Addicting
Well-known member
I didn't do bad in Lander! This last one, though.
a Travel Lodge is never a safe choice. That one in Lander was lipstick on a pig. What you booked:
What we got:
The official 2025 Wyoming elk hunt for Dave N thread.
- Thread starter Dave N
- Start date
a Travel Lodge is never a safe choice. That one in Lander was lipstick on a pig. What you booked:What we got:
Nick87
Well-known member
Im guessing that includes tag holders who are leasing, hunting private and or guided. If so that really puts things in perspective.
Yes, and in some areas like western Montana or OTC Colorado its 1 in 10 odds. Limited tags are probably in the 1 in 5 range. Wyoming or NM provides a much better opportunity
Wyoming still has those type 8 unlimited antlerless tags in some units. Access can be an issue, but not a deal breaker from what I understand...
Short version for those without much time for a novel.
Great people made this trip available to me. I focused on getting my legs and knees stronger and ended up good there but lacking in my cardio. Had a great time but got my ass royally kicked and decided that it wasn't worth it to push any farther. Nobody would have been happy if I ended up in the hospital, or worse. Highlight was seeing a small herd working their way through a snow-filled bowl. That was cool. Didn't end up cutting them off but they ended up being in a spot that would have been pretty tough to get one out. For me, at least. I met several new Hunttalk members and camp was awesome. I saw lots of beautiful scenery and I really enjoyed being back in the mountains. I can't thank everyone enough for the help and support in making this trip happen.
Long version to follow.
Great people made this trip available to me. I focused on getting my legs and knees stronger and ended up good there but lacking in my cardio. Had a great time but got my ass royally kicked and decided that it wasn't worth it to push any farther. Nobody would have been happy if I ended up in the hospital, or worse. Highlight was seeing a small herd working their way through a snow-filled bowl. That was cool. Didn't end up cutting them off but they ended up being in a spot that would have been pretty tough to get one out. For me, at least. I met several new Hunttalk members and camp was awesome. I saw lots of beautiful scenery and I really enjoyed being back in the mountains. I can't thank everyone enough for the help and support in making this trip happen.
Long version to follow.
OK, here goes. I may get something out of order and miss something. Bear with me, I'm not a great storyteller!
You all know the backstory about what led up to this, so I'll skip ahead to where we actually had tags in our pockets. I had been working on my leg and knee strength and seeing gains. Nice, but still a potential trouble spot in my mind. That part ended up being an issue. My mind held me back from pushing as hard as I could and kept me from doing more than I did. @Addicting saw this and was trying to motivate me to go harder and push my "limits". He would make a great drill instructor!
You remember this past spring when I mentioned my coughing and the following loss of some breathing ability? LOTS of you were telling me to get checked out ASAP, I refused to accept that it was anything more than just remnants of whatever I had and that I would get better. I'm stubborn, not real bright sometimes, and a miser when it comes to what money I have. That, and I hate doctors! I kept thinking the worst, that if they found something serious I would have to miss the hunt. I didn't want to do that. I was wanting to go and I had all of you folks cheering me on and helping out and didn't want to call it off at the last minute. I know now that it was a big mistake. That decision led to what ended up being the end of my hunt.
I made my way to camp and met up with @Wildabeest for the first time. Greg and Wasatch the wonder dog were both glad to see me, and the compound was very nice. We were going to have a great place to sleep, cook, eat, stay warm, etc. I also got to check out his Rivian pickup that my youngest daughter helped build!
@bowhuntmontana made his way to camp and we explored some of the country trying to get a feel for things and spot some critters. And spot we did! Moose were all over the place, it seemed! Met a nice guy also out glassing that gave us lots of info and hope. Later on, Greg, Tim and I hiked up into where we had spotted 3 moose and glassed up some elk up on the ridgeline. We THOUGHT this might be a spot to try later on. Turned out we never did.
