FlatlanderHelp
FNG
- Joined
- Aug 30, 2016
- Location
- Kansas
I just asked my wife to give me context if I was overblowing this at all, and she said no. This is the trip that changed my life.
The story for this trip starts about 18 months ago. I'd reached a point where I'd gone full-on dad mode and quit exercising (had two kids, gym was one of the first things to go). I woke up one day and decided that needed to change. I walked into the kitchen and told my wife I was going to get into the best shape of my life and that I was going on an elk hunt. She really wanted that first thing to happen, so she jumped on board with the 2nd.
I'll spare you the shirtless before and after pics, but I lost 52 lbs of garbage weight then put on 20 lbs of muscle. The last 6 months leading up to the trip I was lifting 6 days/week and running 20-25 miles/ week. If you've heard of duty/desire/delight, that was it. By the end of my training, exercise had gone from a painful duty to something that was a highlight of my day.
Every time I went to the gym I visualized climbing a mountain in Montana, that was the only trick I had up my sleeve.
I keyed in on the mountains surrounding the Big Hole Valley. Out here in Kansas I knock on doors a lot for permission to hunt. I meet a lot of great folks. One guy gave me permission to hunt, but he wanted to try an experiment first. He told me that I could sit next to his house and he would play Dave Mason records on vinyl out the window. If the turkeys came up to his house, I could shoot. Apparently this was a common occurrence.
Deal, I said.
The turkeys never came, but I made a new friend. This friend had a buddy who had worked in the Big Hole Valley area tracking elk migration patterns across the continental divide. He was in town one week and I sat down over beer and I got good, firsthand info on the area. It proved to be a great lead and I keyed in on that area for my research.
I'd convinced one of my best hunting buddies to go on this trip with me. He wouldn't get a tag, just go along for the adventure. Part of the deal was him getting his butt in shape, and he got in the best shape of the last ten years. I trusted him in the backcountry, we'd hunted together for years now, killed whitetail deer and turkeys in 4 different states, all DIY (SC, AL, KS, IL)...Lots of shared experience already, but none with elk and little with mountains.
A bunch of other small stories happened along the way, but an important one happened on this forum. I'd lurked here for months and boiled down all of my major questions into one thread. I'll post it here: http://www.rokslide.com/forums/elk/51484-backpack-plans-1st-elk-hunt-shoot-straight-3.html
Long story short, one of the members here decided to lend me a Kifaru Timberline and Kifaru Nomad, along with all of the miscellaneous elk gear that I couldn't afford. A common saying in my world is "a good man is hard to find" (Flannery O'Connor). I found one, on the internet of all places. Todd has been a huge blessing to me and my family and I feel confident we'll share a camp some day.
I kept detailed notes, nearly every night. Instead of turning them into a narrative, I thought I'd just transcribe them exactly as they were on the written page. My handwriting is illegible, so that was doing everyone a favor! I've added pics to go along with the story. At the end, I'll post my final thoughts, reflections, and QUESTIONS. Boy, do I have a bunch of questions.
I've got the notes already written up, but will post each new day or two as a new comment. I'll try to get the first couple going right now and then add the rest tonight or tomorrow.
Friday:
- Leave 4am, get to Broadus, MT plan to meet BK (3rd member for first few days of trip).
- BK Truck breaks down, fri night 6pm, small town, won’t be ready till Monday 5 pm, 130 mile tow to weekend place.
- Sit down, decision. BK stays Eastern MT, hunts different public ground, I head west to pick up AH in missoula.
Leave B at midnight, drive straight through.
Saturday:
- Arrive @Pioneer MT via scenic byway, long dirt road to TH.
- Meet 2 horseback hunters, say they are jealous (I think of my naivety). Advice, bears/wolves, ______ creek, left for hike
- Met 2 hunters, motherlode of cows in 2nd meadow hike timber connect to B lake,
up Drainage, left drainage 3 mile loop, no sign, old camp, mulie and grouse.
- Hike out, surprised at distance on gps, becomes theme. 10.6 miles.
- Talk to hunters on way out, all same report of no activity. Make internal decision to head across valley.
Talked to hunter coming out late, sounded just like Randy Newberg, too dark to tell.
- Spent night, cold, Mnt house + grouse, decide to invest in new bag when pick up AH in Missoula.
(20d synthetic upgraded to 20g down, made huge difference).
Sunday:
- AH arrives. Drive Missoula to camp.
- Met 2 hunters @RM Creek (hunted there 21 years), hesitant but gives good advice on camp site.
- Set up basecamp (almost didn't bring family tent, glad I did. Didn't realize how much we'd need it for storage/drying)
- Hiked back of meadow, split up to glass. AH comes running, located Bull + 7 cows, 2 miles on high meadow
descending, direction, size!! Loaded arrow, excited. Skylined, massive frame visible with AH good glass. 2.9 mi as crow flies
- Much rejoicing; maps, gps, packing.
