2017 Colorado Elk Hunt - The mountains are calling and I must go
Elk hunting in 2017 almost was a no-go for me. After heading west to elk hunt for the first time in 2016 (see story below), I had the itch to head back again. But finding a partner to go with was a different story. Matt, who I hunted with in Colorado in 2016, drew an Iowa Whitetail tag and was devoted to that pursuit for fall. I asked a handful of buddies, but either the timing just didn’t work out or they didn't have enough vacation to make the trip. I had basically written off being able to chase elk in 2017.
Until one random day cutting the lawn in mid-summer and listening to an elk hunting podcast, I thought – why not go solo this fall? An instant spark of energy seemed to come over me. While I was beyond excited to head back to the mountains, I couldn’t help but think of all the questions I would soon be receiving. Why go by yourself? Is that safe? What if you get one; how are you going to pack it out? Won’t you be lonely? And on and on…
With more consideration to these points, I thought I could answer all of them with a well thought-out plan and recent technology, just as much as if I was with a hunting buddy. Once I had the ‘OK’ from my wife to head out in the mountains by myself for a week (with the promise to have a Satellite Safety Locator and a handgun for protection), it was game plan time.
Having experience with a particular unit in Colorado last year, as well as having spent a few years scouting that unit online before that, I knew I wanted to head back to the same unit to a Wilderness Area. I had plans A, B, C, and D printed off, waypoints marked on my new GPS, all my gear dialed up, food packed, and two different horse packers on standby, should I be fortunate enough to get an elk.
Until one random day cutting the lawn in mid-summer and listening to an elk hunting podcast, I thought – why not go solo this fall? An instant spark of energy seemed to come over me. While I was beyond excited to head back to the mountains, I couldn’t help but think of all the questions I would soon be receiving. Why go by yourself? Is that safe? What if you get one; how are you going to pack it out? Won’t you be lonely? And on and on…
With more consideration to these points, I thought I could answer all of them with a well thought-out plan and recent technology, just as much as if I was with a hunting buddy. Once I had the ‘OK’ from my wife to head out in the mountains by myself for a week (with the promise to have a Satellite Safety Locator and a handgun for protection), it was game plan time.
Having experience with a particular unit in Colorado last year, as well as having spent a few years scouting that unit online before that, I knew I wanted to head back to the same unit to a Wilderness Area. I had plans A, B, C, and D printed off, waypoints marked on my new GPS, all my gear dialed up, food packed, and two different horse packers on standby, should I be fortunate enough to get an elk.
As August came to a close, I was prepared to make the trip out west. I took care of some home projects that needed tending to and put in some extra time at work to make sure I had things wrapped up before leaving for a week.
Sometimes with a hunting trip, or any trip for that matter, the traveling to and from your destination can be as much a part of the experience as the destination itself. With an 18 hour drive ahead of me, I was thinking that might be a bit different this time driving by myself. After a few hours into the drive, and a few calls from buddies to see how things were going, I settled into some old CDs (yep, still have CDs in my truck) of Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, and Eric Church to bring back some memories and reflection.
My first day of driving left me out of energy and needing to catch a break in Nebraska in the middle of the night. I stopped at a Walmart parking lot in Lincoln to catch a few hours of shut-eye. I awoke about 4:30am and I was on a mission to get to my hunting spot Friday afternoon. With just a short stop to pick up my hunting license, I soon found myself at a familiar trailhead and shouldering my pack to hit the trail.
I had hopes of packing about 4 miles in and getting to about 11,000 feet before setting up my camp. With hunting opening week of archery season, I expected the elk to be spread out and quiet, so I wanted to be perched up high for glassing meadows and pockets in timber below me. But, with fading light and a need to fill up on water, I set up camp at about 10,000 feet along a creek on the valley floor. With only getting a cat nap the night before, I quickly fell into a deep slumber with the sound of the rushing creek as a backdrop.
Sometimes with a hunting trip, or any trip for that matter, the traveling to and from your destination can be as much a part of the experience as the destination itself. With an 18 hour drive ahead of me, I was thinking that might be a bit different this time driving by myself. After a few hours into the drive, and a few calls from buddies to see how things were going, I settled into some old CDs (yep, still have CDs in my truck) of Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, and Eric Church to bring back some memories and reflection.
My first day of driving left me out of energy and needing to catch a break in Nebraska in the middle of the night. I stopped at a Walmart parking lot in Lincoln to catch a few hours of shut-eye. I awoke about 4:30am and I was on a mission to get to my hunting spot Friday afternoon. With just a short stop to pick up my hunting license, I soon found myself at a familiar trailhead and shouldering my pack to hit the trail.
