Any help will be appreciated!!!
Mountain Goat
Last Thursday I became the luckiest man alive winning the Alaskan Bowhunters Association Mountain Goat Raffle. I have 4 months to prepare for something I’d much rather have a year for! Oh well! I don’t consider myself in bad shape but definitely could lose some weight. I have committed to an extreme fitness class already and that will be on top of my pack carrying workout, normal 3 to 6 mile runs and lifting. I would appreciate any gear lists and workouts from you tough Sobs that have done this. Keep me accountable and I promise to take you all on the adventure of my life later this fall.
Trust your guide and never give up!!!
First of all, congrats again on the tag! I’d reach out to Nick(Midwest) on here. He’s a training fanatic, and he’ll get you in shape…if he don’t kill you, first! Also, Bowjangles has a current thread on here, “Mt. Goat Hunt with Lonesome Dove” that might help you as well.
Definitely looking forward to following along on your adventure!
I saw that one Troy and was following before this all went down. I planned on getting ahold of Nick, he only lives about an hour and a half from me.... and he’s in WAY better shape than me now lol
Hunt I’ll trust every word. No way I’m rolling in and acting like I have any clue what’s going on. With no experience in this sort of hunt all I can do is completely follow along and work my ass off.
I've hunted Mountain goats twice with a bow and was successful both times. One was guided the other was DIY. You'll want to find a steep incline (bleachers,hill) and hike up and down with a weighted pack around 40-50lbs an hour or more 4 times a week will help. I'd also buy some good rain gear and clothing like Kuiu or Sitka. Also buy some top end boots like crisp or Kenetreks. You'll also need a good pack like Kifaru or Stone Glaicer. Practice shooting steep angles downhill. Congrats on winning the hunt and please post pictures and your story when you get back.
Here's a picture of my BC Billy I shot the first day. As you can see it was pretty wet day.
That’s fantastic, Get after it!
Definitely practice your shooting! As others have said, angles are huge. Make sure you have a 3rd axis sight. I’d be shooting an hour plus every other day and even take a couple of shots while fatigued. Don’t stress, you have plenty of time to get in shape and have your shooting tuned.
A tall stadium with stairs is awesome. That is your best/worst friend, as others have stated. The real stair master at the gym (revolving machine) is also great. Do not hold onto anything while doing it, you are only cheating yourself.
Get your boots ordered now. Get some trekking poles. Your outfitter will have a list, listen to them.
Congrats!
Mental is more important than physical for goat hunts, at least the dozen or so goat hunts I've been on.
Just a note to say good luck on your adventure of a lifetime. We all wish you well preparing for and on the trip itself. You are a fortunate bowhunter, enjoy the journey and let us all hear about it later.
Luckily I have a gym 3 blocks from my house with both a stair climber and a Jacobs ladder. I also have a really steep hill a block away. It’s not very tall, maybe 60-90 ft? But I’ve been doing laps on that for a couple years. Did a gladiator run yesterday and was pretty bogged down by my group. Definitely coulda pushed harder but....hard to leave the girlfriend behind when it was her idea. Lol we have 6 bins on dads farm and a 100ft elevator leg that I can shoot off of. Already trying to figure out where to place targets.
I have a kuiu Yukon rain jacket and some first light boundary stormtight pants (though they’re brown..... so I really need camo pants)
Have some pretty decent Mendel Denali boots that fit me really well.
I have a eberlestock mainframe that I love and constantly hike 3 miles with 70#s on. Flat miles though. Thinking of just picking up a new bag for it.
I love merino wool and have a fair amount, but would I be better served with synthetic? I assume a synthetic bag vs down?
I think you know the workouts required, Luke. I have no experience with that kind of hunt, either, but I bet there'll be some climbing! :-) I would be finding the steepest terrain I could and be doing hill repeats at least once per week. Either running or power hiking with a weighted pack on. Probably alternate those every week.
As far as weight loss, I do have some very recent experience I'd like to share. You know how to tell if someone's on Keto? They'll tell you! ;-) So here goes...
I have a very challenging ultra race schedule this year. To help with speed and injury prevention, I wanted to drop some weight. A bunch of weight. For me, that was like 20+ lbs. When I train for a marathon, I'm usually in the low 170's by race day. I wanted to get down to the low 160's.
I've always thought Keto was just the latest fad diet. If I wanted to lose weight, I would normally just clean up my diet, eat 5 or 6 small meals per day and limit my carbs after lunch. It works but as I start to restrict calories more by only eating lean protein and a smaller percentage of quality carbs, I am hungry ALL the time. Like within an hour of eating. I would just suffer through and try not to overdo my cheat days.
So after reading about Zach Bitter, an ultra runner who ran the world record 100 mile, and his low carb, fat adapted approach to training and racing, I decided to give it a 6 week trial. I didn't keep a food diary and track my macros (HATE doing that), I basically just cut out carbs and increased my fat intake. No potatoes, no pasta, no rice, no bread, no fruit other than a few blueberries, blackberries, or strawberries (they are very low carb). BUT, I get to eat high fat meats which I love! Ribeye steaks, high fat hamburger, whole eggs, pulled pork and brisket (sans the bbq sauce), olive oil based salad dressing, lots of butter on my cooked veggies. Basically, all my carbs came from vegetables.
