Colorado 2nd Elk Rifle Season

[SapperDawg]

Headed out in the morning to climb some mountains in SW Colorado in search of bull elk. Should be an amazing week in the mountains. Will post updates and pics as we can.

[basedog]

Damn, wish I was going with you! Nothing like elk meat.

You doing a guide hunt or solo?

[SapperDawg]

Public land, DIY. So we either come home with freezers full, great memories or both.

[basedog]

Good luck, as we hunters like to say "it ain't always about the kill", but we know that ain't true most of the time, LOL!

Btw, how many acres and do you have any idea how many will be hunting in the area you are going? Are you camping?

[SapperDawg]

We are hunting the Hermosa Creek Wilderness north of Durango, and will be camped right in the middle of it. We have about a 3 mile hike in to get to our chosen spot. I have a SeekOutside cimmeran tipi style tent with stove we are packing in, and enough food for eight days.

I agree it is not always about the kill. I like to refer back to something Teddy Roosevelt wrote about hunting as why we do this, the portion I hold onto is in bold:

"No one, but he who has partaken thereof, can understand the keen delight of hunting in lonely lands. For him is the joy of the horse well ridden and rifle well held; for him the long days of toil and hardship, resolutely endured, and crowned at the end with triumph. In after years there shall come forever to his mind the memory of endless prairies shimmering in the bright sun; of vast snow-clad wastes lying desolate under grey skies; of the melancholy marshes; of the rush of mighty rivers; of the breath of the evergreen forest in summer; of the crooning of ice-armored pines at the touch of the winds of winter; of cataracts roaring between hoary mountain masses; of all the innumerable sights and sounds of the wilderness; of its immensity and mystery; and of the silences that brood in its still depths."

[SpeckleDawg]

Awesome. Good luck. Can't wait to see the pics and the interesting ways that you will undoubtedly cook up some fresh elk.

[basedog]

Durango is also on my bucket list to visit.

Good luck, hope no bears are around, can't imagine packing all your gear and about a 8-900 pound Elk dressed at of the wilderness!

Do you have a bull tag or female?

[SapperDawg]

Bull over-the-counter tag. Bears shouldn't be an issue, as this is a no grizzly area. Gonna be warm, so the elk should be high and deep in dark timber.

Should we get one, I am cooking through the buck, buck, moose book by Hank Shaw. If you are a deer hunter, it is a must own.

[louisvilledawg]

Awesome. Good luck. Can't wait to see the pics and the interesting ways that you will undoubtedly cook up some fresh elk.

Elk Chili will make you wanna slap your momma

[SapperDawg]

18 hours to go.

[louisvilledawg]

18 hours to go.

I wish i had as much money as alexander shunnarah does for his ads.

[BeastMan]

Awesome! Keep us updated

[louisvilledawg]

So we gonna be updated? or nah. We looking for pics, son.

[jbjones]

Some photos are here:

2016 Elk

You'll have to get the story from Sapper.

[SapperDawg]

Here is the rest of the story:

I picked up Todd, my hunting partner, at the Memphis airport, and we drove all night to Durango arriving just before daylight. We sat at a local coffee shop for about 30 minutes to have some joe and get our bearings. We double checked the maps, and verified where we wanted to hike in……and set off at daylight for the Hermosa Creek Wilderness.

After leaving the blacktop in Durango, it took over two hours of driving on the Forrest Service road to get to the trailhead where we would park. The trailhead was about 10,500 ft of elevation, and we readied our packs and took off. All told, we probably had about 50-60 lbs each on our backs, once the rifles were strapped on.

We hiked down about six miles from the trailhead, losing about 2,000 ft of elevation in the process. That took about four hours to hike in, and we set up camp next to a small creek. We had a 6L platypus water filtration system, and I have to tell you, that freshly filtered, cold, clear creek water was the best I have ever tasted. At this point, we had been awake for about 40 hours. After a quick bite to eat, we both hit the rack and slept like babies.

The weather was hot…60-70 durning the day, but got down to the 20's in the valley we were in a night. The elk were very high as a result. We spent the first two days hiking back up to 10K+ feet and were not seeing much fresh sign. We covered probably 15 miles over those two days without any sightings, but did find a small shed and a really nice deadhead.

That evening we ran into an outfitter pulling out his horse camp that was well up the valley from us. First, he was very surprised we were in there, as it was very steep, rough country. Second, they had spent 10 days in there and had not seen any or very many elk. So we decided to make a move. The next day we hiked out of the valley with 50+ lb packs, and the six mile trip up gaining over 2K feet of elevation took over six hours. We were trashed when we got to the trailhead.

We decided on a hotel that night, to plan and regroup. We picked mother wilderness area just south the Silverton, CO that was between 11,500 and 12,000 feet of elevation, as we knew the elk were very high due to the hot weather. We scouted for a morning, and set up on two large meadows to glass for the mid-day/early afternoon without any luck. On the way out, however, we spotted a very nice bull and six cows at about 150 yards. Problem is, he spotted us at about the same time and with the cows obscuring his vitals….no good shot opportunity.

We staked that spot out the next day, and did some still hunting through the area, and found TONS of fresh sign, but no more live elk. One minute sooner and we would have baged him less than half a mile from the truck. That ended our hunt.

All in all, we learned a ton and had a great time. I will never forget sitting on a ridge at 10K feet, looking at the Continental Divide with the sun in my face, in complete silence, and knowing we were completely alone. Absolutely beautiful country, and Durango is a legit town.

We will likely shoot for pronghorn in WY next fall, with another shot at CO elk in 2018. We will also likely head back to the area south of Silverton, as we really found some great spots during our two days in that area.

So, if you are going to do a hunt like this, here are some recommendations:
1. Spend the money on a first class mountain backpack. It needs to weigh less than five lbs alone. KUIU and EXO are two I would start with. I have the KUIU 5200 and could not be more pleased.
2. Consider getting a lightweight mountain rifle. I have a Rem 700 MR and the few lbs it shaved off were totally worth it.
3. Invest in good boots. I did not have a blister or hot spot, and our estimate was we hiked over 25 miles through very difficult terrain.
4. I used several Wilderness Athlete supplements for the trip and would recommend them based on my experience. Altitude Advantage helps with sickness and side effects like waking up all night….neither of us had issues. Joint Advantage - I have terrible knees and there was not one day that I couldn't hunt hard with weight on my back. This is now a daily part of my routine. Nighttime Optimizer - I never was overly sore the next day, and have to think this played a part.
5. The small stove in the tent was 100% worth packing in.
6. Hiking poles are a must. Glad I brought them.
7. Don’t drive all night. Stop in Amarillo or NM.
8. Invest in good technical clothing/gear. I run First Lite, and can totally reccomend it as well.

I probably have many more that can be added, but if you have any questions shoot them here and I will do my best to answer.

ETA:
9. I would rent a satellite phone next time. Being cut off from the world sucks, and we could have called a horse packer should we have knocked one down way back in the wilderness.

[basedog]

Nice story, thanks for posting.

[Percho]

Nice story, thanks for posting.

Amen. I feel as if went with you. Very pleasing for this 73 year old man. Never went myself but can still remember a neighbor of my grandmother who went and gave us some elk when I was like 12 or 14 and best I can remember it was great to eat.

Thanks.

[basedog]

Red Stag and Elk meat is just flat ass awesome! Nothing like all natural wild game meat!