Trip 2
My second day of scouting came a week after the first. I decided this time that I would hike to the location where Merrill, Brett, and myself watched a beautiful big bull elk push his herd up over a canyon right to us. We then watched him push them up the same canyon we were in until he finished at the top of the canyon. I say they were his herd because he was the biggest bull in the group and he was very vocal. This hike is not as far as the hike I did a week ago but a little steeper at the start. The trail is one that the three of us accidentally came across as we were hiking up a ridge. We followed the trail to the top of the canyon. We later discovered that the trail head at the bottom of the canyon is hidden, there are downed trees blocking the entrance and unless you were very observant you would never see it. As I started the hike I was about 15 minutes in when I walked up on a cow elk. She was laying in the trees watching me walk, she stood and looked at me for a minute before running around the corner of the mountain out of sight. This was encouraging for me because I once again found elk where we had seen them before.
This confirms the area is elk country. I walked to the same spot we saw the elk come from the last time we were there. I sat down to eat and look at a pond at the bottom of the canyon. After about 20 minutes of sitting I once again heard something I didn't know happened outside of mating season. I heard the faint noise of a bull elk bugling, again this wasn't a full bugle like calling in potential mates. It was about a half bugle, a short grunt and whistle. This happened a few more times, as I sat I then saw two cow elk and a calf on the hillside in front of me. I hadn't seen them as the view had been blocked by pine trees. Another cow then stood and walked down to meet the other three. They rounded the corner of the mountain out of my sight. I then decided I would try and parallel them and see where they were going. I put on my pack and started following the tree line up the canyon. As I walked I spotted two cow elk on the ridge south of me. I then heard a bugle to the south as well. It sounded like it was on the same hillside as the cows. Then to my surprise, to the northwest of my location I heard a louder bugle. It seemed more commanding. As I peered through trees I started to see several elk out in the grass openings in front of me. The commanding bugle seemed to be coming from that general direction. I continued walking that way, as quietly as I could, hoping to get a peek at the bull. As I was in and out of the tree line I lost sight of the elk. They were moving.
As I pushed along I noticed the bull had stopped making as much noise. I then stepped into an opening where my view was clear of the hillside to my right. I saw about 60 head of elk running up the hillside. There were several cows and several calves in the group. The cows stopped to check me out several times as their young calves worked hard to get up the hillside. The bull suddenly becoming quiet, and the cows pushing their young up the hillside helped me understand that I had been busted. I'm not sure if it was my scent or if it was noise. I thought I had been very quiet as I walked. I had also chosen that spot to walk as noise from the running creek would cover my own. The two things I knew I needed to correct in the future is odor and noise. I wanted to keep them from leaving the area without being able to get a better look at them so I turned and left the area. I found that once the group had made it to the top of the ridge, they didn't leave. My surrender seemed to help them calm down. I walked to a viewpoint where I could see the group on the top of the ridge and I noticed another group that was now behind me. I had walked right past them and not even noticed. They were on the canyon floor and didn't appear to be part of the herd that was on the ridge. Having heard two different bugles it made me think there were two different groups of elk with two different bulls. This was a great day of locating and scouting. I was becoming more familiar with the area and the behavior of the elk in that area. I also noticed on this trip there was a lack of deer, throughout the hike I only spotted 3 deer. I had always assumed deer and elk shared the same habitat but I am beginning to wonder if what I thought was wrong. This is happening a lot, what I think is being
I have noticed that what I am learning about these animals is very different than what all of the so called elk hunters here in town think. An example of this is that when I discuss the elk making noise with other people, who claim to be able to tell me where all of where all of the elk are, they dismiss it or think it must be something other than what I claim to be hearing. I have also had several people tell me they have never seen calves that young. Are these guys credible elk hunters or are they a bunch of guys who hunt when they have tags and see elk from afar in places and now they are experts?
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