1 00:00:02,880 --> 00:00:06,440 Speaker 1: Welcome to the Wired to Hunt podcast, your home for 2 00:00:06,519 --> 00:00:11,479 Speaker 1: deer hunting news, stories and strategies, and now your host, 3 00:00:11,880 --> 00:00:16,759 Speaker 1: Mark Kenyon. Welcome to the Wired to Hunt podcast. I'm 4 00:00:16,800 --> 00:00:20,439 Speaker 1: your host, Mark Kenyan, and this episode number seventy three 5 00:00:20,960 --> 00:00:23,440 Speaker 1: tay the show. In this little bonus episode, Dan and 6 00:00:23,480 --> 00:00:26,439 Speaker 1: I are going to be quickly recapping our past two weeks, 7 00:00:26,640 --> 00:00:50,120 Speaker 1: chasing up before we dive into our elkhinting discussion that 8 00:00:50,240 --> 00:00:52,479 Speaker 1: we need to quickly thank our partners at sick of 9 00:00:52,560 --> 00:00:54,720 Speaker 1: Gear who have stepped up big time to make this 10 00:00:54,800 --> 00:00:57,800 Speaker 1: year's Wired to Hunt podcast possible. And if you spent 11 00:00:57,920 --> 00:00:59,800 Speaker 1: any time at all checking out sick of Gear on 12 00:01:00,040 --> 00:01:03,880 Speaker 1: social media like Facebook or Instagram, you've probably seen people 13 00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:07,800 Speaker 1: using the hashtag sick for it to tag their photos 14 00:01:07,920 --> 00:01:10,760 Speaker 1: or comments. It's become a pretty popular little slogan for 15 00:01:10,800 --> 00:01:12,640 Speaker 1: a lot of sick of wearing guys and girls, and 16 00:01:12,880 --> 00:01:15,720 Speaker 1: a lot of other hunters too. So when I chatted 17 00:01:15,720 --> 00:01:18,640 Speaker 1: with Sick of Product category leader Dennis suck last I 18 00:01:18,680 --> 00:01:21,240 Speaker 1: was curious to hear about where this sick for it 19 00:01:21,360 --> 00:01:26,080 Speaker 1: hashtag and saying came from. Here's Dennists. Yeah, it's it's 20 00:01:26,120 --> 00:01:27,760 Speaker 1: kind of a really funny thing, and it's kind of 21 00:01:27,760 --> 00:01:30,440 Speaker 1: cool people kind of grab right onto it. But you know, 22 00:01:30,520 --> 00:01:31,920 Speaker 1: I think, you know, if you look at some of 23 00:01:31,920 --> 00:01:33,160 Speaker 1: the why we do what we do and all the 24 00:01:33,160 --> 00:01:34,959 Speaker 1: other stuff in the sick of films and the videos 25 00:01:35,000 --> 00:01:37,440 Speaker 1: and kind of that, you know, just try and always 26 00:01:37,480 --> 00:01:39,720 Speaker 1: be in the moment, trying to always go after things, 27 00:01:39,800 --> 00:01:42,080 Speaker 1: you know, kind of you know, get out in the woods, 28 00:01:42,080 --> 00:01:44,240 Speaker 1: get out hunt do all the stuff we do. You know, 29 00:01:44,360 --> 00:01:46,119 Speaker 1: somebody's like, you know, we're you know, it's being sick 30 00:01:46,160 --> 00:01:47,840 Speaker 1: for it, and and we kind of thought about that 31 00:01:47,880 --> 00:01:51,120 Speaker 1: and it's just interesting tag to describe that, you know, 32 00:01:51,200 --> 00:01:53,680 Speaker 1: just that that sickness we all kind of have about, 33 00:01:54,040 --> 00:01:56,520 Speaker 1: you know, being in the outdoors. So it's something we 34 00:01:56,560 --> 00:01:58,680 Speaker 1: kind of did, the hashtag thing and it kind of 35 00:01:58,680 --> 00:02:00,880 Speaker 1: caught on quick, and you know, now it's on gun 36 00:02:00,880 --> 00:02:04,160 Speaker 1: barrels all over the place, which is fantastic. So there 37 00:02:04,280 --> 00:02:07,920 Speaker 1: you go. If you've got the fever, if you're afflicted 38 00:02:07,920 --> 00:02:10,839 Speaker 1: with a serious addiction to white tails, if you are 39 00:02:11,000 --> 00:02:14,360 Speaker 1: truly sick for it, you ought to check out sick 40 00:02:14,400 --> 00:02:18,040 