Another elk hunting season come and gone with no meat to eat. Unlike the last two years, this time I didn't come home early due to bad weather or camper malfunctions, which was nice. In fact, the weather was almost too nice in my opinion. Though the mornings were cold and chilly (20's-30's), it warmed up to the mid-60's in the afternoon. I was hoping for a little bit of snow, but you know what they say, wish in one hand, shit in the other and see which one fills up first. It just wasn't meant to be.
I was supposed to go with my dad; however, he came down with some sort of nasty virus the night before we were going to leave and had to back out. It was just me up there. On one hand, I was free to hunt when and how I desired. On the other, I exercise a little more caution when I go hunting by myself, so I didn't go on any long hikes or stray from my designated areas by much just in case something bad decided to happen.
I loaded up my rented A-liner. For one person, this thing was the perfect size, pulled like a champ, and kept me nice and toasty during the cold mountain nights. I could only imagine that it would have been a little bit tight with two people, and three people would have been a nightmare. I wish they made these things a bigger (as in big enough for a family of four), because I love how it folds down, but is still a hard-sided trailer.
I was supposed to go with my dad; however, he came down with some sort of nasty virus the night before we were going to leave and had to back out. It was just me up there. On one hand, I was free to hunt when and how I desired. On the other, I exercise a little more caution when I go hunting by myself, so I didn't go on any long hikes or stray from my designated areas by much just in case something bad decided to happen.
I loaded up my rented A-liner. For one person, this thing was the perfect size, pulled like a champ, and kept me nice and toasty during the cold mountain nights. I could only imagine that it would have been a little bit tight with two people, and three people would have been a nightmare. I wish they made these things a bigger (as in big enough for a family of four), because I love how it folds down, but is still a hard-sided trailer.
I arrived at my preferred camping spot with plenty of time to spare. After setting up camp, I headed off to my hunting area. It was the same place I killed an elk about three years ago. There are a lot of forest service roads and logging roads around it, which means increased traffic, but there is also a shit ton of elk sign in the area, plus up until this trip, I have always seen elk in this spot. I suppose this was going to be the year that things changed though. As I sat up in my little vantage point, I didn't see anything; however, about a 1/4 mile away, a shot rang out through the evening air. As the sun started to dip, I wanted to go check it out, so I hopped in the truck and went over that way. As I went up the parallel road, I saw a few hunting rigs with a freshly quartered elk. At least someone was successful.
The next morning I got up early, went back to my spot and decided to move into the trees a bit more. As I was hiking in, I found a wonderful area with tons of tracks and sign. I set up and started hitting my cow call hoping for the best. It wasn't 30 minutes later I hear an ATV coming up the logging road nearby. Much to my chagrin, said ATV stops and fires two shots at what I surmise was the bull elk I was calling in. What do you do? I would have done the same thing, but it was frustrating nonetheless. As the morning drags on, I still don't see anything, so I decide to pack it up and move on. That evening I went out to the area where the other hunters were successful. I wanted to see if I could find the kill site. I couldn't find it, but I did find this awesome open glade that looked promising, so I set up there for the evening. Again, nothing.
The next morning I got up early, went back to my spot and decided to move into the trees a bit more. As I was hiking in, I found a wonderful area with tons of tracks and sign. I set up and started hitting my cow call hoping for the best. It wasn't 30 minutes later I hear an ATV coming up the logging road nearby. Much to my chagrin, said ATV stops and fires two shots at what I surmise was the bull elk I was calling in. What do you do? I would have done the same thing, but it was frustrating nonetheless. As the morning drags on, I still don't see anything, so I decide to pack it up and move on. That evening I went out to the area where the other hunters were successful. I wanted to see if I could find the kill site. I couldn't find it, but I did find this awesome open glade that looked promising, so I set up there for the evening. Again, nothing.
The next day I set up in that glade again, hoping to catch something on the move. There were a few shots off in the distance from other hunters, but nothing moving around me. Deciding that I needed to perhaps get away from the road even further, I decided to take a trail. I hiked up the trail about 1.5 miles and it was gorgeous. The hike itself wasn't too grueling seeing how the area I hunt is nearly at the top of the mountains anyway, so it was fairly flat. I found a spot that had lots of tracks and sign again and set up. As I hit my cow call, I heard something moving through the trees, but it never came out into the open. I did some more exploring that afternoon and found this kill site. I think this was a cow because the bones were very thick and large, but I couldn't find the head. I also found a neat-o tree stand someone had built in the pine trees. I tried this area a few more times during my hunt, but no luck.
All in all, it was a bust as far as successful harvesting of an elk was concerned, but it was still a great trip. This area is one of my favorite patches of wilderness in Utah. More than likely I'll continue to hunt up there. Hopefully I'll be in the right place at the right time again. Regardless, it's awesome just to get out and be in nature.
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