2009 Elk Hunt in 6B

Hooray! All ready for the hunt, permit and license in hand, gun ready and excited for the hunt!

The first morning of the hunt we decided to go to Buck Ridge despite the burn in the area, hoping to catch some elk passing through or around the edge. We didn't see anything, but saw some recent sign. It was a beautiful and cold morning, perfect weather. We heard a lot of shooting (which turns out was probably two of my cousins, one to the North and the other to the South) banging away :-).


We started hunting near Secret Mountain, getting the binoculars and glassing what we could see. Pretty thick country. During a hike to a glassing spot we saw this steel box chained to an oak tree. Not sure what it was for, would have been a brutal hike to get it in to where we were at.

Day two of the hunt, we spotted a real nice looking elk at around 800 yards. I'm not comfortable shooting at that range, only much practice to 400. Headed back to the truck to get the spotting scope and Elizabeth (taking a nap) and hurried back to where we spotted him. We hiked to a closer point, which brought us to 600 yards, but he had disappeared, I thought he had bedded down in the thick stuff so on we pressed. Another point and now we were at around 320 yards, nice easy shot, about what I was geared up for. We glassed and glassed but didn't see anything. There was some really thick scrub nearby so I again thought he probably bedded down in it, so off Elizabeth and I went to go push through it while Steve waited to shoot it from the opposite side of the Canyon. After a brutal and exhausting hike down and up the canyon we pushed through the thick stuff, no elk jumped up though. At the time we figured nothing was there (and still aren't sure, but based on later events, he may have just been out of reach).

Anyway, there were some real neat caves where we had hiked to. We couldn't find the really big one (probably 8 feet across, 5 feet tall with squared top, bottom and sides, and deeper than light would let me see). The terrain was brutal and we didn't know which direction it was from us, and didn't want to hike up and down too much due to how steep it was. We got this picture of Elizabeth while were down there near one of the bigger holes in the rock we *did* find.

On the way out Elizabeth spotted this neat rock with a hole in it so she took this picture.



There is a neat Sink Hole near the turn off for Winter Cabin trail that I've driven by countless times over the years, decided to climb down it and get a picture this year :-). We sat in a blind on Friday night, but walking back talked to a guy whose friend built it. He had sat in it for 9 days during the archery hunt but didn't see anything except bears, I still have yet to see one of those out in the woods.


So Friday and Saturday are complete. We headed into town for a super fun Sunday. After Church we spent the afternoon cleaning out the sewer pipe at my parents house. Talking to the guy at the Home Depot he said that Thanksgiving weekend is the busiest time for plumbers, I guess the large loads on old plumbing really takes it toll.

Back on the hunt Monday morning. We decided to go check out Casner Mountain. Unfortunately, you can only get there on foot or quad or motorcycle or horse, pretty much no vehicles. We think a Side by side might be legal too. Anyway, we have none of those except feet, so off we went. It looked about 3 miles as the crow flies, so we figured we could do it. Here I am nice and full of energy on the way in.



It was more difficult than we thought, the road winds up and down, very steep through parts. Saw some neat stuff on the way and could sure smell them in a few parts. We saw this spike that someone shot out on Casner, shame to have all that meat go to waste.


We saw a lot of sign from earlier in the hunt but nothing since the snow that had melted off on Sunday. We decided to head back as we just weren't seeing any fresh sign and didn't want to be making the walk after dark when it was cold. We were getting tired but took a few pics on the way out.



Another relaxing night around the camp fire. We had camped in a pretty remote area which made getting firewood nice and easy with the chainsaw, never had to walk far for it.


Steve and I decided to venture down into Sycamore Canyon on Tuesday. We went in near Dorsey Spring.


Babe Spring was very pretty, might be fun to bring the kids back here when the weather warms up a bit. The spring was built up and a slow trickle of water was coming from it, would have been fun to get a drink, maybe next time :-).