Speaker 1: as Gear made truly for us fanatics at sick of 41 00:02:18,120 --> 00:02:22,440 Speaker 1: gear dot com. And now let's kick off the show. 42 00:02:23,919 --> 00:02:28,040 Speaker 1: All right, Welcome to the Wired to Hunt podcast, brought 43 00:02:28,080 --> 00:02:32,239 Speaker 1: to you by Sick Gear. I gotta apologize to you all. 44 00:02:32,760 --> 00:02:36,480 Speaker 1: We didn't have an episode last week because I was 45 00:02:36,639 --> 00:02:40,400 Speaker 1: in organ chasing Elk and before that, me and Dan 46 00:02:40,840 --> 00:02:44,520 Speaker 1: we're in Idaho chasing Elk, and that is the theme 47 00:02:44,600 --> 00:02:47,480 Speaker 1: of our podcast today. We want to just get you 48 00:02:47,520 --> 00:02:50,080 Speaker 1: all up to date on what we've been up to 49 00:02:50,080 --> 00:02:52,400 Speaker 1: the last two weeks. We're gonna take a brief break 50 00:02:52,400 --> 00:02:54,800 Speaker 1: from white tail stuff to UH to share with you 51 00:02:55,200 --> 00:02:58,040 Speaker 1: perspective of a white tail hunter gone west, UM and 52 00:02:58,080 --> 00:02:59,919 Speaker 1: talk to you about what that's been like, the challenges 53 00:03:00,040 --> 00:03:03,720 Speaker 1: we had, the experiences we had, UM, and what we 54 00:03:03,800 --> 00:03:06,799 Speaker 1: learned along the way. So it's gonna be a shorter episode, 55 00:03:06,880 --> 00:03:08,840 Speaker 1: kind of a bonus episode here, but we want to 56 00:03:08,880 --> 00:03:10,800 Speaker 1: make sure we talked about this topic for all of 57 00:03:10,800 --> 00:03:12,919 Speaker 1: you that might be considering a hunt out west or 58 00:03:13,000 --> 00:03:17,680 Speaker 1: chasing Elk someday. You know, maybe this will be interesting too. So, damn, 59 00:03:18,800 --> 00:03:22,640 Speaker 1: what how did you feel the day you got back 60 00:03:22,680 --> 00:03:25,280 Speaker 1: when we drove I drove twenty four hours, so you 61 00:03:25,360 --> 00:03:27,760 Speaker 1: drove eighteen hours to get what we drove eighteen hours 62 00:03:27,800 --> 00:03:30,240 Speaker 1: get you back to Iowa. How did you feel that 63 00:03:30,360 --> 00:03:32,760 Speaker 1: day you got back to Iowa after our weekend night. 64 00:03:32,840 --> 00:03:38,760 Speaker 1: Hull oh, man, I think I just barely dried out. 65 00:03:40,360 --> 00:03:44,120 Speaker 1: I think it's funny because I got home I was 66 00:03:44,200 --> 00:03:48,320 Speaker 1: exhausted because you know, obviously we're both exhausted from the trip. 67 00:03:48,440 --> 00:03:53,960 Speaker 1: We're both exhausted from the then the additional drive and 68 00:03:54,160 --> 00:03:57,440 Speaker 1: um um, I think it was like we were both 69 00:03:57,480 --> 00:04:00,880 Speaker 1: just on autopilot. And then I got home and then 70 00:04:00,960 --> 00:04:06,000 Speaker 1: my wife goes, here's the kids. So then I was 71 00:04:06,120 --> 00:04:12,120 Speaker 1: up for another eight hour straight watching kids. So it 72 00:04:12,200 --> 00:04:15,960 Speaker 1: was it was. It was exhausting, but well worth it. Yeah. Yeah, 73 00:04:15,960 --> 00:04:18,680 Speaker 1: I while you were dealing with the kids, I had 74 00:04:18,720 --> 00:04:20,400 Speaker 1: a heck of a time trying to get home because 75 00:04:20,400 --> 00:04:22,200 Speaker 1: I was so exhausted. You know, I made it, I 76 00:04:22,200 --> 00:04:24,760 Speaker 1: think an hour after dropping you off, and then I 77 00:04:24,800 --> 00:04:26,560 Speaker 1: had to stop at a gas station sleep in the 78 00:04:26,560 --> 00:04:28,680 Speaker 1: parking lot for an hour. And then I was able 79 00:04:28,680 --> 00:04:30,640 Speaker 1: to drive another like three hours, and then again I 80 00:04:30,680 --> 00:04:33,320 Speaker 1: was like