Virtual Elk Hunt

Watanga Lake

Unit 18

August 29-30 2009

Opening archery weekend looked promising with the weather forecast. Cooler temps and a chance for rain each day sounded good to me. It was still warm in the sun but each afternoon it cooled down. I have to say this has been the best opening weekend in a long time. It really has me questioning how climate change is affecting the elk rut. I just didn’t expect this many large bulls to be this active early on. I was on the southern border of Rocky Mountain National Park high up in the Indian Peaks Wilderness. If the terrain allows there should be one place you need to be on opening day for archery season – right at timberline. August has been dry and you can tell the tundra was really crispy. Even the freshest elk sign looked old after the sun and wind dried things out. Afternoon storms didn’t soak things enough to keep it green. It was easy to find the elk though – just look for the greenest part of the mountain. Opening weekend had never been so full of elk and opportunity. The photo story below will explain. Most of the photos were taken by my stepson Nikita. He has an eye for photography as you can tell. He’s 12 and full of energy. A couple of years ago he’d never make it. Now I have to keep up with him.

I didn’t think much of it but maybe it was a prelude to my weekend. This large 6x7 kissing the tree down by Lake Estes is too large of a bull to be this active so early in the season. He made me second guess our timing for the peak of the rut in early October. But this is a park bull and nowhere near normal. Still it bothered me to see such a large bull so active. Its not even September! If you want to take the family up for a fun weekend of bugling bulls and fresh air then aim for Estes.

My destination was Watanga Lake. About 6 miles up from the Roaring Fork Trailhead near the southern tip of Lake Granby is where I would start my weekend. The pine beetle has had his way with most of the trees in the area. But those above a certain elevation have been spared. The trail to Watanga Lake is no longer maintained so if you bring horses you should also bring a saw to clear the many blow downs that cover the trail. It’s still a good trail but you have to maintain it yourself. The first 20 minutes of your hike up to Roaring Fork creek is STEEP. It gets you warmed up for the rest of the hike up. Watanga Mountain is behind Twin Peaks so it is difficult to see from Hwy 34. The area doesn’t look like anything from a satellite photo. But on the ground there are many places to find elk. It’s not a large area but it still takes a long time to cover it. A weekend isn’t long enough. This area was HOT this weekend. I’ve never seen so many fresh elk beds. The stench of elk was in the air. Camping around the lake is actually nice. Bring a fishing pole because the fish are jumping!

There are elk south of Watanga Lake so walk slowly in that direction. They like to bed around the smaller lakes up there. Also, there is a long, lush valley where the creek runs. That’s where elk feed in the early mornings and late afternoons. The elk routine this time of year is like clockwork. You can expect them to keep up the routine until you spook them. Elk in this area are use to people. Not a lot of people but remember we’re on the very edge of RMNP and there are NO signs to tell humans or the elk where the boundary is. I found myself looking at the map more often.

There were too many fresh elk beds to count. Since the last I was in this area (2001 or 2002 I think) the elk population has gone UP. That’s good news. The full moon was waxing and I think that also had something to do with all the elk in the area. Pre-rut activity and the full moon really got the elk moving. And the cooler weather had something to do with it too. All good things.

Sometimes the zoom lens isn’t enough. This bull was a long ways off. He bugled around 9am and that’s the only way I would have found him. The scrub pine in the area is like the willow maze in some valleys. You could be standing right next to an elk and never know it in such thick cover. This bull had a bunch of cows with him. I tried an approach.

A nice wallow above timberline was a good sign. I didn’t have time to investigate but I knew it wasn’t fresh. It didn’t smell so bad and the water was clear.

This stalk wasn’t happening no matter what I did. All those cows ruined it! There is a long but gentle slope that reaches up towards the base of Watanga Mountain. In years past I’ve seen large mule deer bucks in here. Today it was full of elk. The wind was wrong all day. I had nowhere to hide too. Notice several of the elk staring at me. As I try to pretend I’m just a lost hiker. This scenario here is EXACTLY why I became a rifle hunter. As an archer the elk are always out of range for me. With a rifle you just need to see an elk to have an opportunity.

Fresh scat and tracks were the only thing left behind. The sign is really hard to tell how fresh it is because the sun and the wind dry it out within hours. I decided to go check another area where I had been in the past. It was clear this party was over.

Perfect shot right? Day one can’t get any better right? Wrong. Remembering all those situation ethics articles I read in Bugle Magazine had me thinking twice here. I had stripped down most of my gear and left it behind so I could travel “light.” Well in that gear was my good map that showed the border of RMNP. I did, however, have plenty of arrows and a 30 yard downhill shot. I was snug as a bug in some scrub pine watching this way to calm bull graze. I looked around for landmarks and tried to remember where the border line was drawn on the map. As I kicked myself repeatedly for leaving my good map behind. It is a very, very fuzzy line between maps and the border here. As I sat, stressed, kicked and stressed some more I decided I really had no choice here. I let an arrow fly. No, bad joke. I took photos instead. I could not accurately say where I was, where the Wilderness began and where the Park boundary was. This is what I get for hunting too close to RMNP. But hey, I have a great article to write for Bugle Magazine this winter as I slowly stew about my situation.

To make matters worse a little spike shows up to entertain us.

