Wyoming Archery 2023 - A Novel

[well_known_rokslider]

I know some on this site really enjoy a good write up. If that be your taste, and this qualifies, enjoy. This was written mostly for individuals who are not hunters so excuse some of the Captain Obvious moments.

Friday: Left Waukesha around 6:45AM and got to Ogallala by 7ish. Checked into hotel and went to dinner at the Front Street Steak house where Kris and Steve had stopped the previous year. In the parking lot we saw a beautiful 6x6 and a spike in the bed of a pickup. Needless to say this got our blood pumping. After scanning the patrons trying to guess who the lucky hunters might be, the waitress found the gents for us and we got to chatting. They were from Pennsylvania and were hunting unit [omitted]. The muzzy hunter got the 6x6 on the opening morning with a 75 yard chip shot. His buddy managed to punch his tag in the last hour of the last day, but they were into, quote, “tons of elk and the rut was definitely getting hot”. Bid them good luck, ate, and went to bed.

Saturday: Met Josh in Cheyenne, which has no Culver’s btw. Edit: this has since been confirmed to be incorrect, sure what google was on that day. Drove through [omitted] up to our number one spot that Josh scouted earlier in the year. I wasn’t super thrilled by the look of it, but we decided to drive in as far as possible and then hike towards [omitted]. We found a place to park and got geared up. 45 minutes later, when Josh was ready, we started walking.



100 yards from where we decided was far enough for the trucks we pass a camp and a guy who jokingly ripped on my cow calls. He said “a bunch” of cars had already gone past him that day and the end of the trailhead was “a long way”. We kept walking, figured he was bull shitting us. Got to the end of road and found multiple camps and the aforementioned “bunch of cars”. One of which had Wisconsin plates and more gear than you could fit in a semi-trailer. No people were in any of the camps. We decided to push on. We worked around some private land and decided to set up camp early around 5PM since it was our first back pack type camp setup.


Josh was starting to have issues with his pack not fitting quite right and becoming uncomfortable. Just before dark we heard crashing below us and silently watched two hunters walking through back towards the trailhead. Steve informed the group of his newly discovered wilderness pooping method utilizing an old tree stump.

Sunday: No night bugles save for maybe one Steve heard a long way off. Kris had a rough night acclimating to the elevation, plagued by sweats and chills. We wake up a little late and as we’re getting ready, I realize I can’t make my oatmeal within their own packets. Josh saves the day with a different oatmeal that can be prepared as such. As we’re packing up two guys from Wyoming came through camp to say hello. We showed them our intended path, they showed us theirs, and we parted ways. We begin our planned loop. Elk sign was nearly non-existent. About 45 min in I looked down and see some fresh glistening elk droppings. At that moment Kris spotted what looked to be a bull and cow tearing off through the thick brush. We continued towards a pond that we decided to use for refilling water and judging elk population. When we got to the pond we were still seeing very little sign. We all filled up and took our first sips of possibly, maybe, perhaps, giardia water.


We decided to continue the loop through some similar terrain to where we bumped the elk that morning. At an intermediate peak with a great view and cell reception, we all took a chance to call home and say our “I love yous”. Kris spots 2 guys coming down from the mountain significantly further in to the unit. With limited unmolested space, we decide to move to the end of the finger, eat lunch, then head back to the trucks to reevaluate.


Josh’s pack is continuing to give him issues. On our way to the lunch spot we came across an older gent from Wisconsin in camo, and his daughter and son who were in street clothes and tennis shoes. He apparently killed an elk here many years ago. Or his other daughter did. His story seemed rather suspect. He was carrying a crossbow and apparently it was her tag. Anyway. We hear a few bugles and get excited. However, it didn’t take long before we realized it was another hunter on the ridge we had crossed over earlier in the day. Plus, we see the other three members from the older guy’s camp as well. We decided to eat lunch and head to the trucks asap. On our way down Josh takes a spill and pulls a muscle in his chest and back. The hike back to the trucks was a somber one. We pass the first guy again and see that his camp killed a rag horn. We pack up trucks and Josh is evaluating if he can even continue. We decided to try hunting [omitted] as all the trailheads are drawing too much attention. We take a drive and find some interesting spots to try in the morning. On our way to a pull off where we decided to camp that night we drive through [omitted]where one gent is sitting by his trailer with a decent bull [omitted]. We carry on and as we set up camp, we begin to regret not stopping and chatting with the successful hunter. Josh is seriously hurting and cannot sleep laying down and is coughing up a storm. He spends midnight until morning in the truck.

