Its almost surreal to sit here ready to tell the story of our hunt. Surreal that after 3 yrs of dreaming and planning, and 22 days in the backcountry, its over. Done. But what a trip it turned in to. Something very special, so uplifting, and a broken heart at the end. Lets get started....
We departed for Colorados Raggeds Wilderness on 8-22, arriving at the trailhead the afternoon of the 23rd, having stopped to visit with a couple of friends along the way. the ride up to the trailhead was a winding road with awesome views of the mountains,Alex was loving every twist in the road as it afforded him another spectacular view.
we pulled into the trailhead, finding a few other campers, mostly folks riding horses etc. We set up our small spike camp tent, a Kifaru Paratipi, for the night, gathered some firewood and sat around the campfire taking in the cool evening air and glad to be out of the truck.
We hit the sack early, with plans to scout out a good area for our basecamp, pack in our gear then return for the base camp tent. Morning arrived early enough, I woke before Alex, got the fire going and heated some water for coffee.
Waiting for him to craawl out, I quietly sipped my coffee,taking in the cool morning air and looking over my topo maps again.
Alex awoke, and after organizing some of our gear, we hit the trail up into the raggeds in search of a good spot for base camp. From there we would be doing bivy trips of 2-5 days in search of elk, so we wanted it in a good location.
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I noticed soon enough once on the trail that there was no shortage of horseback riders and day hikers. Not what I was expecting, but they tpically stay on the trails, so I wasnt too concerned at this point.
The thin air at 9,000' told us to go easy, which was hard as the trail got steep in a hurry. We worked up the trail, finding a sweet looking area consisting of a large pond with a great view of Marcelina Mountain. After looking it over, we decided it was too close to the trailhead, and continued on.
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After a steep climb through a rock slide and a series of aspen benches, we found a nice spot just off the trail on a bench of quakies.While our view of Marcellina was blocked, the site afforded shade, protection from high winds, abundant firewood, and a small stream of crystal clear water nearby. We dropped our packs, set up the spike tent and emptied our hunting gear into the tent. Alex, being the typical teen, was hungry, and waited anxiously while I dug out the stove to heat some water and made lunch.
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We ate some hot granola for breakfast, rested for a few , then headed back down to the truck to get the big tent and the rest of our supplies. This was probably a bit ambitious for the first day at that altitude, but we got it done, and by the time we got back, and got camp set up, we were exhausted.
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:campfire:
:coffee:
Sweet camp! I'll be watching this one unfold!
:thumbsup: :thumbsup:
It's great that you are of that magic age when you are still able to do this physically and your son is old enough to haul a man's load.
We slept in the next morning,still trying to catch up for the lack of sleep from a straight thru 24 hr drive. We headed the 1.5 miles down to the truck, went in to Crested Butte to make a couple final phone calls, then returned to camp. I packed in the Zodi showerm as well as a good cache of food. The shower was worth the effort, after a few days out on a bivy, a warm shower was awesome. We did wah up ina few cold creeks as well, which is...well.....invigorating!
So our base camp was a cozy setup with a traditional atmosphere, and a few comforts as well. Lets just say the cold creek nearby doubles as a pretty good cooler, and an ice cold beer after a long day on the trail sure tastes good. espcially as the mid day temps were running in the mid-80's.
The following morning we set out in search of elk. While we still had a couple days before the season opened, getting the lay of the land and locating some elk was our priority. We followed the forest service trail north, and came across a couple of rocky overlooks into the region. The view was breathtaking. Seeing the look on Alex's face as he took in his first really big dose of Rocky Mountain heaven was worth the trip alone.
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We explored several areas about 1/2-1 mile north of base camp, but no elk sign. At least nothing fresh. Talking with some horse riders, we learned there was a large flock of sheep grazing in the area, which explained a couple areas we scouted that were trampled and severely grazed over. Not a good sign, as elk will typically move out of areas occupied by an abundance of sheep. We continued looking the area over,but decided to set up our spike camp near the rocky overlook to spend the evening glassing.
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While the view from here was awesome, a couple of elk filling my bino's would go a long way to dressing it up a bit more. We glassed until dark, prepared a hot mountain house for dinner then retreated to the tent and a warm bag for the night. AS we lay inthe tent, the sounds of coyotes on the hunt filled our ears. I have no use for coyotes, but I do enjoy listening to them howl at night.
