SoloWilderness
WKR
Colorado 1st rifle. Opening morning. Outfitter had put a drop camp in my normal low camp, so I decided to head to a high camp about 3000' higher. 2 days of hiking through 45 degree oak brush and crossing high drainages later... Glassed up some plan B elk the night before the opener, and had 1 bugling in the oak brush I never saw. The plan B elk were about 3000' down, then 3000' up the opposite side of the canyon, and at least 2-3 miles away.... Woke up early, stuck my head out of the tent, just in time to watch a bull walk by in the pre-dawn about 50 yards away... Tossed on my pants, boots and binos. Got my orange on and my rifle and dashed out to the little ridge he disappeared over, didn't see him, but about 1500' down the ridge saw this guy about to disappear into another drainage. Ran down the ridge, bumped a big group of deer, which then bumped the elk... Guessed where he would run, and caught him climbing out of the next gully. 176 yards, dropped with one shot and rolled to the bottom of the gully.
Climbed down and confirmed he was dead, hung my orange on him and headed back to camp to get my gear, and break camp to move down. Boned him out in place, the moss on the river rock was so slick I fell and went for a slip and slide for about 50' on the way down to him, could barely move him without slipping. Had to lower meat and antlers over little cliffs to get him to where I could climb out of the ravine. Brutal pack out through oak brush and cliff bands to get him to my low camp. Took an entire day to get the meat down 1/2 mile to that camp, then got the text on the in-reach, my buddy shot his first 6x6 in another unit, and was coming to help as soon as they got out. 9 mile pack out, got lost in the ferns on the first trip out in the dark, in a steep canyon, within 50' of the trail, but was slipping and sliding with every step with a front and rear quarter in my bag. So, I spent a slightly unpleasant night tending a fire wrapped in a space blanket. Tolerable, but didn't comply with my plan to sleep at the truck that night, where there was cold beer, and an extra sleeping bag.
Best bull I've taken to date out of this heavily hunted, otc (except 1st rifle and muzzy) unit. Every one of them has involved some degree of misery, as I tend to shoot them in the bottom of canyons (and never learn to just let them walk to the truck, and then shoot them....) Needless to say, not my first night sleeping out with just my emergency kit...
Climbed down and confirmed he was dead, hung my orange on him and headed back to camp to get my gear, and break camp to move down. Boned him out in place, the moss on the river rock was so slick I fell and went for a slip and slide for about 50' on the way down to him, could barely move him without slipping. Had to lower meat and antlers over little cliffs to get him to where I could climb out of the ravine. Brutal pack out through oak brush and cliff bands to get him to my low camp. Took an entire day to get the meat down 1/2 mile to that camp, then got the text on the in-reach, my buddy shot his first 6x6 in another unit, and was coming to help as soon as they got out. 9 mile pack out, got lost in the ferns on the first trip out in the dark, in a steep canyon, within 50' of the trail, but was slipping and sliding with every step with a front and rear quarter in my bag. So, I spent a slightly unpleasant night tending a fire wrapped in a space blanket. Tolerable, but didn't comply with my plan to sleep at the truck that night, where there was cold beer, and an extra sleeping bag.
Best bull I've taken to date out of this heavily hunted, otc (except 1st rifle and muzzy) unit. Every one of them has involved some degree of misery, as I tend to shoot them in the bottom of canyons (and never learn to just let them walk to the truck, and then shoot them....) Needless to say, not my first night sleeping out with just my emergency kit...
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