The bugle had been lingering in the background since jolting me awake at 1:24 a.m. I was growing impatient watching Andrew finish his breakfast. It was time to go.
We had glassed this bull and his 30 cows last night as they fed into a timber and sage covered meadow across the canyon. Exactly the situation we had been searching for, we sat down our packs and made camp.
While eating dinner, we watched as the herd began feeding their way toward the upper portion of the meadow. Above them, a brief ridgeline separated the herd’s meadow from a dark tract of timber that ran on for miles. In the mid-morning tomorrow, the elk would likely disappear into this area to bed. We knew catching up to them in the heavy timber would be difficult. Our best chance was to be above the herd at first light.
Andrew was still working on his breakfast as we began wading across the river. We were late, but the ridge leading us to the elk was direct and we made good time in the breaking dawn. Twenty minutes before shooting light, we dove off the ridge to our left, directly into a steady … READ MORE >