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Reddogge- you are right. Alex is a big tough kid, and as you'll see here as this unfolds, he can buck up and carry some pretty good loads. But while hes 30 yrs younger, I kept up with him pretty good most of the trip, and hauled a couple good loads myself. Of course I may have had more aches and pains doing it, but I didnt tell him that!
Major cool! Nice tent too.
This is going to be a good one. :campfire:
:campfire:
Great story so far. Thanks for sharing. The prep thread before you hunt has got me all fired up to go next year.
Great story, cant wait to see how it turns out.
Dan
Every trail leads somewhere, every turn afords a new view, new possibilities, and new challenges.
Through vast benches of quaking aspens, parks awash with wild flowers, through dark timber full of chattering squirrels busily stashing away pine cones, across creek after creek. We spent the next several days walking,crawling or climbing through it. We spike camped several miles in from base camp in a patch of dark timber as our search for elk continued. Opening day had came and went, yet we still had yet to find anything to reward our efforts.
As I've often told my son, nothing good comes easy, and we obviously were going to have to put our work in on this one. The first week temps were very warm. A late spring and a wet summer resulted in a lot of lush green grass high up the mountains. The elk were scattered, with abundant food and water. Coupled wsith the pressure of the sheep in the area, this was gonna be tough. We headed into an area of beaer ponds one day, and with over a dozen ponds in this area, not a single track of elk.
Beaver sure are some ingenious creatures. We were able to see several ponds in varying stages of construction. Simply amazing little rodents they are. Ambitious too, we found a couple trees probably 20-24" diameter gnawed down and dropped. Really makes ya wonder what the beaver was thinking he was gonna do with it once he dropped it. Mule deer tracks were about all we found. It was getting hot, and we followed the creek feedingthe ponds into an area shaded with pines. We found an old campsite along the creek.
Several quakies were carved with dates someone had previously killed elk here. We ate lunch, refilled our water bladders, and washed up in the cold creek water.
This was a really cool place, one Im sure should hold elk, yet they were absent. Nearby benches told us the story-sheep had been in here recently and cleaned house. we slipped through bench after bench of quakies that had the ndergrowth completely grazed out and trampled. finally after a few days of this, it was time to make a move. But to where?
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we snapped these pics as we entered into the Ragged Wilderness. we hung our longbows on the signpost. After reading the sign, Alex commented- "ha-nothing with wheels Dad. We're good to go. "
We got a good chuckle out of that.
We met some super nice folks along the way. non hunting locals hiking the forest service trails, there were many who commented to us, when seeing our traditional bows, how impressed they were that we were hunting the hard way. One fella told me we were hard core- I laughed,as I had my Hard Core Traditional T-shirt back at base camp.
While we continued in our search, we were blessed to experience this wilderness up close and personal. One thing that really bothered me about along the forest service trail is the amount of trees carved up by selfish morons who seem to think anyone else would care if they were there or not. Grafiti with a knife. But on the flip side of that, we found, like our base camp location- there were many old sheepherder or cowboy camp sites. The oldest we found carved into the tree was 1903. At our base camp, a sheepherders campsite, the oldest was 1942. We found old horseshoes nailed to a tree, and Alex found and old boot spur. An area rich with the heritage of the early west. far better to be up to your knees in it, than to read about it in some book in a classroom. Living in these same mountains, one can get a true sense of the hardships faced by our ancestors as they settled into the western states.
I love the raggeds. Awesome place. keep that story comin. I'm heading out for a weekend elk adventure right now so i will have to wait til monday to finish it.
We spent almost 10 days stomping the Raggeds. Onething was clear to me, sheep, and too many people,resulting in not a single elk seen or heard. No fresh sign. Nothing. we returned to base camp once again, with plans to move across the road into the West Elk wilderness. we spent a relaxing evening in the big tent, a hot meal, cozy campfire, and a splash of bourbon in my tin cup sure tasted good. Alex got a nice little fire going, and we enjoyed a comfy night.
