Post by BlueNorther on Oct 2, 2010 11:04:47 GMT -5
Well another one is done and over with. Wished I could tell you it was a good one but but Ma Nature was against us on this one. We left the day before the opener so we could get camp set up and a weeks worth of firewood cut. Drove through a 150 miles of pouring rain thinking this is going to be the $#&*'s for making camp 
. Well Saints be praised, we drove out of it within a mile from where camp would be. We got camp set up and were getting ready to set out for some wood cutting and scouting when one of the guys spotted a bighorn ram right above our camp, we held two ram tags. Spotting scopes were brought out and we looked him over and finally determined he was just short of legal, they have to be full curl in this zone. Then the rain moved in again with low cloud making seeing anything a bust. We got soaked to the bones cutting wood.
Opening morning we were happy to see no rain but fog hung in some of the lower valleys. I took a chance and headed south with my Nephew to glass some of the lower hills for elk. We were rewarded to see a huge 6x6 bull with 5 cows moving into higher country. We threw a plan together to try and intercept this bull when Ma Nature threw a hitch into our plans by covering the valley in dense fog and completely ruining that hunt in half an hour. An hour later in another valley I spotted two more bulls, a nice 5x5 and a good 6x6 with a few cows, only problem was they were in a zone we couldn't hunt in, they were only 600 yards from the boundary zone and we set up and tried to call them to us but they wouldn't budge,again here comes the friggin fog, this is getting really frustrating
. Hunted till dark trying to out run the fog with no success.
Day 2. Wake up to 8 inches of snow and low lying cloud,AARRRGGG!!! We decide to stay in camp and cook up bacon and eggs and enjoy a hot breakfast. My friends Brother shows up and says he knows where a good bull is and we go after him. It's not looking good weather wise, snow is threatening again and all the valleys are still shrouded in low cloud but what the hell we're here to hunt. We start walking into the valley all the while hoping the snow will hold off. After a mile we cut tracks of a single elk and and buddy decides to track it and I'll go higher and watch a cut block and maybe cut off this elk. 45 minutes later I hear his rifle go off, awesome. I back track and follow his tracks and find him with a beautiful 6x6 bull. We spent the rest of the day getting that bull out, 7 hours of grueling work. Sorry no pics of this bull, it's not mine and buddy doesn't want it posted on the net
which is too bad as it's great bull.
Day 3. No Sunday hunting in this zone, stupid law. All the other guys head out with their bows to hunt deer in a zone that is open on Sunday, I didn't take my bow due to neck problems, stupid idea
. They all fling arrows at deer but none connect. I post in the bow forum about these escapades.
Day 4. Two members leave because of work commitments and the bad weather. More snow and clouds to the ground, we're stuck in camp again.
Day 5. Clear and sunny
The 3 of us that are left decide to head into a valley we've never been into before. 5 miles into the back and saw nothing, was a nice day for a walk though. That evening I spot a bull with 3 cows in a valley we had hunted earlier. WE don't waste any time and head off after them only to be enveloped in heavy fog half an hour later, I'm ready to just throw my rifle away and go home. Head back to camp and drown our sorrows in whiskey and beer and curse the weather Gods.
Day 6. Heavy fog. My friend decides to call it quits he figures a bad day at work has got to be better than this. Me and my Nephew head to town for fuel and a breakfast cooked by someone else. We get back to camp to find the fog has lifted and we decide to drive around and do some glassing. At about 5:00 I spot a black bear on a high slope feeding on huckle berries. We put a stalk together and go after him. The Nephew picks his route and goes straight up and I stay low watching the bear. An hour later I spot my Nephew and he is above where I last saw the bear. He cut his track in the snow and followed them to where the bear entered an alder thicket. The bear started woofing at him but wouldn't come out. He stayed up there till dark drove him out. This was his first time going after a bear and was quite excited about it and a little scared at the same time. We'll try again in the morning.
Day 7. Light fog but it's lifting. We head to where we last saw the bear feeling pretty good about it. Not gonna happen. Fog is lying in all the low areas and we can't spot the slopes. Spend the rest of the morning looking at high slopes above the fog and only see a grizzly bear. Enough is enough, we decide to tear down camp and go home.
It was a fun trip despite the weather and it beat being at work.
Here's a few pics
First snowfall
2 days after the first snow.
Walking into the Gladstone. This is where buddy got his bull a couple days earlier. Note how fast the snow melted. This was the nicest day we had.
Taking a breather going into the Gladstone.