Just a nice shot of the trail. I need a better camera, mine flattens it out too much, the trail is pretty rocky down there and a real pain to hike through with as tired as we were from the day before. For some reason we decided to foot it all the way down to Winter Cabin, but probably would have been wise to come up around Kelsey. My Dad had gotten a shot while we were down here but we didn't know it and were having a reasonably good time, though I think I have firmly embedded in Steve that I am crazy. Who wants to hike/hunt all the way from Dorsey to Winter Cabin on foot? Well, there were a couple guys coming up from Winter Cabin, not sure if they went to Dorsey or Kelsey, but they hadn't had any luck either.


Ahh, sight for sore eyes. Winter Cabin has long been a favorite spot of mine, when you're deep in Sycamore it's a sign you're close, though the trail gets pretty steep from here. Steve and I had a rest here for a bit then parted ways, I went down into the Canyon while he headed up.


Got this nice shot (or shots, stitched together) of Ott Lake while down there. Great place to camp, but I think I've only done it once with Dennis Robbins back in '99. I got a shot at a nice elk down in the canyon that year, found a trace of blood and I tracked it all day. It looked like a small 6 point, but I never could gain any ground. At the time I was shooting some match grade bullets and didn't know much about them, turns out the lead isn't very consistent with expansion. Broke my heart :-(.


I took the panoramics of some good elk country, but those things are hard to find. I usually have luck in this area spotting something, but not today. I'm sure there were some in there, just not for me to see. I glassed for a few hours before deciding I didn't want to be down in the canyon after dark, the temps drop off a lot quicker down there and I was dressed pretty light.


All in all it was a great day, though not much for my hunt. I loved seeing the sights and missed my grandpa, this was one of his favorite areas. The peace of being down there where it is so quiet is awe inspiring. The land is great for horses and mules, which I've been fortunate enough to have most of the times I have been down there. Back around '97 I shot a small 5 point down there, I wasn't keen on shooting it but my grandpa thought it was too big to pass up. After some arguments it was decided that I'd better shoot it to keep the family peace :-). Good times, fun looking back on it now.

No big adventures Wednesday. Mostly we rested from the earlier parts of the hunt while trying to find something. I was sneaking around Turkey Butte in the afternoon and jumped a nice looking bull, or what I imagine was a nice looking bull. He was over a hill top around 50 yards from me and all I saw were the top 3 points on each of his antlers, but I never even saw an ear, much less enough of his body for a decent shot. Looked like a nice 5 point from what I saw, but it was just a flash of antler and tumbling of rocks. It got me all excited though and ready to keep hunting. I don't know if he smelled me or heard me, I tried to figure out where he went but never saw him again. While following the direction he headed off in I stumbled across a carcass from earlier in the hunt. Followed the crows and saw a beautiful bald eagle, flew about 20 yards from me. The stupid crows didn't fly and I could have shot a bunch of them, but I was still in elk mode after spotting the one I saw the antlers of. Looks like someone took the head, back straps and one of the rear quarters. The rest was still there, being eaten by birds. It was kind of frustrating that someone had left the two fronts and the rear quarter to waste. It wasn't even too far from a road, probably 3/4 mile. Jerks.

Anyway, not much else Wednesday, it was a fun day. Thursday comes rolling around and we had decided to hunt Secret Mountain area. Here is my dad on our way in, still lots of energy at this point :-).


This is the corral near the Secret Mountain Cabin, as well as Steve and my dad having a look in the cabin. There were some stove parts that I thought interesting on the remains of the wall. This would have been a sleeping only cabin from the height, I couldn't have stood up strait in it based on how it looked like they had the pitch of the roof.




We left the cabin and went to search for some elk. We got to a corral south of the cabin and I parted ways with Steve and my dad, hoping to cover some more ground. After glassing a few hills for a while I came upon the deer in this picture. A little two point (4 point if you're back east) buck, first buck I had seen all season. All that was sticking out was his head, not too tough to spot and fun to watch for a while. As I'm enjoying myself watching this little buck Steve calls me up on the radio and tells me that him and my dad have a little bull spotted that neither of them want and ask if I want to shoot it. Do I want it? Of course I do! I didn't care how little it was, I can't eat antlers so off I went. They were able to spot him because he kicked a rock and got Steve's attention, thanks Steve! :-D


