Adventure In The West....

[Joe D]

Great pics Joe and Norb....looks like an excellent trip!      

[Terry Green]

[thehaf2000]

What an adventure!!!!!

[JC]

Great pics Whip. I feel for you in that thin air...I've had asthma myself since birth. Meds help, but still lower capacity. Somewhat of a blessing sometimes, when I slow down is often when I see pretty sites I would probably not notice otherwise....like that pretty flower pic you took.

Thanks for the story, really enjoyed it and your photos.

[Littlefeather]

Really good stuff!!!!! Your "best friend" Barney????? Ugg!    

Thin air is something I certainly can relate to.

Glad to hear about the Elk!     CK

[Whip]

You're right JC.  On our first day out I didn't use my inhaler right away and started wheezing.  Our guide Pat said later he was thinking to himself that this was going to be a long week...
After that I hit the inhaler before starting out each morning and didn't have any trouble other than needing to stop more often than the average guy.

Oh, and CK, anybody who will carry my butt up hundreds of feet of evelvation change can be my best friend.  

[Charlie Lamb]

Great stuff Joe!!  

[Littlefeather]

:D   I see your point Joe! Most Barney's just try and see how far they can throw me.......     They like to kick me too! CK

[vermonster13]

Great job and a nice bull.

[Whip]

Another benefit of hunting with horses was soon apparant - they carry dead elk too!  All we had to do was quarter and bag it, and our work was done.  Ohne packed the meat out to the truck with the outfitter and guide.
 

As a reward for his success he got to spend the night in town - motel, shower, big dinner.

I grabbed lunch and headed up the mountain behind camp.  Sammy had given me directions to some wallows that had been getting hit and I wanted to find them.  I think Sammy missed telling me about a creek I needed to cross or something, but in any case I didn't find the wallows.

I did find elk though.  Moving slowly along the top edge of the timber I spotted two elk bedded just below me.  No good way to approach, so I backed up and set up near a trail I hoped they might use when they got up in the afternoon.

I hadn't been there more than an hour when a bull bugled one ridge over from where I sat.  I continued to stay where I was, while the bull continued to bugle.  This went on for another good hour.  It didn't seem like he was moving at all.  

I couldn't take it anymore.  I wasn't even sure there was a bull with the group I was waiting on.  And the bull I could hear kept throwing insults at me.  I decided to take one more peek from a different direction toward where I had seen the bedded elk earlier.  As I approached the edge of the woods I saw an antler sticking up from behind a log not 40 yards away!

This one was in a very approachable position.  But as I studied the antler something just didn't seem quite right.  It appeared to be held at an odd angle.  I watched for awhile, and it never moved.  It soon became apparant I was watching an antler on a dead bull.

Slipping down to him I found a skeleton of a bull that had died the previous year.  Just a pile of bones, but a very nice set of antlers.  I considered it a gift, and loaded them onto my pack.

 

[Steve O]

Joe,

You are not kidding about having horses to haul out an elk, especially a big, mature bull.  If I ever do backpack again for anything bigger than a caribou, I am going to have a packer on call    

Now get on with the story  :p

[knife river]

This is world-class stuff, Whip!  More, please!    

[Whip]

The bugling bull was still at.  Not often, but he let go with one often enough for me to make a move.  I eased my way down through a deep ravine and back up the other side.  As I crested the top I spotted some cows not far ahead, and they were moving my way!

I crawled to a postition behind two large trees, and let the elk come to me.  Three cows feed to within 25 yards, and stopped for a drink at a small seep.  The bull, a heavy 5x5, was following behind.  The wind again was in my favor, blowing strongly downhill.  If it would only hold until he got in position I knew I would get a shot, and said a silent prayer asking for help in picking a spot and shooting a good arrow.  

At 50 yards the bull stopped and raked the ground with his antlers, and then lay down on the spot.  He bugled to his cows and surveyed his domain.  My eyes were glued to him as I felt the dreaded puff of breeze on the back of my neck - NO!  Sure enough, when I looked back to the cows in front of me one of them had her head held high, and within seconds the retreat began.  So close again!  But the show was over.

[Whip]

The next day would be my last day hunting.  Pat and I skipped the horses and headed up on foot to where I had been the night before.  It was a lung busting climb, but we made it just as dawn was breaking.  Immediately we spotted a bull and 3 cows within 150 yards, but as we discussed where to set up swirling winds gave us away - the bull barked and moved off with his girls.

We could see two other small herds of elk on the mountainside, maybe a dozen in each, and a lone bull near the one on our left.  We liked the idea of the guy by himself, and moved toward him.  Another bull soon joined him, and they started moving our way.  I'm not sure if it was the wind again, or he was just suspisious of the calling, but they turned and headed away.

We sat and watched the larger group feed and loaf as the sun rose higher.  Eventually we figured they would either come toward the timber on the ridge we were on, or on the next one over.  When they decided to move, of course it was to the other ridge, and they were coming fast!

