Geo in Co

[George]

I'm still trying to find an elk, I've been day tripping, evenings. Up until recently it has been hot in the hills, animals not vocal. I have seen a couple of elk on the road back down. Today instead of hiking I'm going to hunt a clear cut just above the road.
















This matted down area had six big piles. I've been told that you can judge the size of a bear by the size of the pile?



I got a call from my friend Kevin back in Iowa yesterday. He got a jumbled call then a text for help yesterday from Brad, the guy who bought my place. Kevin raced to his location lying under a 24' ladder stand in pain unable to move. He was air lifted to Iowa City with a broken L2 pressing on his spine. He is having surgery this morning.

Just a reminder to be safe, not in a hurry, and utilize those safety harnesses.

G

 

[cutman]

Dang. That's terrible. My best friends dad was paralyzed from the waist down from a deer hunting accident. He spent the final 30 years of his life in a wheel chair.

Good luck with the elk.

 

[George]

Brad demolished one vertebrae and broke 3 or 4 more, 5 fused, the extent of damage to his spine is unclear at this time. One of his biggest worries at this time is that he might have to hunt with a cross gun this year and he doesn't have money right now to buy one.

It seems that when I get out of the car I just want to go up. It was an enjoyable day in the woods.











My goal was to get down off of the cliff face with light









My road hunting strategy actually had merit. I was cow calling as I worked my way down and I had a bull elk working up towards me. I saw one vehicle all afternoon and it happened to be road hunting, they bumped the elk back down and sat there for 20 or so minutes. No luck after that calling the elk back up. This afternoon I'm going down into the abyss instead of going up.



G

 

[Triple C]

George...Really scary news on the guy that bought your property. Another reminder for us all. I golfed 2 weekends ago and the grounds keeper who is an avid bowhunter just came out of a cast after falling 18ft from his stick ladder. It broke when he reached the top and back he went. Never leave the ground without being hooked up to a life line.

Best of luck on chasing elk! Brooks is on his 2nd day out there.

 

[dogghr]

It seems that when I get out of the car I just want to go up. It was an enjoyable day in the woods.

G

I get that 110%. Nothing like being on the mountains. I'm like a kid at Christmas when I see you posted. Living vicariously thru you and missing that country and thanks to you I've already packed to hunt our wilderness areas here in Nov alone. Not quite the western experience you have at the moment but I haven't done it for a while and have gotten too addicted to an atv. Time to get back to my roots. Headed out with my son to ski Breckenridge this Feb I think, you might have to make a drive up. 9000 base elevation, sure I'll be sucking air.

Good stuff. Be careful. Good luck.

 

[Chainsaw]

I'm enjoying your trips Geo. I think you might be getting near to a close shot very soon. Keep on going.

 

[pinetag]

Love the pics of the terrain/habitat you have out that way Geo!

 

[George]

Thanks guys.

Good luck on your excursion Doug.

Another day, going down.





I dropped down 350' vertical into a burn



The creek was another 100' down.



It was gusty and as I spent time in the burn I watched 3 dead trees crash to the ground.



I didn't waste too much time getting back up to living trees where I hunkered down till end of hunting light. See no elk, hear no elk. I did find one doe muley.





G

 

[Gator]

Tough hunting Geo. You will figure it out...

 

[George]

Tough hunting Geo. You will figure it out...

I drove up to the next drainage on Wednesday



and found red elderberry about browsed to the ground



and the most fresh tracks that I have seen. The problem was that the hunters that moved in last week were still there. 4 camps on the road, probably 16 hunters working the area. I went for a 7 mile bow hike anyway. I'm just going through the motions now.







Looking ahead to my mule deer hunt.



G

 

[Mennoniteman]

So windy dead trees are blowing over? Time to get out of there! One of those dead limbs hit me a yr n a half ago, fractured a vertebrae, very painful until it healed. And you wouldn't be getting out of there under your own power... Good luck with your hunting, enjoy the pictures.

 

[George]

Thanks Mennoniteman.

I finished my elk season back in September, one hunt down closer to the valley floor in the rain forest.


This forest actually has some living conifers.





Then I was back up to 11,000, nada.



The season ended on Sunday and I pulled into my drive on the following Tuesday at 5:30pm to a chorus of multiple bull elk bugling their butts off for hours up on the hill across the road.



G

 

[George]

I'm a bit stubborn, I was damned and determined to find elk up in the mountains. Me and Hank put a camera on a backyard water hole after the archery season had ended.













G

 

[letemgrow]

Hunting closer to home next year?


Sent from my iPhone using Deer Hunter Forum

 

[George]

Time for some deer scouting.















We checked on the kokanees but they were tight lipped.







G

 

[George]

Hunting closer to home next year?


Sent from my iPhone using Deer Hunter Forum

Hi Phil, I will be more open minded next elk season. I will do more camera surveys. I'm deer hunting right out the door. After a last minute scouting trip





I put myself in this spot for opening morning.





At 8:30am I had lots of animals to look at







I saw four does on my evening hunt.

G

 

[Native Hunter]

The back yard water hole appears to be a popular attraction....

Scenery with the colors changing is even more awesome than usual!

 

[George]

Hi Steve, intel said that there were 4 hunting camps on the hill with the water hole this past weekend.

I wandered the oak brush above the hood yesterday evening








and settled in to a dead fall over looking a grassy area up top, I saw one deer. There doesn't seem to be much evening movement, I'm heading out shortly.


G

 

[George]

I returned to the same morning spot an hour before sun up and as it lightened up I watched the same herd of does and young bucks grazing up the draw. Again at 8:30 they worked their way by, they were a rambunctious bunch today. Some more bodies followed but I lost them and they popped out up higher an hour later, four bucks, one begging to go on the wall next to my Iowa 8pt.



I started dancing around looking for a shooting stick like this was the first big buck that I ever saw. They didn't care for my dancing and moved thru my only shooting lane in a trot, which was probably a good thing, it wasn't much of a shooting lane.



I have a new morning spot. When the deer go thru the above picture they are entering this area, right to left, possible shots range from 30 to 230 yards.





They are somewhere going over the rim and bedding, I'm thinking, near by. The area I was in last night is over the rim in this photo. It is hot today and winds could be wrong, deer haven't been moving till dark so I'm going to save my knees and the spot for tomorrow morning.



G

 

[Gator]

Good luck. Sounds like you are getting close.