Solo DIY Elk 2014

[Gil Verwey]

In 2011 and 2012 I did DIY elk hunts in Colorado. Last year I got two hours of hunting in all year because of work and building a horse farm. I barely had time to shoot or go on Tradgang.

My hunting partner is doing a Alaska fishing trip this year and a solo backcountry hunt is in my bucket list, so I am going it solo. I can't wait!

I plan on making up for lost time and hunting my butt off this year.

Exercise, diet and shooting from now until then. A few winter bow whitetail hunts and a DIY hog hunt between now and then.

This is going to be my year for an elk, since I am leaving my deer and elk repellent home (my hunting partner) Ha!

I can't wait for September!!!!!

[Wapiti Chaser]

Gil sounds like a dream coming true for you. I love the planning and excitement of prepping and planning a big hunt.  I'm trying to figure out how to do two this year !

[Bernie B.]

Hopefully my group will get drawn this year for September too.  Had a great time in 2011 and look forward to backpacking in again.

Bernie Bjorklund

NC Iowa/SW Wisconsin

[Gil Verwey]

Ooops I forgot the bunny hunt in February! Can't forget that.

[Sixby]

Gil, I m quite sure that you are the horseman. Are you planning to take a couple of horses,. Riding and perhaps a couple of pack horses>?

If so I will give my free opinion. Everyone has one but mine is cheap except for the experiences that formed it.

I would  recommend to not go in any further than you can easily walk out. Many a trip has been ruined by spooked horses and ending up having to spend the entire trip hunting the buggers down. Its amazing how far a hobbled horse can go when a cat or a bear spooks them in the middle of the night.

I was in Denio Oregon and a couple of real ticked off guys came in and they were ticked off b ecause they had been chasing five horses all over the Owyhees for a full week. They finally said we will go back in a couple of weeks and see if we can find them. If not then they can be cat or dog food.

I personally kept mine in a corral I built out of lodgepole and rope plus hobbles., But then I hate chasing horses. LOL

God bless and have a wonderful time but Be careful to the max doing a solo. Not that many people out during bow season in some places.

Steve

[Gil Verwey]

Steve in 2011 we backpacked in 10 miles and stayed 11 days. In 2012 we were dropped off at the same area and picked up on horses\\mules and made arrangements to have them pack out our elk on mules. We stayed 13 days on that trip.

I missed backpacking in but I get more hunting getting dropped off, so that is the way I am going to do it this year. Also I am arranging to have the elk packed out too again if I connect.

I will be hunting light with my camp on my back and will move camp periodically.

My only problem is where I hunt it is between outfitters boundaries, so if I shoot a bull I have to just pack it to the boundary the packer can go to. That is a lot better than one 60 year old man trying to pack out a elk 10 miles by himself. I have packed out elk before, but not this distance and terrain. I know how bad that would be solo or even with the two of us.

My other problem is getting there. We do DIY hunts yearly and always drive with a 4x4 and our gear. Since I will be solo, I am looking to fly in with my gear, rent a vehicle.

I started to look for flights but right now you can't book past June on Southwest to Denver.

I have two packers I can use, so if one doesn't work out the other one should.

Steve I should add I have horses and a farm I board other horses at. In Colorado you have to bring in approved hay from the local area. I would have to trailer my horses from NJ. I would spend most of my time taking care of horses instead of hunting. This is vacation to get away from them and hunt. I clean stalls and paddocks  and feed twice a day all year. Nope the only horses I will ride out there is someone else's!

[Burnsie]

Gil, glad to see you back and determined as ever.
I thought you might be interested in this thread, you probably missed it during your time away.

 http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=131615#000000

[Gil Verwey]

Hey thanks Troy. I am fired and have a goal to do it again this year. The more I keep reading the more fired up I will stay. I had a long thread when I went in 2012. It will be nice to read somebody else's.

I am reading it now.

Gil

[Burnsie]

Yep, your big long thread from 2012 was my main tutorial for our trip - Thanks again

[Gil Verwey]

Troy nice thread. No need to thank me in it. I am glad to see I inspired you to give it a go. First year doing it, you got some of the worst weather you could have, yet you saw elk and a couple of nice bulls. I bet you won't forget the sight of those two bulls!  

I know a lot of guys that went last year and never heard an elk bugle or saw one.

This year the weather will hopefully cooperate.

If I wasn't stuck in work and burned up my vacation on the horse farm, I would have been out there too. I would have been swamped where I go.

We go the last two weeks of the archery season. I will be doing that this year too.

You going and giving it a try is what I wanted from that thread. Isn't it just like what you do locally, only a whole lot more of it?

I loved the area you hunted. My area the trees are mostly dead from the pine beetle.

Good luck this year.

Gil

[Gil Verwey]

This is a bull I got to within 20 yards in 2011. The pictures were taken by someone else. I thought the herd was about 30 cows, but a friend that took the pictures counted more than 30. There were two satellite bulls too.

 

 

[VictoryHunter]

[Gil Verwey]

Here is how we went in 2012, instead of backpacking. This is how I will be doing it in 2014.

It gave us more time to hunt. Almost got me killed on the way in but that is half the fun.

 
 

If you knew the story behind this picture you would be rolling. I can't believe I kept the camera still taking this one. My partner would kill me if I brought it to your attention though. Ha! I still can't stop laughing at this one.

 

This is where I almost bit the bullet on the ride in. A lot of funny stories in and out on mules! They are an adventure in themselves!
 
 

[Keb]

Sweet look forward to following your adventure!!

[Hoyt]

I tried to leave a horse in the Bitterroots back in 86. He was a young horse, first time in the mountains..rented 10 of them..one wouldn't load, so took 9 in.

It snowed the last night we were in there and for some reason my horse kept trying to buck me off on the way out to the trail head. I finally got off and walked out. He followed along behind me like a puppy.

[Gil Verwey]

I thought I had been bucked off a horse everyway possible, but I found out mules have some sneaky  ways of their own!

[Jack Shanks]

Gil,

Good luck! Sounds like an adventure.

I'm sitting on 18 preference points in Colorado for elk and probably won't apply for a tag again this year. Just not as enthused about doing a solo back pack elk hunt as I was twenty years ago though. Maybe next year I will have enough points to draw and will feel a little better about going alone.

[Gil Verwey]

Jack I just love being out there in those mountains. We hunt in over the counter zones. We used to hunt Montana but because of having to draw, their cost and now the lack of elk due to wolves they introduced we strictly hunt Co. for elk.

I heard Colorado was thinking about making the same mistake Montana did. I hope they do not introduce wolves in Colorado.

[Gil Verwey]

Boy am I glad I brought my Bear spray! He had an evil look in his eyes!!!!

 

Then it was on to hand to hand combat! And I thought mules were dangerous!

 

[Jack Shanks]

Gil,

 Great pictures! Brings back memories when I elk hunted Colorado and Montana over twenty years ago. Used to go almost every year back in the 80's and early 90's. Drop camps or back packing in for two or three weeks at a time. My legs were much younger and the mountains less steep in those days.