The 3rd Season Elk Season in GMU 3/301 yields few
results, as it’s largely a wintering area for the migrant elk herds. However, a
few local herds hang out in the area, and for one first-timer elk-virgin, that
made all the difference.
For this season, originally, only Jack and Jerry had
purchased cow-elk tags, planning their annual 10-day camping trip. The rest of
the hunting group typically sits that hunt out, as it’s a low-yield
time-commitment. Most of the time you have a better chance of seeing a white
stag in Mirkwood than elk in the hills surrounding the Bald Mountain basin.
But, an email chain started amongst our group of hunters, one thing led to
another, and the next thing you know, everybody and their mother is going
hunting the third-season.
However, when push came to shove, the first
weekend, November 1st and 2nd, only Kaoru and I were
hunting along with Jack and Jerry. Saturday morning, after a brief rainstorm and brilliant sunrise, we
hunted “The Notch” (walking across the top of notch hill to the other side and
back) and other parts of the Bald Mountain Basin… and we didn’t even see any
deer there, let alone elk. Unsurprising, but not unexpected.
Brilliant Sunrise over Sunbeam, CO
Leif and Kaoru (with his Wapiti Express 2004 hat) on Notch Hill, background of Bald Mountain Basin and the Godiva Rim
Jack and Jerry hunted “The Fingers” on Saturday morning and
saw a ton of deer and many deer hunters. The morning was filled with shots
echoing across the land as both deer and elk hunters tried their luck. They then
headed to Simmsberry Draw and saw two cows racing across the sagebrush. By the
time Jack’s vehicle came to a stop and Jerry got out, the elk were miles away.
They spoke with a few hunters who had harvested cows and bulls – but not many.
Most hunters we spoke with hadn’t seen elk, or, only singles for an instant
before they were gone behind a sea of Junipers.
Kaoru and I hunted Suttles Basin overlook in the afternoon,
then on to Simmsberry Draw. The place was a zoo with hunters and hunter camps
setup for as far as the eye could see. We hunted towards the eastern edge where
Simmsberry Draw is adjacent to the entrance to Bald Mountain Basin next to the
Godiva Rim and hunted there until sundown, without seeing anything but other
hunters.
Typical Juniper Tree where we hunt
Saturday night the wind blew hard on and off throughout the
night while dining on Jerry’s Chicken Cacciatore with Rice (which is
appropriate, as, Cacciatore means “hunter” in Italian). It made hunting Sunday
morning a quieter affair, masking the crunch of footsteps, but it didn’t seem
to matter. Kaoru and I hunted the 4th Finger while Jack/Jerry hunted
the 3rd. We saw deer in the sagebrush valley below the fingers, but
no elk. The rain and brief hail as we were hunting drove us back to the tent to
sit out the storm until about 10:30. After it stopped, we then went north to
County Road 21 (which then intersects 4) along the Little Snake River to see
the country on the edge of the unit. No elk, but plenty of antelope.
Approaching Highway 13, we drove north to Baggs, WY, to get some
much-needed coffee, then headed south to County Road 3. We then headed west to the
spot where Kaoru shot his first elk (and where Matt’s Elk-Fever got the better
of him, popping off standing shots at 300 yards), to honor the 10-year
anniversary of Wapiti Express. No elk to be seen. Jack had checked in with the
Hunter Information office in Craig and they had said some elk were already in
the private land along 13’s east side, but neither Kaoru nor I saw any there.
Either they crossed 13, or, they headed back to the high country.
-------------------
The next weekend, Matt Cosley decided to join Jack, Jerry,
Kaoru, and I. Matt left early Friday and hunted an area known as Eagle Park,
north of Maybell. He didn’t see anything, and we met him in Maybell that
evening before our trek to the camp site, meeting up with Jack and Jerry, who’d
been there all week without seeing any elk.
Saturday morning Kaoru, Matt, and I hunted Simmsberry Draw
without seeing naught but deer and other hunters. The roads in places were
slick as snot, and we slip-slided away down the roads from the top of the draw,
and that afternoon we decided to hunt Eagle Park again.
After arriving, and spotting a Golden Eagle, we hunted an
area sloping slightly uphill, ending in a sharp drop with rock outcroppings on
one side. We were curious how the other side ‘looked’ and we spread out across
the area to investigate.
