Haven't posted much lately as I am prepping for my first trip to CO for ELK! I have spent most every evening climbing "my hill" with my pack, making arrows, sharpening broadheads, shooting in new strings and gathering up my gear. My friend Scott from Ohio is meeting me here in IN on the 30th and we head west the next morning.
The area we are headed to has an over abundance of Black Bear and we already have our tags. Will pick up our Elk tags once we get there. So much to get done and time is getting short. I will fill you all in when I get back and try to update on my prep as I find time. I hope to come home with some meat, but full coolers or not, the trip will be a success!
Mike
Good luck!
Good luck to you!
F-Manny
Best of luck Mike, it should be a grand adventure, hope you score a big one. I've been wanting to get out there for years.
Which unit are you heading to? I've heard there were some big fires near Colorado Springs not long ago.
Good luck!
Bisch
Good Luck Mike!
I'm sooooo jealous. Good luck!
Kingsnake
Good luck, your gonna love it!
Enjoy every minute!
Get a big one Mike! When you get home, get hold of Kenny Bayless, the outdoor writer for the Trib-star, he may well do a story about the trip. Feel free to drop my name. Jim
Go get em mike , knock one down for us lefties! ;) have a blessed trip
Good Luck, I leave Sept. 6 for my 1st elk hunt also.
Cory
Dude, don't do it! You'll never be the same...
Good luck, it is gonna be awesome!
(http://i1121.photobucket.com/albums/l502/MrDwood/DSCN0934.jpg) (http://s1121.photobucket.com/user/MrDwood/media/DSCN0934.jpg.html)
(http://i1121.photobucket.com/albums/l502/MrDwood/DSCN0921.jpg) (http://s1121.photobucket.com/user/MrDwood/media/DSCN0921.jpg.html)
(http://i1121.photobucket.com/albums/l502/MrDwood/DSCN0956.jpg) (http://s1121.photobucket.com/user/MrDwood/media/DSCN0956.jpg.html)
A little scenery primer for ya.
Where u headed? I'm still gotta wait another 30 days to head to sw Colorado. Good luck
CK
Happy hunting!
Shoot a big one...heck, shoot ANY one!
Good luck. I'm jealous! I've dreamt about an elk trip for years. I wish you the best.
I'll be on the road headed to Utah that same day.
Wave if you see us! :wavey:
I hope you have a great trip - a first elk hunt can be a life changing experience!
Good luck Mike!
All the best!!
chris <><
Good Luck Mike....I'm heading just west of Telluride on September 1st. Make sure you shoot me a PM when you return.
Tim
Good luck to ya Mike, elk hunting is the best, I hope your hunt is full of bugles and cows chirping. Be safe !
"Rocky Mt. high...Coloradoooo"......go get 'em!
good luck
I'd be willing to bet it won't be your last either!! Good luck and shoot str8!
Steve
Thanks to all for the well wishes! I am going to unit 42/43 near Silt. Just checked in while grabbing a bite for supper...........back to the arrow bench!
Mike
best of luck
Good luck Mike, a friend and I are leaving for the same area middle of next week,I also have a bear tag :) . Maybe our paths will cross since I always enjoy meeting new friends.
good luck.. you will love the country and the sound of a love sick bull elk is unbelievable..
Awesome! Best wishes to you and your bud. I dream of someday doing what you're doing in CO. Enjoy the scenery but most of all, BE CAREFUL.
:wavey: :thumbsup: :pray: :shaka:
good luck. nothing like elk hunting.
diddo... and take it slow and relax. Don't get sucked into rushing. Its big country and can be brutal.
Also, its so addictive, it should come with a warning label. :)
Jeff
Mike, post what you can so dreamers like me can learn form your experience... I hope to head out there in a year or two. Good luck, enjoy the hunt!
I finally got to put my new tent up, got a half dozen broadheads in the mail to get sharpened and mounted. Off tomorrow so I hope to get some more things in order and packed for the trip.
I will definitely take it easy when I hit the mountains. Even with working out, it is clear to me that "I ain't as good as I once was"! I'll be 58 in October and I just don't heal/recover like I used to.
As a young man, my biggest problem bowhunting was moving slowly and setting still. Well, after 36 years as a pipefitter, 2 ankle, 2 knee and 2 foot surgeries I just naturally move slower and setting still comes much more easily! :bigsmyl:
Mike
Good luck! You're gonna have a blast! The first Traditional is the best! When your hunt is over you'll wanna move out here to the west!
