Day 5 - Third Day of Hunting

Roger Cesario, outfitter and owner of the lodge, is very high on hunt ethics at his camp. One example of this is when a hunter shoots at an animal, draws blood, and fails to find the animal, he is done hunting. He can continue to look for the wounded animal, but cannot shoot at another bull. I think this is a fair policy, and one that respects the wildlife we love. 

That said, after we made the one mile+ hike with Dad to his stand on the oak knoll, Hayden and I hiked back to yesterday’s scene of the crime. We spent 90 minutes scouring the area for any sign of last night’s bull elk. In the end, we found no blood, and no other sign to indicate I hadn’t missed, and no dead elk lying in the area. Thus, I could continue to hunt. Still very disappointing that I missed. Success rates in Colorado elk hunting run about 18%…it’s not too likely that I will get another opportunity.

We all returned to the lodge for lunch around noon. Dad did not see anything in the morning, and Tom and Josh saw more of the Bull Mountain elk cows, but still no bulls. Dad and Tom decided to take the afternoon off from hunting and enjoy some R&R at the lodge. They showered, talked with Roger and Justin (the hunter who already had his bull), and toward evening enjoyed a cigar and scotch on the porch while watching the sunset over Sheep Park.  These trips are not always just about the hunt…sometimes a relaxing afternoon of fellowship and breathing the mountain air is every bit as good. 

Hayden and I on the other hand got back to work. We headed northeast of the lodge to hunt the high mountain meadows around Sheep Mountain. We hiked for about a mile, with over half of it up a steep slope, to a picturesque meadow at 8480 feet elevation. The snowy 8.773 foot Sheep Mountain peak stood above us as if it was a stoic spectator watching a game. At about 4:30 we spotted 3 cows…about 400 yards away on an aspen ridge that led up to the peak of Sheep Mountain. We anxiously waited for a bull to appear, but we were not so lucky. We started our trek back down about 15 minutes before shooting hours ended, hoping we might see something on the way. We spotted two cows, and they spotted us as well and were out of site pretty quickly. A good afternoon. We saw elk, and had reason to come back to this area in the morning. 

Josh spent his afternoon hiking the flats south of the lodge with Moose. They struck out, but he remains optimistic. Two days to go…we still have time.

Day 4 - Second Day of Hunting

After a great night sleep in the tent (it was 4° warmer than previous night😉) Josh and I woke up Sunday morning at 4:30 AM. We spent some time sharing stories of day 1and prepping our gear for the day, then met Dad and Tom in the lodge by 5:15 for coffee and breakfast. As we took our last bites, Hayden informed Dad and I that we would be hunting near the lodge today…no truck ride. 

Early AM walk to Oak Knoll

We hiked south from the lodge about a mile to a small oak knoll overlooking several meadows. Each meadow had a ridge of aspen spilling into it, some with scattered stands of gamble oak as well. Great spot!…this would be dads stand for the day.

Hayden and I continued further south, then west up into a saddle between two aspen ridges. We crossed a lot of elk sign, including a recent bedding area, many tracks, and scat piles…all seemingly a day or less old. Encouraging sign! We were heading to the western slopes of an 8200 foot ridge top for the day.

As we entered a stand of aspen on the east slope, we heard our first gunshots of our hunt. Hoping it was Dad, we soon learned that it was Justin, a hunter with the other group at our lodge. Our lodge had its first bull of the hunt, a nice 5 x 4! 

Hayden and I found a spot to sit and glass for a while. Then he went back to check on Dad, and have lunch. When he returned, we headed southeast along the western slope to a new spot. Wow! An elk hunting postcard spot! See photo…it doesn’t do it justice! 

Elk Country Postcard 1

The sun disappeared behind the mountain and within 10 minutes the action started. First a cow elk and her calf came out of the oak to our right just 100 yards away. They saw us but decided we were not a threat, so calmly grazed while we watched them. They continued to move toward us, at one point the cow came within 10 yards of us. She was so close that you could see her nostrils working to pick up our scent, but the wind was not in her favor. Still she sensed enough of something wrong that they calmly left the area, and headed down the steep embankment we were sitting on to the open meadow below. Very cool experience.

