Hello all,
Just here to express how excited I am for September and wanted to get a little insight on what I learned last year. Maybe some more experienced fellas can chime in. Last year I made the 20 hour trek from Minnesota to SW Colorado on my first ever elk hunt. It was originally planned for a group of 4 or 5 guys that committed to coming.. In the end, I had to scramble to find a partner that would go with me (everyone else wasn't as serious about this quest as I was when it came time to plan!). I signed up for UEH and can't believe how much information I learned and I don't think I could have had the experiences that I did without that tool. I hadn't spent much time in the mountains before this trip, especially being a flat lander and all. The elevation was no joke. I trained and trained but being at 10,500 ft for the first time was really something to get used to.
Anyway, my partner and I were fortunate enough to get into elk almost all of the eight days that we spent out there but just couldn't seem to seal the deal (we went the second week of September -archery). Our closest encounter was a bull that we stalked over 2 miles out. We got within about 150 yards until he went silent. We waited, made a few cow calls, but just couldn't seem to get a grasp on where he was. We decided to back track and get to a place to where we could see him again. At this point, we had already put on multiple miles that day but I was ready to continue stalking him - for however long that we had to. Thats where my partner and I had differing views. I was full of adrenaline -ready to go. My partner on the other hand - not so much. We had spent 3 other times in a situation just like this and I think the doubt was climbing into his mind. I played sports at a fairly high level so I feel comfortable trying to motivate someone- but I just couldn't get my partner to want to chase after this bull again (this is our second to last day by the way, so I didn't want to wast any opportunity.) Has anyone else been in a situation like this? I enjoy having a partner out there - it definitely makes some things much easier. But on the other hand, I just don't think he wanted it as bad as I did. And it was hard to leave the mountains knowing I still had some left in the tank. So, all in all, I'm trying to figure out if I have a partner this year - or not. Maybe some others can throw in their experiences with times like this
Just here to express how excited I am for September and wanted to get a little insight on what I learned last year. Maybe some more experienced fellas can chime in. Last year I made the 20 hour trek from Minnesota to SW Colorado on my first ever elk hunt. It was originally planned for a group of 4 or 5 guys that committed to coming.. In the end, I had to scramble to find a partner that would go with me (everyone else wasn't as serious about this quest as I was when it came time to plan!). I signed up for UEH and can't believe how much information I learned and I don't think I could have had the experiences that I did without that tool. I hadn't spent much time in the mountains before this trip, especially being a flat lander and all. The elevation was no joke. I trained and trained but being at 10,500 ft for the first time was really something to get used to.
Anyway, my partner and I were fortunate enough to get into elk almost all of the eight days that we spent out there but just couldn't seem to seal the deal (we went the second week of September -archery). Our closest encounter was a bull that we stalked over 2 miles out. We got within about 150 yards until he went silent. We waited, made a few cow calls, but just couldn't seem to get a grasp on where he was. We decided to back track and get to a place to where we could see him again. At this point, we had already put on multiple miles that day but I was ready to continue stalking him - for however long that we had to. Thats where my partner and I had differing views. I was full of adrenaline -ready to go. My partner on the other hand - not so much. We had spent 3 other times in a situation just like this and I think the doubt was climbing into his mind. I played sports at a fairly high level so I feel comfortable trying to motivate someone- but I just couldn't get my partner to want to chase after this bull again (this is our second to last day by the way, so I didn't want to wast any opportunity.) Has anyone else been in a situation like this? I enjoy having a partner out there - it definitely makes some things much easier. But on the other hand, I just don't think he wanted it as bad as I did. And it was hard to leave the mountains knowing I still had some left in the tank. So, all in all, I'm trying to figure out if I have a partner this year - or not. Maybe some others can throw in their experiences with times like this