Monday: As our alarms are going off at 6AM, a truck pulls into our spot, parks three feet away from our tents, and two hunters get out and hurry past. Josh heard a few night bugles but has pretty much decided he can’t hunt any more. We hear two bugles across the road and decide to gear up quick and make a play. As we start walking up the road we see another camper trailer and decide the bugles were probably them. We decide to pack up our gear and, presuming Josh is tapped out, hunt a little in the morning as he takes a drive to see if he feels better and decide what to do around noon. Spot number one yields two early bugles. One was closer but we figured it was a hunter. We work slowly towards the other on [omitted]. We put a pretty efficient stalk on a squirrel dropping pinecones that sound a hell of a lot like hoof steps as they hit branches on way down. Continuing on, we flush a grouse and Kris is eager to send carbon at something. Steve reminds us that we’re here for elk and we actually hear one, so we should probably let this grouse live to see another day. The elk is responsive for a bit but then shuts up. As we creep closer, I catch a glimpse of a small branch bull about 100 yards ahead, but he spotted us first and moved off. We’re frustrated and running out of ideas as the elk aren’t talking after the first hour of the morning and figured the pressure is hurting our chances. We debated the possibility of driving [omitted] unit or spend some more time here. We decided to drive back to the parking spot to check in on Josh and decide from there. On the way Steve was determined to chat with the guy from the day before. I’m doubtful but figured it couldn’t hurt. As we drive in we see the man and his wife pulling out. We decided it wasn’t meant to be so we continued around the loop with them following. As we tried to exit he road was blocked [omitted]and Steve saw his opportunity. He jumped out, truck still running and started chatting. After a few minutes he comes back to the truck and says, “guys you gotta hear this.” The couple were from Wyoming and were incredibly kind. They listened to our story and were willing to share some info on where they were seeing some elk and their patterns. The spot was a brutal climb and the missus was not interested in doing it again. She had already seen some cows lower that she was more interested in chasing. Apparently, the other people [omitted] were not putting solid hours into hunting the area and Nick was willing to share info if we were willing to hunt the area carefully. This info, paired with a source of water at elevation, as well as some nerve racking info regarding the grizzly status around the Park (Nick [omitted]and had some stories) made our decision clear. We linked up with Josh and decided to pack bags for 2-3 days and start the climb. Josh brought a day pack to make one last hike with us before heading home. The climb is tough so we take our time. As we reach the high spring, we see it is overrun with sheep which Nick warned might be the case. We give them a wide berth but, regardless, the sheep dogs begin barking and work towards us. We see one, then two, then five. We start to get a bit concerned. One comes running aggressively up to me without stopping and everyone tenses up, the armed party members grip iron. The dog turned out to be friendly enough, but he dogged us the rest of the way up the hill until we were completely out of sight of the sheep. After picking a spot to set up our camp for a few days and say our farewells to Josh. It will turn out that he had severely sprained a muscle in his shoulder and wasn’t able to carry a pack until months later.


To be continued...

 

[well_known_rokslider]

As we finish setting up camp Kris spots a grouse. Having been denied his prize earlier in the day he takes a shot and hits. The bird walks to within 3 feet of my tent and I deliver the killing shot. The grouse is cleaned and hung, after which we climb to get a look at the terrain we’ll target tomorrow. On our way back down, we glass a bit until dark but spot nothing across a huge drainage. We prepared dinner with John and Kris boiling the grouse as it was our only means of cooking as we didn’t want to start a real fire. The fatty water boiling over our containers and fuel conservation lead to most likely undercooked grouse getting added to our freeze-dried meals. The giardia and salmonella will have to battle it out to see which can take us down first.


As we’re about to retire for the night we finally hear a few distant bugles down below. We’re all eager for what tomorrow has in store. We fall asleep, or at least try to, to the sounds of frequent bugles.

Tuesday: the nights are uncannily quiet. No crickets, no evening song birds, just the tantalizing bellows of our query making sleep hard to come by. We’re up by 5 in order to make it up to the observation knob we picked last night by 6:30. Everyone is sucking a bit more wind than yesterday as we acclimate to the extra 1000ft of elevation. We get to our morning ambush point around 6:45 and I realize I broke cardinal rule #2. Rule #1 being ‘ALWAYS play the wind’. Rule #2: always keep track of your release. We decide to sit the morning spot until the winds settle, during which I take the role of main caller. As the rising thermals lock in, if we don’t hear anything I’ll make a trip back for the absent piece of equipment. As we watch the sun come up to our left, we hear the woods wake up and a solo bugle sounds off to the southwest.