@Addicting got to camp Tuesday evening and spotted a couple cows close to camp. It was decided that Greg and I would go there in the morning and see what we could find while Tim and Tony would go further down the road to where another group was spotted. No bueno for any of us. This would repeat with search, drive, hike, and glass for the week. While we were up on the main ridge a bull was spotted down below, just uphill from where Greg and I had gone earlier, but before we could watch what he did a big fog bank rolled over and blocked our view. That pretty much continued for the duration.
The afternoon the bull was seen, Tim and I hiked up into the spot the bull was and it turned out to be a very small open area surrounded by trees, and the wind was ripping in a bad direction. We decided to post up behind some pines for a windblock and see if anything would come back out into this small park area. Hey, just like whitetail deer hunting! We really only had 2 shooting lanes but the wind had eliminated any options and they were both where something SHOULD pop out into the open. Tim and I got to quietly chat a little bit while we waited. We were startled when a squirrel decided to run out right over Tim's shoulder and scold us while it ran off. Lots of laughs over that! When the wind finally took a break Tim made an exploratory loop off to one side before returning and closing out the evening. Back to camp again for the night and some dinner.
We went to see some friends of Tony and got some intel on what was happening in their direction. It had been so dry that the migration wasn't really started and we were dealing with just the "local" elk and would have to find them.
Tim had to bug out to get back to his kids on Friday, so now we were down to 3 of us.
So far, my legs had been good and I had experienced some "quivering" in my bad knee at times while going downhill. Up was OK but down seemed like the slow release holding my weight back while bending before my left foot got planted was causing the quivering. I started to worry about that and it probably got into my head too much. This is where Tony got his motivating going and pretty much said I could do it, and my head was being the limiting factor. Stopping now and then to catch my breath was to be expected but I had the ability to get from point A to point B, and to have any kind of success I was going to have to push myself and just do it. He was right. I was living with the fear of tearing up my knee and subconsciously holding myself back because of it. We made a plan for me to hike into the burn above where the bull was seen and Tim and Tony would come in from the sides and see if anything would move around. I loaded OnX onto my phone (I hadn't done so yet because it was only good for a 7 day trial and I'm not good with that kind of map, as Tony would agree later) and we picked a spot for me to climb to. Long story short, I eventually made it. Out of breath and jelly-bodied, but I made it. Nothing happened there and it was time to get out. I made my way back down for the ride out. I had survived after all!
We had asked for tips on another area, and had decided to make a move over there on Sunday. Saturday evening we made one last plan to try where Tony had seen the cows, I would post up on a high vantage spot and Greg and Tony would go off to other spots. On the way there Greg's SxS got a flat and he bailed out for camp to try airing it up again and decided it was shot, so he would be on pickup duty when we were done. Nada. One last nice dinner and we cleaned up our stuff and packed the trucks for the move.
Not sure how much room I have left so I'll make it 2 posts.
You all know the backstory about what led up to this, so I'll skip ahead to where we actually had tags in our pockets. I had been working on my leg and knee strength and seeing gains. Nice, but still a potential trouble spot in my mind. That part ended up being an issue. My mind held me back from pushing as hard as I could and kept me from doing more than I did. @Addicting saw this and was trying to motivate me to go harder and push my "limits". He would make a great drill instructor!
You remember this past spring when I mentioned my coughing and the following loss of some breathing ability? LOTS of you were telling me to get checked out ASAP, I refused to accept that it was anything more than just remnants of whatever I had and that I would get better. I'm stubborn, not real bright sometimes, and a miser when it comes to what money I have. That, and I hate doctors! I kept thinking the worst, that if they found something serious I would have to miss the hunt. I didn't want to do that. I was wanting to go and I had all of you folks cheering me on and helping out and didn't want to call it off at the last minute. I know now that it was a big mistake. That decision led to what ended up being the end of my hunt.
I made my way to camp and met up with @Wildabeest for the first time. Greg and Wasatch the wonder dog were both glad to see me, and the compound was very nice. We were going to have a great place to sleep, cook, eat, stay warm, etc. I also got to check out his Rivian pickup that my youngest daughter helped build!
