My hunt for elk , in the Colorado backcountry, turned out to be a great experience. It was very tough physically and mentally. With the extreme elevation and the miles we were covering each day, it got tougher to stay focused as the week progressed. Meand my camera man arrived one day early to prepare for our pack in to spike camp. We met a friend of mine from California, whom I had hunted with for bear the prior year. He had hunted our area for elk previously as well. It would be our first time utilizing a spike camp in the area. Elevation was around 10,500 ft where we parked and 9160 at spike camp. We would cover 6-8 miles per day, usually varying our hunts from climbing 1000 ft early and 1000-1500 descents later in the day. The elk bugled great the first few days ,but shut down later in the week as pressure from other hunters and crazy weather affected them.
The first morning found us dogging a nice bull just above a big park in the area. He was screamin every few mins and the other bulls in the area were responding to him as well. As many as 5 were sounding off all around the mountain. We decided to close the distance as fast as possible without calling to him until we were close. I finally setup behind a blowdown at what i thought was about 50-60yds from the bull. After two more bugles, i second guessed my setup choice and decided to move closer. He was closing in faster than i expected and i ended up getting too close. I estimated him at 12 yds when he screamed an ear piercing bugle from behind a spruce tree. My camera man could see him, but i could not. I came to full draw and waited for him to step out for a close shot. Evidently he sensed something wasnt right and ended up turning around and moving straight away from us. Of course, without presenting any opportunity for a shot. At least we were off to a fast start!! On day two we dropped almost 1800 vertical ft to a creek drainage and 7-800ft back up thru the dark timber on the other side. We had heard a bull or two early and were hoping to stalk up on one of them during the heat of the day. We eventually discovered an extremely used trail coming out of the timber into the park. Several hours before dark , we setup a makeshift blind and waited them out. A couple hours later , 5 cows and a spike came out a different trail. My buddy Jeff was trying to get in position for a shot when a bunch of elk started pouring down the trail i was watching, no more than 35yds away. Jeff didnt notice this until it was a little late. They had spotted one of us evidently and spooked back up the mountain. Strike two for us!
Days 3&4 were active with elk , however nothing close enough or responsive to calls. We watched a 300 class bull doggin a big cow for over an hour across the canyon, just before dark. No way to approach him. We had heard some other bugles above camp the night of day 4 , so ,we decided to hunt up the morning of day 5. We climbed over 1000ft the first couple of hours after daylight without hearing a bugle. It was very cold that morning. We were all soaked with sweat, along with water from the tall grass and wet blowdowns we had crossed. Eventually , we arrived at a small park under the rim of the mountain. We discovered a big wallow that had lots of fresh sign and a big bull track as well. We decided it would be a good place to sit that afternoon during the heat of the day. Since it was only 1030 , we bypassed the prime ambush spot in favor of sitting in the sun 90 yds from the wallow. (Did i mention it was cold? ) Around 11am , I spotted a huge bull (probably 320 class) crossing the clearing and heading right for the wallow!! Dammit man!!!! I had an arrow nocked already and i grabbed my rangefinder. He was 91 yards and walking away. After a couple of short cow mews, he stepped out of the wallow and stood broadside, but NOT one yard closer than he had been. He walked away in the wide open with no interest in our calls at all. Strike 3, but we are not out yet!
Day 7 rolled around and we were draggin butt. The days of hiking all those miles straight up and down were finally taking their toll on my legs and lungs. It was very hard to get up in the morning , especially since the elevation was causing insomnia for all of us. And to top it off, the elk hadnt bugled in 3 days! At this point, Im sure ive lost at least 8-10lbs. I had already adjusted my belt two additional notches! LOL!! I made the decision not to get out early that morning. Jeff went on his way as usual. He is a hardcore elk hunting monster! We left camp around 11am and dropped 1800ft down to another set of wallows we had discovered a few days earlier. It was turning out to be a very hot day. With the elk not being vocal, we didnt have much to go on for locating them. We decided to gamble on that spot due to the heat. Around 3:10p , I spotted an elk calf and cow coming to the wallow at 25yds. As I was waiting for a shot at the cow to materialize, Scott whispered there was a bull coming down from above us to the right. It was a nice 5x5 and he was headed for the cow and calf. There was one shooting lane he was about to pass thru . I came to full draw and waited for him. He trotted right thru the opening and stopped just behind some cover. About a minute passed before he started to move again. As he was about to enter the second opening, all the elk suddenly scattered and ran back the direction they had came. It wasnt long before a huge black bear was running down the hill towards the elk and us. The trail he was taking was putting him on a path to be on top of us in just a matter of seconds! When he had closed the distance to less than
10 yards i picked up a stick and tried to hit him in the head! He put the brakes on and Scott drew his .45. He huffed at us a couple times and bluffed charged . But he finally got smart and left running and huffing up the mtn. We had a great hunt even tho the elk got lucky several times. LOL. Cant wait to do it again. Even tho im still tired from the hunt!!
