Hunt 2005 - Opening Day

Last year the only time Dalton seen an elk of any kind was at a spot we call the towers. So this year he was gung-ho to hunt there on opening morning. Dave had his son Justin with him so he decided to hunt the 'spoons and Steve had Dave's nephew with him (Jason) so they went to the end of the road. We call this area Texas because for a lot of years a group of Texans would camp here. Remember Texas as it will come up again later.

Dalton and I hiked the stairway to heaven up to our special spot. We arrived before shooting light which was perfect. Some other hunters had passed us on the road, but we got ready and started hiking the trail before them.

After 90 minutes of sitting we hadn't seen any movement or heard any shots. I could see other hunters walking the ridges above us, so if there were elk someone would be shooting. Then I saw an elk that must have been 600 yards away. With such a long shot and low light, I couldn't tell if it was a bull or a cow.

By now the morning is old and we decide to go on a little hunt. The weather was quite cold and my shivvering was to a point that I would have trouble shooting anyway. Dalton decided to walk the ridge as I went through the middle of the valley. Hopefully I would push something out and he could get a shot.

After about an hours worth of walking, I jumped a nice little rag horn bull! I had no chance to get him in my scope because of all the damn pinion trees. The pinions are so thick here and the terrain so rugged that hunting is difficult. Maybe thats why not many people hunt this area, but there are always elk. I tried to get to a clearing where I could see him, but never seen hide or hair again. Hours of waiting followed by a split second chance.

I hunted for him for about an hour, but to no avail. I decided to meet up with Dalton by Dalton's rock and discuss our next move. Dalton and I agreed to spend the afternoon chasing this little bull and see what happened.

I went low in the valley and Dalton picked the middle. We picked out a hill top to meet at in two hours. I worked my way slowly over to the hill, but no sign of Dalton. No sign of the bull either for that matter. Finally I radioed D and he said he lost his glasses. I humped it up to where he was to help him look.

Finding a pair of glasses in the woods is, as you might guess, an impossible task. Going off a description of where he left them, I got very lucky and found the damn things. By now that bull could be in the next county, so we decided to head back to our spot for the evening hunt.

As the evening hunt wore on, no sign of elk. We were getting ready to leave and what happens? Dalton loses his glasses again! This time I found them on the trail, but one lense was missing. We hunted until well into the dark, but never found it. I guess he hunts the rest of the season without them.

We huffed back to the ATV and down the road to pick up Matt. Matt was going to hunt with us on Sunday only, since he had school all week.

Day One: 2 elk seen, no shots.