@bowhuntmontana made his way to camp and we explored some of the country trying to get a feel for things and spot some critters. And spot we did! Moose were all over the place, it seemed! Met a nice guy also out glassing that gave us lots of info and hope. Later on, Greg, Tim and I hiked up into where we had spotted 3 moose and glassed up some elk up on the ridgeline. We THOUGHT this might be a spot to try later on. Turned out we never did.
@Addicting got to camp Tuesday evening and spotted a couple cows close to camp. It was decided that Greg and I would go there in the morning and see what we could find while Tim and Tony would go further down the road to where another group was spotted. No bueno for any of us. This would repeat with search, drive, hike, and glass for the week. While we were up on the main ridge a bull was spotted down below, just uphill from where Greg and I had gone earlier, but before we could watch what he did a big fog bank rolled over and blocked our view. That pretty much continued for the duration.
The afternoon the bull was seen, Tim and I hiked up into the spot the bull was and it turned out to be a very small open area surrounded by trees, and the wind was ripping in a bad direction. We decided to post up behind some pines for a windblock and see if anything would come back out into this small park area. Hey, just like whitetail deer hunting!
We really only had 2 shooting lanes but the wind had eliminated any options and they were both where something SHOULD pop out into the open. Tim and I got to quietly chat a little bit while we waited. We were startled when a squirrel decided to run out right over Tim's shoulder and scold us while it ran off. Lots of laughs over that! When the wind finally took a break Tim made an exploratory loop off to one side before returning and closing out the evening. Back to camp again for the night and some dinner.We went to see some friends of Tony and got some intel on what was happening in their direction. It had been so dry that the migration wasn't really started and we were dealing with just the "local" elk and would have to find them.
Tim had to bug out to get back to his kids on Friday, so now we were down to 3 of us.
So far, my legs had been good and I had experienced some "quivering" in my bad knee at times while going downhill. Up was OK but down seemed like the slow release holding my weight back while bending before my left foot got planted was causing the quivering. I started to worry about that and it probably got into my head too much. This is where Tony got his motivating going and pretty much said I could do it, and my head was being the limiting factor. Stopping now and then to catch my breath was to be expected but I had the ability to get from point A to point B, and to have any kind of success I was going to have to push myself and just do it. He was right. I was living with the fear of tearing up my knee and subconsciously holding myself back because of it. We made a plan for me to hike into the burn above where the bull was seen and Tim and Tony would come in from the sides and see if anything would move around. I loaded OnX onto my phone (I hadn't done so yet because it was only good for a 7 day trial and I'm not good with that kind of map, as Tony would agree later) and we picked a spot for me to climb to. Long story short, I eventually made it. Out of breath and jelly-bodied, but I made it. Nothing happened there and it was time to get out. I made my way back down for the ride out. I had survived after all!
We had asked for tips on another area, and had decided to make a move over there on Sunday. Saturday evening we made one last plan to try where Tony had seen the cows, I would post up on a high vantage spot and Greg and Tony would go off to other spots. On the way there Greg's SxS got a flat and he bailed out for camp to try airing it up again and decided it was shot, so he would be on pickup duty when we were done. Nada. One last nice dinner and we cleaned up our stuff and packed the trucks for the move.
Not sure how much room I have left so I'll make it 2 posts.
Tony and I said our thank you's and good-bye's to Greg and drove over to Lander. When you see that it's part of the Wind River Range, it's VERY apparent how it got it's name! Wow. We were able to check in early, and went to do some looking. Tony's Burb did very well but the trails we were on were barely able to be called a trail, and it was pretty sketchy between wet areas and bad rocks. Despite my poor map reading skills and the nasty going, we managed to get to a place and suddenly find elk! Down below in a snow-filled bowl was a small herd of elk with a bull pushing them through! This was a first for me to see in person and it's something that I won't forget. You folks that do it all the time are used to it, but this Illinois farmboy was impressed. There was a road beyond them that we could get to, and off we went. I'll admit, I pretty much lost my mind in the excitement and forgot everything I knew, stumbled around getting set, and became damn near useless! Up the hill we go. It was up, snow covered amongst the sage, and the more we got away from the road the more the wind hit us.