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the following day we packed our gear, headed for the trailhead and went in to town for a call home and to pick upa few things. We spent some time exploring the town, and got us a good meal at the brick oven pizza pub in town. On the hike out, we bumped in to the sheepherder. Language barrier aside, I learned he had seen elk up high above his flock of sheep. we decided we would check it out the next day. We climbed a steep trail up, but even with his directions all we found were sheep everywhere. Not wanting to get into a tangle with the big guard dogs, we descended before dark. On the way down we were about run over by a mountain biker while glassing a mule deer across a draw. this particular trail was open to bikers, and they for the most part think they own the trail.
I dont have any problems with non hunting participants in outdoor recreation, but mountain bikers, dressed up like some sort of spandex elves, flying down trails oblivious to anyone else on the trail tend to get my blood pressure up. Enough is enough, we were done with the Raggeds.
At the trailhead, we met a nice couple camping. Hubby was bowhunting muleys, and his wife hangin out and doing a little fishing. We got to talking, and it turns out he was originally from Michigan, and moved to CO after college. He said he'd be more than happy to help a couple MI boys out, and he marked several spots on my topo whre he had seen elk while deer hunting across the road on E. Beckwith. Our spirits lifted, and plans were laid for chapter 2.
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getting good loyd
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There is something about immersing yourself so deep in such beautiful country that you really realize just how small, and how insignificant you are on this planet. we ventured up on to a bench that we almost missed. Once on top, we found a scree covered flat, with a smattering of pines and short scrub oak. the view was immense. I stood there, with views of every mountain in a 360 degree panorama,speechless. It was so beautiful, no words could describe it, no picture could capture it. we stood there, soaking it all in. This was why we came. Sure, the elk lured us in, but the view - thats what makes you come back time and again, to push yourself to the physical limits. to dwell deep within some of Gods greatest creation. We soaked it up, but since there was no elk sign, we continued on our search. Just being able to stand in such a place, I'm a lucky man.
"I'm a lucky man..."
You can say that again.... as there is nothing like hunting the CO back country, longbow in hand and fine company to boot.
Cool pics..
ak.
Very nice John!! Great pics and story so far. Thanks for taking us along
The next morning we struck out for our new area. We climbed from the trailhead up towards Beckwith Pass, about an 1100' ascent over roughly 1.5 miles. We stopped just short ofthe pass to set a spike camp, then after lunch we finished the rest of the climb up tothe pass. From here the view was again spectacular, and dropping over the other side puts you in the West elk Wilderness. Here we stood between 2 wilderness areas, with the views all around to go with it. We climbed a little higher to a grassy bench that afforded us a good view of the many alpine meadows that intermied with stands of dark timber. we settled in to glass the remaining hours.
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After we returned to our little spike camp, plans were made to slowly slip in and out of cover along and through the checkboard of parks and meadows, hunting our way down to an area of quakies to a knob where we were told elk had been hanging out. Wwe awoke before light to the sound of rain hammering on the tent. Not what we wanted. We slept for another hour, and headed out into a light drizzle. The clouds hung low on the peak of Beckwith, and the sky told me it was likely to be an all day rain. Oh well.
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We worked our way down the mtn. towards the benches of aspens, as the rain picked up, died down, and picked up again. It was gonna be a wet day,even with rain gear. I dont like to wear rain pants unless I have to as theyre too noisy to stalk quietly in the silent drizzly rain.
We reached our area, soon enough Alex spotted a mule deer doe feeding about 60 yds from us. I told him to put a stalk on her for practice( while I stayed out of the rain and munched a little trail mix and watched. He did pretty good, butshe dropped over a rise and disappeared. Im guessing he got within 35 yds.
We continued working through the area, stopping in coverwhen the rain picked up, settting up and doing a little soft cow calling here and there and enjoying the cool damp conditions. I love hunting when its like that.
We reached the area Rich told us to find, but by now it was really starting to come down. Our boots were squishing water out with each step, and it was gedtting to the point shooting anything would be irresponsible as the rain would quickly destroy and bloodtrail. We waited it out for a while, but to no avail. Looking at the map, we were actually closer to the truck than our spike camp so we decided to slip down there and get some dry clothes to take back to spike camp. It was gonna be a long day climbing back upthere. As we started acrss and down towards the truck, it got steep, and we were slipping and sliding trying to keep our feet under us.
Somewhere along the way, I looked ahead and slammed on the brakes. Right below me about 18 yds and maybe 25 down below was an ELK! A cow and calf were working along a trail beneath us.
