scotttgill
New member
- Jun 15, 2018
- 32
I'm such a newbie I've been planning on hunting elk for the first time this fall and I've never actually seen one! Two years ago I began this journey by reading and listening to everything I could get my hands on. I grew up hunting deer, duck, squirrel, and geese in Tennessee. After moving to Texas 20 years ago and a 10 year hiatus from the woods (young children and grad school and not knowing anyone with land... Texas problems), I started back on deer and added turkey, but I've always dreamed of hunting elk since my dad told me of two adventures he had doing it. So two years ago I told myself it was "time" and "enough with the 'one days.'" So I began to buy equipment for a DIY backpack hunt bit by bit. Last year I signed up for ELK 101. Yet, I've never laid eyes on the animal!
A few weeks back I was reading Bugle and they spotlighted the Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma. It was a mere three hours away so I threw stuff in my pack and headed up with one goal: see an elk. I hiked 8 miles the first day and spied bison, deer, prairie dogs, and turkey... but no elk. I was disappointed, it was nothing like I hoped. Folks were all over the popular mountain trails and then my "training" kicked in... elk aren't too fond of people. I made a plan to hike the longest trails that folks were avoiding because parts had been flooded and were really muddy.
I headed out early the next morning. Nobody was on the road. I reached the trail and hiked some of the most beautiful country I've seen. I was a couple of miles back, not a human sign or sound around and as I neared a coulee, three cow elk crossed my path about 75 yards away. I was ecstatic! I couldn't get my phone up fast enough for a picture. They disappeared behind a hill and I flanked to try to get another view. They were gone as quickly as they had appeared. It didn't matter, I saw what I came to see.
So, there you go. My plan is to hunt this October in Colorado and if I see one, great, if not, that's ok too. If I get one, I'll have achieved a dream of a lifetime.
A few weeks back I was reading Bugle and they spotlighted the Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma. It was a mere three hours away so I threw stuff in my pack and headed up with one goal: see an elk. I hiked 8 miles the first day and spied bison, deer, prairie dogs, and turkey... but no elk. I was disappointed, it was nothing like I hoped. Folks were all over the popular mountain trails and then my "training" kicked in... elk aren't too fond of people. I made a plan to hike the longest trails that folks were avoiding because parts had been flooded and were really muddy.
I headed out early the next morning. Nobody was on the road. I reached the trail and hiked some of the most beautiful country I've seen. I was a couple of miles back, not a human sign or sound around and as I neared a coulee, three cow elk crossed my path about 75 yards away. I was ecstatic! I couldn't get my phone up fast enough for a picture. They disappeared behind a hill and I flanked to try to get another view. They were gone as quickly as they had appeared. It didn't matter, I saw what I came to see.
So, there you go. My plan is to hunt this October in Colorado and if I see one, great, if not, that's ok too. If I get one, I'll have achieved a dream of a lifetime.
