Jan11 Hunt

Virtual Elk Hunt

January 11, 2004

Unit 20

Northern Colorado

Sunday, January 11th

Another day in paradise and the elk are still taunting me from private property. In fact I caught the big herd crossing the road just as the sun came up. The area I’ve been hunting is only a transition area. It’s a place where they go when it snows a lot. When they are there they are all over. It’s not where they live though. They seem to live on private lands. However, checking the Colorado DOW map shows you their winter concentration covers a lot of territory. A lot of that land is private but a lot of it is also National Forest land.

Here’s another look at the herd as they headed West. Notice how some eat as they go and others are strictly on the move. It didn’t take long for over 100 elk to cross through the area. The big question is what makes them move from place to place. The last two days have been warm and dry. Maybe it’s the weather. Maybe it’s a place in the shade they are after. Either way it was clear the big herd we had seen a week ago had broken up into lots of smaller groups. Even still single elk were around.

I’m at a different trailhead today. No matter what you do or where you go in Colorado, Sunday’s are special here. A little more quiet, a little more peaceful. I had just received “Elk Hunting Secrets” the book written by members of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. It’s small enough to fit in your pack. I sat on this hill and read some of it today. That large meadow in the upper left of the photo is where we were on Saturday. So much land, so little time.

On the way back to the truck I found this elk hide on the ground. It was stiff as a board after drying in the sun. I’m not sure why someone would leave something like that. It’s not like the elk ran right out of it either. Why would anyone waste any part of the animal? I’m not sure. There was fresh sign in the area that last week’s snowstorm pushed a few elk down this direction too. There are elk you see and a lot more you don’t. Big bulls are especially hard to catch out in even the smallest open space. But cows can be just as elusive. Their large numbers usually give them away.

All in all today was nice. It was relaxing, warm for January and peaceful. Everyone should have days like this.