With 10 minutes of shooting light left, we were discussing whether we should leave or wait, when Hayden told me to not move. He whispered that a bull had come out of the oaks at the same spot the cow and calf had. After initially identifying it as a spike (illegal) he then quickly said scratch that “shooter bull”!! I was still facing Hayden to my left, and the bull was 180° the opposite direction to my right. For those of you that don't know shooting, a right handed shooter has a hard time swinging to the right with a rifle and taking a shot. At least that’s my excuse. Anyway, I spun to my right, put the crosshairs on the bull’s chest (it was facing me straight-on), pulled the trigger, and missed. I flat out missed! Probably my worst miss in 45 years of hunting. That elk shot back up into the oak and we never saw it again.

Elk Country Postcard 2

We spent the next 40 minutes confirming that I had missed. We could not find a single sign of blood or hair that would have indicated that I hit it. It was a very somber one hour and fifty minute hike through the dark woods and meadows back to the lodge. Dad had made his own way back to the lodge, and informed us that he had seen a number of cows throughout the day, but no bulls. Josh and Tom hunted Bull Mountain with their guide Moose. They played cat and mouse with a herd of 20 cows almost the entire day but never saw horns. Maybe better luck tomorrow. 

Note…our intent on this trip was to have each of us post something each day. We didn’t anticipate the long days, which has made this difficult. We are up each morning at 4:30, hunting all day, returning to the lodge around 8:30, having dinner, and going to bed. But stay tuned. I’m sure all of us will post something before we get home.

Day 3 - First Day of Hunting

Even when you are excited, there is something awful about a 4:45AM alarm. That’s when Josh‘s alarm went off as it signaled the start of our first day of hunting. After breakfast, Dad and I met our guide for the next five days… Hayden. He informed us that we were headed to an area called Creek Bottoms to overlook a couple of commonly used meadows that are used by the elk for both feeding, and as a pass-through from one ridgeline to the next. We would be stand hunting today…instead of spot and stalk hunting.

We jumped in Hayden’s truck a little after 6 AM after doing a final gathering of necessary items for a day in the field, and followed the two-track trails for the next 30 minutes to a gate in the corner of a sheep pasture . On the other side of the gate was a trail that led to our sitting spots for the day. Each of us had spectacular views over small meadows leading to the creek with Gamble Oak and Aspen stands surrounding the meadows. Beautiful country, but after a full day of waiting and watching, shooting hours ended with no elk sightings.

Hayden, who had hiked to the ridge top above me, and I started walking back to meet Dad and head back to the truck. We quickly learned that we were in for an adventurous trip back to the lodge. A large herd of sheep had been in these meadows and on the trail the previous day, and let’s just say they left their mark. When combined with the days snow melt, it created a 2-4 inch deep mud and sheep-shit paste. We stepped in said paste nearly every step of the way back to the truck. It was sticky! Often times it added 3 to 4 inches of its sticky nastiness to the sides and bottom of each boot. Dad believes the technical term for this thing I call paste is “Siberian snake shit.” It was like skating in mud, and we each did our best to not fall face-first into the slop. We all made it back to the truck without incident. It had taken slightly over an hour to walk a mile.

Now phase two of the adventure home began. The snow melt had also made the trail we drove in on extremely greasy! Even with the truck in four-wheel-drive, on level surface, all four wheels were spinning. The gate out of the pasture was at the top of a hill. There was not chance of making it up if we had to stop at the gate first. So we parked the truck at the bottom, I walked up to the gate and held it wide open while Hayden and Dad made a run for it up the hill. With tires spinning wildly, and mud flying in all directions, the truck somehow bobbed and weaved up he hill. First hurdle successfully navigated! After three more similar seemingly impossible impasses (around a sharp turn on the edge of a cliff, through a deep rut that we feared would suck the truck off the cliff, we finally got to the main road successfully. Big kudos to Hayden!

We returned to the lodge to share stories of the day with Tom and Josh, and the other hunters. No success by any parties today, and everyone was in bed pretty early.

Day 2 - Travel and Arrival Day

Day 2 has been a day with an easier mission to accomplish....continue west to our final destination at Sheep Park Lodge.  We were up at 5:30, and after breakfast and conversation with other hunters in the dining area, we headed to the local Walmart to pickup our hunting licenses. No issues with credit cards being declined...so we are all now officially licensed for the hunt. 

