Matter of fact I started doing this training program with a trainer online to get in shape because my confidence was completely gone, because i gained so much weight since i got out. I figured if my job kicks my butt so hard, there is no way I could do DIY western hunt. I started using a heart rate monitor and fit bit and had no idea how active I actually was up to that point. I should have known, i know how much the trailer weighs. It is what it is.

Don’t be discouraged by dudes like Cam Hanes and others, that live this absurd lifestyle to increase their range in the mountains. You can hunt.

I don’t think any of the market hunters in the old days worried about any of this.

Edit- I can’t help it if I get caught up in the one-upmanship of this thread. I am sorry for that. Once in a while i want to beat my chest like a gorilla. Go do your hunt! One day my fat 320 pound butt is gonna hump an elk out of the rockies. Watch me!

After hearing all these stories I feel fortunate. Even when I was above 14k in Colorado I didn't have any issues. Now i live at 3k elevation and dont really worry about it.

Holy smokes. What part of Colorado was that?

If you have high hemoglobin, you will typical adjust much quicker. Your new home is columbia falls MO?

Although I get what you are saying, air at 5K is air at 5K...rural air doesn't have all the CO and pollution the city does, and that is what you are feeling in the city vs rural, but the O2 concentration is the same at 5K whether in city or not.

Problem is CO from car exhaust and other exhaust fumes binds to hemoglobin way better than o2, so that is part of the reason the city sux.

I have been walking 2+ miles most days of the week for well over thirty years. About two or three years ago, age mid 60's, while riding with family members in a RZR in CO we stopped at a historical marker indicating 12,700 feet. There was a trail from there up to the peak of a mountain that I forgot the name of. I told them I was going to walk about halfway to the top from there, which I did. I'm guessing I went up a little over 13,000 feet and back with about zero strain or pain.

About an hour later I started coughing and couldn't stop. I wasn't sick, just a hacking cough. This lasted the rest of the evening. The next morning I told my wife I didn't feel so well and wanted to hang around town in Buena Vista while the gang went trail riding. The next day we were coming home. That next morning family went one direction, kind of northerly. I told my wife that we were going due south,downhill, straight to TX End of story and lesson learned.

Kalispell, MT

The high part...

Wish my dumb [censored] would of discovered Whitefish in 19. Love that area

Sure sounds like you got pulmonary edema from the altitude. It also could have been a cold. But if it went away when you decreased altitude then it was most likely pulmonary edema and you need to be careful going above 8K from here on out. Something like pulmonary edema if left untreated and you remain at altitude can kill you. Not as lethal as major cerebral edema, but given enough time it can really hurt you and make life really bad permanently.

Problem with altitude sickness is it doesn't care how "in shape" you are. You either get it or don't. It is a lung and kidney issue and acid base regulation due to the lower oxygenation level and higher carbon dioxide levels in your blood causing a respiratory alkalosis and a resultant metabolic acidosis from your kidneys. Fitness level means nothing t those processes.

As was mentioned by BOBO, some meds can help, and for anyone who has experienced altitude sickness, I would highly suggest always taking preventative measure when going to altitude above 8K, be it acclimatization, meds, or other measures, but you really never know when it might go from AMS (acute mountain sickness) to HACE (high altitude cerebral edema) which can be lethal.

yelp especially if hacking up liquid and breath was heavy. Id be careful next time you go and see a doctor about prescription like diamox, with that said first remedy of PE is get lower in altitude

water in lungs is not good

You could be right, and I was told that by others as well. I know I didn't have a cold and everything was fine afterwards. I won't do that again. I've made about five trips in recent years to various other trail riding destinations at high altitudes I have had no problem at all. I just didn't do anything crazy like that.

DannyB, and anyone else reading this, I edited my post that was quoted in the last two posts, please read it in entirety. This is something that is not to be trifled with and can kill. So being proactive when going to altitude for someone who had a significant altitude reaction is almost a must.

I have an Anesthesiologist friend that goes hiking up there every year. He told me from now on to get a prescription for something I forgot the name of. He said all of his bunch takes it starting I think a couple of days before leaving and while up there. He said also to make sure to drink a lot of water the whole time up there, which I do anyway.

I didn’t know there were homes at 14k feet. That is really something. Living at 14k feet has got to change you. I don’t think most of the people reading this understand how BA that is.

Yep ,that sounds like Diamox or acetazolamide (generic). I have my son take it as he is prone to AMS and this solves that problem for him. It can cause some side effects like tingling in the digits and metallic taste, but not everyone gets that. There are other meds to take if too many side effect from diamox, like BOBO said cialis can be used, but that raises a whole new can of worm

only one private 14’er in the US. there is no home on it…. yet

lol can of worm. I dont remember the dosage though might only be 2.5 or 5 mg. Nut shell see a competent doctor

Be the baddest construction crew on the planet to build that mf-er. Or build it yourself… that is some Chuck Norris type of work right there.

The owner can drive pretty close to top. Think he heli ski’s it in the winter. It would need to be an engineering stand out. can be pretty extreme

I lost track of how many 14'ers my son has hiked in Colo. Actually he speed walks them. One he would just walked out his door at house and go up. He also runs marathons on mountain trails at elevation. as well as one ultra marathon on trails. He lives there and is acclimated, and he trains a bunch.
When I visit him the altitude doesnt bother me but I dont do much strenuous and dont go real high.

I re-read my post to make sure, but I never said that I lived at 14k

Can I still be BA? That has a nice ring to it.

I can't even see myself speed walking at sea level. Maybe 35-40 years ago....

It is truly a very special place. I think the locals take for granted how spectacular this valley really is.

Back to topic somewhat, has anyone ever used one of those weighted vests to train for the hunting up here? The concept seems interesting.

I think so. I know some people have a great time hiking to places like that. If i made it that far i might not survive the trip back down.