Hunt spoiling fast help!!!
Elk
Started my 2 week elk hunt with my son in Colorado in unit 231 and after 3 days at 9500 to 10500 my son come down with some pretty bad altitude sickness. Ended up packing are gear back to the truck and took him to the ER.. The doc said to give him at least a day or two recoup and if we go back to hunt we should keep the hunt under 8000 feet in elev. My plan ABCD which I scouted didn't have any elev under 8000 feet. Any thoughts or ideas would greatly be appreciated.
best stay down lower , You don't want this to end badly , you would not forgive your self. I cant risk my sons health for no game.
Looking for areas lower !!!!!!
There's not many things that are more important than chasin elk but your sons health is one of them. Maybe you could use that day or two of rehab to look at maps and scout some lower areas. Best of luck, Jeff
i bet there are elk lower, when he feels better hunt as hard as you can and cover ground till you find them. stay out after dark and listen for bugles down lower. you should be able to get into some animals you got lots of time left.
I have a spot for you. I'll PM you.
You're a class act, Idly. Good stuff!
Nothing to mess with...
I remember some years ago there was an article about a couple of guys - think they were both gun writers - who went to S. America to hunt some really rare type of deer at extremely high elevations... 11k & up, for sure, and the son of one of the men was doing poorly.
And DIED. Pulmonary Edema, IIRC.
The saddest piece of it was that the son was himself an MD and should have known better than to stay up there, but it was one of those "Hunt of a Lifetime" deals that the father/writer had been looking forward to for a long time and the son didn't want to screw it up for the Old Man. Must've figured he was monitoring himself adequately.
I don't think that son was a father.
Take care of your boy. There will be other hunts.
Had it two tips. Dont drink booze and drink a lot of water. Dont wait till thirsty. A mean a lot of water. My daughter is like me and got sick at breckenridge this summer.
Only one thing you can do: hunt at lower elevations. There is really only one cure for elevation sickness, and that's to descend - and in this case, that's where you need to stay and hunt. Good luck!
THere's been some good threads about altitude sickness. Sometimes you can acclimate over a period of time. Watch for symptoms if you bump back up in elevation, though, and be honest if altitude is still kicking your butt.
Check out my link. I have used diamox (acetazolamide) with no bad side effects. In fact my whole family used it on a ski trip. No one had altitude sickness. I can't say if it was the medication but it didn't hurt us to take it and may have helped.
I too have a spot that would work for you. It isn't pristine wilderness nor a place for huge bulls but we have had pretty good luck there. It really works well for car camping.
Let me know if you are interested. If you are I will PM you my phone number and we can talk about it.
Dwayne
Wow, I sure hope he's alright. No hunt would be worth my Son's or anyone else's wellbeing. Really... "spoiling"?
--Bill
Way to step in Idy! I concur w/ the above. Good luck!
I guess I am lucky. I go to may daughters place in Arizona. She lives at 5300 feet, we then travel to 7500 feet. I don't have any problems. But, I do take asprin for about 3-4 days before I go. Plus, I live in Pa. and 60 years old.
For anyone reading this and are about to head to elevation for the first time, do some research. There are Rx you can take. Avoid booze. Take it easy the first day or two. Your diet can even impact your risk. Some OTC items may be helpful though check with your doctor. If you are not urinating every 20 minutes or so while hiking at altitude then you may very likely be dehydrating which increases your risk of lots of unfortunate outcomes. The first 48-72 hours of being at altitude cause your body to react to the relatively less plentiful oxygen per breath includes how your body deals with water.
If you are winded and there is pounding in your ears then stop and sit down for a few minutes. You are not going to suddenly acclimate to altitude so pace yourself.
I am a flatlander and have been above 11,000 feet hunting in 3 of the past 5 years. Knock on wood I have not had issues but one year another gentleman in our camp had some troubling issues. He stayed in camp the next day as we headed higher looking for a mountain goat and his symptoms quickly subsided and did not return. My plan if I have issues is to go lower by 2,000 feet minimum for no less than 24 hours then would consider heading higher if felt much better.
Lots of good info out there. Is a serious risk so do research and prepare prior to getting to the mountain.
Correct me if I am wrong TreeWalker but I think drinking not urinating every 20 minutes was the correct info.
DH I was thinking the same thing. Good gosh the only time I can go every 20 minutes is after having a pot of coffee.