We then headed west again to Carbondale for lunch. Unbelievable scenery on the way! We found a great local diner in Carbondale, Village Smithy's.  Good food, good service. Great mountain town...could be worth revisiting someday.  We continued south and made a final stop in Redstone...a "don't blink or you'll miss it" town with a few shops, a one room museum, and a general store with beer, wine, and ice.  After we made friends with the shopkeepers, we filled a cooler with a few beers and ice, and got back in the truck for the final 45 minute ride.

And wow!...some of the best scenery I've seen in Colorado! The pictures herein do not do it justice. Coming through McClure Pass was a bit unnerving with the tight two lane road and steep drop-offs, but Josh navigated like a pro and we made it. The final 12 miles to the lodge were gravel road. Gravel road of diminishing quality the further we drove.  Roger Cesario and his Camp Jack greeting us at his gate, and we followed him into the lodge.

We spent the rest of the day getting organized, meeting the four other hunters in camp (Larry, Larry, Justin, and ?), most of the guides, and Joni, the camp cook. Speaking of camp cook...we enjoyed a steak dinner, potato and salad sides, and apple pie. A great indication of the food to come the rest of our stay.

Great star-lit tonight...heading to bed soon now. And speaking of bed, Dad and Tom have a room in the lodge, and Josh and I agreed to take the wall tent in the photo shown. All good.

Hopefully tomorrow's update includes an elk harvest story!

Day 1 - First Travel Day

Here we go! One pickup truck with the bed full of guns, ammo, and camo gear; one 16 foot enclosed trailer with the floor nearly full of coolers and more gear; and four guys anxiously awaiting the start of their Colorado elk hunt. Departure from Oconomowoc - 5:10AM. 

Uneventful trip today...this is a good thing. If you are loyal follower of the StraightBolt Blog, you know that we have had occasion when car trouble has caused major delays to our journey west. Not today. Dad took the first shift, getting us west of Cedar Rapids, . I took the second shift, getting us just west of Omaha, NE. Josh took the third leg, getting us into west-central nowhere Nebraska, and Tom took the final leg, getting us to our destination for the day...Hampton Inn, Fort Morgan, Colorado.

The Hampton Inn just happens to be right next door to what we believe to be a shit processing plant (or something like that), which emits a disgusting aroma that seems to have permeated everything we own!  So while I am not sure the elk of west-central Colorado will appreciate the odor, I don't believe they will think we smell like humans.

Uneventful trip otherwise. Weather was great....50-60 degrees, a light rain in Nebraska. A few road construction delays extended the time of our trip from the anticipated 14 hours to 15 hours. Long day but anticipation has a way of making everything good (i.e we are all still getting along). After dinner at the Mav Tap House, we retired early, and will hit the road Friday morning by 7:00.

One week to departure...

October 21, 2022. Less than a week from today we will be heading west, full of the anticipation that dominates one's emotions before a big trip like this.  If something changed on our timeline, and we all had to leave tomorrow instead, we would be ready.  I am already mostly packed, and I believe Dad, Tom, and Josh are as well.

We have decided to drive out in Dad's truck (the 2016 Dodge Ram Rebel), thinking that the 5.7 liter Hemi engine will be needed to haul four men, all their gear, and a 12 foot enclosed trailer (Josh's) through the mountains of central Colorado. Departure time on OCT 27 will be 6:00am.

We have all been to the shooting range at least once, and are going again this weekend. On our first visit, Dad only needed five shots to provide him with the assurance that his old trusty .270 is shooting straight. Confidence in your rifle and your ability to shoot it is a big key to success on these hunts.

Current weather in west central Colorado is very similar to home...50 by day, upper 20's by night. That said, the first winter storm warning was issued just this morning for the area of our hunt. The mountains above 9000 feet could see 8-12 inches of snow. Sheep Park Lodge, our outfitters camp, sits at 8200 feet.  The timing of this storm couldn't be better, as it will start to force the elk down from the 9000-11,000 foot elevations into our areas. 

That's it for now...our next post will be on our first travel day as we head west.