154 days until elk season. That seems like an eternity until I start thinking of all the things that need done. It is difficult to know where to start. Buy this, pack that, don’t forget this, on and on. My head spins when I look at my camping gear. Will I need all that? Do I have room for that?
Okay, breathe. How does a person eat a cow? One bite at a time! That is how I am going to treat this process. Compartmentalize it. Break it down into smaller and smaller units that can easily be checked off and get me to the goal without losing my mind. I have learned as I have grown older that remembering every little detail is becoming hard. By making the list smaller and smaller the little details become the main focus. They get done this way and I will be a happy camper come elk season.
OK let’s start our process of breaking down the preparation for the hunt. I’ll start with generalities and work down from there. I hope to end up with a sort of outline. I can start at the lower levels and check them off, working my way to the higher levels as I progress.
- Travel (Getting there and back.)
- Lodging (Sleeping arrangements)
- Conditioning (Preparing the body and mind for the hunt.)
- Groceries (Eating, 4th on my list, 1st in my heart!)
- Hunting (Skills and equipment needed to bag an elk)
- After the kill (Now what do I do!)
- Everything else (Ye olde miscellaneous category)
The categories are still very broad, but now I have someplace to put my thoughts, ideas, and checklists. As I break down the categories, I also need to prioritize them. I obviously don’t need to worry as much about food five months ahead of schedule as I do about my fat belly. Maybe if I worried less about food all the time I wouldn’t need to worry about my fat belly now!
As I scan my list above the on that jumps out is conditioning. There is no short cut and it cannot be done a week before the trip. So now is the time to start. Setting goals is important here. They need to be reasonable. Many short term goals will be more effective than one long term mega goal.
The tricky part for me is that I like to eat. I really like to eat. A lot! What I am going to have to do is find those things which I don’t mind giving up and mix those with exercise that doesn’t feel like basic training. That being said, there is going to be hard work and there is going to be sacrifice. I am removing the numbers from my outline, they impart a sense of priority which isn’t necessarily true.
- Travel
- Lodging
- Conditioning
- Body
- Diet
- No Soda! (Start 4/8)
- Salad for 1 meal per day (Start 4/8)
- Exercise
- 10 pushups daily (Start 4/8)
- 25 Sit ups Daily (Start 4/8)
- Walk 10 mile per week. (Start 4/8)
- Mind
- Groceries
- Hunting
- After the kill
- Everything else
I am starting with things that I know I can do. I can do 10 push ups and 25 sit ups. The key is doing them every day. The walking is a weekly goal, I’ve done this to allow for scheduling and/ or weather conflicts. For the diet I tried to pick things I could do. I drink soda, but I also can live without it. I also like salads but don’t eat them nearly enough. In two weeks I will revisit these goals and hopefully be able to increase the intensity.
As a reference point my weight as of 4/8/2011 is 215lbs. I would like to be under 200lbs. when my hunt begins. Every pound I leave at home is one less I have to carry up the mountain. If I walk five miles a day that is about 9000 steps. For every pound I drop it will be 4 ½ tons per day that I won’t be lifting.
Well my goals are set for now, time to get going.
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