We stick to the plan of letting the herds work their way over the saddle to their south sloped daytime bedding location where we will make our play. An hour or so passes with semi regular bugling. Finally, “I SEE AN ELK” announces Steve. “Cow. And calf. And another cow”. We all train our binos to where Steve was looking and watch as a herd of cows work down from a saddle crossing through the basin below. At last, the heard bull we knew had to be in tow appeared. We watch as he tends the cows and follows them toward an aspen grove down below our camp. It was truly magical for the three of us to have our first encounter glassing a herd and watch a bull work unmolested.


We made note of where the herd appeared to be heading to bed for the day and I run back to camp for my release. On the way down, about 30 yards above our camp I come across a father and son pair from Winnipeg, Manitoba. They had been hunting the unit for 9 days and were heading back home after two more. I shared our intended hunt path, grabbed my release, and said farewell and good luck. When I link back up with Kris and Steve, we formulate a plan for the rest of the morning. We’ll work the far ridge line along the top edge of the timber as instructed by Nick, keeping the difficult to approach herd and its bull in our back pocket. As we slowly creep down the edge, we come into impeccable elk habitat loaded with sign (read ‘poop’). In no time Steve spots a cow and a calf that push out in front of us. We set up a calling session and deliver cow calls with no responses. With the 4-5 bugling bulls previously mentioned by our guide not interested in talking we decide to investigate the path taken by the herd into our basin before working our way back to camp for lunch and to refill our water reserves. If the wind happened to be just right, we’d try to locate the bedded herd and sneak in close enough to intimidate the bull and not give him a chance to push out. As we advance the final 10 yards to our planned set up point the prevailing wind breaks through the thermals, shifts, and the herd blows out. [omitted]. The herd was gone and probably halfway to Colorado at that point. We make our way back towards our water source, once more feeling defeated. Thankfully, the sheep are not at the water seep so we take a half hour to decompress. The new plan is to head back to the far ridge, on the way eating a quick lunch at camp to keep our impact on the target area to a minimum. As we got back to the tree line, we set up for a long cow calling sequence, just outside the timber as Nick instructed. Once more, no luck. Options and locations are all seeming to run out. We headed back to the patch where we last saw the cow and calf for a nap around 3:00. As we arise, spirits somewhat lifted, we decide to continue down the ridge line towards the saddle earlier used by the herd and sit long enough to be within striking distance of a bull as they begin their evening sound checks and trips for water. We spread across the 120 yard gap and plan for the man furthest away from any bugling bull to take charge of calling. But for now, we wait in silence and let the elk do their own thing.

Rain. Everyday from around 2-4 the wind picks up and we see what looks like storms heading our way. Thus far, every time they have blown past. As we sit in ambush, we get our first precipitation of the trip. Just a light drizzle but a change from the blue bird skies and baking sun we hope is exactly what it takes to shake the elk up.

Thunder! The radar shows nothing. Garmin says all clear. They both lied! Drizzle turned into hail and thunder paired with dark skies stretched to the horizon. We decided it’d be better to not risk it and instead weather the storm in our tents. As I was walking to link up with Steve, I spotted a calf and two cows in the exact location we were hoping the elk would come from. The elk saw us as well and in a flash were gone. We made our way back to camp. The weather didn’t end up being too terrible, but you can’t be too careful in the mountains. Dinner in bed was followed by a long evening waiting for dark in the tents.

Wednesday: Other than a few far distant bugles and an elk barking at us so close to camp we could hear its footsteps, the night was quiet. We once more made our way up to the viewing knob, this time with all three releases. The morning is quiet save for a few more far off bugles. We decided to work down to the same saddle we sat the night before. On our way we hear a hoot and a whistle from behind us. We figured it was another hunter or Nick trying to get our attention, but we saw no one so we continued on. Moments later a dog came running up behind us, whimpering. We then hear the whistle again but in front of us and see the sheep herder down below. Normally we’d ignore the dog as he knows the mountains far better than we could hope to, but he sounded injured/hungry/lost so we attempted to catch up to the shepherd. On our way we came across another sheep dog and after a while of being unable to catch up to the shepherd, both dogs gave up following us. We finally reached the saddle and set up for a light cow calling session. No luck. We begin to weigh options. We need to make the long trek down to the truck to restock food and no one thinks this spot is producing enough to warrant a return hike. We head back to camp, one last time past what we had come to call “Cabela’s Knob”.


We pack up camp, and make our way off the mountain. Back at the truck we see the young man Mitch, from Manitoba. He ended up getting a shot at a small bull that morning but accidentally glanced off a tree and his arrow deflected into the guts. He planned to wait about 5 more hours and begin searching. Hopefully he was able to find his bull.

