PPS Destinations Report 

Wyoming Elk Hunt, USA

Date:         September 2007

 Reported by Dr. Chris Travis, CA, USA

My son Tyler and I have been doing this hunt for a few years now.  One would think I could get used to the altitude and 60 degree pitch with blow-down where we have to hunt. I have not. We go to Cody and drive about an hour southwest of town towards Yellowstone paralleling the Shoshone River to meet our outfitter and guides at a trailhead.  We pack up horses and mules and ride six hours into the wildest place I have been on earth, by following Ishawooa Creek to its origins in the high mountain cirques of the Washakie Range just below Yellowstone , to our elk camp. It borders the Teton Wilderness on its east side.  

Every morning, we wake up at 2:30 AM to scarf down some breakfast and ride on horse half asleep for 3 hours into the most remote places in the Rockies . The horse ride itself was harrowing, to say the least. The trails were a foot wide on steep slopes where one mistake meant a 200 foot drop into the creek. However, it’s where the elk are located and they are huge. We don’t get much sleep in the week. We tie up the horses by some stunted pine trees, get the bows ready and try to stay warm. We are at 12,000 ft and the wind can cut right through you. It’s a balmy 10 degrees F.  

As the light of dawn opens up, we glass the area with high power binoculars for any close elk and proceed to walk and climb as long as it takes to get into some world class buglers.  Time is precious in the morning, as the elk will bed down by 10 AM and you can’t call a bull in very easily when they are bedded down with the cows.  

Every day we had luck to find elk and set up where we could call the herd bull in close enough to smell him.  During the rut, the bull elk smell quite rank.  The first two days had both my son and I draw our bows back on very huge 6X6 bulls when one or two more steps would have closed the deal, but the bulls winded us and high tailed it out before we could get a shot off.  The third day was a bit slower until we ran into a full grown grizzly boar at 10 yards while cow calling for bulls to respond to us. Needless to say, though we went by the book with pepper spray and 44 mags out in force, slowly backing up with eyes down, never turning around, time seemed to just crawl as the big boar tried to figure out what we were and if we were good to eat. He stood up on his hind legs (about 8 ft) sizing us up and trying to wind us, stepped a bit closer as I held my breath, then backed off and eventually ran up a steep incline in 2 minutes that took us 20 to meander down. Kind of made us feel a bit lower down on the pecking order of predator-prey.  He was beautiful, magnificent, with grey fur silver tipped for elegance.  He did not have a scratch on him.  We believe he was wild and had never seen man before this encounter. That is a good thing, as “friendly” bears associate humans with food and things to eat and have lost their fear for man. That is not good for our team.  I wanted to take a digital photo of him, but knew the camera was on auto flash, and that is not a good thing when you want the beast to just vanish. Both Ty and I agreed that was a major highlight of our lives.  I know the hair on the neck felt the same way.  I think I was on a high for the rest of the day with adrenaline flowing.  

Each late morning after the elk bedded down, we could catch up on some sleep and eat some lunch.  We usually set up on a ridge overlooking a huge cirque so we could glass the other ridges and valleys for elk.  We knew of several grizzly areas where we saw sows and their cubs along with some other huge boars, so we were careful to be in the open with UDAP pepper bottles and 44 mag pistols out.  

Last year, as we were getting ready for the late afternoon hunt, we encountered two cubs running right at us….with the, you guessed it, sow not far behind.  We waved our arms and talked loud, so the cubs veered off into a group of pine trees.  The sow reared up to see what we were, and then followed the cubs.  Good thing.  One year, as we were coming back to elk camp at night, we ran into a grizz boar hissing at us from a big horn sheep kill. We saw both sheep and goats on the highest of ridges and they are part of the bear diet.  All we could see from our headlamp flashlights were his eyes and teeth.  Fortunately, the horses did not spook.  

I cannot tell you what it feels like to be able to take your water bottles out at the top of mountains and fill them up with the sweetest water I have ever tasted at the origin of rivers, and not worry about crap in the water. To see wildlife who have never seen a human before, and to watch them up close, note their behavior as well as their actions, is as good as it gets.  

To be with my son, not afraid of anything it seems, and watch him grow into an incredibly strong man over these years, is what dreams are made of.  It is a delight to be with the young person you have watched for over two decades become better than me. The second to the last day, had us climbing a different cirque, and I mean climb.  I felt I was looking up slopes for 3 hours before we heard the beautiful sound of an elk bugle that lovely eery sound.  It was close, maybe too close.  How could that have happened.  We had been cow calling all along, but this guy was in our backyard.  As we looked around to set up, we saw three wallows with trails coming in from all angles.  We must have snuck into elk central and was not aware of it at all.  I am sure I wasn’t because I was busy gasping for air at 11,000 ft.  I ran back about 50 yards from Ty and started cow calling very softly.  The bull kept bugling back and was very close.  My son only had time to kneel and kept very still.  His camo clothing kept him concealed as the bull approached the wallow.  Two cows ran into the clearing and smelled us.  They scampered off, but the bull just thought they were running from him. Typical gals, playing hard to get.  I kept calling and the bull just riveted to the sounds and kept closing.  Tyler pulled his bow back and arrowed the big 5X5 bull straight in the heart at 34 yards. He jumped and ran, but I cow called and the bull came back, teetered some and ran 30 yards from where he was shot and fell over dead.  What a shot.  We hugged and hugged and just laughed. 

I wish I could say that was the hard part of it all.  However, the most dangerous and hardest part came next.  We had to quarter and cut all the meat from the bull, which, of course, creates smells that drive grizz wild, in Grizz Central.  And, it took 3 hours to do it.  Then, we had to carry and drag the 4-500 lbs of meat down the mountain we just climbed to the horses and mule.  That leaves a nice scent trail…no doubt. I do believe we were lucky that Ty arrowed the bull at 9 AM, because we did not get back to elk camp until 8 PM.  I am of the belief we were lucky not to encounter another grizzly, too.  

I wish I could say I arrowed a bull elk on our last day, but I did not.  However, I came close, but the bull knew something was up and did not close into the trap.  He may have had too many cows with him and did not want to wander too far from them.  I really didn’t mind.  I could only think of the day before and how it all unfolded. My son and I were a team for 9 days and we got the job done. We took care of each other and grew closer than ever in our lives.  That last day I stopped a lot and looked around for a long time, because I knew this would be my last year here. It is a place that is truly inspiring but, time just has caught up and it really is a younger man’s game up here.  I’m OK with that.  

Chris

One more pic!