Colorado hunt cut short

[john_tn]

Like the one guy said id feel bad if he was really sick... I don't think he was but if he was feeling bad enough to want to go home I decided to give him the benefit of a doubt. I'm still pissed at the fact he cost me a thousand bucks and didn't offer a cent in compensation (i wouldn't have taken it)or an apology just excuses (altitude, too steep, bronchitis, etc)

 

[MarlinMark]

I'd quit whining on the internet.....

Then I would look at the circumstances that allowed me to choose this individual as a hunting "partner." I noticed that you didn't call him a buddy. That makes it a little better because you haven't mixed friendship into the matter.

You have to ask yourself who really made the biggest mistakes here.

Sorry. I would love to blame him but sometimes we have to look at ourselves to see where WE messed up.

Sounds like he doesn't have your expertise level. Did you do enough before the hunt to make sure he would have enough Vagasil?



Just kidding bro. But if any of that sounded truth like........it probably is.

 

[john_tn]

I do blame myself. He is a friend but I should have seen it coming. I've turkey hunted with him in tn hills and he got winded. I told him it would be the hardest thing he would ever do going on this trip, his mind would mess with him etc. He assured me he was good to go and wouldn't quit. I started looking at his pack and told him he was way too heavy. He said he couldn't ditch his shower and had to take a shower everyday, that should have been a major red flag. I guess just coming on here to see if anyone has similar experiences and have a shoulder to cry on

 

[MarlinMark]

I wish you better luck in the future. He sounds like a good guy to have in camp (clean and doesn't smell like ass) but maybe not the best type of trip for him. Does he know how to pour drinks and feed a wood stove?

 

[MattB]

I started looking at his pack and told him he was way too heavy. He said he couldn't ditch his shower and had to take a shower everyday, that should have been a major red flag.

Hindsight is 20/20 (and I don't mean to come off like a dick), but you could have figured that out running through an equipment list last winter in TN - before you even applied for a tag with him.

 

[gmajor]

Hunt got cut short when a buddy blew out his acl. He still hunted 24 more hours and hiked his gear out.

 

[elkyinzer]

Wow. I lugged out a semi-unprepared family member once but he still toughed it out hunting close to camp and cooked me a few grouse dinners.

 

[Kevin Dill]

It pays to know that you and your hunting partner are a good match physically, as well as in attitude and ultimate goal(s). Ending up in a mismatch means someone (or both) probably could have seen it coming, but not always.

I have been physically ill on hunts, seasick multiple times, and suffered a few injuries which limited my abilities to go hard. I was always glad that my partners were understanding and forgiving. On the other hand, I never asked for quarter, or that they end their trips due to my condition.

 

[bz_711]

another reason elk success % are so low...so many cannot even handle the hunt.

I'd be too afraid to tell my wife I let some shmo ruin my hunt and waste the dollars already spent

 

[Archerm]

Mental toughness is what it takes. The airport is your friend in this case. No way would I leave. I have hunted many solo trips and you can always get it done.

 

[Eagle]

I do blame myself. He is a friend but I should have seen it coming. I've turkey hunted with him in tn hills and he got winded. I told him it would be the hardest thing he would ever do going on this trip, his mind would mess with him etc. He assured me he was good to go and wouldn't quit. I started looking at his pack and told him he was way too heavy. He said he couldn't ditch his shower and had to take a shower everyday, that should have been a major red flag. I guess just coming on here to see if anyone has similar experiences and have a shoulder to cry on

Sounds like my hunting partner for my turkey hunts. He'd love to go out west, but every time I mention the fact that it'll require sleeping on the ground and not taking a daily shower, he balks. At least he realizes those things are part of it, unlike your "friend". I'd agree that you should have gone over his gear weeks in advance to avoid the pack weight issue. I'll never understand people that can't just get by with a bandana and some water to wash off the daily grim.

I hate it happened to you, and if it was me, I'd be looking for a way to get back out to Colorado ASAP so its not a total loss.

 

[KHNC]

I had a buddy I used to hunt with that would leave after he tagged out. Always making up some shit about his daughter needing him. After doing it to me twice and hearing about how he did it to others, I ditched him as a hunting partner. He is a great hunter, but always insisted that he hunt the best areas and shoot first. His goal was to tag out and GTFO. Hell with that type of shit. I am there to hunt for the duration. I train my ass off every year for that very reason. Elk hunting its hard as ****, that's why I only do it every other year. My last hunt in 2013 was a tough one. I had to rest the morning of day 4 for a bit as I couldn't sleep at elevation and needed to recover. I was out of camp by 9am tho and still hunted till dark getting into elk by the afternoon. NO damn way I would've ever asked Jeff to leave! That's a pussy thing to do IMO. Ditching someone after tagging out is almost as shitty! Hope you find a better partner next time! Me and another buddy are heading to NM in 10 days, cant wait to get out there again!

