Diary of an elk hunter

Six days of hiking over 20 miles of hills, rocks and mountains, this is what I have to show for it.....

He's not a monster, but he was sure fun to get!

Quick synopsis:
Last day of the hunt, crack of dawn, we see a bull right on the skyline. I tell Lynn, he grabs my gun, I struggle to get my shoes on but don't have time. I quickly open the door, aim and shoot. The bull falls like a sack of bricks on the first shot. He slowly tries to get back up but I cure that with the last and final shot. Lynn's cheering for me and I'm jumping up and down still without shoes on! We walk off the road about 150 yards and find him laying there.
It has been a fun week with plenty of adrenaline rush moments, angry and disappointing moments of shooting at a couple of really big bulls but missing because they were just a little too far away. For the last day of the hunt, after fearing that I wouldn't get one at all, I'm pretty happy with the results. Like I said, he's not huge, but he's a lot bigger than what I had before!
By the way, it's about fifteen degrees on the mountain at the time of the shoot and the north wind was blowing at about twenty miles an hour - I was very happy that we got the job done early and didn't have to do our daily five to seven mile hike today!

So....at the end of this amazing week, I've learned so many things.
First - never give up. Even though it may not turn out exactly as you hope, you can still have a happy ending.
Second - I was reminded of how much fun I have when I'm with my husband. Sometimes life and kids push the husband/wife relationship to the back burner. It was WONDERFUL to spend all this time with Lynn. He really is my best friend and I am so happy that I have him in my life.
Third - God truly has so many beautiful creations on this earth that we need to take time to enjoy them. While hiking through rocky hillsides or sagebrush flats, I could find beauty in every step of the way. No matter how tired or cold I got, I was still grateful to be able to enjoy all of it.
Another lesson - even when it is bitter cold outside, you can still stay very warm by hiking up steep terrain!
Next - it is better to shoot at the big ones and miss than to never have shot at all!!
Also, it's surprising how tired you get after a huge adrenaline rush!
Last, sometimes it takes miles and miles of hiking before you get the prize on the easy road. Would I trade any of the moments and experiences of the previous days for the easy kill on the last day? Never!


WARNING: The following paragraphs are for personal journal keeping purposes, read at your own risk! Long and descriptive - it might be boring for you! If you'd like to read about the moment of triumph, read at the end of this post starting at "Day 6 - Last day of the hunt."

After nine years of applying for the bull elk hunt, I finally drew out this year. While I should have been extremely excited, I actually felt a little bit of trepidation. Of all the years to draw out, I picked the year that I have an eight month old baby who is still nursing at home. So I was really worried about having to leave Hadley for most, if not all, of the day.
Lynn - who by the way was really excited for me and is still patiently awaiting his turn to draw out after having the maximum number of points - went scouting for a big bull for me. While he was able to spot several nice ones, we didn't really have one specific bull in mind to hunt. We were hoping to find a decent one on the first day and get it done.

Day One (November 8th):
We awoke bright eyed and bushy tailed at 4:30 a.m. and headed up the mountain. A friend of Lynn's (Shane) knew of a couple nice bulls in a specific area and we decided to go there. We rode four-wheelers up a ways and then began what I would soon find to be the longest, hardest hike of my life. I've decided that Shane and Lynn are speed hikers, while I am a very out of shape, slightly overweight, mother of three. Anyhow....after about a mile long hike uphill, we spotted three nice bulls jogging up the next draw (we figured they heard us). The last one, which was also the fastest one, was the biggest and Lynn called "a shooter." Unfortunately, they busted up over the hill pretty quickly. So of course, we go after them. On our way we see another bull standing broadsided, staring right at us, seemingly unworried of our presence. Shane and Lynn took a look and had me look as well. We decided at that point that he was an ok bull but wanted to go try to find the other big one. Once again, we spotted four more ok bulls, but none that we were too anxious to shoot.
Moving on around the hill, we could hear the first three bulls in the trees below us. We were sneaking through the cedar trees when I look to my right and see the bull heading in the opposite direction less than 40 yards away from me. That was amazing to see one so close by, even if I only caught a quick glimpse of him through the trees. That would be the last time we would see him.
Shane followed his track while Lynn and I walked across the top of the ridge in case he spooked the bull out. No such luck. Finally, after hiking more than five miles, we returned to the four wheelers and headed home for lunch.
That afternoon was fruitless as well and we found ourselves already regretting not shooting one of those bulls we had seen in the morning. We had been given exactly what we had ordered on a platter, but refused itMason was able to ride his four wheeler with us that afternoon and I learned that my little boy is quickly growing into a man. I'm not sure if I like that or not!

Day 2 (November 10th - took a break on Sunday):
I made the mistake of telling Lynn that despite my need for an hour long soak in the tub Saturday night, I was willing to hike whatever distance he wanted me to in order to shoot a bull. He took full advantage of that. Another long day of hiking. I seemed to have survived hiking a little better this day though. I didn't feel so tired that I was sick, so that was good. Once again, no luck. We did see four nice bulls about a mile away at the highest ridge - so no chance there.
One highlight was a nice buck that came within twenty yards of the truck. He was a little preoccupied to be too nervous about us - he's in the rut.


That afternoon, Lynn glassed (hunting lingo for using binoculars and a spotting scope) the hill we had seen the bulls on Saturday morning and spotted two more bulls up there just before dark. Aha! Our look would be changing for sure. We planned the next morning hunt for that spot.

Day 3 (November 11th):
Another friend, Rick, joined us this morning for our hunt and helped us find an easier hiking route to get to the same spot we had been on Saturday. It was still a long, uphill hike, but we followed a trail most of the way, making it much easier.
We were so positive that this would be the morning....Lynn told me exactly where I would need to shoot, we planned how we would carry the bull out, etc. No need for all of this, we didn't see anything except for another nice buck. We took a quick ride over to another spot and did see some cows, but no bulls. By this night, I was really discouraged.