Now typically, when you see an anumal in bow range, you see everything but the chest. This was exactly the opposite. She was behind brush everywhere but here chest, and I had a nice sized hole to slip an arrow through. Problem was, she was looking right at me. We all stood still, as I s-l-o-w-l-y reached for an arrow. I didnt think I was gonna get a shot off, and unfortunately I was right. Just as I started to pull a shaft out of my GFA quiver, they bolted. At this point it wasnt raining much, so I figured if I can get a shot at that range, I'lltake it. My sons eyes were as big as dinner plates. " Holy crap- those things are huge Dad"!
As elk tend to do, she ran down and across a patch of cover, then going up the next hill 150 yds across, she paused to look back over her shoulder and stare at us fora few minutes before departing.
After almost 2 weeks, we finally found some elk. We let them drift off for a bit, then continued towards the truck. I looked at the time, and it was 3pm, we were looking at well over an hour down to the truck. when we hit the FS trail, it was pure grease. Not good. it was painfully slow going down. By the time we reached the truck we were drenched, and exhausted. There was no way we could make the ascent back up to spike camp before dark. Trying to run that in the dark was asking to get hurt. So....we changed clothes and decided we'd have to sleep in the truck. Base camp was across the road and 1.5 miles up the other side. We were kinda stuck.
Knowing our base camp was now in a terrible location, we decided to run it to town, wash/dry our muddy clothes, grab a shower at the hostel next door ( $5.00, a bargain!)and then retun to the trailhead till morning.
In the morning, we decided to move our basecamp down to the trailhead. the knob we were working could be hunted from below inthe early morning with the thermals still coming down, which usually help till around 9:30-10:00am, or we could hunt down to thenm from spike camp a little later in the am, or anytime in the afternoon. So if we put BC at the trailhead, we could approach from either camp,and hunt a couple days fromeither one.
Fortunately, before we moved our hunting across the road, we pulled a lot of stuffout of BC, so I was pretty sure we could get it all in one load. I was right, but oh boy was it a load. Alex was less that pleased that the canvas was still fairly wet, but being the good sherpa he is, he shouldered the load and beat feet down the hill. (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v284/autumnarcher/100_1736.jpg)
He carried the tent and fly. I got everything else. I estimated his pack at about 75#, mine at about 70#. Even downhill, it was a load.
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We got down, and reset BC. While we didnt like being so close to the road, it was very comfy, and we could keep some of our gear in the truck.
Plus, beingthe evening temps were getting colder, we could put the bigger woodstove in. So we got it allset up, and for the remainder of the hunt, BC was probably a little too comfy.
This is making for a very nice read. I like how you are being very descriptive. Thank you for bringing us along.
The next morning we were out of camp early, working our way back up to our spike camp at 10,000ft. Glad I was leaving from BC, so I could get a coffee before leaving.
The woodstove stillhad a nice bed of coals when the alarm went off, a few sticks and hot coffee was not far off. We worked our way up, checking parks as we went along. About 2/3 of the way up, Alex spots a sage grouse sitting on a boulder inthe middle of a grassy park. He put a stalk on, and as I watched and videotaped, he drilled a big grouse with a judo point. Bowled her right over and knocked her off the rock! He ran up to retrieve his trophy when I saw a grouse run out from behind the rock and stop. I figured it was the same one he just shot. He quickly popped another arrow out, drew and dead-centered the bird! I thought he had to shoot he same one twice, but he excitedly told me he got 2! After shooting the 2nd, grouse were flushing everywhere,one flew straight at me. I was stuck with my bow in one hand and camera in the other,all I could do is harmlessly swing my bow at one fast mover coming in low, but it easily avoided me.
We were excited we finally got to loose an arrow at something edible! As we breasted out our dinner, I realized all our stuff for cooking grouse was back down at BC! So we bagged them up, continued to go to spike camp to check on it after all the rain, then hunted our way back down. We cooled the grouse in the creek, and it was fine when time came to make dinner. And oh what a dinner it was.
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Great thread so far...loving it!
Some fine shooting Alex, grouse are oh so fun with stick and string says I.
Keep it coming fella's!