 

[airlocksniffer]

Always pack a little bit of honey in these situations. Tell him to dab a bit near his ankles. Keeps the ants away from his candy ass!

 

[rayporter]

partners are hard to come by. good pards are scarce as hens teeth.


about 25 years ago i took two friends out. i grew up with one and hunted with both. they worked together everyday and hunted when they got off work most every day. i dropped them off at a camp and went on for several miles and made camp.

one would not leave camp. country scared him. the other tried to hunt but---- well when i came out to drop off meat they were in camp drinking beer. they had to walk out to get beer.
the one fellow told me they did not speak to each other for a year at work.

 

[rayporter]

oh one other thing. in the spring when you make plans to go---------------- dont count noses until you are in camp!

 

[sodaksooner]

I am lucky, My brother and I do these together, and we are game for anything. We are bringing another guy with us this year, Good guy who is an elk hunter, but has never hunted at high elevation and in the type of terrain we do. Should be interesting. He may actually slow us down, which could be good. He also said if he can't keep up, he'll just hunt alone and see us back at camp.

 

[xziang]

Sometimes you just need to head into town and grab a beer and a hotel room to refresh and take a break. I've done that before, however if I'm in ELK like it sounds you were heck no I'll be staying in the area for the duration.

Also always take a 'big' tent to car camp by the trail head and a stream. Could always spend the day there fishing and just relaxing. Still a bummer of a trip thats for sure, season isn't over always fly back and rent a car and head up there!

That does suck for such a long drive. I'm hunting solo this year but after this past weekend and experiencing some serious deadfall I know I need to be darn careful with where I go and just have to take it slow and steps deliberately. I can relate with being 'to far in' if your solo, but just have to be twice as careful and realize if something gets dropped you are in for some serious work. (or a pack out service)

Best luck next year and or get back for later in september if you can.

 

[Travis1984]

Did you guys speak to each other on the way home?

 

[weatherbow21]

A good hunting partner is hard to come by, and a good backcountry partner is a hell of a lot tougher! Mental toughness is huge and most people just don't have it. I've been burned by quite a few hunting buddies but none quite as bad as you... I won't do backcountry elk on my own. Deer and bear no problem but I'm not tough enough to pack an elk out alone.

Some people just aren't comfortable being away from home, sounds like that could have been the issue here.

 

[jlh42581]

A good partner is not just hard to come by, its borderline IMPOSSIBLE. If you have one, cherish it, its harder to find than any other relationship in life.

Ive got a pile of friends that hunt, but ask them to run a topo map or a gps and they look like deer in the headlights.

I had an opposite experience a few years ago where I left a day early. Someone mentioned not counting noses till youre in camp, yeah I had EVERYONE bail before the trip for one excuse or another. At the last minute a guy ive known all my life asked to go and I agreed. The morning we went to leave it turned into him and his two buddies. Red flags went up almost immediately when I was now driving myself and the others had two vehicles, not a single one of them had gps for their vehicle. Here I am driving down highways having to pull over to ensure people got where we were going. I felt as if I spent the next six days playing an unpaid guide, everywhere we went I had to drop people off and show them how to get home. These guys are not rookies either, not in any sense of the word. The weather was relentless, it was actually a hurricane and the hunting flat sucked.

I was running out of vacation fast, unlike everyone else who was laid off for the year and had an infinite amount of time to hunt. I checked the weather and the storm had blown out at home. It was either spend my final day hunting those terrible conditions again while playing guide for the guys who didnt think to bring a gps or at the very least use the maps we had obtained or go home. I chose to go home. No, I didnt kill a deer in the final day, but I also didnt spend 12 hours sitting in pouring down rain.

The camp aspect was good but the hunting part of it sucked. Learned two lessons on that trip, if a hurricane is there stay home. Lesson two, if people show up and cant navigate down the street alone and have no gps, theyre on their own. Im too nice of a person, I planned that trip start to finish and let my bad decisions make me upset. I dont have ill feelings towards any of them but it makes me think hard about who I want to take out. More times than not my experiences dont go well with others. Theres one buddy of mine that if I could get him to go would be awesome, but his interest level never seems that high. Hes content to sit in the same saddle, every day of the year until something comes by he wants to shoot.

Its hard wanting to share the experiences we do with people and not being able too, Ive learned that I hunt best and enjoy my time the most typically alone. My only hope is that my son is as interested as I am someday.

I too wouldve never drove home, they could take a bus for all I care. Too much planning and too much money! A day you dont hunt is a day you cant ever get back.