Ok so we left KC on Friday after work and drove all night.
Got to town at about 5AM, picked up some water and last little goodies and drove to the trailhead. It's not really much of a trailhead, like it's not marked or anything, but I had internet scouted it an thought we could access some prime ground from this spot. Here's what it looked like from the truck:
And a topo map of the area:
Basically we had to get from point A to point B to start getting into animals, about 1 mile as the crow flies and 1500 feet of vertical gain until we drop off the edge. The shades represent the steepness. Basically no shade is walkable without trekking poles, yellow is poles and nervous moments, red gets to be like WTF are we doing, and purple is go cats obviously.
The first day we got to the top and before we dropped off we went to check on a spring which was basically a cattle tank full of cattle piss and crap. Disappointment. I had a filter but it's only good for bacteria (like giardia), but not viruses. Too risky. That meant we'd have to drop the 1500ft every other/third day to get to the creek to get water. That evening we elected to camp up high and glass into the land below to confirm animals were there before we dropped off.
About this time I really noticed something was wrong. I had contracted hand-foot-mouth disease from my son and had a dozen blisters on the bottoms of each foot, a half dozen each hand, and some in my mouth, which basically made everything I did painful. But, press on I must, so I did.
Anyway we saw animals for sure, a half dozen bulls, all 5x5's or larger, and a cow/calf combo.
<-- this is a video click it
The ground was too rocky to sink tent stakes so we just slept under the stars that night. We actually spent the first three or four nights under the stars, made me wonder why I even bothered to bring a tent at all.
The next morning we saw most of the same animals, which told me they were in the area as a part of habit (not transient), so it was worth it to drop in. We only brought three days worth of food, and already through 1.5 days, I elected to go back to the truck and get 3 more days worth of food for both of us, stove fuel, TP, and another day's worth of water in case the creek in the bottom was no good, so then we could at least get out. That was a 5 hour round trip. I tried to take a short cut, which was probably shorter distance but more time.
I met back up with my partner about 3PM and we hiked along the ridgeline until we saw these rocks stacked:
This usually means something so we investigated, and found an old horse trail to the bottom, which meant we wouldn't have to slog through timber and brush (as much).
We get to the bench about 4PM, hike further down towards where we saw the elk, and for the heck of it we decide to try some cold calling. I suck at calling turkeys and coyotes but we try it anyway without much expectation. Twenty minutes in and my partner starts signalling an elk in coming in! He's the shooter, I'm the caller. Unfortunately the wind and sun meant he had to hide behind a bush, and the elk never gave him a clear shot. It came in and looped around to wind me, and I saw his horns coming over the top of the oak brush. I drew my bow and aligned my peep and pins and waited until I expected him to come into an opening for a clear shot. He came, but stopped at the opening at 12 yards and just looked at me. I had no shot at his lungs or heart (just neck and head), so I waited. A few seconds go by and he lunges back, I call more, he hangs out just 20 yards away for a few minutes, and eventually walks away. My partner never maneuvered to get a shot. He was in the opening dead center of pic.
By this time it's 6PM or later and we start looking for a place to camp. Then, a bugle! I call, and two ridges down 300 yards away out walks a nice bull bugling his guts out. I call more, and he drops into the bottom and back up, now just one ridge over, 150 yards away. I call a few more times and see he's not interested in coming closer, so with the falling sun we decide to leave him be.
Camp that night.
The next morning we hear some bugles and chase them down the major drainage, but they stop once we are getting closer. The wind was getting swirly so we decide to find water. We spend an hour or so at the creek filtering about 20 liters of water which should get us through a couple days. On the way back up we cold call some more, no luck (probably too hot).
