Hunting by AssociationUnbeknownst to me at the time, the groundwork for a future elk hunt was being laid-out for the past few years by Trad Gang members Tracy Potter, (K.S.Trapper) and Todd Thayn (Just_A_Hunter) and by association their plans would be putting another traditional hunt in my future. This is the tale of that hunt and the friendships that have come from the quest.
Back in the early part of this year, March I believe, my buddy, Chris Kinslow, invited me on another western adventure, this time in the state with red rock pillars, arches and deep sage brush lined canyons….Utah!
By association, I was fortunate enough to be a member of another great traditional archery camp. The host of our camp would be Todd Thayn a Utah native. Having never met before, Todd, with true Trad Gang hospitality, opened his camp and his family’s treasured hunting ground to me and a handful of other TG members with the faith that we would not betray the trust that he has bestowed upon us. With that in mind, this tale will not name any mountain ranges, peaks, valleys, creeks or landmarks so that I can guard the trust of a new friend.
Heading WestFinally the day had arrived! Friday, Friday, Friday! 12:30 and the black F250 was sitting in the Kinslow drive as Chris’ gear was being loaded. By 2:00 we see the smiling faces of Ben Saye (ksbowman) and Tracy Potter (K.S.Trapper) at the 3rd Lawrence, Kansas exit where we connected to the heavily packed trailer to begin our journey. By 3:00 o’clock after some unplanned wiring problems, we were off! Ben had the problem solved and we were on I70 heading west! The total trip time was expected to fall within the 14 hour time frame. So, with the hum of the tires and the purr of the seven liter diesel engine in the background, Ben entertained us with the crazy stories only and iron worker can have, Tracy enticed us with stories relayed to him by Todd and we all talked with excitement of the hunt that we were about to experience while we chased the sun as it fell towards the western horizon.
By 05:00 on Saturday we found ourselves in a small town in Utah and only an hour or so from our final destination. The morning sun lit our way up the mountain as the truck climbed the narrow dusting gravel road carrying us closer to the spot that would be our home for the next seven days. As we ascended through the low desert Oak Brush, I was in ah of the terrain and astounded at the quantity of animals we were seeing. With every turn in the road another Mule Deer was spotted! Does and fawns are everywhere! Having a Mule Deer tag in my pack, I was excited at what I was seeing. Where there are does, there have to be bucks….right?! With our faces gawking out the windows, the crew cab truck climbed the twisting mountain road with Tracy at the helm. Eventually the main gravel mountain road was left for the rough, rutted, dirt camp road. Ahead of us lies the place that we will call home in the Utah Mountains. Our camp, located above the Oak Brush desert and nestled under the green leaf Aspen tree canopy, was to consist of Todd Thayn, Charlie Lamb, Chris Kinslow, Tracy Potter, Ben Saye, Ryan Stedman and me. Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond his control, Charlie could not make it. We missed you Charlie and thought about you often.
Upon arrival we were promptly greeted by Todd’s family and where made to feel welcome from the beginning. Todd, the hunter that he is, was out in the bush with his trusty sidekick Gage so meeting them would come later. Within a few hours camp was setup and the hunt was on!
Getting to know the MountainBy 10:00 or 11:00 Saturday morning I was trekking to the north and Chris was headed west. The map that I held showed several lakes to the north and my goal was to scout as many of these lakes as possible, looking for Elk and Mule Deer activity. The southwesterly wind, blowing at 10+ mph, was not in my favor as I made my way into the bush but if the wind direction remained the same, the hunt back towards camp would put the wind in my face at a time when the animals are the most active.
Aview back towards campThe sky was clear and the day was warm, hot for the animals, with the temps in the mid to high 80’s or low 90’s. Passing over a ridge that put the camp a quarter of a mile away, I felt like I was finally hunting! My surroundings consisted of open rolling grasslands intermixed with sage and pockets of waist and head-high brush. The low lying parts of the draws that lead up the mountain were nestled in a mix of Quaking Aspens, Spruce and Ponderosa Pines.
Within the first half mile I had positioned myself on the south face of a hillside to glass a semi open field and within 10 minutes of sitting there I heard a stick snap behind me. I eased my head around to the east (right) to see a coyote about fifteen yards behind me trotting for cover in the Aspen tree line. Dang-it! I forgot to ask if coyotes were legal. Continuing south and a half hour later I again cross paths with another coyote. This time 10 to 15 yards to my northeast sleeping under a bush! The dog gets my wind and bolts for cover, looking over its shoulder as it runs trying to get a look at me. Ha ha…I love seeing coyotes!