But not too quick to take pictures of some more deer that were running beside me (I was running when I spotted them, they didn't care and just kept browsing).
So then it starts to get more interesting. I run past where Steve and my dad are, but eventually we are able to find each other. They take me to a pretty steep cliff and tell me there is an elk down there, and they can see it from where they are at but tell me not to go down that way because they can only see a little bit of it, not enough to shoot. So I go around to the other side of this cliff that he is off but can't find him for anything. We're shouting across the points on this mountain but the elk is holding tight, won't move for anything. I still haven't seen him, but have convinced myself that after such a long hard hunt, especially after having to fly to Mesa to get my permit, that I'm going go take him. Steve and my dad both (again, to my surprise) just didn't want one that small this far into a wilderness area.

Finally we kind of give up with the shouting and looking for this elk. Steve sets his rifle down and goes in to bird dog him for me. To my amazement, nothing happens! I don't see anything. Just Steve stomping down through there trying to scare this elk to get up. And finally it does, maybe 10 to 15 yards in front of Steve! I couldn't believe how smart that elk was, which makes me wonder if the elk from Saturday may have been near us, just tucked down in the thick brush waiting for us to walk away! Anyway, this elk starts running around the points on the mountain towards me. I had made my way to a rock ledge and had my shooting sticks to stabilize me. Unfortunately, my standing area wasn't very big and I just couldn't get a solid shooting position. The elk was running and I missed my first shot. I was hunting with my Thompson Encore in .300WM and just cracked open the action and flung the empty over my shoulder while grabbing another and stuffing it into the chamber. The reload probably wasn't much slower than a bolt, but you can't keep the gun at shoulder to do it, still, not a problem in most situations. Anyway, I can probably think of some more excuses for missing, like him being close and down from me, probably 45 degrees downward shot, bullet went over his back, whichever. Had I got him it would have been a treacherous task to clean him on the steep hill then horrible hauling him up to the top!

So I've now missed my first shot and he is heading around the point I'm on. I'm going hard up to the top of the mountain where it flattens out to get out around in front of him hoping that he won't drop strait down into the thick and impossible to get to areas. I get to the top and am hustling as fast as I can without running, trying to stay quiet and alert. I'm racing through the trees wishing I was another hundred yards further, adrenaline pumping, disappointment from missing starting to set in. This would be a year I'd go home empty handed, but I was still going to see if I could spot him and let some more lead...er...copper, solid copper, fly and knock him down. I knew it would be a running shot and tougher than the shot I already missed, so I wasn't expecting much even if I saw him.

Then it happened, thud! Rocks tumbling in the thick brush 50 yards out from me, just about where the mountain drops off again. There aren't many animals that make that kind of noise when moving, and elk only make it occasionally. I don't have much time as the animal is moving quick, but I haven't even seen what it is yet! I knew no one else was out on the mountain that day so wasn't worried about other hunters. I raised my rifle in the only opening I have around me, though there are dozens that I can't see. And I wait. The terrain is thick, I've only got about a 25 yard opening. Then bushes, and more openings I can't see. Too many choices for an elk to make, too many opportunities to miss me, go another direction and I would never see him. Then Antlers! Just the tops of them over the 7 foot brush! I thought I might have a chance, still wasn't sure if he would step into my opening but I've got my rifle up with crosshairs on the far end of what I can see. A patch of tan fur, it's him! Bang! He crumpled, hit the ground hard and slid. He jumped up once more then that was it.

He lay down and I started to pursue, but quickly realized that was a bad idea, knowing he probably had enough adrenaline to get him back off the cliff if he got scared. So I waited and waited. He had been gone for a while now, but I didn't want to lose him for being impatient. I finally snuck around him, being sure to approach between him and the nearest mountain edge. It was over.

It's always a humbling experience to take an animal, realizing they have given their life to feed you and your family. An experience you never get when purchasing packaged meat at the store. The respect for the animal and his sacrifice obligate you to take care not to waste any. A prayer of thanks to our Heavenly Father is given for the animal before the work begins. It's hard to describe the emotions, excitement, being completely elated, yet at the same time thankful to God and the animal.




