Snow!
Near
September 23rd, 2006
It
wasn’t long until I picked up the set of large elk prints in a couple inches of
wet snow that had recently fallen. They were the biggest prints I have seen in
some time. Larger than the palm of my hand. I didn’t know where he came from but these
prints were large. A single bull. Quite
possible a soon-to-be herd bull looking for his herd. Besides the coyote tracks these were the only
other tracks I had seen so far. Funny how the aspen grove is
home to elk in the spring, summer and winter. But when the rut arrives
the elk go somewhere else. I was about to find out.
I
followed the track despite almost losing them in the deep grass near a small
seep. I saw where the bull went to the
bathroom. I saw how he squeezed himself between two trees. Never taking a straight path
or the easy way. Wandering from tree to tree. Then
he took me back to the aspen grove along an old elk trail. I lost his trail in the open grassy meadow. I
stayed true to his general direction and picked them up again. Where he met up with others. Their prints melted to the
ground and hard to tell. Probably from Friday, maybe Saturday
morning but way before me. Another
set of prints caught my eye. Deer. A mother and a fawn who also fed in
this rich environment recently.
I
stayed on the prints of the old bull. They took me up the mountain. Not following any trail or stopping along the
way. Relentlessly he walked. His stride much larger than
mine. For every two large steps
of mine he took one. I saw where he
kicked up fresh dirt from a mound of an underground rodent. I saw how his gait tracked perfectly, back
hoof falling perfectly where the front one blazed a trail through the snow. He kept his distance from the other two elk
tracks. Or they stayed clear of
him. Younger bulls
maybe? Cows? Through the aspen and willows, up through dark timber and lush
pockets of small aspen valleys. I
would follow his tracks for miles. Amazing
the bull never stopped to graze or bed. I can only imagine him stopping to smell the
air or before he crossed an open area. Bulls
can smell cows in estrus for miles. I’ve
seen bulls do strange things. Like last
weekend watching the 5x5 in a trot with his nose to the ground like an old
hound dog on a fresh scent. Like the
large 6x6 many years ago walking UP highway 36 from who knows where against
oncoming traffic on the small shoulder of the road in the middle of the night. His mouth open. Instinctively bulls will seek out the cows in
the valleys. The big bulls appear from
some hidden place where they have spent the summer growing large. And they will travel miles to seek out their
cows. And to chase the current herd bull
away. Or fight with him for the right to breed. It’s everything they live for. To continue their species.
Two things about this photo. This seep
doesn’t show up as a spring on ANY map. But many places exist. You will only find them on foot. The other important note.
See the willow to the left of the tall pine? It’s been eaten up all around the base to
about halfway up. A sure
sign that elk winter here.
Willows left untouched will grow wide and round. Willows on elk wintering grounds will be
nibbled on every winter. Eventually the
willows will disappear or end up as a stubby pile of sticks once every leaf and
new growth have been eaten down too far. I nearly lost the bull through this deep
grass.
Where
the dark timber of the spring meets the aspen grove I found these markings from
a bear long ago.
Here
is the famous meeting spot. One could sit here in the mornings or evenings and
watch elk filter out of the trees and into the meadow to eat. Elk eventually
end up in the lush willows north of where this photo was taken. This is where the big bull tracks met up with
two other elk.
The
sun peeked out of the clouds for a brief moment
lighting up the trees in the distance. That’s
Niwot Ridge in the background.
The
elk tracks took me up the mountain, around this lush valley of aspen and pine. Then the tracks turned south following the
ridge. I continued my march knowing it
was getting late and I was running out of time. I quickened my pace. I needed to know where these tracks would go.
Even if that meant I would be walking
back to the truck in the dark.
This
ridge is tall and long. About halfway
across it the bull tracks mixed with other elk tracks. A herd
of cows. Like a magnet or some
mysterious force the bull I was following met up with his cows. The tracking was easier now. I kept on them as they now went down the
mountain. To the
southeast. All
the time getting closer to private land.
The
snow ran out. Either the forecast was too ambitious or the storm faded out as
it cross the divide. I lost the tracks
but I continued to follow in hopes I was still on their trail. I stopped here as it was getting dark. I
either had to turn back or continue. I
got my bugle out and let out a locator bugle. I waited. Five minutes passed. Then ten. As I was packing up I heard a bugle from the
top of a small ridge to my left. It was
getting dark fast and there was no way I was going up there. I had hoped he would come down to me. So I
could see this bull if it was even the same bull I had followed most of the
day. I let out some social cow
calls. Nothing. I let out more cow calls and a bugle. Nothing. I let out some cow in estrus sounds. A response!
The bull bugled twice more demanding that cow get up here now. I pulled on my backpack, turned on my headlamp
for the long walk back to the truck. As
I headed out I listened to the bull bugling less often now. I heard him one more time before I rounded the
corner and over the first of many rolling hills back to the truck. What a beautiful sound. I thought it was best I never saw the bull. That way I could imagine him as I wanted. As
the big herd bull that came down off the mountain and found his herd. The one I followed for miles. The one who showed me where
big bulls go and how the elk run in this area.
It
was a perfect ending to the perfect archery season that I have experienced in
many, many years. Archers really did
have the perfect season. The weather cooled when it should have. There was a full moon and a new moon. Despite the late peak of the rut the elk were
active. Snow fell during the last week
and stayed around long enough making it easier to track. Sunday was cool and clear. Indian summer arrived today. And kicks off the steady
decline into winter. I will spend
my winter preparing for next year. Working on the website, editing film and photos taken in