:wavey: :notworthy: God bless!!! ;)
Thanks for taking us along :campfire:
After over 2 weeks of pounding the trails and mountains,and thus far sseeing only 2 elk, we were so excited over a couple of grouse it was really electrifying. We laughed and joked,and reveled in Alex's success. Look at the smile on his face- it really says it all.
For the next few days we hunted high and deep,far and wide. Muzzleloader season started, and with it more hunter traffic, although mst ofthem were going over the pass into the West Elk. We met guys from PA,WI, CA, IA, CO. Word was there was another group of trad hunters in the area, but we never crossed paths.
We found a little wlk sign here and there, but with the ellk totally silent, locating them was tough. We were getting tired, our legs especially. We had logged a lot of miles on our boots. This is when elk hunting is at its hardest,when you're physically and mentally exhausted. I was running out of options and ideas, as well as running out of gas. We decided it best to take a couple days off, rest our bodies and our minds and then head in to an area a local told me about over the pass. He used to outfit in there, and said its an area nobody goes. Its nasty. Steep, thick, ugly drainage with a little bowl at the top. He said if we can get up there, we will find elk. It tops out at 11,000 ft. I looked at the map as he circled it. Oh-(*&^%*& thats ugly I told him. He smiled. "Yup" thats where you'll find 'em.
So we decided to rest up and get after it. We went in to town Sunday afternoon to call home etc. I checked my messages, and I read one that literally took my breath away. A complete sucker punch right in the guts,a kid I've known for a few years through Camp WIlderness, and a very close friend of my sons had killed himself. I struggled to catch my breath. Alex was standing outside the truck talking to his mother. I had to tell him. I knew what was goingto happen. But I couldnt avoid it,and I was sick. I made a cople of calls to confirm what I just read. I wanted it to be someones idea of a sick joke. I wanted it to be a bad dream. I wanted it to be a lie. We had just talked to Robert a few days before. How could this be????
I've made it a rule as long as I've raised my kids- I dont keep things from them, and I dont lie to them. They get the truth, whether they want to or not. I treat my boys like men, the kind of men I want them to be. this would be no different. But God I didnt want to do this.
I told Alex. Roberts dead. It didnt go over well as you may all understand. We were both heartbroken. I'll be putting up another thread about this after I finish this one.
We limped back to camp, devastated. Alex and Robert were the first 2 Jr hunter safety instructors at Camp Wilderness. As Alex put it- brothers from another mother. The two of them were 2 peas in a pod.
We spent a long sleepless night talking, crying, being mad, but mostly feeling a big hole in our hearts.
The next day we hung around camp, but Alex was very quiet and withdrawn.I was worried about him. We talked, and finally we shot our bows at some water bottles and broke the tension. It helped a lot. we decided when we got to the pass in the morning, we would pause and launch a few arrows into the timber in Roberts honor. Our friend, our Brother of the Bow was gone. We put our own personal inscription on the arrows, and sent them streaking through the air.
the climb up to the pass flat kicked our butts. we sat for a long time at the pass, and we agreed that our tanks were empty. even if we could make it up into that little bowl at 11,000ft, and even if we killed elk there, getting it out was asking too much of ourselves. We gave it everything we had. But with with tired bodies, and now broken hearts, we knew we were asking too much of ourselves. its a tough thing to do, admit to yourself you're done. but its the right thing. This country isnt very forgiving of mental errors.It beats you down. It makes you realize just how small you are. tempting it only begs for problems.
So we slowly descended to camp. We quietly but quickly broke everything down, and at 4:30 pm we departed for home. the elk beat us, this I know. but we gave it our all, we had a great time, we learned a lot about ourselves, and we spent 22 amazing days chasing dreams.
I'll add to this a few lessons learned a little later. But I'm going to put up another thread about Robert. He was a great young man, shot a longbow ( or anything else) well, and had passion for the outdoors.
I look forward to my next venture after elk. Those who can kill them regularly with a bow have my utmost respect. I'll keep tryin. Chasin dreams, and racing Father Time. AS long as the good Lord allows me to. As I mentioned before, being able to stand in wild places such as this, I'm a lucky lucky man. To do it with my son makes it even better.
Speechless...
Amazing in so many ways...
:campfire:
Great read. Great experience with your son.
Thank you for sharing.
Thank you for sharing your story and beautiful pictures. As a father who just returned last week from Colorado with my son and two of his friends I could feel your excitement. You've done a good job of sharing your passion of hunting the hard way with your son!