I had hopes of packing about 4 miles in and getting to about 11,000 feet before setting up my camp. With hunting opening week of archery season, I expected the elk to be spread out and quiet, so I wanted to be perched up high for glassing meadows and pockets in timber below me. But, with fading light and a need to fill up on water, I set up camp at about 10,000 feet along a creek on the valley floor. With only getting a cat nap the night before, I quickly fell into a deep slumber with the sound of the rushing creek as a backdrop.
I awoke to my watch alarm at 4:30am on opening morning. A quick cup of coffee and some oatmeal down the hatch, and I was on my way up the mountain to glass. On the hike-up, I spotted a few mule deer and a black bear on an opposing ridge in the adjacent valley above tree-line. Seeing game on the move always gives you a good feeling for a hunt.
I made the mile and a half and 1,500 foot vertical climb in a few hours and was still adjusting to elevation of the high country. I passed a few nice rubs on my way up the ridge I was climbing, and made a mental note of their location.
I had an awesome glassing set-up for the morning at about 11,500’ other than being there later than I would’ve liked. I didn’t glass up anything the first morning, so I worked back down the mountain a bit to find a spot for lunch and some blind calling.
I made the mile and a half and 1,500 foot vertical climb in a few hours and was still adjusting to elevation of the high country. I passed a few nice rubs on my way up the ridge I was climbing, and made a mental note of their location.
I had an awesome glassing set-up for the morning at about 11,500’ other than being there later than I would’ve liked. I didn’t glass up anything the first morning, so I worked back down the mountain a bit to find a spot for lunch and some blind calling.
I dropped a couple hundred feet of elevation and took a break for lunch on a bench on the finger ridge I climbed that morning. It felt good to get back in the shade as the sun was beating down pretty hard on me in my exposed glassing spot earlier that morning and I could feel a little sunburn on my face. I did some cow-calling and sat for a bit, but with no response or action.
In mid-afternoon I worked my way back up the ridge to my glassing spot and settled in for the evening, hoping the meadows I glassed earlier that morning would have some activity in the evening. Although everything looked and felt like perfect conditions in an undisturbed basin, I didn’t spot any elk that night. I did turn up one mule deer and one cinnamon-phase black bear, which was fun to watch it munch on grasses on its way up the opposing mountain side.
I headed back down the mountain around 7:30pm at dusk on Saturday night. It was getting pretty dark once I got into some timber, but I had marked some waypoints to help navigate down the mountain back to my campsite. I took my time to be safe and had about a 2 hour hike back to camp. Even though I was only one day in on my hunt, I was a little frustrated that I wasn’t able to locate any elk thus far. I began to think over my back-up plans a bit, but ultimately decided I needed to give this basin one more day to try to turn up some elk before moving onto my plan B.
I was pretty fatigued waking up on Sunday morning. Rather than climbing the mountain as quickly as possibly to get to my glassing spot like the day before, I decided to take my time up the mountain, and do a few calling set-ups and hunt on my way to setting up for an evening glassing session.
My first calling set-up on Sunday morning was around 10,500’ on a bench littered with game trails. I cow called and sat for about an hour, but with no luck.
I was pretty fatigued waking up on Sunday morning. Rather than climbing the mountain as quickly as possibly to get to my glassing spot like the day before, I decided to take my time up the mountain, and do a few calling set-ups and hunt on my way to setting up for an evening glassing session.
My first calling set-up on Sunday morning was around 10,500’ on a bench littered with game trails. I cow called and sat for about an hour, but with no luck.
I continued to work my way up the ridge and took some time to get a late morning nap in the sun, kicking off the boots and airing out my socks. Leaning back with my hands behind my head and laying in the warm grass looking at the mountain landscape, I couldn’t help but soak in the beauty and appreciate how lucky I was to even have the opportunity to be in place like this. I sometimes need to remind myself to stop and take a few deep breaths and look around on trips instead of being only focused on the task at hand or the endpoint destination.
It was time for lunch and I was excited to try out a new sandwich that I had heard rave reviews about for calorie packed punch. It was a peanut butter, honey, and bacon sandwich – not bad! I had some Fritos for some added calories and gushers (my kids’ favorite fruit snacks) to round out the meal.
It was time for lunch and I was excited to try out a new sandwich that I had heard rave reviews about for calorie packed punch. It was a peanut butter, honey, and bacon sandwich – not bad! I had some Fritos for some added calories and gushers (my kids’ favorite fruit snacks) to round out the meal.