As if to mock us the bull beds some 60 yards out. AND FALLS ASLEEP!!!

Ah, he’s really not that big and there are 4 full weeks left in the season right? I mean other archers in NM, AZ or Utah don’t even stop to look at an elk this size. We snuck back the way we came. Guess where we went? Directly to the map in my gear bag. Looking hard at the map and where we thought we were I concluded we did the right thing. Who knows how the shot would have gone and how far he would go afterwards. And in what direction he would go. For Nikita it’s a very good lesson we learned. We did the right thing and still enjoyed a close encounter with a respectable bull. Who knows maybe we’ll meet up with this bull again someday.

Day Two, Sunday, August 30, 2009

Around 1030 or 11am we heard some bugling. Nothing too serious or threatening. Just ping and response bugles, locator bugles. High-pitched and not too loud. We were following a game trail in the general area and much to our surprise ran into this lone bull. Lucky for us he was looking in the wrong direction. The wind was still blowing the wrong direction so I had been using my cow in estrus spray a lot. Which is why I think he’s looking that way. There were plenty of trees to hide behind this time. As long as the wind didn’t spoil this for us we were in a great position.

This is what I enjoy about hunting. The chase is always exciting. Every day is a new start. Like the game is reset and we get to try again. The elk don’t seem to hold a grudge long at all. Unless you spook them too often you’ll always have another chance.

Years of chasing elk and watching them run off has left me with reliable expectations. They’d always see me first then leave in a hurry. Not this one. Notice how he is sniffing (and pawing) the ground? Do you know that what means?

You guessed right. He decided to bed right there. No shot. This bull never offered a shot. Not at this angle. With a series of hang gestures I sent Nikita around while I waited for him to get up. Kids are naturally stealthy. If you have them then you know what it’s like to wake up in the middle of the night with them standing right next to you. You either wake up in a panic or they tap you on the shoulder and you still wake up in a panic. Why do they do that? Any ways, Nikita sneaks around as I wait for the shot. Sounds like a good plan. It’s almost noon and this bull is tired.

Here’s where the zoom lens is worth every dime. Nikita gets a rare shot from the elk’s point of view. Notice the valley below in the distance? What a view. Do you know what happens when you get on the vulnerable side of an elk?

You suddenly find yourself plenty of time looking at the evidence they left behind. The fresh bed of a very nice 6x6 up close. I won’t take a shot in haste and especially not a running shot. I’m just not that good.

We had some fun with this spike. He showed up out of nowhere after lunch. I swear I was able to call him in by using a bottle of cow in estrus. Wayne Carlton makes a good product with special ingredients so the smell stays aloft much longer. I think it sells for about $8 at Wal-Mart. You can watch the spray float away on the currents. Elk don’t spook at a spray bottle sound as far as I can tell. In fact this spike came in closer!

Rarely have I seen this many spikes in this area. They are young and still learning how to survive. They are very curious at the age of two. Unit 18 has a 4 point restriction.

From all the scattered bugling we heard earlier in the day it was hard to keep track of how many and where they came from. We believe we heard four separate bugles. One was especially further down the valley. We hunted our way back to the truck in the direction we last heard that distant bugle. Clouds were beginning to role in and tomorrow is a school day so we headed back.

The funniest thing happened on the way down. The area between Watanga Lake and the Roaring Fork trail is about 2 miles give or take. There are small meadows, high ridges, a creek or two. We were negotiating the easiest route down by following the creek. When we see this large bull laying flat out cold. He didn’t budge as we clumsily stumbled down the mountain occasionally talking. The creek must have drowned out most of our sounds the wind was briskly in our face (first time all day). This bull was laid out like he was dead. I half expected to see an arrow in his side. No, he was just sound asleep. I have never found a bull this large completely spread out on the ground sleeping this hard. We were stunned. We just stood there. This is the first photo when he realized a couple of people were watching him.

His eyes looked bloodshot and he was groggy. It was like he woke up in a strange place and he was thinking “where am I and what have I done”? We were still in disbelief, jaws wide open and eyes popping. I asked Nikita to take as many photos as he could before this one got away. In the mean time I moved slowly to prepare the bow. This bull already had an eye on us. We almost stepped on him.

He’s a fine older bull. He’s got a dark neck, almost black and a tan goatee. Oh, and his antlers aren’t half bad either.

Nikita took photos non-stop. I have to say he is a good partner and from the looks of these photos a great photographer. I don’t know what it is but the elk are distracted when he is around. They don’t spook like I am used to. It’s like elk know he’s not a hunter and they aren’t spooky or nervous.

The back end of the bull is about to hit hyper speed. That’s what it looks like before they launch into outer space. As I pulled the bow back to full draw it was enough for the bull to take off. Imagine going from a deep sleep to 30 mph running through trees. It’s impressive to see something this big go from zero to sixty in 5 seconds. I bet this bull weighed 700 lbs. He’s a hoss.

I didn’t even resize this final photo here. This bull was too perfect and the shot was just right. This was my best opening weekend ever. Why can’t every hunt be this great?

I have to say Nikita is my lucky charm. My luck is almost always dumb luck as I stumble into the right place at the right time. But when Nikita is there I don’t have to do anything. He walks right to the elk. On purpose or by accident. WHO CARES! I wish I had elk radar like he does. My brother has the gift too.