Free: Contests & Raffles.
Don't take leather boots to SE AK. Knee-high rubber boots only. Even if you sink up to your knees in muskeg, you can pour the boots out, wring out your socks, and continue on.
Here's one with a happy ending.I was elk hunting on Canoe Creek north of lake Quinault. Really rugged country but at that time you could access it through the Park on the North Shore.I left the road and started up the side of a very steep side ridge. After about an hour I topped out on the ridge and looked over to see many rock cliffs. At that time I decided to go down the ridge and out as it looked to steep for my liking. Soon after I noticed elk tracks going down the ridge the same direction I was heading. Maybe 15 minutes later I came across the biggest elk I have ever shot at. He was broadside and unaware of me. I shot and the elk stepped forward behind a tree and looked uphill towards me but seemed to be unaffected by the shot. Of course I worked the bolt and took careful aim and was rewarded with a click. Worked the action , same result and again. Finally had to take my eyes off the elk and look at the gun. A piece of lint was sticking the magazine and not allowing a shell to come up. I punched it with my fingers, a shell came up and closed the bolt. When I looked up the elk was gone. What a sick feeling but then I saw his legs fly up in the air as he rolled down the hill.He ended up sliding under a windfall and hanging up as his horns were too wide to fit. I had to cut his head off as I could not get to him where he was. He rolled down the hill another 200 feet before he stopped. Big black horns with 7 on each side.
I had a horse failure on several occasions. Does that count? Last fall, rode across a creek in Wyoming to access some good elk country. It was sub zero temps. Tied to horses up to a tree for a while, built a fire and started to glass. Didn’t see anything worth going after and went back to the horses. Everything seems fine. Get on board and my horse rears up and sets into a full on saddle bronc mode. I tried to yank his head around to no avail. I managed to stay on for at least a full 8 seconds. With no pick up man in sight and no signs of calming down I decided it was time to eject. He continued to buck his way down the trail out of sight. So here I stand unharmed fortunately several miles from camp in the dark with my horse gone awol and no good way to get across that creek. I stated marching down the hill and round the corner and here he is feeding peacefully. Fortunately my rifle still attached to his side and in one piece. It’s then I noticed that baseball sized ice balls frozen to his tail. Turns out he didn’t like those hitting the back of his legs. Well it was all good entertainment and I learned a thing or two.
