fri with weights Tues, and Thursday. So far so good. We'll see how September feels though.....

 

[Kerrbow]

Man, you guys are animals. I started 2 weeks ago with #25 lbs in my packs and doing 2-3 miles. Not going to do extended backpack trips, just one or 2 nighters for 2 weeks. I live at 1800 ft and am 71 yrs. old. You guys pray for me that my younger buddies don't leave me on the mountain.

 

[cnelk]

If you're going to do a true elk work out, get up at 330am, hike 5-7 miles with your pack, eat a Mtn House, hike back, work all day, do it again in the evening, eat another Mtn House and go to sleep on a hard floor at 10pm.

EVERY DAY.

 

[5MilesBack]

If you're going to do a true elk work out, get up at 330am, hike 5-7 miles with your pack, eat a Mtn House, hike back, work all day, do it again in the evening, eat another Mtn House and go to sleep on a hard floor at 10pm.

EVERY DAY.

That's why my elk workouts start in September.

 

[SoTxShooter]

I told myself I’m going to start June 1st. I started early last year due to excitement, but then I started petering out closer to the hunt. So I’m gonna try and avoid that this year!

 

[Car7x]

"You guys pray for me that my younger buddies don't leave me on the mountain."

Just hide the truck keys, or whiskey, they'll find ya.

I really hit the wall a couple weeks back. Hip flexor and adductor strain has got up into my belly so nothing for it but some R&R. My wife had been telling me to slow down, tired of hearing me whine about the aches and pains at 65.

...I don't listen much to her; after all, I married so much smarter than she did, right?

But now the docs weigh in and support that. I guess the lesson is that just because I can power thru it, doesn't mean I should do it. Paying some dues now for a lifetime of fun...So, it's going to suck. Now that I have the cash and time to do what I want, and a good crew of young family guys, I had been planning and training towards really hittin' it.

I only train with about 35#, mostly 3-5 mile dog walking loops, easy stuff. Elevation kicks my ass for the first 2 days. Even before I had to guard against over use or impact injuries, I didn't see a percentage in heavy pack training. It's a sufferfest no matter what.

But, I go right from drift boat flyfishing for smallies and muskies all summer to a little trout fishing, to archery elk to steelheading to pheasants and whitetails, then tele skiing, and about 2 hours in the gym 3-6 days a week year around when not outside. Light weights, pilates, was back in yoga but now all these grown ups are explaining that may be too hard on the affected area - 3 hand, 1 wrist, 4 shoulder surgeries, and that's just from the waist up. Got a lot of leg and foot stuff going on as well, just was recommended for cardio that I get on the bike or in the pool if I want to reduce the leg wear and tear.

So, like the T shirt I saw on another old guy in the gym - 'When all else fails, lower your standards.'

I'd rather be out there fat and winded (I live at about 1200') than not out there. Aging sure as hell beats the alternative, but it has been enlightening to see that it is no longer all determined by my mental state. To objectively see your capabilities diminish gives one plenty of opportunities for humility - and creativity.

All my life my activities - mountain sports and martial arts - have always required an objective assessment of training, and finding that balance between ready and injured (I'm clumsy). I'm starting to realize now the balance might be how little training / damage might be necessary to accomplish the basics.

How are you other 'master class' members dealing with this?