Miles and elevation covered daily.
Elk
Contributors to this thread:
So I am forced to change my routine this year from horse plus foot travel daily to foot only. How many miles would you estimate you cover in a day while elk hunting? How much climbing do you average daily?
I often make 4-8 mile loops with about 8 miles per day average. I rarely climb over 2000 ft and probably average 800-1200 climbing (so I guess my elevation change is twice that.
How about you?
Heaviest day I've done recently was 12 miles and over 3000 feet. 4-8 miles with a couple thousand feet vertical is a more typical range. Depends on what the wind lets you do. I am slowly learning to be smarter about shutting it down earlier when el viento es no bueno.
Brunse- Depends where I'm hunting. If I'm out all day, its always 8-12 mile days. I've never tracked the elevation. Evening or morning hunts when I sneak away from work or come in a little late usually end up covering 2-4 miles. Crazy how fast those miles add up.
Anywhere from 4-8 miles and 1000-2000' in elevation over the course of a day. It is too steep where I hunt for me to be cracking off more than 1000' climbs in a day and not be miserable. Last weekend I did 7.5 miles dropping then climbing back up 1000' (plus 100's of feet in between going up and down) over 7 hours and I was pretty beat. But my longest stop was about 20 minutes at the bottom before heading back up and I was going up nearly vertical coming out to shortcut to camp.
I'm in the same ranges. I'd say that on average I cover 2 - 8 miles in a day... Sometimes 12 miles though. Typically 1k - 3k elevation. If it's 12 miles I'm on a mission to get somewhere and am not "hunting" the entire time.. just burning leather to get to a specific spot to hunt.
I'd say avg of 3-4mi with maybe 500' elevation change...some gradual, some pretty steep depending on where I'm hunting. This takes into account the evening hunts in my treestand, which is 1/2mi round trip, maybe 100' elevation change.
Admittedly, my numbers may be somewhat less than most. I've been bowhunting the same area since '85, so I tend to spend most my time in areas that have historically held elk, and don't spend much time in those that haven't.
I generally cover less than 4 miles a day and less than 1000 ft of elevation, most of that mileage is before dawn and after dark, my objective is to get to where I think the elk want to be, stay there and play the wind.
Generally, 4 to 6 miles daily with 2000 to 3000 feet of elevation change...that being said, I have done a few 10 mile days in the past...
Best of Luck, Jeff
Average is 4-6 miles and 1500'vertical,some days more,some days less.
I have cut it down to 4-6 miles of a more Quality hunting than 6-10 of just covering ground.
Of course it helps to have knowledge and experience year-in-year-out on my Wyo/Ut/Idaho hunt unit (s) !!
Good luck, Robb
Im just like Wyobullshooter - Hunt smarter not harder.
My goal has become how close to the truck I can shoot elk, not how far away they are.
Thanks for the input. It's a kind of new area to me this year so I expect I'll cover a bit of ground. I'm going to miss my horse that is for certain!!
Some days only 2 or 3 miles and little elevation gain. Some days less if elk are in my spots close to the road. Other days maybe 8-10 with up to 1000' gain if I'm looking for elk or exploring a new spot.
I'd rather walk 6 miles in moderate terrain than 2 miles of steep up-down.
If you're road camping ... how far are you willing to DRIVE on a daily basis to reach your starting point?
I'm amazed at how far some people will drive on a daily basis from camp.
I'm planning on hunting within a 1-2 mile radius of my camp this year, and it'll all be on foot. I bet 75% of that will be within a 1/2 mile radius.
What Cnelk and Wyobowshooter say is real smart -- but I do find myself wandering, half hunting, and half scouting for next year. It's an enjoyable part of the hunt for me. I definitely have the "What's-over-the-next-ridge?" gene. I'm hunting the same place this year that I have for the last four, and I'm really itching to find a new spot for 2017. Exploring is >1/2 of the fun!
John, sometimes I drive 15 miles or more on very rough roads, because I'm hitting different pockets. If elk are there I move my little trailer to get closer. One advantage to having a mobile camp vs. a wall tent outpost.
Amen on the moderate vs. steep terrain Lou!
Where I hunt there are a lot of decommissioned closed FS roads. They are not marked or blocked but they are clearly not open on the FS maps that show current roads and conditions. The MVUM's or whatever they call 'em. Unfortunately virtually no one appears to pay attention or care and the FS does little or nothing to enforce.
So I could walk as little as a mile and 500' in elevation change to some places if I was prone to drive wherever the heck I want, but I prefer to obey the FS rules and not contribute to trail damage.
Lou ... I can see the advantage ... (and it's in the plans for 2017) ... but I have to say that driving that much of USFS roads wears me out more than walking.
I basically have 9 primary spots to hunt that are scattered around. Four of them are 50 road miles from the other five. If the elk are there I hunt closer to camp, but I don't camp anywhere where I hunt because there are no camping spots close by. Necessitates the driving. I hate driving those rutted washboard roads too!
Checked some trail cams today
This is a 10 min walk from my truck - and flat
Last tag I drew in AZ I hunted 4 days. The elevation is around 6500 ft. I would hunt from before first light till the bulls stopped bugling and then head back to the house, go out about 4 in the afternoon and hunt till I couldn't see the sights anymore.
I checked the GPS after all the hunting was done and each of the mornings except the last was 5 miles and the evening hunts were about 4.
Gain in elevation was at the max about 1000 ft. in the AM and about 300 in the evenings.
Terry
Probably average 4-6 miles and about 2000' climb and 2000' descent. Don't discount descent. It can take more out of you than ascent. More damaging and adds up to more pain over the days.
"I generally cover less than 4 miles a day and less than 1000 ft of elevation, most of that mileage is before dawn and after dark, my objective is to get to where I think the elk want to be, stay there and play the wind."
Same here (and even more so as I get older). Being a solo hunter, I need to carefully consider how I'm going to pack the meat before it spoils.
My limitation is not so much the distance but that before I get more than a couple miles I run into a road I could drive to to hunt the area. Why hike it if I can drive there then start hiking? I'd love to find an area where I could hike 8 miles in one direction without intersecting or coming within a mile of a road that provides easier access.