I finally drew my first controlled hunt bull elk tag in Idaho. After waiting 25 years for this to happen, I was really psyched. I decided to spend a few days scouting at the end of August prior to the archery season.
I was so excited about the hunt that I decided to hire a pilot to show me around. He told me to call him when I was headed his way and we would make a plan. I called him Thursday afternoon and he said it had been too foggy in the mornings to fly. I thought to myself, "Fog? In August? This guy is high!" He wasn't high. We were never able to fly.
I tried to camp in a spot we stayed in while moose hunting about a decade ago, but almost got stuck. It was getting close to dark. I drove down the road a bit and found a pullout where I could glass an area I knew held elk. Within seconds of sitting down I spotted a herd with a small bull. Only one herd and the bull was small. Not what I expected to see. The next morning I went to a better vantage point and confirmed that the big boys weren't hanging out there.
It poured all night long. I took a shortcut to the next spot and experienced one of the most harrowing drives of my life. At the next spot I tried to pull off of the road a bit, but it wasn't happening. This is what the main road looked like near where I parked.
I took off on my ATV in search of elk. After hiking for a while I bumped a couple of bulls and saw a few more. Finally, some success! Then it started pouring again. I headed back to the truck and found my trailer sticking way out into the road. There was a guy parked on the other side of the road, and he explained that he tried to pull off the road as I had and nearly slid into my trailer so he had to move it over and couldn't get it back in place. I guess I wasn't the only idiot out there that weekend! Here is a view from the top.
Once I got settled in, I started a nice hot dinner. I promptly ran out of propane. Since I forgot my rain pants most of my clothes were soaked and I no longer had a way to dry them out. Awesome! It rained all night, again.
The next morning I set out to check another spot. Everything was great until I got to a stretch of road which had just been re-graded. It had about a 2 degree slope, but I was stuck.
I learned many valuable lessons from my dad. One of them was to get a set of chains for your truck and never, ever, EVER take them out of your truck. Even if it's August. I bought a brand new set of chains for the truck when we bought it in 2004. I pulled them out for the first time. In August. I chained up and was able to get out a little after daylight. Since the morning scout was shot, I went to town, got some propane, ate a burger at Rulon Gardner's restaurant (the olympic gold wrestler) and headed back up. I hiked up into some beautiful country and sat down to wait for the elk to emerge. While waiting, I noticed the temperature dropped about 10 degrees minutes before I heard the first crack of thunder. I was sitting on a bare ridge about 1 mile from the nearest safe spot. I ran most of that mile, then trudged the remainder through the rain and mud, thinking all the way about the hot shower that awaited me at the camper. Once there, the water heater wouldn't start.
I had one more spot to check, so I drove back to the moose hunting area. I put a couple of beers into the ATV bag and headed out. Once I got settled in to glass, I quickly found 6-7 bulls scatted across the drainage. I set up my spotting scope to get a better look and the fog immediately set in. Disgusted, I picked up the unopened beers and headed back to camp.
My plan was to return in the morning to get a better look at those bulls. Then it rained all night, again. It was still pouring in the morning, so I called it quits and headed home.
When Karen and I were younger, she always joined me on my scouting trips. I just don't understand why she quit going!
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