This is where it became very bad for me. We got through an opening in some rocks to get up top and this was a funnel for the wind. I was gassed and gasping for air not taking any rest to get there. We had lost the elk in the meantime. Even they were smart enough to get out of the wind. It was horrible, and one hard gust made me lose my balance. I was weak enough that I lost my footing in the snow and went down. I just said eff it and sat down to catch my breath. I knew it was wrong, and Tony was telling me to get up, but I couldn't. I heard the stories about people getting tired and sitting down and falling asleep and dying from exposure. This was a VERY bad place, I had to get enough air to get moving. I managed to get back up and we started back down, into the wind. Of course! Tony even took my rifle to help out, and kept pushing and encouraging me to keep going. When we got to the hole in the rocks there were some steps built in to use and the wind was so strong there it pretty much was pushing me back uphill where I almost had to jump to get down a step. Not great when you're gassed and thinking if this was the spot where my knee went out from an impact or not. We finally made it down to the road and safety. Once we started driving I had a cough start. It cleared up after a while but just added to the situation. It was VERY clear to both of us that I wasn't physically able to continue after that.
There. I said it. I had a problem and tried to ignore it and it almost turned out VERY badly. I had put Tony in a bad spot seeing it happen and he deserved more out of me for all of the effort he put into this hunt. He had his antelope tag remaining and I said he needed to go do that and get home to his family. We headed back into town, stopping at a very scenic place where the stream goes underground and pops back out down farther. Pictures were taken and I think we both kind of relaxed at that point and enjoyed being where we were. He washed the mud off the Burb and we changed clothes and got a bite to eat.
The next morning we shook hands and I thanked him for what he had done for this trip and especially for making sure I got off the slope the day before. He's a terrific guy, very giving and helpful to others, and has helped Lori and me out in the past. I don't deserve his friendship.
From there it was set the cruise at 80 and motor for home. Unloaded the truck and went down to hug my granddaughter. Her smile perked me right back up! I got a good night of sleep and am still tired! Now it's going to be relax for a bit and get back to normal. I have a doctor appointment made and maybe they'll have an earlier opening to get me in sooner. I'll be sure to update what happens there because I know lots of you are worried. Yeah, at this point, so am I.
Alright! Time for the necessary Thank You's!
The most important one first.
@Addicting You got this whole thing going right after Lori passed away and led the charge to make it happen. I truly can't thank you enough. You may or may not agree, but I feel like I let you down with my effort and lack of understanding my situations. You deserved more out of me. I'm glad you found an antelope and could get back home to your family. You were away for a very long time.
@bowhuntmontana Tim was gracious enough to share his points with me so I could do this. I know what building up points means and this offer meant the world to me for him to be so unselfish and willing to help out others. He's a great guy and I wish him all the best in the future. If you're ever passing through here, look me up!
@Wildabeest Greg, it was a pleasure to meet you and share your place for the time we were there! We were comfortable to say the very least! I missed out on having your lasagna, but in the long run my belly is probably better off! Thank you, sir! Give Wasatch a good scratching for me.
@Big Fin Randy sent me a VERY nice care package of Sitka gear to outfit me for the hunt. Man, I was decked out from head to toe! Comfy, quality stuff that made getting around easier than the stuff I had for hunting here in Illinois. Thank you for that, and all you have done helping out my wife and I when it mattered.
And to all of the Hunttalk crew here. You all came together with support, well wishes, and financial donations to help out with this trip. I don't know what to say. I'm the kind of guy that doesn't like asking ANYONE for help, and this was truly humbling how you were more than willing to help out someone you had never met. I also feel like I let you folks down with my efforts or lack of, and my putting off my health issues made things worse. You were right. I should heave gotten checked out. Maybe it would have changed things. I don't know. But a big thank you to all of you from the bottom of my heart! I may not have meat in the freezer, but I have the experience and memories of the trip to last forever. I'll say it again. Seeing that herd in the bowl is a high point in my hunting experiences. I get why so many do it.
