Hilljackoutlaw
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jan 15, 2019
- Messages
- 6,508
Well just got back from the Frank. Not much to tell. We packed in 6 miles Friday afternoon to the head of a canyon i scouted this summer. Arrived at dark bugled once and heard an answer far off. We setup camp and went to bed. Woke up at 7am got ready. Hit bugle got immediate answer. Glassed him up 5 minutes later a half mile below us. Then spotted another both good bulls. Took us 10 hours to go 6 miles only to end up a half mile from camp. Setup hit cow call immediate answer right below us. 2 minutes later he was 15 yards away. After a long staring competition he walked closer to 8 yards. Brush and a blow down between us. Finally turned and faced uphill I shot thru a little window in the brush and hit high. I started calling again and he came back and this time my buddy had a shot on him from his position after about 10 minutes of staring. He shot and he went 150 yards and expired. We spent the rest of the week packing him out with the last load on Thursday afternoon. Huge bodied elk, biggest I've ever seen dead. The first load out we started at 11pm and after looking at the map we thought we could pack him straight down the canyon to the river trail cause it was only 1.41 miles. HUGE mistake as it took us 8 hours to cover that 1.41 miles and at 3am I stuck my trekking pole on a rattlesnake. That was the opposite of cool! Luckily he was docile cause it was 43 degrees. Lost my garmin inreach out of pocket while sliding down a semi cliff on that first load. Thursday I went back down the canyon early afternoon to retrieve it as my buddy packed out the head back the way we came in and ran into 4 more rattlesnakes how I didn't get bit is a miracle from God.
Lessons learned:
1. You better have pack animals in the frank or choose wisely where you shoot an elk.
2. I don't like snakes.
3. I have ran marathons and triathlons and nothing compares to packing a 1000lb animal out of there. We pushed our bodies to limits we have never done before definitely risking our health at times.
God definitely had our backs on this adventure between the snakes and sliding down cliffs coming out completely unscathed minus the part of my soul I left in that canyon.
We achieved what we went there for and it was an amazing experience that I wished and dreamed for but I won't be back without pack animals...or maybe next weekend to fill my tag.
Lessons learned:
1. You better have pack animals in the frank or choose wisely where you shoot an elk.
2. I don't like snakes.
3. I have ran marathons and triathlons and nothing compares to packing a 1000lb animal out of there. We pushed our bodies to limits we have never done before definitely risking our health at times.
God definitely had our backs on this adventure between the snakes and sliding down cliffs coming out completely unscathed minus the part of my soul I left in that canyon.
We achieved what we went there for and it was an amazing experience that I wished and dreamed for but I won't be back without pack animals...or maybe next weekend to fill my tag.
Get some rest. We're not getting any younger! Hunt while we can! Looks fairly smoky there?
