BBBBBEEEEEAAAUUUUTTTIIIIFFFUUUUULLLLLLLLLL!!

Man, you just GOTTA love the white stuff!

SNOW - my favorite four letter word!

Bring it on BABY - YEA!

Shoot straight, Shinken

Don't leave us hanging!
GLENN

I'm tired but I'll keep going.  Our plan on this day was to split up and sit on the park hoping to lay eyes on the bulls (and hopefully their cows) that we had heard the day before.  We each sat all day with no sign or sound of an elk to be found.

Here is the park where I sat


Again, I live in Oklahoma and hunting in the snow is a novelty to me, but it was obvious that something had changed.

On Tuesday, Steve planned to sit again hoping that the weather would break.  Tim and I stayed together and slowly made our way completely around this drainage.  It took us all day but we did it.  Sadly, we only managed to cut two single sets of elk tracks in the wet snow which continued to fall for the entire third day in a row.  The temperature hovered near 30 degrees so it wasn't bitterly cold but if you are tent camping, it's hard to dry out and that made it somewhat uncomfortable.  

for your entertainment, here's a picture of me

This is what we returned to Tuesday evening.  Tim and Steve are standing next to our collapsed tent.  We cleared it off and cooked dinner.  

After some soul searching, we agreed that this would be a good night to get a room in town for some restful sleep and a hot shower.  We decided not to utilize Steve's "cabin" as it would be more than an hour and a half drive and we honestly didn't want to wait that long.

Your candor and enthusiasm are making this a very enjoyable story. I am loving your first elk hunt.

Brian as soon as i saw Elk and someone from OK, i was hooked!!! I live in Moore, OK and my dream hunt has always been one like yours...i will definately be keeping up with what you write!

Cant wait to read more after you get some rest!

Thank you for sharing and congrats on following your dream!

Lance

Most excellent story writing! Classic tale too. Looking forward to the rest of it.

great job, but do I have to shut the hot water off to your shower (like I do to my teenage daughter) so you can get on with you Colorado Adventure?  

Excellent writing - I'll be with you until the end on this one!  
I think it is already obvious that elkaddiction has claimed another victim.  There is no cure outside of visiting the mountains in September....

It is a great time to be an elk hunter.  Continue...

Thanks for sharing your story!  i'm still waiting on my first trip.  The pictures are great!

Your killing me keep it comming.

And???      :rolleyes:    :D    :D

Great Story by the way...      

I'm lovin this, haven't been since 2000, I gotta get back in  the mountains.

OK, I'm back.  Alright, we're in town with a warm bed and a shower.  I've got to say that we're all a little concerned that our elk have moved on with the snow.  Everybody we talked to is excited about the early snow.  The guy at the motel asks what were hunting... when we reply "elk" he smiles and says "this snow should really push them down."  Guy in the cafe says, "this snow will really move those elk down".

We begin to wonder.... where the heck is "DOWN" and how do we get permission to hunt there?

We take Wednesday morning off and try to decide on a new location.  We study the maps and opt to move our base camp to a second location where we might be able to head em off.  We decide to do a little fishing on the way back to camp.  We stop in at the local fly shop. You guessed it- "the elk should really be moving DOWN".  We did manage to get the lowdown on a good trout lake in the area and off we went.




The fishing was pretty good and we had to work around a slot limit but we did manage to pick out three good ones for dinner.  Back to camp, tear it down and make the move.

We got back to camp at about 1400 hrs and quickly packed it up.  We moved to another drainage about 4-5 miles away and reset it.  Ready to go in about 2 hours.  We used the rest of the day to explore the area.  On my way back to base camp 2, I spotted movement on the side of the road.  When I reallized they were grouse, they were already climbing away.  I pulled out my judo arrows and dropped my pack and quiver- up the hill I went.

I made it back with one less arrow and not one, but two grouse.  Steve was with me and he managed to get one too.  This had been a great day and things were really shaping up.



When I was a kid, there was a place in Wagoner, Oklahoma called Bob's fish and fowl.  This is Brian's version:

I forgot to mention that the snow has finally stopped and is beginning to fade away.

Alright, Thursday morning:
We drove to the top of the mountain and split up each working downward toward camp.  There were several fresh tracks in the snow and hopes were high.

I cut across several very fresh tracks that were heading in my general direction.  I stayed uphill and slowly began to follow them.  The area I was hunting was recently clear cut and the new growth trees were approximately 12-14 ft high and thick.  The elk seemed to be following the edge of the new growth timber staying just inside the mature forest.

My plan was to sneak through the thick stuff and peek out every 50-100 yards.  This worked well, so far, and I was in no hurry.  At 1:18 (I checked) I heard a noise directly in front of me.  I stood still and heard it again, this time I was sure that it was a cow elk mewing.  I can't see it but it's close.  I drop to my hands and knees and sit.  I checked the wind which was almost still but drifting slowly downhill.  I was OK for now as the elk was level with me straight ahead.

I am now slow crawling through the new growth desperately trying to locate the noise maker which is now within 60-75 yards of me.

I'm maybe 10 yards from where I started and at least that far from being able to see well out into the open forest when Murphy strikes.

A loud snort or blow or whatever the technical term is sounds immediately to my left.  Apparently I was between several elk and the wind got me.  I don't know exactly how many there were but I could see two run from in front of me and the unseen snorter makes at least three.  Looking back, I should have circled way around and got in front of them and made a stand because I knew the direction they were traveling.  Live and learn.