MO Sherpa and elk

[Shaun]

We were up in the dark and headed up the west wall at first shooting light. Less than 100 yards of up and I was dying. There is only a hint of oxygen at this altitude and my sedentary summer of driving and working on the computer for employment was all too evident. No one argued when John said this was as high was we went for the morning hunt and we mirrored the evening hunt on this other side valley and part way up.  

Back to camp for a hardy feed mid morning and plans for the evening attack. John and Jacob had found a couple shelf formations with wallows half way up this west slope last week with lots of sign and the big bull encounter. He said he wished they could hunt it later but the stock needed attention well before dark and they had always come down early.

It was another picture perfect weather day and the rocky east wall of the canyon reflected ambient light through the valley floor long before the sun peaked over. Our camp was well placed against this east side protected by the spruce and pines.

 

[gblrklr]

That is some BEAUTIFUL country!

[Shaun]

I generously offered to hang near camp and take care of the horses to allow John and Eric to try the high shelf hunt later into the day (read: I was weak as an infant and perfectly happy to stay down low to allow my aching body to try to get in tune with the altitude). So the mountain men strode up an elk path that literally went straight up the mountain. John said that he had made it to this shelf in 38 minutes. Try this: go to the gym and get on the stair stepper. Set it to the highest setting and go for 38 minutes. Oh yeah, hold your breath while you do it to simulate the altitude of 10,000 feet.

Off they went and I had the valley to myself. Well fed and rested my eye drifted to the creek as I put together my flyrod.

[Shaun]

The undisturbed elk live where its hard for people to go, so do the undisturbed fish. This small crystal clear brook looked like Cutthroat heaven to me and John said they had seen lots of fish but could not get them to cooperate last week.

 

Light weight flyrod, fresh tippet and a bead head nymph and I was ready. A quick scout found the motherload and the game was on.

 

[Shaun]

I worked this hole then found a couple singles in other holes and put together breakfast for tomorrow. Oh yeah, come to Pappa... not bow hunting but a part of the high county experience and about as traditional as it gets.

 

After cleaning my catch I was feeling pretty recovered and spent the rest of the afternoon hunting and scouting the low valley walls and melting the rest of the way into the ecosystem and hunter mode. Ah, I live for this stuff!

[MJB]

SWEET  

[Shaun]

Horses. No way to do this and get your elk out without stock and John's horses are fine ones. Tank, Sylvester, Fritz, Blue, Cowboy, Peppe, and my special friend and mount for the week Smoke. I let them off the high line mid afternoon and easily caught them and hooked em up towards dusk. They were in heaven too with belly deep grass, fresh running water and mountains for a corral.

Summer is very short up here with snow likely until July 4th and due again any time now in early September. There are some special wildflowers in the high meadows and I took some time to stop and smell the roses.

 

 

 

 

[pine nut]

You are bringing back some wonderful and some painful memories of my trips to Colorado! This is almost as good as being there.  Thanks and keep it coming.  I have to live vicariously now and your story is stimulating my imagination.

[Strutter]

Great pics and story.  Thanks for sharing.

Rob

[Shaun]

Meanwhile Eric and John sat some active wallows 900 feet above me and used their cow calls sparingly throughout the afternoon. Mid afternoon Eric had a bull respond and come to a higher rock shelf 50 feet up and 90 yards away from his hide out. The bull eyed Eric's pop up photo decoy that was being blasted about by high mountain winds and was not convinced. He faded away without ever approaching bow range.

They met at about 5 PM and went on up to the top another 900 feet. On the way they got a bull to respond from his bedding area but he gathered his cows and moved away. They were unable to catch up enough to force him to challenge and they watched him drift over the next saddle to safety around 6:30. A straight down hill march brought them back to camp an hour later and we ate and turned in soon after the moon lit the peaks.

 

[Son of Texas]

Great read and pictures lets hear some more!!!  

[4runr]

You are fulfilling my expectations so far. Great pics and great story telling.

[ron w]

Great photos,it's a wonderful place you guys chose to hunt.

[Shaun]

Monday Sept 8th

We slept in. That is I was out till 7 which is late for me and Eric staggered out a couple hours later. I felt a little less pain seeing the other two moving a little stiffer this morning after their climb.

We headed up around 10 and made it to the half way wallows around 11. "There are two steep sections on the way up" said John. I thought I had already seen steep, but I was wrong. We're talking the kind of steep where you go twenty steps and then rest, just make it to that flat rock, or to that next tree.

I sat the wallow till 5 where the giant bull had stared down Jacob, but he did not return, though some elk had muddied the waters and moved some indicator sticks John had placed.

We met at the predetermined 5PM and John and Eric headed on up top while I sat the second wallow where Eric had seen the bull the afternoon before on the rock ledge in the background here

 

A closer look at the feedlot elk prints around this seep.

 

All the company I had was the ever present chatterboxes that would roust me from my sun soaked lounging if we had company.

 

[Shaun]

The mountain men returned around 7 reporting no new elk sign on top and lots of 200 pound rocks pried up and for ant licking by a bruin that had left a scat pile of impressive proportion.