Matt, Leif, and Kaoru getting ready for the afternoon hunt.
Matt and Kaoru getting geared up
Matt, walking up the two-track with his lever action 30.06
Kaoru, hunting up the valley in Eagle Park, with his 300 Win Mag
About 15 minutes later, Kaoru and I heard over the radio,
“there’s a bobcat staring me down, and he’s growling and pissed. Come see!” I
radioed back, “Where are you?” “That’s a good question,” Matt replied, “Where
are any of us?” Great… he’s staring down a bobcat and waxing philosophic.
Kaoru pipes up, “Why don’t you whistle? We can then track
where you are relative to us.”
As Matt whistled, we tried to walk to his location, but it was difficult, as it was a sea of junipers blocking any sound waves. He then radioed, “the cat got tired of waiting for you and left.” I asked if he took a selfie with the pissed-off beast, but he indicated that he had his hands on his rifle in case the bobcat attacked. When we found him, I asked, “So no picture of you with the cougar?” He started talking about self-defense, and I mentioned something about euphemisms for cats and being unable to keep his hands out of his pants. He shrugged his shoulders and grinned.
Leif with his 7mm RUM with Huskemaw Scope atop, and Matt, overlooking a valley
Towards sundown, we watched an open field, waiting for elk
to come out and start feeding (but, being that there was a full moon, I was
unsure if that was going to happen until after sundown). At 5:10, I happened to
check my iPhone, and saw a message from Jack: “Elk Down.” I texted back “We’re
coming.”
It was dark by the time we made it back to the vehicles,
and, it took about an hour to get over to Simmsberry Draw area where Jack and
Jerry were waiting. By the time we arrived, they had already gutted the animal,
and were waiting for assistance to drag it to the truck and put it in. Kaoru
shook Jack’s hand, “Congratulations!” Jack responded, as he shook Kaoru’s hand,
“Jerry was the one that shot it!”
“Oh – based on your text, we thought it was you!” We all
shook Jerry’s hand, offering him congratulations, especially since it was his
first elk! That’s always a milestone, with as tough as it is to get an elk for
most hunters. Also, that he is 70+ years old… that’s quite the achievement.
Jerry with his first elk
That night Jerry busted out the burgers and steak, and, some
celebration wine. Kaoru and Jerry are wine drinkers. Matt and I stuck with
beer… Matt an oatmeal stout, me with Budweiser. I’m not much of a drinker, so
beer was fine, although Jerry gave me a shot of spiced Crown.
On Sunday morning we arrived at the water tank about 6:00,
down the draw from the dam where Jerry shot his elk. The first thing that
transpired was all three hunters running off into the bush to squat. It was not
a pretty site. Too much alcohol the night before… and being in our 40s now…
none of us have quite the stomach we once did.
Then, as Matt and I loaded up our gear to hike up the draw,
Kaoru begged off the hunt, feeling queasy (he said he felt like he was going to
throw-up). He would sit in the truck, watching the field and junipers to the
north, while Matt and I walked up the 2-track going up the draw. Kaoru said,
several times, “I’m never going to drink like that in hunting camp again!” Of
course, as Matt observed, every time Jerry offered more wine, Kaoru was more
than happy to offer his clear Solo cup.
Matt and I hunted up the draw, stopping and glassing several
times, and the smell of elk was in the air in several spots. We arrived at the
dam and crossed, moving towards the gut-pile of Jerry’s elk, scattering the
crows and magpies feasting on the pile-of-happiness. We set up so that we could
watch two locations, both up the draw, and, the field that opened up north-east
of the dam. Matt pulled out one of his honey-crisp apples and began to eat his
breakfast.
We weren’t standing there for more than 5 minutes when we
heard a single shot. Matt and I looked at each other, and I grabbed my radio to
listen whether the shot came from our buddy. Matt said, “That was Kaoru!” I was
unsure, as I thought I’d heard the shot up the valley. I guess it was the echo
bouncing, as Kaoru announced over the radio, “elk, elk!”
I asked, “Did you get one?”
“I think so! I need to go take a look.”
“We’ll be right there!”