Bernie Bjorklund
NC Iowa/SW Wisconsin
Thank you for posting your story and photos.
Great trip, sorry for the sad ending.
Heres a few other pics I forgot to work in.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v284/autumnarcher/100_1782.jpg)
Spotted this brute feeding in the timnber. Alex snuck up close for a shot-with the camera. No deer tags!
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v284/autumnarcher/100_1746.jpg)
This was a shard of pine shrapnel from a lightning strike. I was the size of a 2x6, and I couldnt pull it out of the ground! there were pieces of tree everywhere. Glad I wasnt camped under that one.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v284/autumnarcher/100_1794.jpg)
He must be havin fun, he's smilin in his sleep!
Awesome story. You are a really good dad, and being able to have an experience like that with your son is beyond priceless. Wow.
Sorry to hear about your friend.
I never really understand why people do that. Is such a waste...
sad.
Great time spent together,Sorry about your friend.Thanks for sharing with all of us.
Not much stuff better than a month in the CO high country and grouse & rice!
cool!
Lucky Dad, lucky son! Thanks for taking us along! Beautiful country...
Just reading that from the other side of the world was an emotional roller coaster. Thank you for sharing.
great read- tough country for sure!
John, Sounds like you and Alex had a great Father/Son couple of weeks. Thanks for the great Pics and read. Sorry for your loss.
There were a lot of things I learned along the way on this trip.
First- the area we hunted was recommended to me by a friend who lives in the area. He doesnt hunt it as he guides for an outfitter in a different area of the same unit, but had heard through some of his friends it was a good area.
When we arrived I didnt expect the amount of grazing going on in that area. LESSON- when choosing an area of National Forest/Wilderness Area, contact the local forest service office for info on grazing- heavy grazing can negatively influence elk movements. Ditto for recreational use such as horseback tours,hikers etc. Any wilderness will probably have some of this, but this area seemed to be a particular hotspot.
Heres a tip that worked great for us. Our boots got soaked hunting the real rainy day. even though they are "waterproof", water wicking in around the tops and walking through wet grass all day had them squishing water out of every pore. To dry them, I packed them with newspaper for a couple hours, then before we went to bed I filled them with white rice. By morning, they were barely damp inside, and perfectly wearable.
A 5# bag of rice worked great for one pr of boots.
we took a lot of odds and ends gear along we never used. Keep it very very simple and basic.
We use GFA quivers. While I usually wear it with the feathered end of my arrows up, water getting into the hood caused my Woodsmans to rust a little, which dulled them. Make sure to have the means to touch your broadheads up, and check them often. I like the Woodsman heads, but they sure sseem to dull easily.
String wax- snagging on branches and flowers beats your string up. If you forget string wax, chapstick makes a fair substitute. Keep 'em waxed!
With the amount of time we were out there, I was expecting we would beat our feet up pretty bad. Neither of us had so much as a single hot spot or blister. Good insoles, and good boots are worth their weight in gold. We used Asolo hiker boots,very comfortable boots. Highly recommend them. Along with good boots, good socks! We used Vermont Darn tough wool socks in Med weight. Well worth the cost.
We did not wear any cotton clothing, other than around base camp at night. Im sold on Merino wool base layers. Absolutely the best I've ever worn.
We used Big Agnes Air core inflatable sleeping pads. They are comfy and easy to use. The only problem we had was those, with a nylon sleeping bag was like a slippy=slide. It was tough staying on the pad while sleeping. Need to come up with something to correct that.
As far as our gear, everything performed as expected, with no problems. The only disaapointemnt was the Kifaru Paratipi. Its a quality tent for sure, but its just too small for 2 men, 2 backpacks, bows and quivers. For one person it would be perfect. I'll probably upgrade it to either a sawtooth, or the 6 man tipi. As far as weight, the paratipi is light and easy to pack, but I wouldnt use it for 2 again.
I would also make sure I have topo maps for the surrounding areas. I had a couple, but learning of other areass nearby, I could have used a couple more maps. Im a firm believer in carrying topo maps. The maps on the GPS are helpful, but the screen is too small to use them for more advanced scouting/planning.
Great adventure with your son!
I really enjoyed your hunt. God's peace to you and your son.