hallucinating. I could not focus on the road, 81 00:04:33,560 --> 00:04:37,280 Speaker 1: pulled over again, slept in another truck stop. Um. So man, 82 00:04:37,320 --> 00:04:39,600 Speaker 1: I didn't get home until late that evening because I 83 00:04:39,640 --> 00:04:44,480 Speaker 1: just could not stay awake. It was tough. Yeah, uh, 84 00:04:44,520 --> 00:04:49,520 Speaker 1: but you know, just the scenery out there blows my mind, 85 00:04:50,040 --> 00:04:54,800 Speaker 1: the scenery of the actual you know. The drive back, 86 00:04:55,520 --> 00:04:57,240 Speaker 1: I was like a little I was like, oh, there's 87 00:04:57,240 --> 00:05:00,320 Speaker 1: a prong horn. There's a prong horn. There's a prong horn, 88 00:05:00,800 --> 00:05:04,240 Speaker 1: like every every every five minutes. We're driving through Wyoming 89 00:05:04,360 --> 00:05:06,760 Speaker 1: And if you guys don't know, Wyoming is like the 90 00:05:06,880 --> 00:05:11,200 Speaker 1: capital of prong horns. And I'm just watching there's a 91 00:05:11,200 --> 00:05:13,320 Speaker 1: big one. There's a big one, you know, so you 92 00:05:13,440 --> 00:05:17,159 Speaker 1: already pretty I was like a kid. So so let's 93 00:05:17,160 --> 00:05:20,000 Speaker 1: take it back to the beginning. Let's walk through our 94 00:05:20,120 --> 00:05:23,200 Speaker 1: our our week out there. We I picked you up 95 00:05:23,360 --> 00:05:27,520 Speaker 1: on Sunday morning. We drove straight through, we got into 96 00:05:27,560 --> 00:05:31,640 Speaker 1: Idaho Monday morning. We got to our little pull off 97 00:05:31,640 --> 00:05:35,440 Speaker 1: spot we're about to drive in, and um, there's more 98 00:05:35,440 --> 00:05:37,000 Speaker 1: people there than I have seen there in the past 99 00:05:37,000 --> 00:05:40,159 Speaker 1: couple of years. What were you thinking when we got there? Well, 100 00:05:40,320 --> 00:05:43,400 Speaker 1: I really wasn't too concerned because I, like I said 101 00:05:43,440 --> 00:05:47,120 Speaker 1: to you, I didn't have any real expectations for this. 102 00:05:47,600 --> 00:05:50,120 Speaker 1: Basically just this was the first time for me, so 103 00:05:50,240 --> 00:05:55,560 Speaker 1: I was just there to absorb um. But they were 104 00:05:55,600 --> 00:06:00,440 Speaker 1: packing up. Like the area that we hunt also has 105 00:06:00,680 --> 00:06:03,440 Speaker 1: sheep on it throughout the year, right, Yeah, the grace sheep. 106 00:06:03,480 --> 00:06:05,800 Speaker 1: I'm part of it, ye, Right. So they had a 107 00:06:05,839 --> 00:06:08,240 Speaker 1: huge round up and they rounded up all the sheep 108 00:06:08,279 --> 00:06:13,680 Speaker 1: into this corral that where we parked by, and and 109 00:06:13,720 --> 00:06:15,880 Speaker 1: I thought that was gonna be a good thing, that 110 00:06:15,920 --> 00:06:18,440 Speaker 1: they got all the sheep out of there and we're 111 00:06:18,480 --> 00:06:21,920 Speaker 1: good to go now. But and I thought originally that 112 00:06:22,000 --> 00:06:25,400 Speaker 1: the other campers were some of the cowboys that were there, 113 00:06:26,120 --> 00:06:30,880 Speaker 1: you know, getting all these sheep. But little did we know. Yeah, yeah, 114 00:06:30,880 --> 00:06:32,560 Speaker 1: I was. I was thinking and hoping the same thing. 