Andy's 2015 DIY Colorado Elk Hunt
The pack out in the dark was one of tougher things I have ever done in my life. We stopped often to give our screaming shoulders and backs a rest. Each time we started back on the trail there were a few minutes where I would think, "This isn't so bad". But within a few more minutes I would be back to thinking about how much pain I was in.
At about the halfway point I was really struggling and I decided I needed to do something to get my mind off my aches and pains. I began to carefully replay the entire hunt in my mind trying to remember every detail with this future article in mind. I can't tell you how much that positive thinking and distraction helped me.
We finally reached the end of the trail around 10:00 pm after several sessions of losing the trail and casting around in the dark trying to pick it back up. Our base camp with soft cots, a warm wood stove and all the food we could eat was a site for sore eyes.
We began the next morning with one of the most satisfying meals I've ever eaten - eggs, potatoes and extremely fresh elk tenderloin fried in a cast iron skillet on our wood stove. Then we drove an hour and a half to town to buy some ice and make a few phone calls, but we hurried back to camp so we could get back into the valley after more elk.
It doesn't get any better than this!
We made it back to bivy camp just before dark after stopping several times to glass along the way. The next morning Scott and Matt headed up the other side of the mountain and I climbed up above camp to the large boulder to glass their side. Mid-morning I spotted a group of cows near where the bull had been spotted the day before and watched them disappear into some brush.
It took me awhile to get the other guys' attention and give them hand signals to meet me down at bivy camp. After lunch we headed diagonally up the other side after the elk. We assumed the bull was with the cows I had spotted, although I had never laid eyes on him.
The climb was long and hard (as they always seem to be). We had to cross a huge boulder field and then climb some exceptionally steep terrain to get up to the the level where the cows had bedded. As we got set up to wait them out, the wind began to switch and was now blowing in their direction.
We were behind a spine and hoped that would send our scent up and over them, but after a while, cows and calves began to slowly bust out of the brush. The guys would have had shots at some of the cows, but we were just too tired to think about packing a cow out of this valley. The bull never appeared so we concluded that he had not been with them after all. We spent the rest of the afternoon glassing from our extremely high perch, but did not turn anything else up.
After the steepest climb down of the trip, we made it back to bivy camp in time to debate over dinner again whether we would stay the night or pack out to base camp in the dark again so that we could try the adjacent valley the next day, which was our last hunt day. I was really beat at this point and argued strongly for staying the night, but I was overruled and we again made the long, dark trek back to base camp.
Nobody ever said elk hunting was easy...
The last day was a beautiful sunny day and we had a nice time in the other valley. We hiked all the way to some high-mountain lakes and caught a bunch of trout. We did not turn up any elk in the other valley and made it back to base camp well after dark.
Our hunt was over and we were dead tired. We wished we had seen more elk and taken at least one more bull, but we were proud of the effort we put in and we had a wonderful time. My hunt was one of the most satisfying of my life. On the drive home our discussion turned to where we would go for our 2016 DIY archery elk hunt. It is hard to argue against going back to the place where we have killed a nice bull each of the last two years and, as of now, we plan to go back for a third try.
Andy Backus is a husband and father of two little girls. He grew up hunting whitetail deer in Wisconsin with gun and bow and over the years has been fortunate to hunt and explore most of the Western US states and Alaska. He plays soccer to stay in shape and also enjoys most other sports and outdoor activities. Andy is the Field Editor for Long Range Hunting Online Magazine and also manages the Long Range Hunting Store.
At about the halfway point I was really struggling and I decided I needed to do something to get my mind off my aches and pains. I began to carefully replay the entire hunt in my mind trying to remember every detail with this future article in mind. I can't tell you how much that positive thinking and distraction helped me.
We finally reached the end of the trail around 10:00 pm after several sessions of losing the trail and casting around in the dark trying to pick it back up. Our base camp with soft cots, a warm wood stove and all the food we could eat was a site for sore eyes.
We began the next morning with one of the most satisfying meals I've ever eaten - eggs, potatoes and extremely fresh elk tenderloin fried in a cast iron skillet on our wood stove. Then we drove an hour and a half to town to buy some ice and make a few phone calls, but we hurried back to camp so we could get back into the valley after more elk.
It doesn't get any better than this!
We made it back to bivy camp just before dark after stopping several times to glass along the way. The next morning Scott and Matt headed up the other side of the mountain and I climbed up above camp to the large boulder to glass their side. Mid-morning I spotted a group of cows near where the bull had been spotted the day before and watched them disappear into some brush.
It took me awhile to get the other guys' attention and give them hand signals to meet me down at bivy camp. After lunch we headed diagonally up the other side after the elk. We assumed the bull was with the cows I had spotted, although I had never laid eyes on him.
The climb was long and hard (as they always seem to be). We had to cross a huge boulder field and then climb some exceptionally steep terrain to get up to the the level where the cows had bedded. As we got set up to wait them out, the wind began to switch and was now blowing in their direction.
We were behind a spine and hoped that would send our scent up and over them, but after a while, cows and calves began to slowly bust out of the brush. The guys would have had shots at some of the cows, but we were just too tired to think about packing a cow out of this valley. The bull never appeared so we concluded that he had not been with them after all. We spent the rest of the afternoon glassing from our extremely high perch, but did not turn anything else up.
After the steepest climb down of the trip, we made it back to bivy camp in time to debate over dinner again whether we would stay the night or pack out to base camp in the dark again so that we could try the adjacent valley the next day, which was our last hunt day. I was really beat at this point and argued strongly for staying the night, but I was overruled and we again made the long, dark trek back to base camp.
Nobody ever said elk hunting was easy...
The last day was a beautiful sunny day and we had a nice time in the other valley. We hiked all the way to some high-mountain lakes and caught a bunch of trout. We did not turn up any elk in the other valley and made it back to base camp well after dark.
Our hunt was over and we were dead tired. We wished we had seen more elk and taken at least one more bull, but we were proud of the effort we put in and we had a wonderful time. My hunt was one of the most satisfying of my life. On the drive home our discussion turned to where we would go for our 2016 DIY archery elk hunt. It is hard to argue against going back to the place where we have killed a nice bull each of the last two years and, as of now, we plan to go back for a third try.
Andy Backus is a husband and father of two little girls. He grew up hunting whitetail deer in Wisconsin with gun and bow and over the years has been fortunate to hunt and explore most of the Western US states and Alaska. He plays soccer to stay in shape and also enjoys most other sports and outdoor activities. Andy is the Field Editor for Long Range Hunting Online Magazine and also manages the Long Range Hunting Store.
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