Elk Day 2 - Tuesday 29 Oct
Got up to rain this morning - cold hard rain at 34 degrees. Loaded up and hit the road by 7. Drove out and saw some of Trent's aspen research plots and jumped about 15 elk, but no shots due to poor weather and visibility. Thought we had water in the diesel fuel, but it turns out we only knocked a sensor off the undercarriage.
Yep, good luck finding elk in this picture. That's snow blowing past the window!
Returned to the lodge for an early lunch and then headed for the high ranch. It became fast and furious up there as we spotted over 50 elk. The trick is seeing them before they see us, creep close, and then hopefully get a shot off before they bust outta there. Trent and I both got off two shots but came up empty. Not sure about Trent's excuses, but mine were due to miscalculating the distances. I shot at the first cow elk using my 100 yard pin. She was at 200 yds. The second time I used my 200 yd pin and she was closer than 100. So I missed low and high, respectively. I know, I suck.
At least the sun came out and we saw elk. And since we knew the snow was fresh, it made tracking easy. In fact, we came upon some fresh bear tracks, but since we are busy missing elk, we neglected to take photos. I must say, we are doing a pretty poor job in the photo department, but then again, that's not why we are here.
We drove back down in the dark and the snow. We hit the cabin about 10 after 7, showered and returned to the main lodge for dinner at 8. The group before us, the 6:30 dinner crowd, was just leaving. In that group is The Band Perry, a country music group. They are out here hunting pheasants this week.
Back to the cabin at 9:30. Dad called mom on the land line. Although we have wifi here, we do not have cell service at all. We can get email and update the blog, but no calls unless we pay the LD fee.
The Pond House (cabin we are staying in) has ruined us forever. These accommodations are outstanding! The meals are prepared by professional chefs and cannot be found anywhere else. The guides are courteous and professional, and if you catch them at the right moment, are also pretty funny. We have lots of stories to tell!
We're heading through Grand Junction tomorrow morning, taking the back way up through Douglass Pass to the high ranch. Should have cell service for about an hour, so will try to call and catch up with only the important people. If you don't get a call, then you know you're not on that list.
No elk yet, but lots of beautiful country and we're having fun.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Yep, good luck finding elk in this picture. That's snow blowing past the window!
Returned to the lodge for an early lunch and then headed for the high ranch. It became fast and furious up there as we spotted over 50 elk. The trick is seeing them before they see us, creep close, and then hopefully get a shot off before they bust outta there. Trent and I both got off two shots but came up empty. Not sure about Trent's excuses, but mine were due to miscalculating the distances. I shot at the first cow elk using my 100 yard pin. She was at 200 yds. The second time I used my 200 yd pin and she was closer than 100. So I missed low and high, respectively. I know, I suck.
At least the sun came out and we saw elk. And since we knew the snow was fresh, it made tracking easy. In fact, we came upon some fresh bear tracks, but since we are busy missing elk, we neglected to take photos. I must say, we are doing a pretty poor job in the photo department, but then again, that's not why we are here.
We drove back down in the dark and the snow. We hit the cabin about 10 after 7, showered and returned to the main lodge for dinner at 8. The group before us, the 6:30 dinner crowd, was just leaving. In that group is The Band Perry, a country music group. They are out here hunting pheasants this week.
Back to the cabin at 9:30. Dad called mom on the land line. Although we have wifi here, we do not have cell service at all. We can get email and update the blog, but no calls unless we pay the LD fee.
The Pond House (cabin we are staying in) has ruined us forever. These accommodations are outstanding! The meals are prepared by professional chefs and cannot be found anywhere else. The guides are courteous and professional, and if you catch them at the right moment, are also pretty funny. We have lots of stories to tell!
We're heading through Grand Junction tomorrow morning, taking the back way up through Douglass Pass to the high ranch. Should have cell service for about an hour, so will try to call and catch up with only the important people. If you don't get a call, then you know you're not on that list.
No elk yet, but lots of beautiful country and we're having fun.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:De Beque, Colorado, United States
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