As I climbed to about 11,000’, I began noticing more game trails leading to the steep, north-facing slope on my side. I thought this would make a good spot to do a little scouting and another calling set-up. I found a flat rock wedged into the mountain that would make a perfect seat, so I walked 50 yards above my seating location to give some cow calls (solo calling requires a bit more trickery to play the wind and keep the elk from pegging your calling location). After my calling sequence, I dropped down to my flat rock seat and settled in. I didn’t have much for shooting lanes – everything would be top pin – but there were several game trails crossing below me. With the thermals pushing my scent up hill at this point in the day, I thought I was in a good set-up if anything was bedded below me in the dark timber resting for the afternoon.
Within about five minutes I spotted an elk moving uphill towards me. Unexpectedly, I wasn’t as overtook by “elk fever” as I thought I would be. It was about 50 yards away from me when I first spotted it through some thick timber, and I thought it was a cow. I quietly rotated my body to my right on the rock to get in a better spot for the elk as it went behind a thicket of downfall. When the elk came through the downfall, I saw a rack bobbing up and down – a BULL! The bull seemed to be looking up towards my calling location further above me. As he approached to within 20 yards, I could see he was a legal bull (having at least four points on one side), so I drew back my bow. When he got to about 15 yards, he started slowly rubbing a tree. I didn’t have much of a shot at him in this location and I wanted him to take a few more steps forward to a larger shooting lane. As he continued to rub and stay in place, I began to consider sneaking a shot in about a one foot wide lane. Because I was worried about the wind switching, and how long I’d be able to hold my bow back before he may step into the larger shooting lane, I reconsidered my option and settled my top pin. I felt confident I could sneak an arrow through the lane at that close of a distance, so I hooked my trigger finger over my release and executed the shot.
My arrow flew right through its lane between trees and hit the bull solidly as the fletching on my arrow disappeared. After the initial contact, he seemed to just look around for a few seconds, as if he was asking himself, “what in the heck was that?” I gave a few mouth cow calls to try to keep him in the area, but he soon took a quick gallop over some downfall headed downhill and disappeared in the thick timber. About as quickly as he disappeared, I heard some tumbling and a large crack. While I felt confident in the shot, I knew I wanted to wait at least an hour to make sure I didn’t bump him because I heard elk are difficult to track with their thick hair soaking up blood.
After a quiet phone call to my wife and my dad, I began the waiting game. One of the most memorable experiences I had that entire trip was while waiting to pursue the bull. About two dozen black-capped chicadees flew in and landed right above me in the tree I was sitting in. They buzzed back and forth amongst one another as birds do, but hung around me for several minutes. It almost seemed as though they came to keep me company while I waited.
After an hour of waiting - what seemed like forever - I went to track the bull. I quickly found my arrow about 10 yards downhill from the point of impact, which was a great sign. I didn’t see any blood trail, but I could follow the bull’s tracks in the soft pine duff. I only had to follow them about 25 yards to where he lay.
After a quiet phone call to my wife and my dad, I began the waiting game. One of the most memorable experiences I had that entire trip was while waiting to pursue the bull. About two dozen black-capped chicadees flew in and landed right above me in the tree I was sitting in. They buzzed back and forth amongst one another as birds do, but hung around me for several minutes. It almost seemed as though they came to keep me company while I waited.
After an hour of waiting - what seemed like forever - I went to track the bull. I quickly found my arrow about 10 yards downhill from the point of impact, which was a great sign. I didn’t see any blood trail, but I could follow the bull’s tracks in the soft pine duff. I only had to follow them about 25 yards to where he lay.
At first, I was pretty overcome with emotion of the feat that I had just accomplished and how thankful I was for this opportunity and the environment I was in. But shortly thereafter, my thoughts turned to thinking about how I was going to get him in the best position for breaking him down and starting on the enormous task of butchering and packing that lay in front of me. My first hurdle was to remove the fallen dead trees that the bull fell under so I could access him for field dressing. This was the first task of many that day where I found myself problem solving independently to break down and single handedly move a 500 pound animal off of a mountain.
Breaking down the bull was definitely a learning experience, as it was the first time I had quartered an animal. I had a few hurdles to overcome that will stick in my mind. Once I completed breaking down one side of the bull, I had to flip him to get to his other side. In doing so, I probably should have given more thought about the steep slope I was on and the effects of gravity. Once I flipped him, he rolled down the slope, flipping a few times. Fortunately, I was at least thoughtful enough to be up-slope of him to be clear of him when he began tumbling. I was also fortunate that he landed with the side I still needed to break down right side up. Unfortunately, he also became jammed under another downed log that I needed to move for further work. The log was too heavy to move, and was not dry enough to break by hand, so more ingenuity led me to sawing through a piece of it with a Leatherman saw to continue my work.