I started dropping weight right away but it slowed after a few weeks. So then I started reading more on it. Actually, watched a bunch of YouTube videos by Dr. Eric Berg, Zach Bitter, Mark Sisson, Thomas DeLauer, and a couple others. After learning all the benefits and how EXTREMELY healthy a keto diet is, I was all in. This is when I started intermittent fasting.
I'd done some fasts before. Usually 24 hr. fast, some longer, usually once a month or so. Now, I started intermittent fasting 16 hrs. or so every day. So I'm only eating 2 meals per day....lunch and dinner. But they're big meals of over 1000 calories each and LOTS of fat. I started tracking macros for a couple weeks to see if I was on track. MyFitnessPal app makes this pretty easy. I was eating around 70% fat, 25% protein, and only around 5% carbs with all the carbs coming pretty much from vegetables. Energy levels are good. No hunger pangs in the afternoon or before bed. The only time I'm hungry is in the morning but that comes and goes. The longer I've been doing this, the easier it has gotten.
I got up yesterday morning, no breakfast, did a 17.5 mile trail run with no fuel during the run, no problem. I've successfully trained my body to run on fat oxidation for long periods. Just weighed myself a few minutes ago and I'm at 165. Down over 20 lbs. in 14 weeks.
It's working for me. Check out the YouTubers mentioned above if you want to learn more. Also, Owl on here has been at it for a long time. He's been helpful as well.
Congrats on the hunt again, Luke!
Merino wool clothing is great for goat hunts. wicks moisture and doesn't stink if you are out there for 10 days.
Synthetic or waterproof down for sleeping bag.
Shoot the steep angles. Long distance will show if your 3rd axis is off. I’m sure your hunt will be great, but better to over prepare than not.
I would seriously consider Cork boots.
^^ I think Johnnie knows a thing or two about SE AK!
Maybe a set of micro spikes would be beneficial for your current boots.
Nick got you on a diet plan. You got the workout plan. You are going to have the best guide in the world. What’s not to like?!!!!!!!!!
Looking forward to the recap. Stay safe. Stay healthy by eating the fat. Don’t just Atkins diet the weight off. Eat the fat keto requires. Or you are going to tank. Good luck and God Bless.
And a pair of Sealskinz socks as insurance in case you boots get wet.
I think I remember reading somewhere Nick said Ed was flexible on dates as it was going to be their first hunt of the year. If they’re flexible and you’re flexible I’d inquire about a short notice trip earlier than scheduled if you get a solid break in the weather. Fall equinox storms can be pretty snotty in this country. We did have a beautiful stretch the first half of September last year, and I got 8 days of nothing but sun on my hunt. Not long after I got home it got ugly for a while. And it’s been pretty ugly ever since, haha!
If hair length is at the top of your list scrap all that and stick with your dates! Good luck! Can’t wait to follow along.
Keto is great if you can follow it, but allow yourself a cheat day. Don't go all ballistic, but eat something you enjoy. Also, ease into your training and stretch all the time! Yoga is your best friend for stretching! The mental game is more important than the physical! Your body is capable of putting out ten times what you think it is, you just can't quit! It's ok to crawl, it's ok to fall, but it's not ok to quit! Can't wait to hear the story!
Good Luck and God Bless!
That’s fantastic, Get after it!
I’m gonna be real honest here. Shooting these angles in a lot harder than I expected! 28 yards on angle comp. 37 line of sight.
I’m gonna be real honest here. Shooting these angles in a lot harder than I expected! 28 yards on angle comp. 37 line of sight.
Most work out regimens cause overdevelopment of the quads. Balanced development of hamstrings is important to prevent injury. Become the king of the lunge. Preferably with weight. Also Good Mornings really build the hammys with a 45 lb bar.
Luke, that looks awesome shooting off the grain elevator!
Congrats for the hunt have a very good boots and rain gear And try to prepare yourself as much as you can. Up and down stairs with your bag in your back is a very good start
Congrats for the hunt have a very good boots and rain gear And try to prepare yourself as much as you can. Up and down stairs with your bag in your back is a very good start
How goes the prep Luke? Did you stick with the original dates? Lot of decent weather in Southeast lately. Hope it continues into the fall.
Preps been going well. Just finished 9 weeks of Next level Extreme Fitness. Apparently that’s more challenging than 2 years ago…. They beat the tar outta me daily. Lots of 3D shoots. Lots of pack hiking. It’s hard to prep for a cold, wet, windy and steep week. My part of Iowa’s flat as a pancake, definitely moisture free this summer and hot as hades. On the plus side, I’ve got a lot of cool new gear I didn’t need!
Ed’s been great to work with and so have all the guys in the Alaska bowhunters association. All well as everyone here, friends and family.
KB the dates are now official with the paperwork I just signed, sept 27-oct 6. Been shooting as far as my sight allows. 93 yards here and there. Just did an hour on the stair climber last night and managed 229 floors. I was sweating for sure but not tired. My gym owner works for me and suggested bringing my pack in, so I’ll do that tonight. Normally been doing that outside but this heat is killing me.
93 yards bit low and left but I was happy with my grouping
93 yards bit low and left but I was happy with my grouping
Looks like you will Definitely be ready
The goats do not stand a chance! You’re gonna have a blast!
Sounds like you’re killing your training, Luke! Sure wish you could get some training under some extremely wet conditions, here in Iowa! :-(
This is great! Luke you’re going to have a great hunt!
