So we headed out the 5th to pack in that afternoon, which gave us a whole day before season to see what the elk were doing and if they were bugling yet in this area.. with that being said we had alot of country to cover. I took my cousin with, who has never been on a backcountry style elk hunt with horses and has not slept miles from a truck in a tent for a week.. i was pretty excited to share my obsession.
After the 9 mile hike in, loaded with gear/food (each leading a horse and mule) we set camp and relaxed. Listening to bulls fire off below camp. I was feeling good. Doing the same hunt solo last year, but being 2 weeks earlier this season... it was a good sign. The next day consisted of hiking ridges, glassing, hiking, and seeing what trails were open/no deadfall. I wore my cousin completely out. Haha
We slept light that night and after feeding the ponies that morning we left with our packs on our backs to head up a ridge. A little ways up the ridge, i looked over my shoulder down below camp and noticed a bull working up the opposite hillside. It was a decent 5 point. A couple cow calls had the bull fired up and heading our way. 25 mins into playing the bull,(with a perfect wind) he came through the deadfall.. frontal at 28 yards. I felt good, at full draw we met eyes. As i squeezed off, he dropped his head to whirl back under the deadfall and my arrow struck his antler. Total bummer but we were in good spirits being it was the first hour of the season and we were 300 yards from our tent. From there, the day was full of glassing, hiking, and trying to find the right bull. The next couple days were filled with not so great weather. Cold temps and rain moved in. We happened to meet an outfitter near camp who was planning on setting up camp for clients the last part of September on through rifle season/November. While talking and swapping stories, we found ourselves digging holes and tamping wood posts that would soon be the back bone to 3 wall tents. They had a group of 5 guys and 12 head of horses. We talked for a few hours, passed some time before the next storm rolled in. Before they packed out, the outfitter insisted we stay in his wall tents and use camp as needed. He said he would be back in a few days. As the rain moved in, we moved into the tents. A couple days went by and we hunkered down in camp.. it rained and rained. About the time i started going stir crazy, feeling like i was losing hope and the days were dwindling before i had to get my cousin back home, it cleared up. We headed high and were into elk immediately. Trying to work bigger bulls that were cowed up got frustrating. Alot of “F words” were stated. When we returned to camp that night we saw the outfitter had returned and stocked up on propane, installed cookstoves, provided new lanterns and built a table and shelves. He was very crafty with a chainsaw and impact.
