September 10-11, 2005

Sick as a Dog

I stayed home this weekend sick after eating a bad Breakfast Burrito for lunch. Apparently I didn’t miss a thing. Nothing changed. It was still hotter than Hades and the elk were not active. I took the family to Rocky Mountain National Park for two reasons. One, so we could actually see some elk and two, to gauge where they are at in the rut. Young 6x6s were the herd bulls with several 5x5s and 4x4s nearby waiting for a chance to rule the herd. All the really big elk were up high or just not interested yet. And it’s so territorial. In one part of the park things were very quiet with maybe one small bull grazing by himself. The other part was busy with a herd defending his harem of about 25 cows. Here are some photos from the trip.

A young 5x5 beds near the herd waiting to cross the road. He was actually smarter than the herd bull (a young 6x6) that wasn’t active at all defending his harem of about 40 cows. This 5x5 snuck across the road with the first group of cows without a fight.

Check out the matriarch cow. Its amazing how one very smart cow controls the herd. She’s the one who went across the road first. The others followed in what looked like a waterfall of elk cascading down the hill and across the road in an abbreviated stampede. Notice the spike in the background. Young bulls grow their first set of antlers in their second year. And they all look so funny until they mature. The herd bull would chase the larger bulls away but not the spikes. There were too many and he didn’t think they were a threat.

This is the beginning of the stampede across the road. Elk appeared from everywhere all the sudden. A few mews were exchanged during the transition.

It was dark as a small rain cloud passed over. Made taking photos difficult since we can’t use flash photography on the elk. Look at this young 4x4 who entirely dipped himself in the mud. He’s over doing the rut thing by trying to hard. I guess he thinks the more mud and the more he stinks the more cows he will attract. There were a couple of young bulls like this in the park. It was funny to see.

And here’s the proud herd bull. He’s a young 6x6 who is near the back of the pack.

And here he goes crossing the road. I expect him to be replaced as larger bulls find their way into the meadows during the next few weeks. A herd bull can change often during the course of the rut. The peak has yet to come. As soon as the elk crossed the show was over as they melted into the aspen and willows on the other side of the road. The smell of elk in the air was very thick due in most part from that young 4x4. Like when someone with WAY too much cologne walks past you.

We packed up the kids and headed to Moraine Park and weren’t disappointed. More bugling, more elk and a lot of activity from the young 6x6 herd bull. Here’s a view of Longs Peak as the sunset.

This herd bull was serious. He escorted a few bulls away. And chased a spike or two out of the herd. He bugled like it was the peak of the rut. Sending a warning to all who could hear him to stay away. He was checking the cows to see if they were ready to breed.

In a short period we were exposed to a lot of elk activity. Saw a 5x5 wallow. Saw another 5x5 raking a tree. Even saw a spike take a dip in the wallow. The high grass engulfed his small frame as he rolled. The sounds of several elk bugling were nice to hear. The weather these first three weekends has been warm. A few aspen trees have begun to turn color but it still feels like summer.

Next weekend plans are to hunt a Wilderness area. Just two more weekends left in the season. It’s time to get serious and pack in to where the elk are. It’s never easy but that’s what makes it so rewarding.