Back from Colorado

[Mike D.]

We returned this morning from Maybell, CO, aftert a fruitless week of elk and deer hunting. I saw NO elk on the entire 65,000 acres that we hunted. There were 40 hunters in the bunkhouse and not one animal was taken. The severe winter cold of last winter took it's toll on the hooved population of Moffatt County, as testified by the huge number of skeletal remains strewn about the landscape. The ranch owner had 65 head of elk die in his pasture, mostly due to not being able to get water. The temps were -60º for a several days, proving too much for the animals to handle. Sadly, we witnessed hundreds of antelope, deer and elk carcasses in the back country, including some fine bulls and bucks.

I carried my Winchester 71 through dust, mud, rain and snow, all for naught. Not a shot was fired, not even at the dozens of coyotes we saw. That was all OK, however, as the experience was well worth the price of admission. We were hunting, not killing. The food served was top notch and the bunkhouse neat and warm. We did find some outstanding Indian artifacts and beautiful agatized petrified wood. The country was exceedingly beautiful, with rainbow colored rimrocks abounding.

My only complaint is with the Colorado DOW. They were well aware of the die off, yet failed to notify us hunters of the lack of game in the area. This smacks of revenue greed, plain and simple. They were all too happy to accept our money, despite knowing that we would have no elk to take. We did see several nice bucks, just none that anyone wanted to take. I can shoot all the 3 pointers I want in CA. The monster mulies that were seen last year failed to appear, despite our hiking and glassing their previous haunts. One medium 4X4 was spotted as he bedded under a juniper, but his 24" rack was deemed undersized, so he stayed safely at rest.

We left Maybell at 0600 on Thursday, and arrived here at 0400 today. The fuel pump on our '96 Bronco gave out near Duchesne, Utah, but we were saved immediately by a Utah Highway Patrolman who witnessed the rig coasting to a stop on a steep hill five miles from town. He called a tow vehicle and stayed with us until he arrived. The owner of the tow company also has a repair facility on site and he ordered a new pump as soon as he dispatched the driver. All together, we had a five hour break between the initial problem and being on the road again. The driver was also the mechanic, making short work of dropping the fuel tank and installing the new pump. The cost of the tow and repairs came to $450, a price we happily paid, especially considering the alternatives. I'm sure that a Ford dealer would have charged much more and made us wait at least a couple of days until they could get around to doing the job. The folks in that small Utah community went out of their way to get us on our way as fast as possible. The owner even offered us a few landowner depredation elk tags, but we had no Utah licenses and had to sadly decline. He has 6 elk and 6 such deer tags that must be filled by 31 Dec. I will definitely look into that situation for next year.

[Jay Bird]

They need that $550 from out of state hunters. Mine is $55 dollar rip off. I hunted 2nd seasons and saw nothing but 2 mules and lots of bear poop. I was told that there wear 700+ head above timber line by an outfitter. Which was a 3 day ride by horse. Area i was at is called poison park north of Pagosa Springs. Better luck next year. I hunted in a tee shirt 4 days, it was just to HOT.

[Old Time Hunter]

Mike, sounds as though it was still worth it. It shows good character to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, it appears you did it! I'd definitely check out the price of a out of state license in Utah.

[Modoc ED]

Sounds like a good trip Mike even though you didn't get any game. Yep, I'd definitely look into that Utah deal.

[Sixgun]

Mike,
Just the walk in the woods with your Model 71 made it a success . Ain't nothin' like being in the woods with your favorite Winchester! (or Colt, Marlin, 'Smith, Ruger ) Shootin' the bull with your buddies and good food all combine to make it a memorable experience.

I too, agree with you on the $500 rip off from the bull tag. I pay it each year (except this year) and My son and I sometimes go three years without even sighting an animal, which is all I really want to do. Every few years, we do manage to fill the freezer, but you know, it ain't easy huntin' elk without horses and livin' in a tent, which is how we do it.

For some funny reason, the rifle I take hunting seems to depend on my success. The only thing I ever shot with a Model 71 were wild dogs. Bolt actions and handguns--forget it. But...........when my 1886 in 33 WCF comes along, it draws out the game! -----------Sixgun

[BenT]

I've had elk hunts like that, but it sure beats a week at work anytime.

[Mike D.]

I did take a few photos of the NW Colorado "scenery". The day after our arrival was hot, in the '80s, but we took a drive up country to look for game. My camera was with me throughout the days afield, but there wre no animals to photograph, other than dead ones. I took no pics of those.

Here is our rig, as we passed through some brush, kicking up dust. With no rain, those roads are a penetrating dustbowl.


A few vehicles lined up in front of the bunkhouse.


Nice rock formations abounded.


Some cliffs held huge eagles nests as well as smaller hawk ones. Golden Eagles were everywhere.


In "normal" years, these valleys are elk migration "highways". It was too strange to see them empty of anything but antelope, which abounded.


When things got boring, and no shootable animals were seen, we spent time hunting artifacts. Nearly every ridge had evidence of Indian occupation, as well as the fossilized remains of many million year old critters.


One one ridge, I found an ancient mudflow that had encased some trees that had been turned to agate over the millinea. You could plainly see their outline in the mud that had also turned to flint. The area was littered with agate chips from the Native's harvest of the red material. It was obvious where each man had sat and worked, as little circles of fine chippings could be seen. Fascinating to me.


What a difference an day makes! Overnight, it snowed 6" and the temps dropped dramatically. It was 8º when we hit the road. I was freezing while awaiting the elk migration that never happened.


At light, it was a surreal scene, with snow covering the previously dusty landcape.


That's about all that was worth looking at as far as I was concerned. Not seeing any game was dissapointing, but everything else was fine. Next year, if we don't hit Utah, we'll be going down to the Grand Junction area to hunt.

[Marc]

Sorry to hear you didn't see anything. When I was in Fruita last month I heard that Maybell was the place for bulls during the migration! Didn't hear anything about winter kill. Sounds like the weather was to warm to bring the elk down. There is always next year.

[Mike D.]

I have a friend who lives in Fruita, and he claimed that all hunters in the area got both deer and elk, if they had the tags. The was NO elk migtation around Maybell, at least not at the time we were there. The DOW, in Meeker, claimed that a big herd was on Black Mountain, but the guys that hunted there saw no such situation. It was like the elk had vanished.

[Modoc ED]

Mike - I know this won't make you feel better but the wife and I went down to Los Angeles, CA to see the kids and grandkids for a week last month. On our return North on 16 October between Lone Pine, CA and Big Pine, CA on U.S. 395 I looked over to my left and in a pasture there were about 150 to 200 Elk bedded down. It was about 7:30AM and I figure they had been there all night.

Anyway, it just goes to show that while scarse in one area they (ELK) are flourishing in another area.

Thanks for the pics.

[Marc]

The elk hunting was good. Much better than last year. North of Fruita is lousy with 22-24" 4x4's. There is at least one on every ridge. We only saw one that would have bettered that and he was probably 27-28". The catch is that it takes 10 or 11 preference points to get a deer tag there. We talked to a local who said the best buck he ever killed there was 33-5/8"!