The story for this trip starts about 18 months ago. I'd reached a point where I'd gone full-on dad mode and quit exercising (had two kids, gym was one of the first things to go). I woke up one day and decided that needed to change. I walked into the kitchen and told my wife I was going to get into the best shape of my life and that I was going on an elk hunt. She really wanted that first thing to happen, so she jumped on board with the 2nd.
I'll spare you the shirtless before and after pics, but I lost 52 lbs of garbage weight then put on 20 lbs of muscle. The last 6 months leading up to the trip I was lifting 6 days/week and running 20-25 miles/ week. If you've heard of duty/desire/delight, that was it. By the end of my training, exercise had gone from a painful duty to something that was a highlight of my day.
Every time I went to the gym I visualized climbing a mountain in Montana, that was the only trick I had up my sleeve.
I keyed in on the mountains surrounding the Big Hole Valley. Out here in Kansas I knock on doors a lot for permission to hunt. I meet a lot of great folks. One guy gave me permission to hunt, but he wanted to try an experiment first. He told me that I could sit next to his house and he would play Dave Mason records on vinyl out the window. If the turkeys came up to his house, I could shoot. Apparently this was a common occurrence.
Deal, I said.
The turkeys never came, but I made a new friend. This friend had a buddy who had worked in the Big Hole Valley area tracking elk migration patterns across the continental divide. He was in town one week and I sat down over beer and I got good, firsthand info on the area. It proved to be a great lead and I keyed in on that area for my research.
I'd convinced one of my best hunting buddies to go on this trip with me. He wouldn't get a tag, just go along for the adventure. Part of the deal was him getting his butt in shape, and he got in the best shape of the last ten years. I trusted him in the backcountry, we'd hunted together for years now, killed whitetail deer and turkeys in 4 different states, all DIY (SC, AL, KS, IL)...Lots of shared experience already, but none with elk and little with mountains.
A bunch of other small stories happened along the way, but an important one happened on this forum. I'd lurked here for months and boiled down all of my major questions into one thread. I'll post it here: http://www.rokslide.com/forums/elk/51484-backpack-plans-1st-elk-hunt-shoot-straight-3.html
Long story short, one of the members here decided to lend me a Kifaru Timberline and Kifaru Nomad, along with all of the miscellaneous elk gear that I couldn't afford. A common saying in my world is "a good man is hard to find" (Flannery O'Connor). I found one, on the internet of all places. Todd has been a huge blessing to me and my family and I feel confident we'll share a camp some day.
I kept detailed notes, nearly every night. Instead of turning them into a narrative, I thought I'd just transcribe them exactly as they were on the written page. My handwriting is illegible, so that was doing everyone a favor! I've added pics to go along with the story. At the end, I'll post my final thoughts, reflections, and QUESTIONS. Boy, do I have a bunch of questions.
I've got the notes already written up, but will post each new day or two as a new comment. I'll try to get the first couple going right now and then add the rest tonight or tomorrow.
Friday:
- Leave 4am, get to Broadus, MT plan to meet BK (3rd member for first few days of trip).
- BK Truck breaks down, fri night 6pm, small town, won’t be ready till Monday 5 pm, 130 mile tow to weekend place.
- Sit down, decision. BK stays Eastern MT, hunts different public ground, I head west to pick up AH in missoula.
Leave B at midnight, drive straight through.
Saturday:
- Arrive @Pioneer MT via scenic byway, long dirt road to TH.
- Meet 2 horseback hunters, say they are jealous (I think of my naivety). Advice, bears/wolves, ______ creek, left for hike
- Met 2 hunters, motherlode of cows in 2nd meadow hike timber connect to B lake,
up Drainage, left drainage 3 mile loop, no sign, old camp, mulie and grouse.
- Hike out, surprised at distance on gps, becomes theme. 10.6 miles.
- Talk to hunters on way out, all same report of no activity. Make internal decision to head across valley.
Talked to hunter coming out late, sounded just like Randy Newberg, too dark to tell.
- Spent night, cold, Mnt house + grouse, decide to invest in new bag when pick up AH in Missoula.
(20d synthetic upgraded to 20g down, made huge difference).
Sunday:
- AH arrives. Drive Missoula to camp.
- Met 2 hunters @RM Creek (hunted there 21 years), hesitant but gives good advice on camp site.
- Set up basecamp (almost didn't bring family tent, glad I did. Didn't realize how much we'd need it for storage/drying)
- Hiked back of meadow, split up to glass. AH comes running, located Bull + 7 cows, 2 miles on high meadow
descending, direction, size!! Loaded arrow, excited. Skylined, massive frame visible with AH good glass. 2.9 mi as crow flies
- Much rejoicing; maps, gps, packing.
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