Ill be posting lots of pics periodically to this thread when i get a chance. All of the pics will be frame grabs from footage we shot during the hunt.
The first morning found us dogging a nice bull just above a big park in the area. He was screamin every few mins and the other bulls in the area were responding to him as well. As many as 5 were sounding off all around the mountain. We decided to close the distance as fast as possible without calling to him until we were close. I finally setup behind a blowdown at what i thought was about 50-60yds from the bull. After two more bugles, i second guessed my setup choice and decided to move closer. He was closing in faster than i expected and i ended up getting too close. I estimated him at 12 yds when he screamed an ear piercing bugle from behind a spruce tree. My camera man could see him, but i could not. I came to full draw and waited for him to step out for a close shot. Evidently he sensed something wasnt right and ended up turning around and moving straight away from us. Of course, without presenting any opportunity for a shot. At least we were off to a fast start!! On day two we dropped almost 1800 vertical ft to a creek drainage and 7-800ft back up thru the dark timber on the other side. We had heard a bull or two early and were hoping to stalk up on one of them during the heat of the day. We eventually discovered an extremely used trail coming out of the timber into the park. Several hours before dark , we setup a makeshift blind and waited them out. A couple hours later , 5 cows and a spike came out a different trail. My buddy Jeff was trying to get in position for a shot when a bunch of elk started pouring down the trail i was watching, no more than 35yds away. Jeff didnt notice this until it was a little late. They had spotted one of us evidently and spooked back up the mountain. Strike two for us!
Days 3&4 were active with elk , however nothing close enough or responsive to calls. We watched a 300 class bull doggin a big cow for over an hour across the canyon, just before dark. No way to approach him. We had heard some other bugles above camp the night of day 4 , so ,we decided to hunt up the morning of day 5. We climbed over 1000ft the first couple of hours after daylight without hearing a bugle. It was very cold that morning. We were all soaked with sweat, along with water from the tall grass and wet blowdowns we had crossed. Eventually , we arrived at a small park under the rim of the mountain. We discovered a big wallow that had lots of fresh sign and a big bull track as well. We decided it would be a good place to sit that afternoon during the heat of the day. Since it was only 1030 , we bypassed the prime ambush spot in favor of sitting in the sun 90 yds from the wallow. (Did i mention it was cold? ) Around 11am , I spotted a huge bull (probably 320 class) crossing the clearing and heading right for the wallow!! Dammit man!!!! I had an arrow nocked already and i grabbed my rangefinder. He was 91 yards and walking away. After a couple of short cow mews, he stepped out of the wallow and stood broadside, but NOT one yard closer than he had been. He walked away in the wide open with no interest in our calls at all. Strike 3, but we are not out yet!
Day 7 rolled around and we were draggin butt. The days of hiking all those miles straight up and down were finally taking their toll on my legs and lungs. It was very hard to get up in the morning , especially since the elevation was causing insomnia for all of us. And to top it off, the elk hadnt bugled in 3 days! At this point, Im sure ive lost at least 8-10lbs. I had already adjusted my belt two additional notches! LOL!! I made the decision not to get out early that morning. Jeff went on his way as usual. He is a hardcore elk hunting monster! We left camp around 11am and dropped 1800ft down to another set of wallows we had discovered a few days earlier. It was turning out to be a very hot day. With the elk not being vocal, we didnt have much to go on for locating them. We decided to gamble on that spot due to the heat. Around 3:10p , I spotted an elk calf and cow coming to the wallow at 25yds. As I was waiting for a shot at the cow to materialize, Scott whispered there was a bull coming down from above us to the right. It was a nice 5x5 and he was headed for the cow and calf. There was one shooting lane he was about to pass thru . I came to full draw and waited for him. He trotted right thru the opening and stopped just behind some cover. About a minute passed before he started to move again. As he was about to enter the second opening, all the elk suddenly scattered and ran back the direction they had came. It wasnt long before a huge black bear was running down the hill towards the elk and us. The trail he was taking was putting him on a path to be on top of us in just a matter of seconds! When he had closed the distance to less than
10 yards i picked up a stick and tried to hit him in the head! He put the brakes on and Scott drew his .45. He huffed at us a couple times and bluffed charged . But he finally got smart and left running and huffing up the mtn. We had a great hunt even tho the elk got lucky several times. LOL. Cant wait to do it again. Even tho im still tired from the hunt!!
Ill be posting lots of pics periodically to this thread when i get a chance. All of the pics will be frame grabs from footage we shot during the hunt.
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