Come along on a DIY elk hunt with me this year in Colorado. Pictures added

[Gil Verwey]

We were in 10 miles as the crow flys. We brought in light cotton game bags. We were going to bone out the elk, put it in game bags and lay it on the snow packs. We would have covered it with snow and pine branches.

You are right though. My partner was concerned from the get go. I told him the least of our worries are getting the elk out. I said lets get one and worry about it then. I told you he was smarter than I was and him, my Dr and my wife think I am an idiot! I have worked hard to get that reputation and work hard at keeping it everyday!

Well, when we packed straight out with these heavy packs and it took us 16 hours trying to hot foot it, I changed my tune.

That is why I want to warn everyone about it up front so you can plan.

Anybody can do what we did. It is no big deal back packing in 10 miles and hunting in alpine terrain, staying remote for 11 days and getting yourself out in one piece. That is all good and fun.

GETTING A BIG BULL OUT IN SMALL PIECES IS A BIG DEAL. If you are going to do a deep back country hunt, plan on a packer, otherwise consider the other hunt I mentioned.

I know if we shot an elk we would have gotten it all out, but how long and at what price, that is the big question.      

Fred the reason we do it is what you said, "they weren't going there for an elk". We had undisturbed elk, no hunters and the elk answered every bugle we threw at them.

At this camp I cow called in a monster herd bull to 20 yards. I pulled him and his harem and 2 satellite bulls in from a long way. I cut them off in this valley and they were right on the other side of this little knob. I called that bull in to 20 yards and drew him from a large harem. The two satellite bulls drew him back before I could get a shot off.

Now that is elk hunting and why we go that far in. It is the stuff that dreams are made of and memories that become dreams to enjoy over and over again.

Man I am getting fired up to go back. Yee ha! I can't wait.

[JDunlap]

How do you communicate with a packer when you have killed an elk, and are ready for his services? ...given the fact you are in remote areas??

[Fishnhunt]

Awesome! Thanks for sharing Gil.

[Gil Verwey]

Originally if we were able to arrange a packer, we were going to go out to call him. Then we thought we would get a radio phone. They work every where and are recommended in Cameron Haynes book.

What we found out in camp is this. My partner's cell phone can't keep a call up and breaks up when he calls my home in NJ. We live 19 miles apart. When you get high up in Colorado you get great reception. He had better reception calling home from this camp 10 miles into the wilderness area, than he would have calling home from 19 miles away at my house on his cell phone. I left my cell phone in the truck. I figured it would be extra dead weight. He brought his because he had to try to call his wife every other day. I forgot to tell you he is PWed.  

That does bring up a good point in regard to communication. I am only bringing a cell phone in this year, but when I go it alone I may bring in a radio phone too. If you are alone you are screwed, so you have to make sure you can communicate in an emergency. My wife wants me to get the Spot, but I heard a lot of bad things about it so that isn't happening.

I suggest that if you want to do a hunt like this, research what will be best for you to ensure communication. Remember my reputation and do your homework.

[SportHunter]

Great thread Gil. Well written and chock full of details, keep it coming    :D

[Thumper Dunker]

Realy good stuff.

[awbowman]

You are absolutely right Gil, my buddies had a 300" bull at 70 yards on the second to last day.   He was convinced that a hot cow was waiting for him just below in the forest.  It was all over but the packing, then a real huzzy came up to him and said "you ain't taking MY MAN".  lol

I saw 7 elk in 5 days and I saw the least out of the group due to getting a cold and not hunting hard a large part of the time.  My old lungs just couldn't take it and I certainly didn't want to ruin the hunt for my buddies.

Oh here is a hint, if you feel a cold coming on DO NOT take antihistamines at 10,500, you will get nose bleeds in two days and for a week afterwards.

[Quickblood]

great info Gil, thanks for sharing

[razorsharptokill]

This is a classic elk thread IMHO.

[Gil Verwey]

Another issue that you have to take into account is weather.

You read articles about hunts in magazines and usually they talk about the good stuff and show beautiful pictures like this. That white spec in the background is camp. I took that picture as we headed out to hunt. Only 3 or 4 miles to go.  

   

We had a lot of nice September days with blue skies, puffy white clouds and comfortable temperatures. But we also had weather. We had one day where it poured for 24 hours non stop, another day fog, we had snow and hail, we had high winds and we had lightning.

I have hunted in many places and I did a lot of hunting in the Maine Big Woods. In Maine the saying goes, "If you don't like the weather wait a minute and it will change".

In the alpine area the same thing holds true, except it changes FAST. One minute we had beautiful blue skies, we started to feel the wind pick up and before you knew it fog and snow. We hunted in this weather and this is the day we found elk heaven. It was cold this day and I wound up with frost bite on one of my toes. Boots are another story that will come up later.

   
   

All that white stuff is snow and not sun glare.

   
   

This is the next morning and the snow was gone.

   

Another day we had 24 hours of rain. We shared a Tyvek tarp in the interest of cutting back on weight. Big mistake. We each had a 9' x 15'. I had to position my bivy on an angle and the foot of the bivy was exposed. The water drained off of the Tyvek tarp onto the foot of the bivy and soaked me, my sleeping bag and clothes. Another mistake learned the hard way.

   
   

[TWP]

Gil, you may want to check this out. We used a bunch of these in the mountains of Afghanistan. It isn't cheap, but worth their weight in gold. Do a two week rental.

 http://www.satellitephonestore.com/iridium-satellite-phone-rental

Thanks for the pics.

