Dave Beck

Man, it’s July already. Corn is way past knee high and the summer days are going by way faster than I would like. Instead of February lasting longer during leap year, I would prefer to add a couple of days to the month of July. I mean, who would object to making February two or three days shorter? Sure, I like walleye fishing in Red Wing just as much as the next guy but when it comes right down to it, I’d rather throw summer lures for crappies or muskies. There is another reason why July is an important outdoor month for me: It is the start of elk hunting/archery training. 

Elk hunting training means a lot of necessary but not very glamorous work. The first task being some backpack work. By that I mean hiking around with a weighted backpack while pounding the pavement. A normal pack for a day hunt for me is about 17 pounds. The weather really dictates how much that weight varies. If there is a ton of rain in the forecast, extra rain gear is obviously needed and the weight goes up. In the early archery season when dealing with warmer temperatures, more water is better. Now if we are talking about packing an elk off the mountain, well that could mean a pack that weighs 70 to 80 pounds. If I trained with a pack that heavy, I probably wouldn’t make it out west to hunt. I usually split the difference and start my training with a 30-pound pack and work up to 40. I also pray that when we pack out an elk, I get the lightest pack. 

I don’t increase my running routine during training because I’m at the age when hard pavement and old knees don’t get along. Oh, I still run on a pretty routine basis but I’m just careful not to overdo it. I also have a built-in safety net in that I hunt with my brothers. That means that I don’t have to be in Olympic shape to hunt in the mountains, I just have to be in a little better shape than my brothers.   

Shooting arrows more frequently is also part of my training routine. I have my old bow in the basement and I fire a couple of arrows down there per week, all year round. That training keeps the muscle memory routine intact. Even though it’s just two arrows a week, it’s enough to keep sharp enough during the long off-season. During July I’ll shoot more arrows per week and at longer distances.  

The last piece of the training puzzle is the most important. I always say that nothing gets you in shape for the mountains like the mountains themselves. Proof of that is how physically fit I always feel after I get back from an elk hunt. So, in the spirit of getting totally immersed in elk and mountain shape, I switch to drinking Coors. It’s brewed with mountain water right? Prove to me that it doesn’t work.  

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