We slipped off the back side of the ridge and ran as fast as my lungs would allow to get over to the next one.  Going downhill wasn't so bad, but when it came time to climb the next ridge I wasn't running anymore.  It took all I could do to move along at a fast walk.  

As we moved higher and higher into the timber we couldn't be sure if we had made it in front of them or not.  Nearing the top edge of the timber I slowed down so that I could watch ahead better and hopefully not bump them.  We were right at the top edge of the trees within 50 yards of where Ohne shot his bull yesterday when we spotted todays bull standing 30 yards away, with only the back half showing behind a tree.  He followed his cows away from us, presenting no opportunity to even draw my bow.  

This had to be the most action I have ever had on a morning in the elk woods.  It had been incredible!  But it wasn't even over yet!  As I sat to catch my breath Pat moved to the top of the ridge, and within a minute was back, signaling another bull - Game on again!

This bull was herding a group of cows down an open valley toward the dark timber, bugling as he went.  The valley turned into a relatively shallow, but very steep draw.  The elk would almost have to pick one of the ridges on either side of the draw to work their way down.  I crept into position on the closest one, and moved slowly through the scattered trees, scanning ahead.  

Within minutes I spotted two cows headed my way.  I set up to allow them to come to me.  But then I saw other cows on the other ridge, and by the sounds of the bugles the bull was with them.  It wasn't long before the cows from my side had turned around and headed back to follow the others.  Getting an opportunity at this bull had seemed like a 50/50 deal, and I'll take those odds any day.  But once again, I had come up tails.

[Missouri CK]

Whip,

I noticed my heart rate rising as I read you story.  That is definately a sign of a well told hunting tale.  I had my fingers crossed for you.

Chris

[Whip]

What a morning it had been!  I was exhausted as much by the constant adrenaline as I was from the mountains.  I wanted to spend my last day on the mountain, and Pat helped me locate the wallows I had been looking for the day before, and left me alone.  

Guided hunting does have its benefits, but to be completely honest, I think I enjoyed my time alone as much as anything.  I can move at my own pace, and when the mood hits me.  I make my own decisions, good or bad, and live with the consequences.  I also tend to notice the small things more when I'm alone.
 

The afternoon drifted away, and I didn't see or even hear an elk.  It had been a clear and sunny morning, but now clouds were drifting in, and I could feel a change in the weather coming.  I set a limit of 3pm to sit at the wallows, and when the appointed time came, moved toward the top again.  

On the other side of a small draw I saw a group of five cows and calves.  No bull was in sight, but on the last night of this trip a cow would be perfect.  I used the terrain to work into postion, and eased my way up behind some trees to provide cover.  Nothing was in sight.  I suppose my old nemisis, the wind, had betrayed me one more time.

Small snowflakes started to filter down thround the trees.  The wind had calmed, and the exercise had warmed me.  The snow continued to get heavier and heavier, and soon I found myself in a winter wonderland.

 

This little guy let me approach within 5 feet.  All he had on his mind was last minute provisions.

 

I wandered the mountainside for a long time, just enjoying being there.  It was snowing so hard I couldn't see far, but that didn't matter.  I didn't cut any elk tracks, but that didn't matter either.  I was just in awe of where I was.  

Eventually, I decided to call my hunt complete, and head back to camp a little early. The snow was accumulating rapidly.  Even if I saw an elk, I was a little concerned that if I would have been fortunate enough to shoot and hit one, I would soon lose any trail it may have left.

On my way down the mountain I caught a glimpse of a large bird winging through the trees.  A little further down the trail, I found I had interupted dinner.

   

[Hunter John]

Goshawk?

[knife river]

Neat picture!  One less flicker in those woods...

Whip, reading about all your close calls brings to mind the saying "infrequent rewards are the most addictive."  That's sure the case with elk hunting!  Add the beauty of the Rockies and a guy doesn't have a prayer of beating that combo.  Then again, who would want to resist?    :D

[Whip]

The warmth of the woodburner in the wall tent was welcome, and we enjoyed another great meal before hitting the sleeping bags for the night.  The following morning dawned clear, and the views were enough to take our breath away.  Pictures can never do justice to what we saw.  I honestly know what it feels like to walk around in the middle of a Christmas card.

 

 

 

Camp was packed up, and the horses loaded for the trip out.  We saddled up and started the trip back to reality.  All I could do was look around with a grin on my face.

 

 

 


 

[Whip]

My adventure of a lifetime was over.  Actually, I hope it is not the trip of a lifetime.  Every trip I go on seems to be better than the last.  I hope that trend continues.

Yes, I wish I had kept my head and not messed up my shot on the first day.  But I was headed home with a nice rack of antlers from the bull I had found.  My freezer would be full thanks to the generosity of my partner Ohne and his offer to share his elk meat with me.  And I had enough memories to last me a lifetime.  Can it really ever get any better than that?

What a trip it had been!  Thanks for coming along.