Day 4 (November 12th):
Lynn decided we needed a change of scenery so we drove around through Antimony and hunted up on "the table." It's beautiful country that reminds me a lot of the Monroe mountain - open sagebrush, patches of quaking aspen, plenty of great places for wildlife. We stopped at daylight and spotted six bulls on a far ridge, but we decided to take a quick look around the bend before going after those. We were glad we did, just around the bend Lynn noticed a huge group of elk down the end of the ridge. When he looked through his spotting scope he found several nice bulls in with about a hundred cows. We quickly jumped on the four-wheeler, headed down the trail and started "the sneak."
Stopped once just above the herd and I had my gun up and ready. Could have shot at a smaller bull, but soon saw a nice, heavy-horned bull come up the rear of the herd. Unfortunately, he stayed hid behind the cows so I didn't get a shot off. The huge herd kept moving up the ridge and over the top into some trees. We decided to follow.
The wind was blowing from the northwest, so we headed below the elk to stay down wind. It was so amazing to be so close to this herd and to hear the cows chirp and the bulls bugle. I haven't heard that sound in a very long time. After hiking down around the hill we found a lonely bull mulling around in the sagebrush. Once again, tried to get positioned for a shot but he meandered off to the other herd before we could shoot.
We continued on "the sneak." This was so much fun for me! Quietly and quickly sneaking through the tall sagebrush and various cedar trees, watching and listening to the herd just above us in the aspens, knowing that they have no idea we were there. We spotted a beautiful bull at the edge of the trees and I wanted to shoot him so badly but we couldn't see enough of his body to even try. Thus, we waited once again for them to come through the draw and up another ridge. We didn't have to wait long. We tried to get a rest on a bush and I picked out my favorite bull from the several in the herd. I was SO nervous to shoot! It took me a couple minutes to finally calm down enough to try. Finally.....BOOM. Nothing. I missed! Several tries later, the bull was still standing and I was frustrated! Soon, a bull that we thought was the bigger one came up out of the draw and I tried to shoot at him too. Missed again. Lynn realized that I was out of bullets and we had left the backpack along with the rest of the ammo up at the top of the hill! It wouldn't have been so bad except that two other hunters showed up out of nowhere and started shooting at my bull! Lynn booked it back up to get the bullets while I stood and watched the other hunters miss the same bull I shot at. I was actually glad that they couldn't hit it either....I didn't feel so bad about my poor shooting. To make a long story short....we didn't get the big one that day and I was mad!! My chance at the big one was gone. After a little hiking trying to spot them again, I calmed down and realized how much fun we just had. I'd much rather see one and miss than not see one at all. This was by far the most exciting morning of the whole week.
It was easy to decide that we were coming back to the same spot the next day.

Day 5:
I was truly surprised to see the same herd in almost the exact same spot again this morning. After missing the bulls the day before, I was a little gun shy this morning and decided not to shoot when I first had the chance. We figured that I was shooting from a good four or five hundred yard distance the day before and that was the reason for the misses (maybe Lynn was just being nice) and the bull this morning was at least that far again today. After following the herd over the ridge we spotted them on the run. At the top we were surprised to hear a shot fired just to the left of us. Those hunters were back again too and we spooked the herd right in their direction! Lynn and I quickly jumped behind some rocks and watched the herd stampede less than twenty yards in front of us. I had my gun positioned and waited for the go signal from Lynn. But the big one never came through. I must say, that was an intense adrenaline rush to have these animals sailing past me close enough that I could have been run over if I hadn't jumped behind the rocks! I was shaking for a good ten minutes afterward!
Once again, we did a little more snooping around in the trees, saw some cows and very small bulls, lots of deer and even a nice buck, but no bulls again. But wow! What a day! I was so tired that night that I had no problems falling asleep after getting the kids to bed!

Day 6 - Last day of the hunt:
I fully prepared myself this morning for a fruitless hunt. I was already figuring up what I would say when people asked me if I got my bull. I slept most of the way to Antimony and up the mountain. I didn't have my coat or shoes on. Lynn's friend Shane was following us today again. I finally decided I better wake up and be ready for when we would stop and ride the four wheeler. It was just at the crack of dawn and all of a sudden I noticed something off the side of the road on the skyline. "Lynn, look over there, I think it's a bull." He abruptly stopped and got the binoculars out. I realized that it truly was a bull and told him to get my gun out. He did so and started to hand it to me.
I said, "Hold on, I need to put my boots on."
"Forget your shoes! Just open the door and shoot at it."
"Is it big enough to shoot?" I asked him.
"At this point, anything will do!"
I quickly opened the door, got my dead rest and said, "O.K. Here I go."
BOOM!
"You nailed him!" Lynn shouted.
I immediately slammed another shell in and prepared to shoot again. Sure enough, the bull stood back up and slowly tried to walk away. BOOM! Second shot and he was down again, never to stand again. By this time, Lynn was around to the side of the truck by me and Shane had also pulled up behind.
"You did it! You got him!" Lynn's shouting.
Here I am, jumping up and down in my stocking feet, so excited that I actually hit the darn thing.
Now, it was show time. We walked about 150 yards off the road and there he was. I was so worried that we'd get to him and he'd be a puny little willow horn. Well, he's not a huge bull, but he's a nice six point. Lynn and I call him a "respectable" bull.
For the last day, I couldn't have asked for a better turnout. I shot a bull at the crack of dawn, just off the road, and was home by noon! Nobody had to spend all day draggin him out of the hills somewhere, we didn't have to cut him up and pack him out in pieces. It was great!