Last year, a friend of mine, Jeb, and I decided to put in for elk tags in Colorado. He had family out there and it was the perfect set up. We got the tag, so I decided to spend some dough on high quality gear to help me on the trip. What I had not accounted for was that I had been out of high school sports for over a year and that the “freshman 15” would hinder my athletic performance.
We woke up at 4 each morning for a quick breakfast, and would catch a ride to the trail head from Jeb’s uncle. We hiked up the mountain for two hours climbing almost 1,500 feet of elevation to get to the ridge line. Each day we walked roughly 12 miles, but we tried our best to stay on the ridge line so we didn’t have to climb as much.
Each passing day, the woods seemed to become quieter and quieter. Not because the elk were not bugling, but because Jeb and I were losing faith that we would see anything. After five to six twelve mile days, we had begun to lose all of our hope. On the last day, Jeb and I decided to go through a valley we had not ventured down yet. We wanted to make our way to a certain spot, but fell victim to getting out too late so we found a meadow and stopped.
I was so fucking tired that I passed out in a bed of pine straws and let Jeb keep an eye out. I woke up to him hitting my chest and hearing him say: “quit fucking snoring there’s elk coming down the mountain.” After glasses them, we located the herd bull and set up our rifles. The bull was at 540 yards but we knew it was our only shot. He took the first shot and connected with the elk with his 30-06. Quickly after, I followed up and connected as well. The herd ran up the mountain and left their leader in the valley with us.
This trip was special because Jeb had never hunted anything like an elk before. He had only been able to hunt a whitetail and birds in Lubbock and it was super cool being able to be there for it. My biggest takeaway from the trip was this: If you’re going to spend a bunch of money on gear and an elk tag, maybe do yourself a favor and take a break from the Miller Lite and DoorDash and maybe hit the stair master a few times before you go.
