Elk hunt thus far...and it's over :(

[Mesophilic]

 I've got 10 more days on my elk hunt.  The first four have been awesome and depressing at the same time.

Pros: The scenery up here in the Santa Fe National Forest, near the Valles Caldera in NM is amazing.  I really wish I'd had my big Nikon instead of my phone yesterday.   In the rainbow pic below, I swear thats the closest I've ever been to the end of a rainbow,  it appeared to touch down less than 100 yards in front of me.  Yesterday watched a herd in the caldera, 41 head including a beautiful trophy bull and a younger 2x2 (or 4 point depending on how you score).  But alas, the caldera is protected and not part of my unit.  I'll post a pic but the cell didnt do nearly as good a job as with the rainbows...just look for the little tan dots 

Cons:  I have yet to see an elk in my hunting unit.  Plenty of scat but the rain keeps washing away tracks each day and making the turds seem fresher than they might otherwise be , and I'm not seeing any fresh tracks after the rains either.  Getting pretty dispirited and hard to keep up the motivation.  The rut hasn't started and bugling may be more harm than good.  Haven't been able to even get any response with a cow call. I've put in so many miles on foot, going on little sleep, that I'm exhausted and getting sloppy so I'm going to take tomorrow off.  Also tons of campers and hikers in the area.  In fact, yesterday I sat under a fir tree for several hours, 2 of which were pouring rain, watching a draw for the elk to move up it...instead a handful of hippie folks came up it picking mushrooms (my internal monologue was full of profane words that don't even exist in the English language).

I know this is an amazing opportunity that a lot of folks would go nuts over, and I still have 10 days left.  But I'm getting pretty bummed at knowing they're out there, but not even glimpsing one in my unit,  or even a hind end running away through the forest is getting me down.  Hopefully all the city folks have finally gone home from the long Labor Day weekend and the wildlife can relax a little in the coming days.

[mullet]

I'd be glad to take over the last 10 days. Take a break and start fresh.

[PEARL DRUMS]

Advice from my perspective; be grateful you are there and have the opportunity to use your eyes, legs and mind. The rest is all secondary. Hippies, no elk, mushrooms, rain and rainbows are the smallest part of it. 

[Mesophilic]

I've never been drawn for elk, been along for the ride a couple of times during rifle seasons and that's a whole different strategy in full rut.   Let me ask you guys something, considering I'm hunting tradbow, would you concentrate on putting in miles (on foot) or hunker down and work a smaller area that you know they've been in, even if you can't pin down how recently?  Or something in the middle?

[Morgan]

Diesel, that capture of the rainbow is stunning. I can’t offer advice on elk hunting strategy, but my personal opinion is that if there’s been lots of human traffic recently in the area, I’d stay put in a spot that has been heavily traveled by the elk, preferably a bottleneck or convergence of heavy trails somewhere and make as little impact as possible. At least for a few days while the smell of hippie washes away.

[nclonghunter]

Heading out to Colorado on the 7th. It is super dry out there from what I hear. Elk move in great distances and if you are not seeing or hearing them where you are I would move to another place. What are they doing in the Caldera? Feeding on grass or getting water? Figure that out and try to find the same in your unit you can hunt. I know it is easier said than done but I will not stay where the elk are not. Good Luck!!

[mullet]

My self, now that all the tourist are gone after the Holiday weekend, I'd scout the area real good where you found the droppings before I moved off. You know they were there and there is a good chance they were pushed off. I'd look for areas where they are coming into that area and moving out of it. If no luck in a few days I'd head out for something new and cover a lot of ground till I found an active area.

[Mesophilic]

Been a great last couple of weeks.   If I'd been in the next unit over I'd have had a lot more opportunity.  When I'd drive through  6C to get to my unit, 6A, I'd quite often see elk crossing the highway in the early hours and late evenings.

Never saw an elk in 6A the whole time, no tracks at all, and any droppings  were weeks old.  I knew they were out there somewhere, put in a lot of miles on foot looking for them.  Toward the end I ended up driving dirt roads a bunch, looking for them, I really hate that as I don't consider that to be hunting.  But I was getting desperate to turn up something, anything to help me narrow down prospective areas.  Still no rut yet, so calling was highly ineffective.

The highlight of one of my mornings was listening to two groups of hunters bugling back and forth at eachother.  So I picked one group and decided to stalk them since there were no elk to stalk. Kind of interesting how easy it is to stalk a super predator like man.

I was struggling with the idea that I was doing something wrong,  and maybe I was to a greater or lesser degree.  But all of the other animals in the forest seemed oblivious to me.  Stalked several deer just for practice and could have possibly filled a tag many times over.   Even got within bow shot of a bedded down coyote before he figured something wasn't quite right.  So I think I'll chalk it up to my inexperience with the unit.

Probably won't put in for a first hunt again for a while.  I think the second hunt guys will get the benefit of the rut. 

Also, found that in addition to trying to understand the movements of the animals, getting to know people movements would be quite handy.  So many people taking advantage of the weather, and I don't blame them one bit.  Avoiding people traffic was a real chore, as well as avoiding other hunters.  As I came down a pass this morning I found four other trucks parked at various spots between me and where the elk sometimes graze in the protected area, and at thst point called it a day.  No way the elk were coming through that pass.

It was a great time, though, and I'd do it all over again...but maybe after catching up on some R&R from my R&R 

[StickMark]

Thanks for sharing.  Each paragraph has a main idea that would be great to discuss on the off season.  I appreciate your story, and as for myself, learn from other's experiences. 

That  part about talking the super predator "man" really illustrates how we miss so much in the natural world.

Again, good read. 

[bjrogg]

Thanks for sharing your hunt. I'm sure you brought back lots of memories. While I know they don't taste as good as a nice Elk, their a lot easier to pack out. Hope you get to try it again in the future.
Bjrogg