Elk Hunt Chronicles - Day Five

Long day yesterday. Up at 5:00 a.m. Horses saddleded by 5:30. Breakfast finished by 6:00. On the trail at 6:15. Sunrise at 7:00.

Sunrise in the mountains - two hours after getting up.

Saw a lot of elk. Unfortunately, they were a long way off on a neighboring ranch. However, I did get a close-up view of the ass end of a bull elk as it disappeared over a ridge about 50 yards in front of me. Oh well, that's why it's called 'hunting' and not 'shopping.'

It was a tough day to hunt. The wind was gusting and swirling. It seemed like it was always blowing the wrong way. But on our way back down the mountain we spotted some antelope off in the foothills. After riding hard and fast (well, maybe it was more like semi-hard and less slow) around a large knoll that sheiled us from them, we managed to get around them without being noticed. I slithered over a little knob and there they were. They knew something was up- they were antsy and milling around. But I was able to knock down a nice buck at around 230 yards. So at least we'll have something in the freezer this winter.

Later that afternoon we went out and scouted for elk for the next morning's hunt. We saw a couple of nice bulls to the south, and that large herd to the north. So it's a question of quality vs. quantity. I've still got three days to go, so we're going after the bulls in the morning (5:00 a.m. wake-up ... groan).

Of course, the bulls are in much more rugged terrain than the herd - steeper slope, more heavily wooded, farther away. But that's what makes it fun.

Keep your fingers crossed for me...