2014 Elk Hunt - Dad's Synopsis

First, for those of you who are struggling to learn the English language, a “synopsis” is a short recap or review of an event or experience.  (Jerry might leave this sentence out….we will see.)

Jerry has done an excellent job of giving a day by day account of the hunt, so I won”t dwell too much on the day to day specifics.  Despite the lack of getting an elk it was a good hunt.  A very good or great hunt would have included the taking of an elk.  The scenery was top notch, Jack, our guide was excellent, the lodge was warm and comfortable, the food was tasty and plentiful.  Dave Holbrook, the owner/operator of Rockin' H Outfitters was well organized and kept everything moving as it was meant to be.

One of the highlights was the incredible number of mule deer we saw on a daily basis…..in four days we probably saw well over 200 deer, some as close as five yards.  I saw two very good bucks, walking broadside to me at perhaps 20 yards…..sadly, we did not have a deer license.  I got off to a slow start in the hunting due to the fact that our guide made the assumption, based on the info given him by Dave Holbrook, that I was a 78 year old guy who would need mostly a place to sit.  Jerry was asked, during one of their hikes (after Jack found me a spot to sit) what I could do.  While I was not there, I guess Jerry told him I could do whatever he could, with the variable being the time to do it.  At any rate, after that first day, I got to do regular hunting.  Our guide’s question to me after the first day was “Would you like to take a little walk?”.  It was never a “little” walk….it always involved going up a steep slope no sane person would consider doing….or, thru aspen stands so full of deadfalls that it was like mounting and dismounting a horse every 3 or 4 steps….or, so slippery and muddy that on the slopes I had to hang onto bushes or trees just to stay upright….or, all of the preceding conditions.  Was I tired at the end of the day….of course…..but, not so tired that I didn’t enjoy a little scotch before supper.  We were up at 5:00am, out the door between 6:00am and 6:15am and back at the lodge by 7:30pm…..time for a shower, a little nip (that means a scotch for those of you not into nipping) and supper.  I was usually in bed by around 9:30pm.

It is always difficult to summarize a hunt in sufficient detail to give a listener or reader the feeling that the participant in the actual hunt has without boring them to death.  For me, this hunt was top notch…..I would do it again in a heartbeat.  We had a few unexpected adventures along the way, but they only add to the great memories of a great trip…..I would still like to shoot a bull elk in the wild…..so, I’m not done yet.