Above the fog. This was the last day. As long as we stayed high we could see. All the valleys were fogged in.
Same day. Where the fog is lying is where the black bear was. We spotted the grizzly on the slopes above us.
. Well Saints be praised, we drove out of it within a mile from where camp would be. We got camp set up and were getting ready to set out for some wood cutting and scouting when one of the guys spotted a bighorn ram right above our camp, we held two ram tags. Spotting scopes were brought out and we looked him over and finally determined he was just short of legal, they have to be full curl in this zone. Then the rain moved in again with low cloud making seeing anything a bust. We got soaked to the bones cutting wood.Opening morning we were happy to see no rain but fog hung in some of the lower valleys. I took a chance and headed south with my Nephew to glass some of the lower hills for elk. We were rewarded to see a huge 6x6 bull with 5 cows moving into higher country. We threw a plan together to try and intercept this bull when Ma Nature threw a hitch into our plans by covering the valley in dense fog and completely ruining that hunt in half an hour. An hour later in another valley I spotted two more bulls, a nice 5x5 and a good 6x6 with a few cows, only problem was they were in a zone we couldn't hunt in, they were only 600 yards from the boundary zone and we set up and tried to call them to us but they wouldn't budge,again here comes the friggin fog, this is getting really frustrating
. Hunted till dark trying to out run the fog with no success.Day 2. Wake up to 8 inches of snow and low lying cloud,AARRRGGG!!! We decide to stay in camp and cook up bacon and eggs and enjoy a hot breakfast. My friends Brother shows up and says he knows where a good bull is and we go after him. It's not looking good weather wise, snow is threatening again and all the valleys are still shrouded in low cloud but what the hell we're here to hunt. We start walking into the valley all the while hoping the snow will hold off. After a mile we cut tracks of a single elk and and buddy decides to track it and I'll go higher and watch a cut block and maybe cut off this elk. 45 minutes later I hear his rifle go off, awesome. I back track and follow his tracks and find him with a beautiful 6x6 bull. We spent the rest of the day getting that bull out, 7 hours of grueling work. Sorry no pics of this bull, it's not mine and buddy doesn't want it posted on the net
which is too bad as it's great bull.Day 3. No Sunday hunting in this zone, stupid law. All the other guys head out with their bows to hunt deer in a zone that is open on Sunday, I didn't take my bow due to neck problems, stupid idea
. They all fling arrows at deer but none connect. I post in the bow forum about these escapades.Day 4. Two members leave because of work commitments and the bad weather. More snow and clouds to the ground, we're stuck in camp again.
Day 5. Clear and sunny
The 3 of us that are left decide to head into a valley we've never been into before. 5 miles into the back and saw nothing, was a nice day for a walk though. That evening I spot a bull with 3 cows in a valley we had hunted earlier. WE don't waste any time and head off after them only to be enveloped in heavy fog half an hour later, I'm ready to just throw my rifle away and go home. Head back to camp and drown our sorrows in whiskey and beer and curse the weather Gods.Day 6. Heavy fog. My friend decides to call it quits he figures a bad day at work has got to be better than this. Me and my Nephew head to town for fuel and a breakfast cooked by someone else. We get back to camp to find the fog has lifted and we decide to drive around and do some glassing. At about 5:00 I spot a black bear on a high slope feeding on huckle berries. We put a stalk together and go after him. The Nephew picks his route and goes straight up and I stay low watching the bear. An hour later I spot my Nephew and he is above where I last saw the bear. He cut his track in the snow and followed them to where the bear entered an alder thicket. The bear started woofing at him but wouldn't come out. He stayed up there till dark drove him out. This was his first time going after a bear and was quite excited about it and a little scared at the same time. We'll try again in the morning.
Day 7. Light fog but it's lifting. We head to where we last saw the bear feeling pretty good about it. Not gonna happen. Fog is lying in all the low areas and we can't spot the slopes. Spend the rest of the morning looking at high slopes above the fog and only see a grizzly bear. Enough is enough, we decide to tear down camp and go home.
It was a fun trip despite the weather and it beat being at work.
Here's a few pics
First snowfall
2 days after the first snow.
Walking into the Gladstone. This is where buddy got his bull a couple days earlier. Note how fast the snow melted. This was the nicest day we had.
Taking a breather going into the Gladstone.
Above the fog. This was the last day. As long as we stayed high we could see. All the valleys were fogged in.
Same day. Where the fog is lying is where the black bear was. We spotted the grizzly on the slopes above us.