I chuckled when I realized how close it was. I spent most of the year making sure the gun was in proper order. I worked up a special load, trying different primers, powders, bullets, seating depths and powder weights. The gun was shooting around MOA, probably better considering I shoot in a windy canyon and can have trouble holding still. That puts me at about a 4" group at 400 yards, very consistently. I was prepared for and hoping for that shot to brag about, 400+ yards. The Barnes XXX bullets are excellent for expansion so I was hoping for a one shot kill. But it wasn't to be. My second and final shot was a mere 20 yards. A touch higher than I would have liked, but still in a critical area to prevent him from suffering long. The shot below is from where I shot, with the bushes in the center around 25 yards. He was just in front of them when I got him. Like my first shot, I hooked the brass on the ground and loaded another in case I poorly or his adrenaline kept him going for long. Fortunately, it was quick. I picked up my brass after I knew it was done.


This is a shot of Sedona, visible from the other side of the bushes to the left in the previous shot. Beautiful day.

I told Steve and my dad that they needn't help and should go hunt for some other elk, but they knew they had played as much a part in the harvesting of this elk as I had and didn't feel the need after the exhausting week. Also, I don't think they wanted to leave me with so much work alone, the huge task of cleaning him was just beginning.

Most of the time when we're all out together we help clean each others animals, but my last elk I cut my hands up while cleaning him so my dad finished most of the work for me. This one I wanted to do myself, and I did for the most part. The next shot is of me taking a break, exhausted, while my dad cleaned up some of the hide (if memory serves me correctly).


And finally we were done. Ahh, plenty of rest ahead and stories around the camp fire. Wait, no, not at all. We still have to get this out of here. Three miles in the wilderness, no horse, no mule, just us. It's three miles of up and down terrain back to the jeep, then a few miles back to camp to get the proper packs, so we did what any half crazy without foresight person would do, carry as much as we can on our shoulders! We loaded up the tender loins and the sirloins into my camelback and on my shoulders. Also, I brought the heart out. My girls love seeing the anatomy of animals so I figured I would bring it back to show them, maybe have a few slices fried up in butter. Brilliant idea, just throw another 12 pounds on my shoulders and off I go.

I loaded up a little earlier than I should have so instead of standing around I get started on the trail. Steve and my dad were going to take the front shoulders out, each carrying one. Oh yeah, I guess I didn't mention that part of cleaning it was quartering it, that was a bit of work too, ouch. So anyway, back to the quarters, they've also got their rifles and camelbacks, so with rifle on one shoulder they throw the elk's shoulder over theirs, using the leg as a counterbalance. I got back to the jeep as fast as I could and after resting from the climb out headed back in with some gatorade to help what I could.

I made it about 3/4 mile in of the total 3 miles when I ran into them, they were tired. More tired than I was. As I took both shoulders to give them a break for a while I quickly discovered why. A single shoulder weighed more than my pack did, and when slung over one shoulder is even more uncomfortable. I didn't make it far before I had to give back one of the shoulders. They rotated between them with the remaining shoulder and the rifles while I carried the other shoulder.

What a day, we finally made it back to the jeep. It was so wonderful to see. We were all worked up into a real sweat and the sun was setting, starting to get real cold real fast. Glad we were back on the road. We didn't have room for the front shoulders inside the jeep so strapped them on the hood. We were so exhausted we just sat in the jeep a minute before proceeding, feeling the lactic acid burn.


But not too much for another pose with the jeep and elk.
Angie was missing Steve so he packed up as much gear as we could stuff into the jeep and he headed back to Flagstaff. My dad and I thought about packing the rest up and heading in but it's a long drive so figured we could use the extra rest. We had enough food for another few days and more than enough firewood and warm clothes, so decided it would be easier to camp again to get an earlier start. Well, we slept in. Made hot chocolate, bacon and eggs and had a nice slow morning. Even started a fire and rested for a bit, knowing some real work was ahead of us.