We decided to shake things up and find a place where the rut was further along. [omitted]. Burgers and a few beers [omitted]gave a needed boost to morale and then we were off. There was a burn [omitted]we were heading to. We were optimistic because burns can be a great place for elk a few years afterwards. This one needed a few more years. Cover was nonexistent and feed was scarce, so we turned the truck north to get to some unscorched acres. We started up one mountain road but the terrain was not suitable for a pickup so we turned around. As we continued to gain elevation we looked for spot to camp that also showed promising elk habitat. We found neither. Camping spots were nearly nonexistent and the terrain/vegetation were anything but good looking elk habitat. More than likely we were incorrect about this. Onward we drove, but inevitably found ourselves driving [omitted] with zero prospects. We finally decided that for 40 more minutes we should just go back to our previous unit and hunt some promising looking country that we saw earlier in the day. We made a complete circle with next to nothing to show for it. Back in our original unit every camping spot we drive past is taken and this day in the truck could not be over soon enough. Finally, we found a good camping spot adjacent to some great looking timber. Spirits were once again lifted with dinner and we watched the StarLink satellite chain pass overhead and a distant lightning storm light up the night sky. I never recall being able to see the Milky Way before this trip. It’s breathtaking to say the least.

To be concluded...

 

[well_known_rokslider]

Thursday: Towards the end of our boondoggle the day before, Steve and Kris wanted to rent a cabin and sleep in a real bed, but I complained enough to convince them to spend the night on the mountain. “We’ll never hear a bugle in a cabin”. That might have been a mistake. At 12:30 the still night awoke. Wind gusts we guessed up to 40mph shook our tents and made sleep impossible. At 4:30 lightning could be seen approaching in the western sky and the wind guts grew even more severe with the occasional breaks becoming nonexistent. In fear of our floorless tent quite probably blowing away and thus getting soaked, we tore down camp as quickly as possible before the rain hit. Throwing everything into the truck without any semblance of order, we jumped in ourselves filling any inch of space that remained. We awaited the coming onslaught and tried to catch a few more precious moments of sleep. 15 minutes later the rain had stopped, and the winds calmed to a whisper. A moonless starry sky stretched out above once more. Since no one could sleep anyway we decided to prepare for the day early. A bugle behind camp gave us a restored sense of hope. A bugle across the street that was clearly a hunter did not. As we sipped our morning coffee, we said hello to a group of Mennonite’s walking down the road. They had located a herd of elk the night before and were on their way to try and find them again. We began our hunt behind camp; tired, beaten, and nearly broken. The terrain looked promising, however so we mustered our remaining get up and got going. I caught up on a few days worth of movements and dropped what had to have been an eight pound steamer. We hiked deeper, cow calling as we go, hoping to illicit any sort of response. As we made our way to an overlook of a small clearing leading down to a creek, we decided to bugle the northern slope of an adjacent ridge. At 7:30, as I make a few pre-bulge cow calls we suddenly hear what sounded like a cow mew in response just below. No one can really believe it, but a few more cow calls yielded another response.


Kris and I nock arrows and Steve moved slightly uphill to make herd noises and join me in calling. After a few more back and forth, Kris whispers that he sees two cows, 108 yards away. That was clearly further than they had initially sounded so we figured they were on their way out. To my amazement, I see a small cow trotting up the hill right through the opening directly towards me. I draw and Kris follows. As the cow takes two more steps past the tree I had previously ranged at 35 yards she freezes. The angle is slightly too quartered for Kris, but I have a dead nuts frontal view. I steadied my 30 yard pin on the center of the cow’s chest and let my arrow fly. The illuminated green nock gives a clear view of the arrows path, hitting slightly high at the base of the cow’s neck. She drops immediately. Instinctively I move in for a possible follow up but Kris calls me off to see if the other cow may come in as well. A second shot ended up being unnecessary. The broadhead pierced her trachea, likely her jugular as well, and planted through the spinal column. A quick death. We continue to call, hoping the other cow may grow curious enough to investigate but she never does.



Now it’s time for the hard work. After a few quick photos and an In-Reach message to the families, we begin quartering the elk. Steve and John get to work breaking down the elk as Kris packs up the meat and makes quick work of leg removal. No one can wait for the reward that awaits back at camp. With heavy packs we slowly make our way back to camp, a sense of relief that is downright palpable comes over the group. Steve takes a shot at a grouse on the way back but his shot went just low. The trek back to camp is a comically short 500 yards but we take our time, now’s not the time to get injured. After a week of mostly freeze-dried meals, an early lunch of 4 hour old tenderloins and a cold beer tastes like heaven on earth.


