I can't complain. I had a hell of a nice bull broadside twice on Sunday of opening weekend....and failed to make the shots. Excuses are excuses.....I didn't execute regardless of the circumstances. I had other close encounters.....alot of them.....more than all the prior years combined I suspect. I had regular contact with some great bulls. It was exciting. I really pushed myself, solo, and have no regrets.
16 nights packed over 2 miles back by myself. I did a lot of hunting. I learned a lot. I gave it all the tricks up my sleeve. I called, I raked, I glassed, I ambushed, I crept into bedding areas and found beds just no elk in them. I have no idea how many miles logged, but the very basic adds up to 80 just getting back into my camp and back out to the vehicle.....not counting miles logged while hunting and scouting. Double it? Probably.
In the end, the elk were gone. It was like someone flipped a switch. No fresh sign, no elk sounds, no elk. Hell even the mulies were gone. I trekked further and further looking to recontact the elk. I ended up pushing a little too hard and tweaked my back....I've lived with degenerative disc disease for over 10 years now and when I break off a new piece of vertebra.....well it hurts. Like can't tie your shoes or get off the ground hurts.
So I called the ball and limped out to heal and dream of next year........ Congrats to all you killers! Thanks Will for all the help even if I was too weak to hunt the X's you still helped me find new places that were lots of fun to hunt.
I'll be back on OTC next year so if anyone wants to share camp with a broken down old tag soup expert......drop me a line....I'm thinking Unit 28 up around Jumbo Mtn to the Divide.......but I am open to suggestions. I'm kinda tired of the solo thing frankly.
I'd share camp, but I think I'm about done with OTC stuff. Getting enough points to hunt some other species, and wanna do some more overseas hunts.
Good luck in the future!!
