| Be Prepared. That's the Boy Scout motto and | | | | him. We both let out our Indian woots to |
| never was a truer statement spoken before. I | | | | celebrate and give thanks to the elk god for the |
| heard that statement a lot when I was in Boy | | | | awesome beast that laid before us. Then the |
| Scouts but never paid much heed to it or fully | | | | work began. We quartered him up in about 40 |
| understand the value in that statement until I | | | | minutes and night was approaching fast. When we |
| started big game hunting when I was 14 years | | | | finished it dark enough that we had to use flash |
| old. Even now being 31 years old I still forget to | | | | lights to see our way out. |
| bring very, very important equipment with me | | | | Then it happened it started to rain and then the |
| when I head off into the hills to pursue the wild | | | | rain turned to half snow-half rain. We'd been hiking |
| beasts. | | | | for about an hour when we realized that we had |
| Last year my father was lucky enough to draw a | | | | taken the wrong ridge and we didn't know |
| limited entry elk tag for a unit that we've hunting | | | | exactly what ridge we were on but we knew |
| for more than 10 years and had to sit and watch | | | | weren't headed in the right direction. We were at |
| all the big mature elk cruise on by without being | | | | least 2 maybe 3 miles away from our truck and |
| to able to take one. However this year was | | | | we were getting cold and wet fast. At about the |
| different. We knew exactly where to go where | | | | time we decided to make a fire to warm up |
| we knew we could and would harvest an elk that | | | | before we kept hiking I realized that I had left my |
| would score between 300'-350'. | | | | lighter and matches in our horses' pack saddles |
| This was what we had been waiting for for 10 | | | | which were in the truck. Just then my heart sank |
| years now. The day finally came. Opening morning | | | | to the ground. I stood there thinking to myself, |
| was very uneventful with nothing to be seen or | | | | "how could I have done this? I never forget my |
| heard. When evening was finally upon us out | | | | lighter and matches." |
| came the big bruiser we had been looking for. | | | | Well there was no time to sit and bellyache and |
| The only problem was he was 1500 yards away | | | | say woulda, coulda, shoulda. We had to get outta |
| a little too far for a Remington 30.06. Well we | | | | there fast and at least keep hiking until we made |
| knew he'd be there tomorrow so we headed | | | | it to a road. |
| back to camp. | | | | After 3 hours of hiking we finally hit road and |
| The following day found us in position waiting for | | | | knew exactly where we were at that point but |
| the bruiser and his harem to make their way out | | | | we were still an hour from the truck but at least |
| to feed. It wasn't too long into the late afternoon | | | | we knew where we were. Neither one of us |
| that he screamed out his first bugle of the day | | | | admitted it until the next day but we were both |
| and was headed out for a fight and food. I had | | | | extremely close to hypothermia and completely |
| purchased a 'Carlton's Estrus Call' the week before | | | | exhausted from hiking most of the day and well |
| and at the opportune time my father told me to | | | | into the night. We were definitely blessed that |
| give it a couple of squeezes. Well it worked like | | | | night. The next day we brought the horses in and |
| magic and got the bruiser into a frenzy of bugling | | | | got that bruiser of an elk out which is another |
| and raking. | | | | story for another time. Which was a rodeo in it's |
| After he had made his way out into the open he | | | | own right. |
| immediately started fighting with another bull that | | | | Something I learned that night that I want to |
| was a little smaller than him. All the while my | | | | pass on to everyone that reads this and that's |
| father was taking aim. After the bruiser had won | | | | make sure you check, check and recheck your |
| his fight my father squeezed off the first round | | | | packs and always make sure you're always |
| hitting directly home, then fired off two more | | | | prepared. No matter what! The weather in the |
| shots to make sure he wasn't going anywhere, | | | | mountains has a mind of it's own and is very |
| which you know they do if you've ever hunted | | | | unforgiving. That night we came very close to |
| elk before. | | | | ending up as headlines. |
| It took us an hour to get over to him and find | | | | Always be prepared. |