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I'm going Wyo Gen tag last 2 weeks of Sept. so I'm still 9 weeks out but it will come up quick! I've been training year round and shooting my bow most every day lately. Got a new Kifaru pack I've been setting up and ready for some weighted hikes in the bluff country of NE Iowa.

Who's going where? What are you doing to prepare?

Will hunt 6 days CO before that. Then come back and fill any remaining tags

Yep. I'm ready

Living in the mountains really helps with the training.

Will ramp up to five straight days on, two off in a couple weeks. Every outing is a "push" for a little more. I could be ready now, but by end of August I'll be ready for a 25 day marathon of hunting and helping others.

Knock on wood!

New Bowtech Icon - ramped up my shooting to 30 to 60 arrows a day now - having a blast shooting at 60 and 70 yards almost exclusively (wont shoot at critters that far, but fun practicing) makes shooting at 20 & 30 yards seam way easy.

I either strained or tore my right ACL Friday night. I go in to the orthopedic specialist this week to see what's up. I'm thinking there is a partial tear.

I'm hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst.

Have been doing something every day since Memorial Day to prepare physically. Right now, in addition to exercise and light weights, I'm biking every other day 20-25 miles and hiking 3-4 miles on the off days. Like midwest, I have a new Kifaru pack and plan to load it down soon for the hikes.

Original goal was to lose 20lbs over the summer. Have shed 14lbs so far, so that goal is well within reach.

Tuned my primary hunting bow last night. Picked up a new backup bow and will set it up this week.

Missed my western excursion last year for the first time in a long time. Chomping at the bit to get back out there!

Team Iowa this year in my Utah elk camp....good guy and his newbie buddy to elk hunting....

Team Minn. this year in my Wyo elk camp....fun fella's to share with---

For sure year round training----staying right in my 185--190....

I am content....

Good luck, Robb

Myself and two others are heading to MT; leaving on 9/11. I am not ready yet, but making some improvement all the time. 5-6 mile hikes with about 45 lbs right now, once or twice a week and mixing in mild hill runs a little under 4 miles a couple times a week. I would prefer a little more of each, but that's what I've been able to work in.

I've been ramping up the shooting also, and of course pouring over the maps and GE.

Running year around. Anywhere from 25-40 MPW.

Also stairmaster and hiking local stairwells with weighted vest and pack.

Making a scouting trip in two weeks.

Shooting my bow almost every night. I will be doing proficiency test tonight for local urban hunt tonight. Only thing left is to fine tune my bow for broadheads. But I am not too far off and I didn't want to mess with too much before test.

CO OTC with a deer/bear tag (primarily a deer hunt that's probably going to turn into an elk hunt the first time I hear a bugle) from the 9th to the 19th.

WY leftover tag from the 19th to the 29th with dad.

I've been doing those stairs for the last couple years too, but I do all 157 of them ;^)

Chad, I just work a few blocks away too. I agree, it's a great workout.

I had a secretary who runs marathons and after I started doing the stairs I told her about them. She did a couple flights and she said her legs were sore for a few days. They definitly work different muscles than running.

I was born ready!! The wife thinks I'm obsessed or something like that but I couldn't really hear what she was saying over the sound of my practice bugles on the front porch last night at about 8:30pm. :)And the way my neighbors look at me, I'm on the same level as the strange lady pushing around the shopping cart with elbow long dish gloves on wearing rubber boots and a football helmet. Lol

Hiking in HOTTT tick and mosquito infested overgrown five foot high grass allergy sneezing explosions and coming out heavy never felt so good, most are 1-5 pounders and an occasional 5+ and even a 10#er, ha but pulling them out now is hard. Some days you hike for 7 miles and come out empty, others 1/4 mile and come out with 5? YOu also have to focus so intently on looking for the right shapes in the woods with light coming in the canopy with physical and mental fatigue setting in. The best part is you get to see a lot of country and find out where and how they move and i think thats the part i like the best. its a puzzle that you are trying to figure out from 4 months ago. Today was the first day I saw a big boy and instead of running up on it, I slowly snuck up on it after 4 separate days of nothing but white. I Carry my bow and shoot when a I know i have a shot at finding my arrow. Ive been pretty quite and have see a few bulls a lot of cows and does galore, however its only after they jumped cause I was so close always scaring the crap out of me.

Haaaa Im ready!!!!!

The bud from Iowa has 16 LE elk points in Utah so with the later by a week dates for 2016 on the LE bow elk hunt he wants to get to know a unit or 2.

So they are doing the $388.00 bow spike/cow and it is valid in most all Big Bull LE units.

I already have 4 elk tags in 3 states so I am going down just for helping out and sharing some knowledge of the unit (s). No tag for me---

Good luck, Robb

Lot's of rain here in NM... It's going to be good....

Will hunt 6 days CO before that.

Yep. I'm ready

Yeah, I'm ready.

First year I elk hunted Colorado (1998), I thought I was in good enough shaped to run down an elk.

Then, the High Country bitch-slapped me back to reality!

Best of Luck, Jeff

I have a target set up in my basement with my bow leaning against the wall so I can crank out a few arrows whenever I walk by....getting ready for work in the morning, coming home from work, heading out for a workout, whatever.

There is a real nice archery range about 45 min. from my house up in the bluff country of NE Iowa I can throw on my pack and go shoot a round while humping the hills. It also has a nice practice range with marked yardages out to 80.

This 45 yard shot with a 125 grain Slick Trick Magnum was with a very strong cross wind

That would be both. I stopped drinking anything but water and quit eating all the comfort foods. No donuts, cookies, potato salad, pizza, and all that other bad for you stuff. Been eating oatmeal for breakfast (for my high cholesterol) and fruits and vegetables for snacks, a salad for lunch and a good proportioned dinner.

I have a small hill nearby that has about a 1.5 mile 1100 ft vertical climb one way and do that at least 4 times a week, but sometimes I get up there 5 times. I have cut my time up from over 35 minutes to under 26 minutes now. I can make it up and down in just under 40 minutes I am hiking in and checking my game cameras also so that I can learn a new area and that also gives me some exercise. I really need to get started on lifting some weights for my upper body as it is not getting much of a workout.

Once I hit my long term goal of 180 - 185 lbs, I am going to stay that way as long as my health will let me. This loosing at least 2 lbs a week is hard on a man.

New base camp. No two man tent this time. But I will bring it just in case.

Midwest, it really made me think about that. My knees are good, but this was one of those freaky things that just happened so fast when I stepped on a wet log under grass on the side of a mountain. Funny, but the knee that buckled under me was fine. The one that twisted and hyper-extended didn't start hurting until the next day. Getting old is hell. Twenty years ago it would have been a little sore for maybe a day.

YZF, I broke my outside toe once in early August. By September I was able to hunt, but I could still feel it. Rapid healing to you!

I am usually far ahead of this year but we are going the last full week of Sept instead of 1st or 2nd week due to scheduling constraints, so not too bad.

I am also in my first week of training for a marathon in November so will be doing a bunch of running in the next two months.

I did have my pack full for some day hikes in Grand Teton a few weeks ago, so that helped.

Shooting wise I may be peaking early. 3 arrows last night, 2 at 47(furthest I can go in the back yard) gapping pins. Hit a tennis ball, and center punched 5x ring. 1 at 40...hit tennis ball, called it quits. Now need to start lengthening out and shooting up and down hills some.

Still need to get the gear and clothing together but nothing really changing there this year. We are planning on packing in so have a few items to address with that but nothing major.

More map scouting to do and google earth stuff as we are hunting a new unit(although just one ridge over from a favorite spot(damn point creep...)

I would say I am 60% there right now.