Elk Hunt Colorado 2000—Ron, Loren, and Buzzer

We left on Thursday, October 12th at 2 p.m. from Perham, after visiting Taimi.  She smiled and said that we never bring any elk home.

After driving for 18 hours, we arrived in Craig at 7 a.m. Friday morning.  We had a big breakfast at a local cafe and then it was time to buy groceries.  We all agreed on what to buy, but as it turned out, we had enough for several days after the season was over.

After having made several phone calls to locate a cabin, I was able to get in touch with a fellow postmaster in Colorado.  She was our connection to our facilities, which consisted of a bunk house in the country with an attached kitchen.

We were reminded of the olden days because we had an outhouse.  However, we did have Charmin to use, and not a Sears catalog.

Friday afternoon was spent getting acclimated to the 7,000 – 10,000 ft. altitude.  We saw lots of deer and could “smell the elk.”  Friday evening we spent sightseeing thousands of mule deer in the fields.  After that, we went back to the cabin and played pool in the poolroom.  We all said we could play pool but the years away from the “table” sure showed!

After a restless night of sleep, it was up at 4 a.m. to pursue the “whapiti.”  The hike up the mountain was exhausting, but we could make it in about an hour.

Upon settling in our “stands” it was approximately 6:45- 7 a.m. when the first two elk appeared.  A cow and a calf.  I had a cow permit, but am thinking after driving 18 hours to get here, am I ready to finish my hunt after 20 minutes?  I decided to let them pass.

About one hour later, some hunters spooked a herd of cattle which were grazing in the forest.  Suddenly, there are deer everywhere!  Two coyotes ran by, and then three elk were coming directly toward me.  The cattle scared the elk, and they headed into the woods.

About 10 a.m. four elk came bursting out of the woods directly toward my stand.  I waited because they kept coming closer and closer. Finally I picked one cow and was able to harvest it  Ron also got his cow about the same time.  As we walked up to the animals, we realized our work was just beginning.

We took my elk first because it was smaller.  We boned the meat to the point where we thought we could carry the rest on a pole.  We should have a video of us trying to carry half an elk on a pole.  One step forward and two steps back.  We needed to stop twice to figure out what to do.  We needed to make more pieces for less weight on the pole.  Ron made it out with two hind quarters on the pole.  We finally got down to the truck.  Then we unloaded and ventured back up the mountain for the bigger elk.  Ron’s cow was totally boned out and loaded into our three back packs.

We got down the mountain about 6 p.m. and headed for the cabin.  We packed the elk in coolers and added ice.  We were now too tired to play pool.  It was time to eat and hit the hay!

At 4 a.m. Sunday morning, our bones seemed to creak a bit as we tried to get out of bed.  We got to our stands about 6:45 a.m., and I was sitting with Loren.  About 8 a.m., a bull elk appeared out of nowhere, behind us.  Loren was able to harvest the animal, and when we got to it, we KNEW this would be two trips down the mountain.  Loren had the heaviest load, but then, he is the youngest.

About 2 a.m., we were headed to the cabin with another truckload of elk meat.  Almost all of Monday was spent cutting the elk into chops, roasts, steak, and hamburger meat.  Monday evening we again could play pool and the “old man” was starting to get his touch back.

On Tuesday morning, 4 a.m., we headed back to Minnesota, arriving at midnight Tuesday night.  

On Wednesday morning, I told Taimi that we got three elk, and she gave me a big smile.

Duane “Buzzer” Koehler,

New York Mills