shuteye

shuteye, originally uploaded by craptastica.

The elk hunt

elk_retrieval4,
originally uploaded by craptastica.

A few weeks back I got the opportunity to go hunting with some good friends of mine who travelled from back east. I'd never hunted before, nor even shot a gun, so it was quite a process to do it.

First I had to learn about the rifle I needed. Then I took a hunter safety course and learned all the rules. Then I got lucky and drewa a license. Next was the field reconnaisance, learning of elk habits, and the endless conversations with fellow hunters that always turn into bullshit hunting stories. Lastly, was how to actually field dress and quarter an elk once we killed one.

I was the most freaked out by the last part. The last thing I wanted to do was to desecrate an elk by totally botching the cutting/cleaning to the point it was inedible. Fortunately, it all worked out well.

My friends, Dan and Matt, came to town on a Thursday night. We didn't have too much time to party, so we focused on packing our backpacks to TILT, pouring over backcountry maps, and discussing where to go and what to do until midnight. The next day we headed out to the Rito Cafe near the San Pedro Parks Wilderness in high spirits.

Because Dan is an overzealous maniac, we ended up hiking for 3+ miles with our ridiculously heavy packs to make base camp. We left base camp every morning at 4:50am to start our morning hunts, took a break at noon, and then headed back out until night fall.

We saw a lot of elk those first few days, but they were always running and I couldn't ever get a clean shot between the trees. Truthfully, it was more like the elk found us... I'd be stalking around in the woods looking ahead when suddenly the elk would run right behind me or something. By the time I turned around and got a good look, they were gone like rent money on junk.

On the fourth day we decided to go farther up into the vast grasslands of the wilderness. We hid in a small clump of trees and as the light faded from the forest, a group of elk broke cover and began feeding in the open.

Dan shot first, and my bullet shot rang out not a moment later. I was excited and forgot to compensate for the distance, but Dan hit an elk right in its heart. It died instantly, in the spot it was shot.

We gave the elk a last meal of grass and went to work. 5 hours later we dragged our weary asses back to camp dreading the thought of hiking the butchered animal 5 miles back to the car.

The next day that was all we did. We made it home by nightfall, rubbed our tired feet, and made a blazing fire.

sitting on a log

sitting on a log,
originally uploaded by craptastica.

Matt and I taking a mid-morning break.