The Book Cliffs
Mule Deer
I absolutely love the Book Cliffs. I was fortunate to hunt it in 08 for elk in the roadless area and simply had a wonderful time. I fell in love with this wild place. This year I will head back down for deer. I think for the fun of it I will venture into the roadless area again just for the beauty of it all.
I became intrigued by tales from BB (Bill Allard) of his wonderful years in the book cliffs told here on the bowsite. BTW Bill if you are trolling around out there, thank you for a suggested side canyon and spring back in 08. It was a key to helping me be successful. I am still chuckling about your bear stories of down there. The famous horse story and then the time the bear met you after your hunt when you were on the side hill in the dark changing and you brushed up against something and so you turned on your light to find a bear face to face. You woofed and it woofed back. The story of your retreat and mad drive to vernal afterwards. These stories have added with mine to make the Book Cliffs a very special place in my heart.
What are some of those "sacred areas" that you have etched in your heart due to your hunting experiences? I don't have pic's like Bill but perhaps he will post a few of his fun memories. I so enjoy the stories.
Hope to one day draw that deer tag. Bill would be the first guy I called!
It took 10 pts to draw. Last year I was in the high point pool but there were only 7 of us that weren't drawn. Yep, me and my hunting partner were 2 of the 7 that didn't get it but now it's our turn and we are excited. Truly amazing country. Wild, steep and remote. Dessert on top with vegetation and water in the bottoms of the canyons. This is a place where the roads are all on top and you actually hike down into the canyons for the elk. The deer stay high on the tops but 1 hour down and 2 hours back up the other side. I am excited for the excuse to explore it once again.
Drew an elk tag in the Books in 2010 (roaded). That same year, BB drew a Books deer tag. On the last day of Bill's hunt, he and I went to work excavating a flat spot at the mouth of a narrow ravine for his ground blind. That evening, Bill connected on this Books muley. The Book Cliffs is definitely special. Sure hope to return some day.
Have Fun Shaun!!
Exciting for sure
#LovinLife
Robb
Guided my brother las year on a bison hunt....is there something about the freakin' bears up there? Had to run one out of camp in middle of the night. ..shooting in the air (safe direction) the bear ran and then stopped to see what the commotion was about. ...
I spent 20+ days on mules one year in the roadless one year, and have been in the roaded several times. Yes those bears are cantankerous down there! My hunting partner had an argument with a bear, and had to leave his meat. Fortunately he got most of it back the next day. Wonderful place.
I haven't heard all the bear stories referenced but agree they are cantankerous in the Book Cliffs! I was nearing the end of my mule deer hunt back in the '90s with a lot more elk spotted than deer. Solo, sleeping in the canopy on the truck, cooking on the tail gate, etc. I was in the process of getting dressed in the canopy well before daylight. I'd flipped up the rear window on the topper and was pulling my pants on when I heard a bear sniffing my cooler. I thought, good luck as it had a bit of orange juice remaining in it and one can of pop...but yelled "GET OUT OF THERE". Apparently she objected to my tone of voice, as she angrily stuck her head into my topper about a foot from mine a second later and her breath smelled like currant berries. I snarled (or maybe screamed) at her to leave and she dropped down. I instantly snatched the topper window closed, but she got back up and tried to break in. I had a short handled gravel shovel back there so grabbed it....my bow was in the cab. Anyway I raised quite a fuss and was planning to whack her with the shovel if she got in, when she decided to leave, or so I thought. I finished getting dressed, opened up the rear topper window and dropped the tail gate and hopped out.
Well....she was still there, about 20' away in the oak brush popping her teeth at me in the dark. I threw the cooler in, grabbed my lawn chair, closed up the back of the truck and dashed to the cab. When I started the truck and turned on the lights to leave I spotted her small cub up the small aspen tree in front of truck. To this day I'm convinced that if I'd have dropped the tail gate as well as opening the rear window as I was getting dressed she'd have climbed in and mauled me, as she was pissed! As it was, my voice was hoarse for a day, and I was wired on adrenaline for the rest of the day and drive home to Colorado. It was the closest call I've had with a bear.
Dang, Kurt! Wish you had a video of that little experience!
Are you talking about the book cliffs in CO or UT?
UT in my case, the only time I ever hunted the Book Cliffs in either state.
Midwest X2! Not sure if it will ever happen, though.
Thanks Robb! Yep, the bears seem to be causing some problems down there but they have increased the number of bear tags so I am curious to see if the problems begin to decrease. The year that I had my elk tag in the roadless, we ran into a group that had come in early to set up their camp for the rifle hunt (3 weeks early) anyhow, they had ridden in for the week-end on horseback to find their camp shredded. Apparently the bear had gotten a couple of camps in the next drainage over as well. We will definitely have bear spray on our hip and maybe a little more … My hunting partner is already freaking out about the bears.
I've hunted the Book cliffs in both states....amazing country. Driving up from the dry desert red rock valleys you would never believe the beauty of that Book Cliffs Roadless unit in Utah- one of the coolest elk hunts I've done....and crawling with screaming 6 point bulls. That hunt will screw you up for 'real world' OTC hunts, thats for sure. We were calling in as many as 6 good bulls a day in that unit....they were screaming all day long. Never ran into another hunter off the main trails.....as good as it gets IMO. Just bring an extra filter cartridge as the fine silt can plug your water filter.
I bowhunted the roaded area for mulies in 2007. It's a cool area no doubt about it.
