My hunt started Friday before the season opened up. I hiked up in Friday morning, set up camp, and then ran all over the hill trying to locate the different herds and see if I could find a big bull. Get back to camp about 7pm having not seen any wall hangers, but having seen one herd with a couple decent 5x5’s. So the Saturday morning plan was decided while I rode out Friday night’s wind storm. It was impressive to say the least.
I learned some stuff that evening. #1: Don’t take a floorless tent to go camp in an ash pit in a wind storm. #2: Don’t take a floorless tent to go camp in an ash pit in a wind storm.
After having gotten about no sleep, and inhaling a nights worth of ash I left the tent before first light to make my way to my glassing point. At first light I located the elk where I had left them and began my stalk. It’s pretty hard to stalk those elk in the very open terrain. It was a long ordeal of cat and mouse, all the while listening to a barrage of gunfire from the Bear pass/Grizzly lake area uphill from me. Hikers I met on the trail Friday reported 3 tents and several hunters on Bear Pass. The morning gunfire seemed to confirm. By after a little more than 3 hours I had worked into 142 yards of the herd and that was all I was going to get. I picked the boss out and then realized he had 2 brow tines broke off on one side, so I lined up on number 2. My first shot felt good, but the elk didn’t act hit and there was no blood. I quickly reloaded and as I got on him again he took off on a dead run. I tried to swing on him for number 2 but missed. He fell over a log dead after maybe a 30 yard run. My first shot was true. A little high and forward in the shoulder blade, but it got the job done.
It took me a few hours to get him boned out and hung in the shade. I loaded up the horns and smallest meat bag and headed for camp. I tore down camp and packed the entire works out to my truck where I met my Dad and a few friends. We hiked back in Sunday and packed out the rest of the meat.
It was 73° on my GPS as I boned out my elk, but all day Friday the shaded moist spots on the north facing slopes had stayed frozen. It gave me some confidence the meat would be good. We put it in coolers on ice at the truck and took it home to the walk in cooler. I cut and wrapped it Monday and Tuesday and was pleased to find there was no spoilage at all. The high daytime temps had me concerned but it worked out.