The mood in camp had obviously shifted. With an elk in the cooler and around 24 hours left to hunt, we make plans for our waning time in the cowboy state. Since we know where at least some elk are, we decide to head right back to the kill site and continue our course from the morning. We hike through some beautiful country and find great elk sign but receive no more responses to our calls. We take a rest at a scenic vista and can get enough cell coverage to send pictures and receive congratulations from interested parties back home. After less than 4 hours of sleep and a busy morning, the group is pretty tired and ready for a break, optimistic that we found the home territory of the bull we heard that morning. On the way back to camp we flush two more spruce grouse. As Steve and I carry on Kris tells us to freeze as there was one more yet to flush. Kris puts a great shot on the critter, managing to miss all the best eating parts as well as the rocks behind. The grill at camp will get a second use today.

We return to camp at around 3:00 and the group is completely wiped. We have another bite to eat and determine our plan for tonight and our last hunt tomorrow morning. Tonight, we’ll go back to the spot [omitted] where we bumped the bull on Monday. Tomorrow morning we’ll hunt behind camp one final time. We attempted to organize gear from the morning cluster and set up our tents once again to claim our camp site. As we drive to the parking area for the night’s hunt, we see that someone else had similar plans. With daylight fading quickly we decide [omitted]. This will be our first hunt until dark all trip. The tired and fatigue are starting to show as we continue to crack jokes on our way into the woods. Hysterical laughter ensues. We find a spot to set up along a trail with multiple beds and decent sign. We sit until dark, occasionally cow calling with no response. As we walk out in the dark we sound off a location bugle and are met with the now all too familiar silence.

Friday: We’re up before the sun one last time. One big loop around the back of camp is the plan, starting where we made contact the day before. We found lots of fresh sign including a rub that could not have been more than a day old. Beautiful country as always but minimum elk sign. About 500 yards from being back at camp, Kris catches movement of an elk slipping away silently 40 yards ahead of us. Nothing else comes of the encounter so we knock arrows and make for the trucks. Even with an elk down, it’s hard to not feel defeated. Technically speaking we beat the odds; one elk among 4 hunters is better than the typical 19% success rate for the unit, but kill or no, I think everyone was expecting a bit more from the trip. I couldn’t imagine doing this solo, without the (overused expression) brotherhood to remind me of all the successes we had on the mountain that week. The lessons learned. The systems tested. The joy of being together, alone. The majesty of God’s creation. The sting of packing up camp one last time and the thought of a long drive, without a hunt to look forward to, was negated by the promise of a real bed and welcome-home hugs. 9:40AM we pull out. [omitted] road takes us to Kearney, Nebraska where 1 or 2… or 4 too many margaritas were had with dinner. Snuck into, and got kicked out, of the hotel pool after hours. Needless to say, everyone had headache next morning, but boy was it worth it!


If you made it this far, thanks for stopping by. Sorry for the redacted parts, don't want anyone stealing my honey hole!

 

[wytx]

When did the Culver's in Cheyenne close? Thought there was one on Dell Range and one on East Lincolnway.

Nice write up.

 

[well_known_rokslider]

When did the Culver's in Cheyenne close? Thought there was one on Dell Range and one on East Lincolnway.

Nice write up.

Sure enough! Strange, when I searched day of nothing showed up!

 

[LostArra]

Good story
I sure wouldn't call that a "defeat"
One elk is a huge leap from zero elk.

 

[well_known_rokslider]

Good story
I sure wouldn't call that a "defeat"
One elk is a huge leap from zero elk.

Oh absolutely! This was actually my third hunt, second elk, first with the bow. All in the group have cut our teeth in the OTC game and weere hoping 4 years of point building would have yielded a few more encounters, even if we didn’t walk away with anymore elk.

 

[gman82001]

Haven’t made it through the entire story yet but Cheyenne has 2 Culvers so you missed out

 

[well_known_rokslider]

Haven’t made it through the entire story yet but Cheyenne has 2 Culvers so you missed out

Not only that but there goes my hopes of moving out there and opening one up!

 

[Jaquomo]

Great story! Nice work and thanks for posting it. Nice diversion on a gloomy winter day.

 

[well_known_rokslider]

Great story! Nice work and thanks for posting it. Nice diversion on a gloomy winter day.

Thank you sir!

 

[4rcgoat]

Great read,really enjoyed it. The mountain gives up nothing easily!.
But,if you're lucky enough to be in the mountains, you're lucky enough!

 

[well_known_rokslider]

Thanks for the kind words, couldn't agree more!