Camper_A1
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I wrote a story last year about how my son had drawn the Wasatch Rifle Elk tag after 17 years. He and the rest of us got Covid-19 the week before the hunt started and had to turn the tag back in. After a long few months they notified him they were returning his points. FAST FORWARD to 2022 and he drew again! I decided to scout a different area than the year before. After 4 scouting trips decided to hunt this new area. The hunt would be him, my other son and me as the chief guide, camp cook etc., etc. I had been feeling the pressure all summer of trying to find him an elk to hunt. With 2 bad knees, (bone on bone) I was worried I wouldn’t be able to do what I needed to do to help him. He hasn’t hunted much and with friends that don’t hunt and being out of state for a few years before returning home the pressure was on me. I had 3 injections in both knees before the hunt and had bought knee braces for both knees and trekking poles I would give it my all. I’m sure most of you know about wanting our kids to be successful and the pressure we put on ourselves. Opening morning we decided to hike out several miles to a canyon a friend had told us about. Leaving the trail head in the dark we had 2 riders and 2 pack horses leave just before we started. About an hour after sun up we were about 2 ½ miles out when we heard our first bugle. About the same time my one son said hey 3 guys just popped out of a canyon ahead of us. We backtracked some and was bugling back and forth with the bull when they started bugling and waving to get our attention. They indicated a big bull and was waving us over. About 5 minutes later we counted 17 elk with a big bull trailing out the bottom of the canyon. Knowing they and the hunters on the horses were ahead of us we hiked back a ways and found a good canyon to watch for a while. We saw one cow elk work her way down thru the canyon but nothing else. We did hear a few shots out towards where we were originally headed to. The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. Later that night as we sat around the camp fire the guys with the horses passed our camp with a nice heavy Bull on their flat bed and trailer. Sunday morning, we headed into another area and was sitting and listening for bugles as it got light. We heard one up the mountain and headed up the ridge to gain some elevation and try to get across from the Bull and see into the pines. As we crested the ridge the we could hear the Bull as he worked his way up and over the opposite skyline. After hiking and listening the rest of the morning we returned to camp for lunch and a nap. The hike the day before taken a toll on my knees so we spent that evening mostly glassing and trying to come up with a plan for the next day. Monday morning found us back in the canyon from the day before hoping to hear some more bugles. The area was dead silent so we decided to hike down a narrow draw that had a little water down through it. It had pines and quakies on both sides and looked promising. About a ½ mile in we saw a spike and a 2-point Bull still in the velvet coming up the trail we were on. After watching them they noticed us and spooked up the hill. The further down we hiked the more water we found and started seeing wallows. The grass on the sides was matted down but the water was clear so they hadn’t been used much. We finally come upon one that was muddy and told the boys the elk have been using this one. We were seeing more tracks the further down the draw we got. We finally started seeing a bunch of willows in the bottom with more water. My son with the permit was a head of us and as I looked down the draw ahead of him I could see antlers waving back and forth in the willows. I got his attention and said shooter Bull. All we could see was tops of his antlers as he worked his way down thru the willows. I thought about cow calling but decided against it as he didn’t know we were there. As he turned and was walking down the draw I could see he was wide. We side hilled up trying to see his body but all we could see was the very top of his back. Just as I was thinking he would just walk straight away and we would never get a shot he turned and crossed the stream and came out on a little mound. He must have sensed us as he looked back over his left shoulder at a hard quartering away angle. I told my son that’s your shot and Bang the elk dropped straight down. We all kind of stood there in disbelief at what just happened, then high five’s and hugs. The hunt couldn’t have gone any better than to have the 3 of us together to share it. After the pictures and more high five’s I called some friends from work that had offered to help if we got an elk. I was able to drop them a pin on our apps and they grabbed their packs and headed our way. We broke down the Bull and got it into some game bags and moved into the shade to wait. Many thanks to our friends for their help getting the Bull out. Thanks to my Dad that was looking down and guiding us throughout our hunt. I feel blessed to be able to share this hunt with my sons. Redemption was sweet!
