2014 Elk Hunt - The Hunt...Day Four

Day Four. Our last day. We started the day with renewed excitement. At dusk the previous day, Dad and Jack had seen a small group of 15-20 elk about a mile away. They were across the expansive potato field, entering the base of a steep ridge on Flat Top Mountain. Too late in the day to begin a stalk, we planned to start day four at the point where these elk had disappeared the night before.

Most of Aspen were in Full Fall Color

The day arrived with a light frost on the truck windows, the coldest morning we had thus far. The plan was to arrive at the south side of Flat Top in the early morning darkness, wait for first-light to drive part way up the mountain, and hike around to the north face where we had last seen them.

The sun finally began to lighten the day, and we hiked along a logging road toward our destination, stopping often to glass the openings in the oak thickets on the steep slopes above and beneath us. As we rounded the old trail toward the north face of Flat Top, Jack suddenly spotted a small group of elk. They were in a stand of scrub oak, almost exactly where we had seen them the night before. We each peered through our binoculars hoping to see a legal bull among them, but they were too far away and the cover was too thick. We retreated back to the east to devise a strategy to get closer.

Jack wryly asked Dad if he wanted to "go for a little walk." The idea was for Dad and Jack to hike up the steep slope on the northeast face of Flat Top, then travel north toward the elk hoping to get above them. The early morning mountain thermal currents typically carry breezes, ergo our scent, up the slopes...thus they needed to get above them to not spook them. If by chance they did spook them, I would be waiting, hidden in the shrubs at the base of the mountain and ready to take a shot.

The stalk was flawless. Dad and Jack spent the next two hours hiking the steep slope. Dad would later say it was one of the toughest stalks he has experienced. They quietly labored through oak thicket, aspen forest strewn with numerous deadfalls, and extremely slippery footing due to the wet fallen leaves. Finally, Jack spotted the elk again. Peering through their binoculars and the thick aspen forest, they could see six elk 75 yards down the hill. They took a long look at each animal, and unfortunately what they saw was five cows and a small spike bull. Legal bulls must be four-points or better. A successful stalk!...with great anticipation!...a legal bull the only thing that could have made it better.

View of Lone Cone Mountain from the top of Flat Top

We regrouped and headed back to the truck for lunch and water. We hunted Flat Top the rest of the day.  We each saw at least one coyote (Dad saw four), and a few more deer, but did not see another elk. One highlight of the afternoon was my hike to the summit of Flat Top. It is an interesting mountain. It rises about 1500 feet from the surrounding valley to a peak of 9700 feet. The "peak" however is anything but. I crested the final rise to find a vast, open grassy meadow with a pond on the west end...thus its namesake, Flat Top Mountain.

As the sun set below the western peaks of the San Juan mountain range. our 2014 Colorado Elk Hunt had come to a close.