115 00:06:33,200 --> 00:06:35,240 Speaker 1: But yeah, so we hiked in, you know, the couple 116 00:06:35,240 --> 00:06:38,280 Speaker 1: of miles into where are we usual camp where I've 117 00:06:38,320 --> 00:06:41,600 Speaker 1: camped in the past. We set up camp. Things are 118 00:06:41,600 --> 00:06:45,159 Speaker 1: looking pretty good, and then I think we started realizing 119 00:06:45,160 --> 00:06:46,839 Speaker 1: there might be an issue when we saw two guys 120 00:06:46,880 --> 00:06:50,560 Speaker 1: walk past our camp, um you know, that afternoon and 121 00:06:50,600 --> 00:06:55,039 Speaker 1: then we went to go get water. Yeah, and then 122 00:06:55,320 --> 00:06:58,520 Speaker 1: the first thing we see is a whole bunch of 123 00:06:58,560 --> 00:07:02,680 Speaker 1: tents underneath this tree where you said last year was 124 00:07:02,760 --> 00:07:05,839 Speaker 1: like the money spot to be, like, we're we're seeing 125 00:07:05,839 --> 00:07:08,240 Speaker 1: elk and elk re bugling right there. Yeah, it was 126 00:07:08,240 --> 00:07:10,320 Speaker 1: a spot to hunt. And now this year, there was 127 00:07:10,400 --> 00:07:15,440 Speaker 1: three tents, an electrical fence corral set up for three horses, 128 00:07:16,680 --> 00:07:19,200 Speaker 1: and and while we're getting there, we're like, what's on 129 00:07:19,240 --> 00:07:23,920 Speaker 1: the back of that guy's horse. Well, it was antlers 130 00:07:24,400 --> 00:07:28,280 Speaker 1: and it was meat. So he like we got water 131 00:07:28,320 --> 00:07:30,360 Speaker 1: over the very first time. It's a guy packing out 132 00:07:31,000 --> 00:07:34,200 Speaker 1: a bull elk and it was a decent size elk too, 133 00:07:34,280 --> 00:07:39,080 Speaker 1: And that was the closest we got to seeing an elk. 134 00:07:39,160 --> 00:07:42,080 Speaker 1: That yeah, that was that was our best big bull 135 00:07:42,120 --> 00:07:46,680 Speaker 1: encounter of the trip. Yes, we got water. We saw 136 00:07:46,720 --> 00:07:49,559 Speaker 1: those guys hunting in our spot. We went back to camp, 137 00:07:49,600 --> 00:07:52,640 Speaker 1: and then a family of four walked past our camp. 138 00:07:53,600 --> 00:07:56,840 Speaker 1: So and like I told you, you know, in the past, 139 00:07:57,000 --> 00:07:59,360 Speaker 1: the past two years of hunting this spot, we've never 140 00:07:59,440 --> 00:08:02,560 Speaker 1: had any shoes with any other hunters at all. Like 141 00:08:02,760 --> 00:08:06,120 Speaker 1: I saw the last year, we had two guys walk 142 00:08:06,280 --> 00:08:09,720 Speaker 1: past our camp the first day and that's the only 143 00:08:09,800 --> 00:08:11,960 Speaker 1: other time I've ever seen another hunter out there ever 144 00:08:12,120 --> 00:08:15,120 Speaker 1: over the past two years at all. And now in 145 00:08:15,160 --> 00:08:20,960 Speaker 1: our first day we've got like nine people. Yeah, and 146 00:08:21,040 --> 00:08:22,960 Speaker 1: that was kind of the story of the hunt. We 147 00:08:23,280 --> 00:08:25,640 Speaker 1: you know, at that point, I was really stressed out 148 00:08:25,800 --> 00:08:27,960 Speaker 1: because I was worried, Okay, there's a lot more people 149 00:08:28,000 --> 00:08:29,760 Speaker 1: in here. This is totally going to change, you know 150 00:08:29,840 --> 00:08:32,040 Speaker 1: what I thought the elk would be doing. So that 151 00:08:32,120 --> 00:08:34,960 Speaker 1: first afternoon, you know, you and me were sitting there thinking, Okay, 152 00:08:34,960 --> 00:08:37,640 Speaker 1: should we pack up camp and move already, or can 153 00:08:37,679 --> 00:08:39,840 Speaker 1: we get into some elk still with this as our 154 00:08:39,880 --> 00:08:41,559 Speaker 1: base camp but we can just hike out a ways 155 00:08:41,600 --> 00:08:45,280 Speaker 1: and find them. Um. But we decided, you know, that night, 156 00:08:45,320 --> 00:08:48,720 Speaker 1: we said, okay, let's spend tonight and just let's see 157 00:08:48,720 --> 00:08:51,480 Speaker 1: what the situation is before we get over all worked 158 00:08:51,520 --> 00:08:54,120 Speaker 1: up and pack up camp and leave. Let's let's see 159 00:08:54,160 --> 00:08:57,000 Speaker 1: what things look like tonight and then maybe the next morning. 