All in all, it took me about 4 hours to break down the bull. Since it was approaching nightfall, I loaded up my pack with a light first load and covered up the remaining meat quarters with a tarp, crossing my fingers that one of the black bears in the area wouldn’t come in for an easy meal. I headed back to camp in the dark with plans to bone-out the quarters and shuttle the meat back to camp the following day.
The next day I awoke and headed back up to my meat stash after a quick breakfast and contacting a packer. I had about 24 hours to get the rest of the meat off the mountain and back to my camp in the valley floor along a main trail that would be accessible by horseback. That day was a long day, but I seemed to have the memory of the elk in my mind while my legs burned on each portion of the packing. After several light hikes up the mountain and heavy trips down, I had the meat back at camp and stashed in two large plastic bags submerged in the nearby ice-cold creek.
Although I almost had no appetite that night from all the strenuous hiking that day, I cooked up some fresh backstrap over a fire and relaxed. What a day! I had some time to reflect on what I had accomplished in the past 3 days.
Meeting with the packer on Tuesday morning was a huge relief. My meat was ice-cold from the night before and it was amazing how fast we were able to make it back to the trailhead and down to the truck 2.5 miles away with the help of the stock. I tried my best to keep up with the horses on the hike off the mountain, but they can definitely handle rocky trails much faster than anyone walking.
After a fresh change of clothes, I headed into town and loaded down the coolers with several ice blocks. With the meat secured, I found the closest place for a greasy cheeseburger and a beer. I always love thinking about the first food I’m going to get after finishing up some rugged time on a camping trip where you are limited to eating mostly dehydrated food. It can make for some valuable meditation during a miserable point in a hike, or even a good way to create a comical break during a tough period in a trip when morale is low. The cheeseburger definitely did not disappoint.
I split up the drive home into two days and had some good calls with buddies on the way back, relaying and reliving the experience of my hunt. Fortunately, I also had some great help processing the bull when I came back from friends. Other than bringing in some scrap meat for burger, we processed the entire bull and sealed it for the freezer. Looking at all the meat packaged up is when the trip really felt like it was complete.
I split up the drive home into two days and had some good calls with buddies on the way back, relaying and reliving the experience of my hunt. Fortunately, I also had some great help processing the bull when I came back from friends. Other than bringing in some scrap meat for burger, we processed the entire bull and sealed it for the freezer. Looking at all the meat packaged up is when the trip really felt like it was complete.
Looking back on this trip I learned a lot about myself and what I could accomplish. Taking on challenging country and problem solving tasks on my own is definitely something I will take away from the hunt. When I come across a task now that seems difficult, I can always look back and say - "is it really going to be as hard as driving half-way across the country, hiking into a Wilderness area 3 miles, and hunting and harvesting an elk by yourself?" Usually the answer to that question is going to be a simple no.
In all seriousness, while the solo hunt was fun, and sometimes looking back something I can’t believe I even did, I hope to share these types of experiences and successes with more friends in the future. There are already plans in place for a return to this Wilderness for September of 2018 with a group of four and I can't wait!
In all seriousness, while the solo hunt was fun, and sometimes looking back something I can’t believe I even did, I hope to share these types of experiences and successes with more friends in the future. There are already plans in place for a return to this Wilderness for September of 2018 with a group of four and I can't wait!
2016 Colorado Elk Hunt
Luke and Matt headed to Colorado on an archery elk hunt. The trip gave us a chance to give the Kifaru Sawtooth its first test in the mountains. We did not find success in bringing an elk back to Wisconsin, but we learned a lot about hunting in the mountains and also had an encounter with a small bull.
2015 Early Season Bow HuntMatt and Luke headed to Northwestern Wisconsin for a couple days of early season whitetail archery hunting. The trip stemmed from the idea of trying to access some unpressured areas by canoe camping along a wild river. The trip also provided a great opportunity to run some new gear through the paces including a new tent and stove. We encountered several does, turkeys, and even a black bear, but didn’t get a crack at any bucks. The weather was gorgeous for early fall and we had a lot of fun talking about hunts coming later this fall and in the years to come.
2014 Iowa Archery HuntMatt had an archery tag in Iowa in 2014. A wonderful piece of ground to hunt and a much different experience than hunting his native Wisconsin.
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2015 South Dakota Turkey HuntMatt headed to South Dakota for a Turkey Hunt. The wonderful scenery of the Black Hills is always something to look forward to.
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