I better stop here. Getting emotional, and that's also something new for me since Lori passed. I struggled trying to decide just what I said here, and I just decided to be honest and tell the whole story. You needed to hear it. I'm embarrassed that I put things off and it affected me like it did. That was not good on my part.
In short, I hunted elk but I am NOT an elk hunter. I kill whitetails and have been pretty good at doing that. This however is a whole different deal! The knowledge and conditioning required is off the charts to me. My hat's off to all of you that do it year after year.
This also leads me to one last item. I have already received multiple messages as well as some posts about continuing to make a hunt happen. As much as I appreciate it, I'm going to have to RESPECTFULLY decline. One, I have no business putting myself in the mountains like that, and do NOT wish to put anyone else through what Tony witnessed. Know when to say when. Two, even if they find something and fix me up where I feel like Superman, I had my fun. I have the memories and pictures. I have the people that I've met. You can't beat that with a stick! Next fall my granddaughter will be a year and a half. I'm happy just trying to earn my "World's Greatest Grampa" shirt!
So there it is. The whole unvarnished truth. Thank you for everything, and for following along on my journey. I wish I could shake all of your hands. The Hunttalk community has helped me as well as my wife when it mattered, and I owe you all.
Thank you!
This is where it became very bad for me. We got through an opening in some rocks to get up top and this was a funnel for the wind. I was gassed and gasping for air not taking any rest to get there. We had lost the elk in the meantime. Even they were smart enough to get out of the wind. It was horrible, and one hard gust made me lose my balance. I was weak enough that I lost my footing in the snow and went down. I just said eff it and sat down to catch my breath. I knew it was wrong, and Tony was telling me to get up, but I couldn't. I heard the stories about people getting tired and sitting down and falling asleep and dying from exposure. This was a VERY bad place, I had to get enough air to get moving. I managed to get back up and we started back down, into the wind. Of course! Tony even took my rifle to help out, and kept pushing and encouraging me to keep going. When we got to the hole in the rocks there were some steps built in to use and the wind was so strong there it pretty much was pushing me back uphill where I almost had to jump to get down a step. Not great when you're gassed and thinking if this was the spot where my knee went out from an impact or not. We finally made it down to the road and safety. Once we started driving I had a cough start. It cleared up after a while but just added to the situation. It was VERY clear to both of us that I wasn't physically able to continue after that.
There. I said it. I had a problem and tried to ignore it and it almost turned out VERY badly. I had put Tony in a bad spot seeing it happen and he deserved more out of me for all of the effort he put into this hunt. He had his antelope tag remaining and I said he needed to go do that and get home to his family. We headed back into town, stopping at a very scenic place where the stream goes underground and pops back out down farther. Pictures were taken and I think we both kind of relaxed at that point and enjoyed being where we were. He washed the mud off the Burb and we changed clothes and got a bite to eat.
The next morning we shook hands and I thanked him for what he had done for this trip and especially for making sure I got off the slope the day before. He's a terrific guy, very giving and helpful to others, and has helped Lori and me out in the past. I don't deserve his friendship.
From there it was set the cruise at 80 and motor for home. Unloaded the truck and went down to hug my granddaughter. Her smile perked me right back up! I got a good night of sleep and am still tired! Now it's going to be relax for a bit and get back to normal. I have a doctor appointment made and maybe they'll have an earlier opening to get me in sooner. I'll be sure to update what happens there because I know lots of you are worried. Yeah, at this point, so am I.
Alright! Time for the necessary Thank You's!
The most important one first.
@Addicting You got this whole thing going right after Lori passed away and led the charge to make it happen. I truly can't thank you enough. You may or may not agree, but I feel like I let you down with my effort and lack of understanding my situations. You deserved more out of me. I'm glad you found an antelope and could get back home to your family. You were away for a very long time.
@bowhuntmontana Tim was gracious enough to share his points with me so I could do this. I know what building up points means and this offer meant the world to me for him to be so unselfish and willing to help out others. He's a great guy and I wish him all the best in the future. If you're ever passing through here, look me up!
@Wildabeest Greg, it was a pleasure to meet you and share your place for the time we were there! We were comfortable to say the very least! I missed out on having your lasagna, but in the long run my belly is probably better off!