I still hunted my way along the edge of the draws remaining in the shadows as much as possible repeating theses steps: move a few feet, stop, look, listen, glass, look, listen and move again. The progress was slow but I was seeing a lot of animals. Mule deer does and fawns were everywhere and their tolerance of my close proximity to them was incredible.
The ground that I was exploring fell within the 8500’ to 9000’ elevation range and the ponds that I setout to investigate turned out mostly to be dried depressions in the landscape. Occasionally, one of the ponds would show traces of water, more like a bog then a pond, but no sign of elk or deer activity.
At round 9500’ I encountered a rail fence, one of many that I came across on this trip that stretched for miles like a zipper over the mountainous terrain.
Before crossing this particular fence I had to make my way through a thick stand of willows and the thought of aggressive bears kept entering my mind with every push through the dense vegetation. Todd had warned us several times before this hunt that the black bears in this area can be aggressive. A great relieve came over me after exiting the willows and emerging into the open meadow on the other side. To my delight I encountered this on the eastern side of the willow patch…
Elk sigh! What a great sight to see!
As I stood at the rail fence I could hear, coming from my east, the familiar clang of a near by bell mare. Horses…hmmmm Last year I remember the elk seem to be attracted to the sounds of the horses as they plodded along on the mountain trails. I began to wonder if that scenario would hold true in this part of our nation.
Parting from the fence and hugging an Aspen tree-line, I shadowed the horses as they grazed 50 yards away to my south. As I slipped along the edge of the trees I was suddenly startled (actually I had the crap scared out of me) when I heard a loud crash and the sound of pounding earth approaching quickly from behind me. The first thing that entered my mind was “OH CRAP BEAR!” The crash came from the wood fence, the sound of two large pieces of wood being smashed together and the pounding earth was definitely something running in my direction and closing the gap extremely fast! Quickly, I did a left spin and positioned myself 15’ or so into the trees and began nocking an arrow, when suddenly, a bay colored horse emerged onto the trail south of my position. “Good Grief!” I thought to myself “I sure don’t need anymore excitement like that!” With weak knees and shaking hands I opted to leave the commotion of the horses and start hunting my way back to camp.
By this time it was around 5:00 and at the pace I had been moving it would take me three hours to make it back to camp. Turning in to the wind I began still hunting my way back down the mountain through the Aspen grove draws, continuing to seek out the water features shown on the map. Like the morning and early afternoon hunt, Mule Deer does and fawns could be seen often as I descended. Around 6:30 I entered an island of Aspen trees that had a well worn path through it and to the west was a small water hole. As I looked to the water hole I noticed splashing coming from the center of the pond. “Hmmm…there must be fish stuck in the shallows of the pond” I thought to myself. “I’ll ease down there and check it out.” As I started to walk down to the water I caught movement of a large tan body moving in the Aspens above the water hole. “Elk!” the voice in my head screams and I dropped to the ground like a rag doll. Dang-it! I got careless and walked out into the opening of the small meadow that lead to the water hole without checking the surrounding trees.
So there I set pinned down in the waist high grass 50 – 60 yards away from the biggest elk I have ever encountered. A huge 6 x 6! I watched him for about five minutes as he grazed from the low hanging branches of the Aspen trees that grew from his elevated throne over looking the small meadow that I had stumbled into. Luckily, his head was turned at the time I spotted him and the wind was in my favor. Casually the bull sauntered to the west allowing me a chance to crawl into the tree line of the Aspen Island. I positioned myself behind a large trunk as the big bull laid down overlooking the water hole and meadow. With my back to the bull I presented him with a few cow calls, intending to get the bull to move closer to me so that I could experience a bull of his size up close and maybe get a few pictures. But no luck…he wasn’t ready to be social and the cow calls only made him disappear over the horizon of his outlook. Sorry no good pictures.
View from the bull's bedMy hunt for the first day ended around 8:00 with no other encounters. Returning back to camp I was greeted and met for the first time my host and new friend Todd. That evening was spent around the campfire eating and telling tales a great beginning to a weeks worth of Utah hunting.
Topic: For love of the game 2009... Utah, Here we came.. (Pg. 6) (Read 5926 times)