Good luck and be safe Mike.
Tom
Good luck to you and your buddy! Elk hunting is addictive.....first trip in '70 and still remember it well. You will never forget your first! Be sure to keep us informed about your hunt. My elk retirement hunt was in 2011. Now I like to hear the stories from those that can still hunt the mountains.
.............well, the last bit of gear is in a pile and tomorrow will be "packing day". Get everything into totes or duffles. Shoot my brooadheads, then final the sharpening of my broadheads. Then it's just a matter of shooting every eveing and double checking my gear. I really think that the prep is a big part of the fun!! Mike
good luck...save sharpening the heads till you get there...its a way to chill out...
be ready for the elevation...drink lots of water...headaches are generally from low landers dehydrating...avoid walking and talking at the same time...LOL...
aspens should be starting to turn...Elk start buging anytime after Septenber 1...cold fronts are a good thing if that happens...
have a great trip...be ready for success...but enjoy yourself most importantly...
Go get em Mike. Good luck!
packing for the trip is alot of the fun. good luck
good luck, savour the experience
Good luck Mike. Look forward to the stories!!
6 days now. Best of luck, have a safe trip and a great Hunt!
Good luck guys
I hunted around Silt and Rifle in 09 first week of the season and had some action. I was planing on going this year on a DIYS hunt but my Lyme disease has been killing me. Starting to feel a little better so I might do a last minute decision. :knothead:
Got my first elk last Labor Day, 2 minutes later missed a bear, I was still shaking so bad. South central Colorado.
Good for you Mike !!
Let us know how you go buddy.
ak.
GOODLUCK take lots of pics!!!
QuoteOriginally posted by Mike Bolin:
...I will definitely take it easy when I hit the mountains. Even with working out, it is clear to me that "I ain't as good as I once was"! I'll be 58 in October and I just don't heal/recover like I used to. ...
Hi Mike. 54 years old here and I have a couple tricks that may help you. Once you have climbed to your elevation or are hunting mid-slope, try to stay on one contour as much as possible, whenever you can.
Even if you have to go a little out of your way, its often better in the long run than hiking up and down just to cross a small drainage or gully.
Those up and downs will add up and kill you, so use your legs wisely.
I also try to be aware of the siren song of the down hill stalk... its real easy to float down a long way. Then you then have to climb it out. And up is much harder on you obviously.
So choose wisely my friend!
Good luck
Joshua
The mountains do indeed get taller every year, but being in elk country is well worth some boot leather and sweat. Have fun, and know that chasing elk is an addiction.
Good luck.
My buddy Scott let me know that he has the 30th off from work so we are leaving a day early!!! I am ready to go now. Been a long time since I've been this excited! Mike
:thumbsup: Good luck buddy!
Almost here..good luck!!
Good luck Mike! Taking the PL3, or the whole herd (lol!)?
Good luck to you Mike! :archer2:
Good luck and have fun. :archer:
Thanks again for all the well wishes!
Ken, the PL3 will be my "primary" with the PL2 waiting in the wings.........
Well, we're back. Neither Scott nor myself came home with any meat or antlers. This trip was a real learning experience for me. Even though I knew better and several tradgangers advised that I should take it easy, I just plain overdid it on the first day!
We arrived at camp on the afternoon of the 31st and got our tents up and gear sorted and ready to go. Our Silt connection, Dick Railsback suggested that we wait until daylight to head out so that he could point out some landmarks as we headed out to a waterhole. A bit after daylight we headed up Van Mountain.
I was definitely sucking for air on the hike up. If I remember correctly, we went from around 8000' to over 9500'....could be wrong on that, but it felt like a lot more than that! All told it was around a 2.5 mile hike one way. My pal Scott handled the hike better than me and our friend Dick at least acted like he was tired to make me feel better.
We arrived at the waterhole at around 9:30. Dick told me he was going on up the mountain a little more than a mile and would be back around noon. He figured we should set on this waterhole until he came back. Scott set up on the south side of the waterhole and I set up on the west side. Neither of us really didn't have any idea as to where the elk might come from as the entire area was littered with trails and sign. I had not even got my gear sorted from my pack when I looked up to see a cow elk staring at me from 25-30 yards!!
