This year me and David Marroquin headed for Colorado to do some wapiti(elk) hunting with our bows. Going into it we knew we had not physically prepared for this hunt properly but we were going to make the best of it and that we did.
We were going to new area we’ve never hunted before with some intel on it but other than that we knew nothing about the area. Regardless we were going to get away from work, normal life and enjoy some cooler weather.
On day one we headed for the area we had high hopes on only to find a bunch of people there already and after 8 miles of hiking from 9200ft to 10600ft we found very little elk sign and didn’t see an animal. Talk about going back to camp tired, sore and feeling defeated.
On day two we decided to do some scouting in other places with basically the same results and other hunters having the same results. We studied some maps that night and headed for an area that just seemed right on maps day three.
Well the area was showing some promising sign of elk but after 6 miles of working the area we were starting to feel defeated again when the unthinkable happen. We were slowly working a draw headed back to the truck when we came across a group of elk that seemed to have been spooked either by us or another hunter but regardless they were coming towards us fast. We both drew our bows and waited for a shot but with them almost running it was looking like a shot would not present itself so I did something that just came naturally and it worked. I mewed with my mouth not a call and the biggest cow of the bunch slowed down just enough for David to take a shot at 25 yards. The hit was back but still enough for a kill. After some high fives and a small celebration we waited about 30 min before attempting a track.
Only a 80 yard track was needed and thats when we celebrated in a big way. It was David’s first elk which was a well deserved one after trying 5-6 times. Well now the real work started. The both of us went to work and did a pretty good job of getting her quartered, meat hung for cooling and getting our packs ready to start the mile hike back to the truck. Well it ended up being a very long night hauling meat to the truck with part of it in a cold rain but it was all worth it at the end. Tired, aching and hungry but we got it done. We estimated at least 350lbs of elk was packed out by both of us on our backs which was awesome. Some of the most rewarding hard work ever.
The results of the trip was us two sea level guys hiked 18 miles in 3 days, we packed out over 350lbs of meat, we ate fresh elk steaks at camp, we fished, made knew friends from several states, I killed my first grouse with my bow and relaxed in a big way.
A successful trip for sure. Here are some pics to show the experience.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
We were going to new area we’ve never hunted before with some intel on it but other than that we knew nothing about the area. Regardless we were going to get away from work, normal life and enjoy some cooler weather.
On day one we headed for the area we had high hopes on only to find a bunch of people there already and after 8 miles of hiking from 9200ft to 10600ft we found very little elk sign and didn’t see an animal. Talk about going back to camp tired, sore and feeling defeated.
On day two we decided to do some scouting in other places with basically the same results and other hunters having the same results. We studied some maps that night and headed for an area that just seemed right on maps day three.
Well the area was showing some promising sign of elk but after 6 miles of working the area we were starting to feel defeated again when the unthinkable happen. We were slowly working a draw headed back to the truck when we came across a group of elk that seemed to have been spooked either by us or another hunter but regardless they were coming towards us fast. We both drew our bows and waited for a shot but with them almost running it was looking like a shot would not present itself so I did something that just came naturally and it worked. I mewed with my mouth not a call and the biggest cow of the bunch slowed down just enough for David to take a shot at 25 yards. The hit was back but still enough for a kill. After some high fives and a small celebration we waited about 30 min before attempting a track.
Only a 80 yard track was needed and thats when we celebrated in a big way. It was David’s first elk which was a well deserved one after trying 5-6 times. Well now the real work started. The both of us went to work and did a pretty good job of getting her quartered, meat hung for cooling and getting our packs ready to start the mile hike back to the truck. Well it ended up being a very long night hauling meat to the truck with part of it in a cold rain but it was all worth it at the end. Tired, aching and hungry but we got it done. We estimated at least 350lbs of elk was packed out by both of us on our backs which was awesome. Some of the most rewarding hard work ever.
The results of the trip was us two sea level guys hiked 18 miles in 3 days, we packed out over 350lbs of meat, we ate fresh elk steaks at camp, we fished, made knew friends from several states, I killed my first grouse with my bow and relaxed in a big way.
A successful trip for sure. Here are some pics to show the experience.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Comment