Week Four

Virtual Elk Hunt

September 15/16, 2007

South of Allens Park, CO

Archers really do have the best season. Even if you could only hunt the weekends because or work or family you could still hunt 11 full days and that is longer than any regular rifle season. And the variety of the season takes you from hot summer days to potential snow storms and rain. I started out south of Allens Park, CO near the Indian Peaks Wilderness in Unit 20. It’s the last weekend of ML season and historically I’ve had good luck chasing elk and trying to avoid getting rained on during most ML seasons. Any and all trails, roads, single tracks and alpine lakes see a LOT of human traffic all along the front range near Denver. It’s just the way things are. Lots of people looking for a quick escape and a little outdoor fun without having to sit in traffic on I-70. The elk either have to live with human encounters or head west. Elk adapt quickly to changing situations and they have mastered the art of living between roads, trails and other human hot spots. That is the secret to finding elk on the front range. Get away from the humans and find those road-less, trail-less placed in between. No matter how big or small they might be.

At the edge of a small creek, lying in the willows in the deep, soft grass was this 3x3. I had almost stepped on him in my haste to my destination on the map. He wasn’t as shy as those wilderness elk just over the divide. He was young and grew up around humans.

But first I found myself on top of a very long ridge where I found scrape after fresh scrape. This area was hot. I had just missed the bull that was bedded in the area. I walked from scrape to scrape and all of them were fresh. This was very good sign.

Here’s the bed a very fine bull. The dark spots are where he urinated. Elk often do that when bedded. It smelled fresh and all the tracks around were also fresh. I even found some fresh scat. It wasn’t smoking hot and green like I had hoped but it was very recent. Probably that morning.

A view across the deep valley between 4wd roads and hiking trails. This is where the elk were living. The clouds were rolling in and it was about to rain. I wasn’t prepared for that. The temperature was dropping and a nice, soaking rain was on the way. Rain and cool weather is a nice treat in the high country. It gets the elk moving depending on the severity of the rain.

Working my way west looking for the a couple of ponds on the map. Knowing all the water and lush meadows in that area would be the destination for elk this coming evening. I was walking along a small creek when I found that young 3x3 bedded. Can you find him in this photo?

How about now? He bolted out of his bed and quickly began to circle. I stopped behind a small pine. He knew I was there but couldn’t entirely identify me. And I had stopped walking. He was curious like young bulls are. Having grown up around a great deal of roads, private lands and human activity has made him use to having his rest time interrupted. An elk’s first defense and instinct is always to run away from danger or predators. Knowing that and wanting to test out the theory I saw on Predator vs. Prey (elk vs. Bear) on the Animal Planet channel I put myself in a non-threatening position. I got down on all fours, back to the ground. Not very comfortable but it is a very non-threatening posture. Had I crouched down or hid behind a tree would have been suspicious behavior to the elk. The young bull is curious. He hasn’t seen human behavior like this before.

Like all smart bulls he circles my position. He has the advantage here. He can see me from up high and listen to my movements. He can’t smell me but who cares, he’s got me in his sights. He’s been trained well. Notice how he stand behind something and at an angle? Elk do that to limit their profile. Very rarely will you find an elk perfectly broadside and still. There’s almost always a tree in the way too.

The bull circles and departs up and over the hill not to be seen again. The rain and cold convinced me to head back before I get sick and miss out on the upcoming weeks. The full moon and the peak of the rut are just around the corner. If you get a chance take a midnight drive, stop at the tops of creek valleys, get off the road a little and make some bugles of your own. This is the best time and the best way to locate elk. The season will be over when the full moon arrives but that shouldn’t stop you from getting out and finding elk. They will be there and happy to return a bugle your way. Locate and count the number of bulls in a valley. Mark it down in your elk journal. This will help you piece together the puzzle of an elk’s routine. If elk are in a valley bugling away you can be they will be there every year doing the same. If you are like me you are always scouting not only for this year but for next year too. Because in 2008 the peak of the rut will fall in the middle of September. If you are an archer or a ML hunter it may be your best season in a very long time.

A blurry photo of an aspen leaf after the rain. Foretelling the prospects of the season to come.

Best of luck to everyone who is headed into elk country this year. Be safe, enjoy your time and let your worries go.

I hope you have enjoyed the photos. It was a wonderful weekend to be out in elk country.