Fantastic pictorial and story telling...sometimes, not killing any critters enables you to take in everything around you just a little bit more..awesome country, that Colorado...and thanks for the pointers, I like the white rice idea. Best of luck with the grieving process also.
Wow, really enjoyed this thread, amazing photos and storytelling. I hope to one day be able to do a hunt in Colorado.
Great stuff! Lifetime memories right there.
Purely epic. That story will probably be told for many generations of your family.
Great wrap up summary Ron! Alot of great help here. I'm jealous as I can only hope to take my boy on a trip like this someday.. God Bless!
Mike
Great adventure in CO. Thanks for sharing.
Very sorry to hear about your young friend.
It is always valuable to document your lessons learned! It will make the next hunt all the better.
wow, what a ride. sounds like a great trip until the end. im gonna remember the rice trick as well...
Ron, I enjoyed your account immensely. I live right down the valley from where you hunted, an awesome country for sure. I often go up there to do some fishing, my wife loves it for the photo opps. We hunted nearby, my sons and I (four men that I am so proud of!) We managed two bears and two elk with our traditional longbows. Thanks for putting such an adventure in words. Grizz
Great read. Thanks for the details, I felt like I was there with you both!
I am so sorry you had to endure the tragic news of your friend Robert.
I would love to someday do what you and your son did. Elk hunting in CO would be a dream come true. I just hope I am in good enough shape by the time it comes for me to give it a go.
Great story //great adventure. sounds like a dream hunt game or not!..i am sure although it may not seem so now.something good somehow will result from your tragedy..my prayers are with you and your son as you deal with your loss.
Sorry for your loss. It was a great story and a treasured memory I'm sure.
Awesome trip, thanks for the picts and story.
Thanks for sharing this wonderful experience. Never got to make a trip like that with my sons, I envy you. Truly enjoyed the story. Sorry for your loss will keep you in our prayers.
Great hunt and story! I love hunting with my son-enjoy it while you can!
Great pictures!!!
:campfire:
A trip to envy. Thank you for allowing us to follow along.
Butch L
Hope my son will want to go with me when he gets big enough.
Good on you!
John. Phenomenal story. Perhaps even more meaningful to me as I am 9 days into a 12 day hunt in Colorado (my first in that state). And I have yet to see an elk. Yet, I'm having a great time. Quality company makes all the difference. As I lie here in my sleeping bag typing this on my iPhone, (crazy the places you get reception out here), I think I just heard my first bugle! Let's hope Mt Sopris, the fourth place we'll have tried produces a sighting. Normally I'd be disgusted with myself for surfing the web in the wilderness, but reading others threads and especially yours has helped keep my chin up in a physically and emotionally challenging, but rewarding hunt. Thank you, and so sorry for your loss.
Good luck Steve, I have eyed Mt Sopris every time I pass through Carbondale, wondering. Im anxious to hear your story when you return.
Huge effort, not only in the doing, but in the telling. Thanks for taking us along. Very respectful remembering of your friend, Robert. Sorry for your loss.
Whoa 22 days! Good write, thanks for sharing. Looks like a trip that you both will always remember. :campfire:
Thanks for sharing. Sorry for your loss.Depression is a bad thing for anyone to deal with. RIP Robert
John great story. I was out there with my longbow for 13 days also! The only thing that would have made it better would be to have my sons along!
WOW, thanks. What a trip.
John,
You captured the essense of the hunting experience, a journey that often follows the path you found on your adventure. Life also takes us through many tragic moments where we bear the loss of those whom we care for deeply. Throughout my life there have been too many friends who have felt unable to cope with living and have chosen to end it all. Failing to reach the goal we set for a hunt, despite giving it our all, is a good lesson for all of us, especially your son. Robert probably felt failure to achieve his goals and could not deal with it. Hunting hard with your son and teaching him that things don't always work out as planned is a good way for him to deal with the disappointments he will inevitably face and for showing him that the journey itself, not the destination, is the main objective in our lives. Congratulations on a wonderful time with your son spent in God's beautiful creation. You will both remember that trip for the rest of your lives -- a trophy greater than any other!
Allan
Congrats and thanks for sharing
Great stuff. Thanks.
Wow, what a great adventure. Thank you for sharring.
Incredible thread, thanks for sharing!