Matt muttered “F*ck,” and tossed his apple so he could free
his hands for the brisk walk back down the valley. Kaoru over the radio, “I’m
looking for the elk, I’m sure I hit it.” Then a minute later, “I found it. Elk
down.” Matt and I smiled at each other. We were both hoping the elk stayed in
the area after the shot.
15 minutes later we found Kaoru by his antlerless elk. After
congratulations, we dumped our backpacks and asked which way the elk went. As
Kaoru texted Jack to let him know we had an elk down (but apparently Jack had
left his phone in camp) Kaoru pointed the direction. Matt and I followed the
tracks to the top of the ridge and we split up, Matt going to the bottom of the
valley on the opposite side, me heading towards the top of the valley. I didn’t
see any elk, and Matt radioed that he was towards the bottom. I pushed the
valley down, hopeful to drive elk towards Matt, but they were long gone. We
rounded the valley floor to come up the other side to Kaoru, to assist in the
quartering of his elk.
Kaoru with his elk
About an hour later we had the elk quartered, backstraps,
tenderloins, and heart bagged. While processing, Kaoru said, about the shot, “I
was just barely hanging on to consciousness, blinking back the urge to shut my
eyes, when I saw movement. I opened my eyes and saw an elk standing in a small
clearing. I slowly opened the door to the vehicle and rested the rifle in the
door opening. I looked through the scope and didn’t see anything. My scope was
on 14x power! I pulled the rifle down to adjust the scope and that’s when the
big cow looked in my direction, then moved out of the opening. Thankfully as I
chambered a round and moved the rifle back up to the opening, another elk walked
into the gap in the junipers. I saw that it didn’t have antlers, put the
crosshairs on its chest, and squeezed the trigger.” In regards my questioning
about him feeling sick, he said, “Once I saw the elk, adrenaline started
pumping, and I was wide awake.” I responded, “The best way to cure a hangover
is to shoot an elk.”
Back at the truck, after making multiple trips (and avoiding
the area in the ditch where Matt and Kaoru took their morning constitutionals),
Kaoru carefully packed the elk in the cooler and we made a game-plan to find
the herd. Based on the way they were heading, we headed towards Simmsberry Draw
for further investigation. Several hunters were up the draw, on foot, walking
around the ridges. We assumed that maybe they’d see glimpses of the elk and
were giving chase… but we didn’t talk to anyone to verify. We glassed and watched,
and, coming to the end of the draw where the road heads north to Godiva Rim, or
south up the fence line towards the Bald Mountain Basin overlook, we decided to
head back towards the draw where we were that morning. We assumed all the
hunter activity up Simmsberry Draw would keep the herd from crossing the draw
into the basin or areas north.
After arriving back at the dam, I walk into the Junipers to
relieve some pressure. I then hear, whispered excitedly, “Leif! Leif!” I
usually don’t need a cheering section when I’m handling my business, but then
Kaoru says, “Elk!”
I turn around and see a herd of 9-12 elk running full-tilt
across the draw. Kaoru measures, “400 yards.” I grab my rifle and get in a
kneeling position, dialing my scope to “4” but the elk have already gone over
the ridge. Damn! Matt and I grab our gear and head in the direction of where
the elk crossed over, approaching the top of the ridge with utmost
sneaky-stealthy as we could muster. But no elk to be seen. We quickly pick up
the trail and begin to follow. And follow. And follow more.
We end up crossing the road near a tall water tower and
pond, and continue southwest. But, eventually, we judge that the elk aren’t
slowing down. They’re not stopping, and, we can’t outrun a determined herd of
wapiti. Giving up the chase, heading back towards the road, we discover that,
based on the gate across the road, we’re on private land. It’s a good thing we
stopped the chase, I guess. We didn’t cross any fence lines or markers
indicating as such – of course it’s up to the hunters to know where private
land begins, not the landowner to mark it. Regardless, we made our way back
towards the truck, and radioed Kaoru to come pick us up. We then ventured
towards where the elk were heading (southwest), and again, came across the
gate, blocking access. After driving around and checking out other sites, we
decided it was time to go pack up the camp and head home.
Afterwards, we realized we needed to name the landmark where
both Jerry and Kaoru shot their elk. I first thought of naming it “Jerry’s
Draw,” but with mutual agreement, we decided on “Hangover Draw.”