Thank you, sir! Give Wasatch a good scratching for me.@Big Fin Randy sent me a VERY nice care package of Sitka gear to outfit me for the hunt. Man, I was decked out from head to toe! Comfy, quality stuff that made getting around easier than the stuff I had for hunting here in Illinois. Thank you for that, and all you have done helping out my wife and I when it mattered.
And to all of the Hunttalk crew here. You all came together with support, well wishes, and financial donations to help out with this trip. I don't know what to say. I'm the kind of guy that doesn't like asking ANYONE for help, and this was truly humbling how you were more than willing to help out someone you had never met. I also feel like I let you folks down with my efforts or lack of, and my putting off my health issues made things worse. You were right. I should heave gotten checked out. Maybe it would have changed things. I don't know. But a big thank you to all of you from the bottom of my heart! I may not have meat in the freezer, but I have the experience and memories of the trip to last forever. I'll say it again. Seeing that herd in the bowl is a high point in my hunting experiences. I get why so many do it.
I better stop here. Getting emotional, and that's also something new for me since Lori passed. I struggled trying to decide just what I said here, and I just decided to be honest and tell the whole story. You needed to hear it. I'm embarrassed that I put things off and it affected me like it did. That was not good on my part.
In short, I hunted elk but I am NOT an elk hunter. I kill whitetails and have been pretty good at doing that. This however is a whole different deal! The knowledge and conditioning required is off the charts to me. My hat's off to all of you that do it year after year.
This also leads me to one last item. I have already received multiple messages as well as some posts about continuing to make a hunt happen. As much as I appreciate it, I'm going to have to RESPECTFULLY decline. One, I have no business putting myself in the mountains like that, and do NOT wish to put anyone else through what Tony witnessed. Know when to say when. Two, even if they find something and fix me up where I feel like Superman, I had my fun. I have the memories and pictures. I have the people that I've met. You can't beat that with a stick! Next fall my granddaughter will be a year and a half. I'm happy just trying to earn my "World's Greatest Grampa" shirt!
So there it is. The whole unvarnished truth. Thank you for everything, and for following along on my journey. I wish I could shake all of your hands. The Hunttalk community has helped me as well as my wife when it mattered, and I owe you all.
Thank you!
WNC2500
Well-known member
@Dave N thanks for sharing your heart with us! And for your transparency.
You respectfully declined to the elk hunt. I think there are still antelope in the west that would be a perfect hunt.
What do you think HT? Antelope might be a different way of Dave heading out west and getting an animal in possibly different weather conditions.
You respectfully declined to the elk hunt. I think there are still antelope in the west that would be a perfect hunt.
What do you think HT? Antelope might be a different way of Dave heading out west and getting an animal in possibly different weather conditions.
The_Coloradoboy
Well-known member
Probably would be the best as far as the least physically demanding. Getting a tag without any points anywhere would be the tricky part unless someone point shared
@Dave N There are easier ways to hunt elk. If you’re still interested in elk hunting, there are late season cow hunts that can be essentially truck hunts on winter grounds. You’ll find small herds to very large herds of elk on the winter grounds. Plan a stalk once the herd is located. Winter grounds can be much easier to walk, depending on the location.
noharleyyet
Well-known member
Well spoken denouement Dave...enjoyed the Daily news, best of luck with the whitecoats.
Addicting
Well-known member
He could do that on the tag he has now if he gets things figured out with his Dr.
You as well. You weren't lying about that wind!
El Jason
Well-known member
That must be by Elk Mountain.
rmyoung1
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jul 12, 2010
- Messages
- 2,723
You’re a good dude, Dave. I’m glad you got the chance to experience that adventure. Keep us posted on the health updates and doctor visits.
BigHornRam
Well-known member
You are an easy guy to root for, Dave. Enjoyed hearing about your hunt, and all the help you received to make it a reality. That is priceless. Get your health in order so you can have many more great adventures in the years to come!
duckhunt
Well-known member
Great stuff Dave, as long as you had a good time it was a success in my book.
