Do they really climb 1500' or 2000'

[Lowke01]

I keep hearing a bunch of elk hunting you tubers talk about climbing 1500 to 2000' on day hunts to get to elk or away from people. How many of you are getting a net gain of a 1500' on your day hunts?

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[Scooter37]

That doesn’t seem like a crazy lot. Opener of deer season here in the sierras we were averaging 1500’ uphill before the sun came up. This fall I will be in Idaho for first time so I don’t know exactly what to expect but if I could get into good country only climbing 2000’ a day I would feel like I’m getting off much easier than I expect

 

[Ross]

Most think they are doing 2000 when it is 1000 or less just like the fish stories they gain ground as time goes on I tend to gain 800-1000 when elk hunting before daylight then the game is on for another 500-1500 through the day

 

[beauhunter]

They might be. I wasn't with them to fact check but I have had a lot of days where I felt like I had gained 1500+ and then a quick check on OnX reveals that what feels like 1500 is generally 750 haha. When you're off trail it feels considerably more than I've found it actually is. Here in NW Montana I find myself gaining about 1000 at the most but generally it's only 500-800.

 

[Wrench]

I know this, I've seen them come up a hill so steep you can fall down it and they don't even breathe hard after a 500 foot climb that took them just a couple of minutes.

 

[justinspicher]

My walk from the trail head to the wilderness boundary goes from 10k to 11k in about a mile so I don't think they are too far from a 1500' elevation gain, depending on where you are in the world.

 

[sneaky]

That doesn’t seem like a crazy lot. Opener of deer season here in the sierras we were averaging 1500’ uphill before the sun came up. This fall I will be in Idaho for first time so I don’t know exactly what to expect but if I could get into good country only climbing 2000’ a day I would feel like I’m getting off much easier than I expect

Depends on where you are going in Idaho. I can gain over 2k feet just heading straight out my back door. If I walk far enough, I can do 3500ft of gain. I usually track my gains and losses through my GPS or Fenix watch. What I feel and what it tells me are usually pretty close because I've studied the route ahead of time.

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[Moosehunter]

I fully believe it. Here in North Idaho it's not hard at all to gain 1500 or 2000 in a day. I've had days of 14 miles and 4000 thousand feet. This of course is not usual but defiantly can happen!

 

[Elktaco]

1500 to 2k is definitely realistic for guys in shape. I generally try to stay around 1k myself as a general guideline when map scouting

 

[cnelk]

This year my camp is at 10,200', Ive seen elk on top of the ridge is 12,075' - 1.75mi away.

You do the math

 

[timekiller13]

I would say its realistic. Where I have hunted in Colorado, camp is at 8500'. I have some areas I target that are from 9800'-10500'. All those spots are within 2 miles of truck.

 

[Dos Perros]

I think it's not only realistic but likely. I don't know how in the hell one could walk 5 to 7 miles in a day in the mountains and not cover that kind of gain. I did 13k (measured on a watch) in 3.5 days in May shed hunting, scouting, hiking.

 

[fatlander]

The very fact that this question was asked with skepticism that they’re not climbing that much is why they’re doing it. . .


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[5MilesBack]

1500 feet is only 500 yards, but the real story is "what are you doing over an entire day"? Those 100+ yard high ridges add up quickly when you're crossing from one to the next to the next just following a herd in a morning or an evening.

 

[JWP58]

If you're hunting a river canyon, it's very possible. If it 1k down the ridge and 1k up the other, do the math.

 

[Catahoula]

It’s definitely a realistic number in many, many areas.

 

[brsnow]

Elevation gain isn’t even the real battle. Terrain up or down where elk hang out is. Last scouting trip it took 4 hrs to go 2 miles midday. We are also in mountain shape, I enjoy the grind.

 

[Poser]

Very dependent upon the local terrain. In some areas, you’d have to cover a lot of ground to gain 2,000 feet. In other areas, it’s hard not to cover that in a mile or 2. That being said, gaining more than ~1,000 feet a mile gets serious, especially at elevation. So, 6 miles and 2k feet of climbing is one thing, 1.5 miles and 2k feet of climbing is another thing entirely and may take longer than those 6 miles. If it’s off trail, it could take many hours. None of it is unrealistic across the board, especially if there is a trail, it but could be very difficult for a flatlander at elevation, especially if you’re doing it day after day.

Mtn Biking trails in Durango, I average about 200 feet of climbing per mile. Go up the road 30 minutes North into the heart of the San Juans with a starting elevation of ~3,500 feet higher, and it’s not uncommon to average closer to 300 feet of climbing per mile. And that’s on trail that tends to be the past of least resistance. Never tracked it like that for elk hunting, but expect to gain a bunch of elevation out of the gate and 1,000-2,000 feet per day after that.

 

[P Carter]

I just checked. Looks like my spots are from 700 to 1200 vertical feet from the launching off point. (The 700 is in a 1/2 mile, the 1200 in over a mile.) So not 1500-2000. In a day, I’ll usually do 2,000ish. Used to do a lot more but now I’m trying to hunt more and hike less!

 

[bsnedeker]

1500' is one modest ridge! Where I hunt I do at least one of those a day. My cardio hike I do every weekend has 4000' of elevation gained over 7 miles which takes me about 4 hours to go up, then 3 hours to go back down.

So yeah, 1500' is extremely likely!