[Gil Verwey]

Thanks Trevor this is what I meant when I said radio phone. We checked them out last year and we were going to rent them for two weeks.

Last year I had decided on a model to get but I forgot which it was. I probably have it written down.

Do you know the model you used overseas?

I chose the model by reviews and if it had extra batteries. Some required renting them too.

Next year I am going solo to the same spot. I will have one then.

Thanks
Gil

[awbowman]

Gil, one area we hunted ZERO phone reception, second place FULL RECEPTION.  You never know.

Our weather, well it rained, sleeted and/or snowed every day for 10 straight days.  One day it rained sleeted AND snowed on us five times in a matter of 10 hours.  IT takes mental fortitude to hunt the mountains, but IT'S WORTH IT!!!!

[Gil Verwey]

I can tell Fred your hunt made a big impression on you too. I hear the love in your voice.

When are you going back?

[Kelly]

Gil;

Did you put grommets in that tyvek or just fold it and punch holes with pocket knife?

Thanks, Kelly

[Gil Verwey]

We learned a lot of lessons with that too Kelly.

We folded it over and put in grommets. We will be doing it differently this year. I am also going to try the Tykek tape on the folded edges and then put in plastic grommets.

We had heavy wet snow on the tarp and we had very high winds. We both live along the coast and experienced hurricanes. These winds were up to 50 mph. We knew they were high, but the weather band on the GPS worked that day and confirmed the wind speed. In 50 mph winds you think your house is going to blow away. We had the tarp a little loose when it was windy so that wouldn't happen.  

After many days it started to rip at the grommets in places from the heavy snow and high winds. The biggest problem was my partner tripping over the lines, oh wait a minute that was me.

We always bring duct tape with us. It is a first aid kit and fix everything thing.

We found you don't need grommets at all. What we did in some spots where a grommet was pulled out, is use an old Boy Scout trick.

It works great and I think it will work better than the grommets. What you do is take a small stone about one or two inches wide and put it into a pocket at the edge of the Tyvek. You tie the line around the stone on the outside of the pocket. That held up great. I am undecided whether to just do that with the folded and taped sides versus the grommets.

Tyvek can be painted too and still remain water proof. I am going to camo mine this year. We buy ours on the auction site. I bought a new one already for this year. I bought a 9' x 15' again. it cost around $30 shipped. It is light too.

It costs a ton to buy a whole roll of it. If you have a contractor friend you may be able to finagle a piece from them.

I also had a small piece of tyvek as a ground cloth under my bivy.

I had a very good bivy, but there is no way I could have lasted in it for 11 days with the weather we had. The Tyvek saved the trip for us. Next year we are both bring in our own and have two separate little camps set up in one. At least I will stay dry this time.

[awbowman]

Originally posted by Gil Verwey:
I can tell Fred your hunt made a big impression on you too. I hear the love in your voice.

When are you going back?

I'll try and make it up there next year Gil.  The mountains are calling me again.  I guess it's like birthing a baby, the memory of the pain fades in time!        

It was the hardest hunt AND the best hunt of my life all rolled into one.

Right now I am looking for a more "target rich" environment, like Missouri whitetails! I want to get one with a longbow BAD!

[Gil Verwey]

Last year one of my goals was to see a big horn sheep or mountain goat. This is something else in my bucket list.

I love big mountain hunting. I hunted mountain goats in North Western BC a long time ago. If I had the financial ability, I would have been a sheep hunting fanatic. If it was legal to hunt Dall Sheep or Stone Sheep on your own DIY, I would be going there every year.

For me the hunt is an adventure. I am driven to hunt and hunt hard, but I like to smell the roses too.

One of my goals was to see a goat or sheep. So one day I took a long trek from elk heaven to where there were sheep and goats. I hunted there and back, but that was my secondary goal this day.

I have said this in other threads here also, if you are so focused on hunting only and have tunnel vision you miss a whole lot. I feel it is like a guy tracking a big buck in the snow in the Maine Big Woods. He is so intent on looking down at the track and following it, that he doesn't realize he walked up on the buck at 40 yards and the buck is watching him. You have to look up and around you also or else you miss a lot of the experience.

For me the whole experience takes my breath away, not just holding anlters.

Here is where I took my little trek for the sheep and goats. I just enjoyed the day and took a little break. I glassed, ate lunch and relaxed here for about 5 hours. I am pretty sure I spotted a goat, but I couldn't confirm it because it vanished into one of the crevices.    

 
 
 

[awbowman]

You are right Gil, for me it's all about smelling the roses along the way.  Not wanting to hyjack the thread, but I hope you don't mind me adding a few of the pics from my trip.  

Above 11,000 there sure are beautiful, almost spiritual places
     

The other side of the finger ridge

 
     It's fun to look up.
       

Sheep country
       

Here comes the weather
 
   What's there not to love!

[Gil Verwey]

No problem Fred I love BIG mountains. That looks awful nice too. That is my kind of country.

My hunting partner just called, he is fired up too. I had him looking for my bugle tube. It was in his truck. Naturally he found his (which is the same one as mine). I knew I should have put my name on it!

Another good tip is put your name on your stuff!

I told him I was writing this so he will probably look at it now. I am so sorry I said nice things about him! Another lesson learned the hard way.

Terry anything nice I said about you is all lies!