I was caught unprepared.....bow on the ground, no arrow nocked and in a position I couldn't shoot from, even if I had been ready. I slowly lowered my head and hoped that Scott might have a shot. Scott held off in hopes that the elk would move on into water and that we both might get a chance.
The lead cow that was watching me turned away and trotted a few steps back in the direction that she came from. There were 6 elk in all-three cows, a calf, a spike and what I think was a forked horn or 3x3. They headed onto the south at a fairly slow pace, so I just hoped that they weren't spooked too bad.
Come on Michael.....keep it coming! :(
By noon, neither of us had seen anymore game. A trailcam place on this waterhole had shown not only Elk, but several Black Bear, including a sow with triplets! As it was noon, we were expecting Dick to be back anytime. A thunderstorm moved in and we hung my poncho between 4 trees and waited the storm out.
2:45 and Dick had not shown up at the waterhole. Under normal circumstances I would not have been concerned, but during one of our last phone conversations, Dick was telling me about his latest scouting trip and then casually mentioned he had gotten a heart stint put in a week or so ago! Well, I am not a doctor, but Scott is a nurse and we were starting to get a bit concerned. As it turned out, Dick had hit some fresh Elk sign not too long after he had left us. It seems that while following the fresh sign, he became a bit "bewildered"......not lost mind you!! At around 4:00 he showed back up and we decided to head back down toward camp. Starting down the mountain, I soon realized I was going to have some "issues"!!
36 years of heavy construction and several years of sports have taken their toll on my knees. As soon as we started our descent, the pain began. While climbing, I had no issues with knee pain. Out of breath for sure, but no pain issues. Every step toward camp was painful. No ACL and not much cartilage in either knee was really taking the fun out of this. I should have dropped off somewhere on the way up and worked into this more gradually, but it was a bit late to worry about it now. Whenever we came to a place where there was a log crossing the trail (and there were several), I actually had to turn around backwards, bend until my hands touched the ground and lower myself to the ground on the downhill side of the log. As much as my knees hurt, my pride hurt even more!
After that level of exertion, Mike, I wonder if the long sit and then rain might have played into your discomfort...?
Amazing how some of us were born without a fuel gauge! We do not know when we're running on fumes and keep pushing till we clog the injectors!
Sorry it was a trial, but what an experience, eh? :)
Mike's a good guy to hunt with, I'm already making plans for Mike and Groundhawg episode 2.
Yep the downhills hurt a hell of a lot more than the uphills for me. I was 31 on my first elk hunt and did about what you did. After 3 days I was shot but suffered through 3 more days. It was still a great hunt. I hope yours was too.
Yes it was a grand experience and I am planning for "part 2". We had a lot of high daytime temps with a shower in the the afternoon or evening most everyday. Starting on Monday, the rain was pretty much a constant. Most of the trails we were traveling on were becoming nearly impossible to travel on. Paul, Dick's nephew fell several times on the way down the mountain on Monday afternoon. Tuesday morning was cloudy with the promise of more rain, so we decided to pack up and head on back to Indiana/Ohio.
We seemed to get into Mule Deer everyday. I had a doe bed down just 3 yards in front of me for about 45 minutes....she never had any idea I was hidden there among the pine boughs. Seemed that if we hunted behind camp, we would glass Elk on the next mountain to the east. If we hunted the mountain east of camp, we would glass Elk behind camp!
Still, it was great experience and both Scott and I made some new friends. Dick, his brothers Dean and John and his nephew Paul all treated us like family and I look forward to making the trip west again as soon as I can.
Mike
Did anybody else pick up on the fact that Mike's poncho is big enough to string between 4 trees? ;)
Glad you have a good time Mike. Chatted with Scott the other night, he filled me in on your adventure, but failed to mention your giant poncho--
PJ, those trees were only 8' apart! :rolleyes:
Mike -Glad you and Scott didn't drag me thru the coals to bad! Hope you 2 can get back and we will do it again,,, Your new pal .. Dick
PJ have you seen scott??? it would take a LARGE poncho,,,,, Great guys to spend a week with,, lots of laughs,, plus Scott can COOK!!! Dick
Says our "bewildered" guide.
Eat my food, drink my espresso and talk bad about me in public. Already adjusting plans for the next trip. :bigsmyl: