David's Story

Where the hell do you think the elk will be?

I used my GPS to navigate out to the Highland Highway and then to my access road. I parked and headed out in the early morning dark. There was an almost full moon, which gave me just enough light to walk without a flashlight. I managed around some water that had collected in low spots on the road. I kept walking and the landcover changed from open sage to a very deep lodgepole forest. I kept walking, more out of inertia than anything, then decided to check my map and GPS. I had gone almost a half mile too far, so turned around and found my saddle. As I hiked back, there were four flashlights coming along the access road that I had used to come out. I guessed that it was two adults and two kids, based on what little I could see when they shined their lights on each other and by the way the lights moved. I decided that I would just take a position in the sage and let them pass. They passed directly north, and by checking my map could see the road that they were taking. They paused when they crossed some water that had collected in the road, then disappeared.

I moved to the east hill and found some chest-high sage, about 50 feet higher than the saddle, and took up a position. I had my shooting sticks out, and waited for daylight. I could see all across the saddle, some to each side, and up the far hill. I could not see behind me, so I was not able to hunt the hill is was on.

I waited in the predawn dark. An owl flew up into the top of a dead lodgepole. I could see ears, so I guessed it was a great horned owl.

It was still very dark and I could only see his outline (the image above is not mine), but the ears were very visible. I guessed that he was looking at me at various times, due to his head position. After sitting on the treetop for about 10 minutes, he swooped down into the sage about 10 yards from me, then flew off into the trees. I could not see if he was successful or not, but it was fun that he hunted near me. I hoped that this was a good omen.

It was not too cold, but I kept my hat over my ears and my scarf tight around my neck. There was just a light breeze.

Daylight finally came. I saw no game at all.

I decided to try to find a clearing that was downhill from me, along the course of a very small creek. The woods were cold and wet but inviting. The going was easy at first, but after leaving the crest of the hill, the trees became closer and closer together, such that moving was difficult. The "creek" was actually just a marshy area and the walking was tough. Cows and elk had sunk deep into the mud, which was now frozen. The whole area was a 6" deep hole surrounded by 3" of higher mud, which in turn was surrounded by 6" deep holes. Difficult. Anywhere outside the marshy area was thick with trees.

I moved off to the west side of the creek and it was much easier walking. I found an elk/cow trail, but it would fade into nothingness where downfall blocked progress and it would re-appear further on.

I kept moving downhill, along the course of the creek, which I could see off to my right. There never was much of a clear view of anything and I was skeptical I could see and take an elk in this area. At the bottom of the hill, the landscape opened up into a broader meadow. Someone had constructed a frame to hang game on, so I know the area was used and was productive.

The above view is out across the final meadow I saw.

This view is just to the left of the previous one. You can see across the stream and see a rocky hillside. The area had many bare rock hillsides rising up suddenly from the forest.

Even though all the shooting lanes were rather narrow, this area seemed to have the best vantage point for a shot that I had seen all morning. I tucked myself behind a fallen log and had lunch.

In an hour or so, I tried to move downstream to my left, which would lead to the creek that Craig was hunting. The area was impassable: even the cows and elk had given up on it. There were no paths. If you moved out into the meadow, the land was covered in several inches of water. If you stayed in the trees, the impressive and accumulated downfalls made movement impossible. Just a bit further away from the meadow the land rose up steeply with bare rock. I gave up on moving forward.

I worked my way back up the hillside, following cow/elk paths, drifting a bit more west than when I came down. There were some more open areas, but I saw nothing. Finally, I reached the saddle and hiked back to the car and drove home.

After I reached Bill's Bronco, the four hunters I had seen before daybreak hiked out. I talked to them. The dad and grandad had hunted here for years. They had hiked about 5 miles or so to some clearnings. They had not seen any elk, but did see a hunter on the far side of a meadow (Craig).

This was my first day at 7,000 feet and I was bushed. The cabin was empty when I got in. I just jumped into my sleeping bag and went to sleep.

Next: Craig's Story

Bill's Story

Ted's Story

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