At about 2PM we're resting in the shadows of some oak brush when we hear a faint bugle, so we move in that direction. A few minutes later another, and then another. I creep along and eventually glass the bull bedded 172 yards away. We watch a while and he bugles every few minutes and I decide he is alone, which plays into our strategy. A lone bull, you want to pretend to be a cow elk to get him horny to come to you. A bull with cows, you want to sneak in close and then rip off a loud bugle pretending to be another bull elk there to steal his ladies, so he must defend their honor and come and fight. So I start cow calling, he bugles, more cow calls, more bugles, but he's showing no interest in getting up. Further down the way we heard another bugle, too. So I start raking this tree, making all sorts of commotion, breaking branches, stomping around, huffing and puffing, the works. He bugles back, the other bull down the way rakes, too, but still no real action. Then, my partner starts signalling to me ELK ELK. The other bull had come in silent and was now 20 yards from my partner staring right at him. Then he's looking at me. He eventually turns his head and walks behind a juniper tree, so I crouch down and grab my bow and range a bush, 43 yards away I guess, and I draw. Out he steps broadside, but I can only see his head/neck and the top third of his body. There is a bush obscuring his vitals at 20 yards. So I wait, I'm prepared to hold that bow back as long as it takes. He eventually winds my partner and buggers. eff.
So we focus our attention back on the bedded bull, who eventually stands and begins to feed. We realize he has as least two cows with him, so we try to get in close, but they aren't having that and they walk off. eff crap. That evening we glass a nice bull across the drainage running cows hard, but it's too late to make a play. Oh I also found three toads further to the east, well over a mile away. TOADS. BIG.
The next morning not much action, and while we're cold calling some dude comes walking up the trail. We talk a bit, he tells us there is a spring just 200 yards from our camp.
but also
We agree to stay east of the major drainage and he'll stay west. Not much more action that day, we visit the spring in the afternoon and get more water.
That night my stomach started feeling bad, I'll spare you the details but I victimized my underwear and had to roll al fresco the next morning. So we're up first light headed towards a bugle, and then we hear another one in the opposite direction but upwind so we change course. Bugle, move, bugle, move. The terrain has some curvature so even 100 yards away we couldn't see this bull, but I could hear him and his cows mew mew mew mew mew just fine. I lost my mind and was a dumb ass and cow called to him, and he (I think) basically spooked and rounded up his 25 cows and moved off in a hurry, and he was rough ridin' HUGE. Main frame 6x7 with great mass and he had some extra crap going on with his fronts, may have been an 8x9. Just a beast of a bull. I thought I knew where he was headed so we chased him. Turns out he was headed to the next county. We chased for two miles and could never catch up, glassed him and his string of cows moving off in the distance. Heart break. Despair. Self-loathing. Why the eff did I cow call? I still don't know. I lost my crap.
That evening pretty much same scenario, trying to make a play on that same original bull, but we switch directions and chase this other elk for about two miles. He's bugling and moving away and we're running trying to catch him. Just when we get close I come around a bend and see two cows and rip off a huge challenge bugle expecting the bull to come ready to fight. Instead it's just a wimpy spike bull (not legal) and I let them go. eff crap eff.
We get some rain, have to set up tents.
The next morning we try for that same original bull who is a pretty consistent bugler, but by the time we get there the wind is swirling and we decide to pause chase. Lots of rubs all over.
We're almost out of food, and I offer to go back to the truck again and get more, but my partner thinks we ought to move on as the action isn't as good, so we pack up and leave. It was a beautiful pack out with all the colors.
My pack at the saddle. I really wanted to be hauling out meat, but I didn't have what it takes apparently.
We scout some new areas that night, no bugles, and a massive storm rolls through (we sleep in the truck, awful). Next morning glass the local elk herd (100+ animals) on private ground.
Eat at the local greasy spoon, the waitress was impressed how much I put away (chicken friend steak, two eggs, hash browns, two pieces of toast with butter AND jam, two biscuits with butter and honey, and two pieces of pie--one apple one cherry). Felt good to deuce on a regular toilet.
We decided to hunt an area we hunted in last year, still rainy.
Long story short, no recent elk sign. Bear went through our camp, pooped. We packed out, headed home.
I have another cool video I'll post once it's done uploading. I know I know TLDR.