We finally got around to getting on the road, making sure to get the packs, ropes, saw and knives. The hike in was wonderful. Perfect morning, nice and cool. No load on our backs so we just had fun looking at all the scenery we snuck by while hunting. Below my dad is looking at a dredging tool used to clean the mud out of the pond in the next picture, though it has long since filled back in. We wondered if it was pulled with mules or men and pulleys, probably mules, the CCC were well equipped. It was leaning up against a fine fence post, with holes drilled in it for a split rail fence, all very nicely done.



The dam was fascinating, must have taken a lot of time to stack all the rocks and fill them in with mud.

Then as we hiked in we spotted some dams we hadn't noticed the first day. This one has concrete mortar to hold it together, allowing for it to be much thinner than the first, but also a much smaller span and not as deep.


This dam was a real treat to see. All concrete. I wondered if they got the aggregate on site and washed it there, only having to carry the cement, I don't think they would have done it another way. The water also must have been gathered on site, perhaps from one of the other reservoirs made earlier.

Here's a shot of the corral again. Studying it we could see that the bark was stripped from the rails when they were green, as they decay slower that way. Some newer repairs either didn't know to do that or more likely were made with more haste, and still had the bark on, and were already beginning to rot. It was fun to think on how they made so much down there. No chain saws or power bark strippers. Just axes and hand tools and animals. It's fun to romanticize about it, though I'm sure it was back breaking work.

After much more work removing the bones from the rear quarters of the elk we slipped him into some game bags to keep it clean and into our packs. There was a shot of me just getting the pack on, my dad was trying to get the hilarious shot of me getting the pack on by myself, all 70ish lbs of it, but just missed it so I left it out :-).
Here I am, al ready to go. Getting the weight adjusted and belt properly tensioned, feeling pretty good. Muscles starting to get stretched out again.

Here's my dad with his pack, we're finally ready to make our last trip out. We were a little surprised that none of the meat had been touched that we left out that night. Not a coyote, not even a crow grabbed the easy stuff. They had been around when we were cleaning it, but apparently too wary to come in for a taste just yet.


The hike out was tough but better than the day before, both because the packs properly put the weight on our hips and also because we hadn't worked so hard the morning before. We had left some snacks and drinks along the trail on the way in so we wouldn't have to carry them in and out to enjoy them on the way out, it was always nice to find one our caches because it meant time for a rest.

We spotted this funny looking tree on the way out. At first it looked to be covered in broken branches but further inspection showed it is covered in little stubs of branches that just grew into little horns. It was really neat to see, we wondered what kind of mutation or infection or fungus would cause it to grow like that.



And that's about it. The trail out was tough. We were so happy to make it back to the truck and drop our packs in the bed. We were exhausted, the hike had taken all our energy reserves. We headed back for camp and did all the clean up. Two tents, portable kitchen, air mattresses, sleeping bags, clothes, food, food containers, trash, chainsaw, etc etc etc. Despite having a beautiful camp spot in a low spot that avoided the wind, seeing it in the rear view mirror was nice.

Jenny and the kids had been without me for the week, or perhaps more accurately phrased, I left Jenny alone with the kids for a week! So instead of staying the night I dropped my dad off, unloaded his stuff and headed home. It was tough to stay awake but Jenny and I chatted on the phone to keep me going. When I got home I quickly unloaded into the garage, had a shower and went to bed. Ahead of us still was the butchering (yes, after all these years I was finally able to convince Jenny to let me and even help me butcher my own elk!) and packaging. I actually would have liked to have it professionally butchered, but I also take meticulous care of my elk, getting every hair off, and get frustrated when I get ground elk or a steak back that is clearly not from my elk.

The meat is delicious. Jenny canned most of the front shoulders and it is delicious and falls apart. We've had a few steaks as well, and they are tender and not at all gamy.

Looking forward to eating more! And time to put in for next year's draw already!

Again, thanks to my dad and Steve for not only finding this elk but also choosing not to shoot it then being gracious enough to help me pack it out! Oh, I guess I didn't mention, he's a 4 point. His left side was broken off and looks like it probably had 5 points before it broke, for those curious.