Back to the bottom and our discussion (around supper since going down is still hard work) came to the consensus that the elk had moved and we needed to let this area cool off for a couple days. Out came the maps and John showed us "plan B". One point nine miles as the crow (raven up here) flies away was a high mountain lake and some likely elk country. To get there we would have to ride a mile back the trail and take a fork to Pumpkin Lake. The next half mile takes two miles of switch back trail to climb to this plateau. We're talking steep again with a marginal trail and plenty of obstacles like downed trees that require going around off the trail, rock faces where the horses slip and cascading small streams to cross. Good thing John trains his horses for these challenges.

Tuesday Sept 9th.

I can really sleep when the tired is on me and the next thing I knew some maniac was pounding a spoon against a pan in the tent next door and my watch said O dark hundred.

Its not all climb till you drop and hunt elk hard. There was a herd of camp deer hanging around. Colorado started managing the mule deer better and if you want a tag you have to apply early. This has reduced the pressure and some of them are acting like pre firearm specimens. These would cruise that camp and look for scraps or clean up the sweet feed we set for the horses. Here's one of those hold the camera at arm's length and take your own photo shots with a doe at about 30 feet.

   

[Toecutter]

This is amazing!!!  Great storytelling and awesome pics!!  I am bookmarking this thread and vowing to see the rockies again next year!!  Absolutely fantastic, thanks for taking us along.

Nathan

[Shaun]

Back to climb till you drop and hunt elk.

After some hot breakfast we saddled up the riding stock, Sylvester for John, Cowboy for Eric and my pal Smoke for me. A day off and a horse was looking like a good idea again, especially with the trip to Pumpkin Lake plateau ahead. The weather was changing and our valley was in the clouds.

 

It did not look like a lot of topographic lines to cross, but each one represents 200 feet of elevation. We had a couple or three down and a half dozen up to get to the new spot. Its kinda hard work riding a horse, but faster and easier by far than walking. And what a spot we found at the new area! John can really read a lot into those maps.

 

[Shaun]

We set ambush spots around this clearing in the hopes that a bull would get hot and bothered tending his bedded herd and come cool off mid afternoon. No luck but the time passed until the evening elk moving time and we set off again to explore.

On the map there was a small saddle not far away and then a stream cut of a few hundred feet deep and another likely plateau on the other side of this. When we got to the saddle we found what looked like a giant set of cricket wickets beat by a mad batter. There were three four inch thick pines a foot apart and some bull had freshly raked them to warn that this was his cross roads.

We inspected the stream cut and it looked steep and also like a possible cool north slope for bedding. We started around the long way staying on the same elevation but stopped to rest and enjoy the virgin pine timber stand. As we rested and talked we decided to hang in place till 5 and then go back to the saddle and call from there. We wanted to stay fairly close to the horses and plan our evening to head down in a timely fashion to avoid the treacherous trail in the dark. And, there was just something special feeling about that saddle and the three pine rub, a mojo if you will.

[Shaun]

Oooops, review of field notes and I have to back up to this morning. After breakfast we hunted down the valley stream - not up as before. We were back out along the main trail and not long after we started moving and setting up there was an answering bugle! It did not sound real mad, but within moments I caught a glimpse of the bull charging in! He angled well ahead of me and towards Eric. Off to my side I heard more elk moving and I hurried into position to be ready for these.

I saw two cows go by - just flashes between the trees. I'm no trophy hunter and cow was on my list. There! 25 yards and peaking around a thin twig bush. As the bow came up I caught a hint of more than ears on top. Freezing I studied the elk. I tried to make the eight inch spike antlers go away, but they stayed there. Cows are legal, calves are legal, bulls with at least one four point antler or a five inch brow tine are legal, but in this Colorado zone - no spike bulls. He looked me over with a dumb as a box of rocks look. Your lucky day Mr Spike.

Meanwhile the herd bull had managed to get down wind without showing enough to shoot at and Eric and John followed a ways but to no avail. He moved away down valley bugling his anger back at them. We were between him and his cows as they had headed up stream past me. We set ambush for most of an hour to see if he'd double back to try to rejoin the herd but no.

Now its back to the saddle horses, up to Pumpkin Lake and back to the special mojo saddle for the evening hunt.

[Shaun]

We quietly moved back to the saddle. Eric faded over towards the creek cut and John and I spread out on the wallow slope side of the saddle. At the appointed hour John let go a long sweet bugle call. Nothing. "Lets wait a half hour and try it again", he said.

5:30 slowly came around and he let go another high note. Almost immediately there was a clattering of elk hooves on loose rock coming up toward John and I. We put tension on the string and peered to the south towards the sounds. Eric let out a plaintive cow call to keep things moving and was rewarded with a huge angry snarling challenge bugle from his side. It was the kind that makes your neck hair stand on end. This bull was mad and someone was about to get a good thrashing!

The hoof noise on our side retreated and I could hear clattering of the approaching bull up Eric's slope. John moved a few steps that way and set to draw his bow. His target appeared 30 yards (in his range) and his Shrew string started back with a heavy carbon arrow pushing a sharp Stos broad head... There was no need to count horn points, this was a brute! Where was Eric?