160 00:08:57,040 --> 00:09:00,280 Speaker 1: So that night we went hiked out way far east 161 00:09:00,280 --> 00:09:02,079 Speaker 1: of direction, you know, a couple of miles, and we 162 00:09:02,120 --> 00:09:05,400 Speaker 1: did see some milk. We saw I think four cows 163 00:09:05,440 --> 00:09:07,560 Speaker 1: down low that we bumped while walking. At one point, 164 00:09:07,640 --> 00:09:09,679 Speaker 1: we saw I think six cows way up high in 165 00:09:09,800 --> 00:09:12,120 Speaker 1: one distance, and I think we saw another four cows 166 00:09:12,160 --> 00:09:14,199 Speaker 1: way the other way on a ridge right, And that 167 00:09:14,360 --> 00:09:18,000 Speaker 1: was yep. And you know, that was the very first night, 168 00:09:19,040 --> 00:09:22,360 Speaker 1: and I I thought that was awesome, you know, but 169 00:09:23,920 --> 00:09:28,679 Speaker 1: this is what I read about after experiencing what we experienced, 170 00:09:28,720 --> 00:09:30,400 Speaker 1: and I talked to some other guys who actually live 171 00:09:30,440 --> 00:09:32,920 Speaker 1: out in Idaho. I guess Idaho had a lot of 172 00:09:33,120 --> 00:09:37,280 Speaker 1: rain this year, which means that the grass grew at 173 00:09:37,360 --> 00:09:41,520 Speaker 1: higher elevations, meaning the elk they didn't even need to 174 00:09:41,559 --> 00:09:44,840 Speaker 1: come down to the lower elevations to get their food 175 00:09:44,880 --> 00:09:48,640 Speaker 1: like they typically do, so that that's one of the 176 00:09:48,679 --> 00:09:51,880 Speaker 1: reasons why I think they were just at a higher elevation. Yeah, 177 00:09:52,000 --> 00:09:54,520 Speaker 1: I think we definitely saw that, that's for sure. Between 178 00:09:54,559 --> 00:09:57,960 Speaker 1: that and then the you know way, you know, greatly 179 00:09:58,040 --> 00:10:00,160 Speaker 1: increase hunting pressure than I've seen in there were four 180 00:10:00,160 --> 00:10:01,959 Speaker 1: I think those teams. I think there's two things put 181 00:10:01,960 --> 00:10:05,760 Speaker 1: those elk way up high and hard to get to. Um. 182 00:10:06,000 --> 00:10:08,559 Speaker 1: So we set up. We went back to camp that night. Well, 183 00:10:08,600 --> 00:10:10,840 Speaker 1: first off, we hiked you out to the spot, did 184 00:10:10,880 --> 00:10:13,440 Speaker 1: some glass, and saw some elk. Came back. Tell me, 185 00:10:13,480 --> 00:10:15,560 Speaker 1: how did you feel after a first day of hiking 186 00:10:15,559 --> 00:10:19,000 Speaker 1: around the mountains. I'll tell you, I thought I did 187 00:10:19,000 --> 00:10:23,840 Speaker 1: a good job appearing myself physically for this trip, and 188 00:10:24,600 --> 00:10:28,600 Speaker 1: I did. I felt I was good, But that thin 189 00:10:28,679 --> 00:10:33,800 Speaker 1: air up there just kicked your butt. I mean on 190 00:10:33,880 --> 00:10:36,480 Speaker 1: the way back, on the way there, you know, I 191 00:10:36,520 --> 00:10:38,720 Speaker 1: hadn't acclimated yet. I mean as far as on this 192 00:10:38,760 --> 00:10:42,480 Speaker 1: evening hunt, on the way to our glassing spot, I was, 193 00:10:42,559 --> 00:10:47,400 Speaker 1: I was, you know, feeling it. But on the way back, 194 00:10:47,920 --> 00:10:52,199 Speaker 1: oh my lord, just we went up some almost straight 195 00:10:52,280 --> 00:10:57,120 Speaker 1: up stuff and some straight up faces, and my legs 196 00:10:57,120 --> 00:11:00,040 Speaker 1: were burning and I was taking like five six and 197 00:11:00,120 --> 00:11:02,560 Speaker 1: eight steps at a time and then having to stop 198 00:11:03,080 --> 00:11:06,800 Speaker 1: and catch my breath. And luckily the preparation that I 199 00:11:06,800 --> 00:11:11,600 Speaker 1: did for this time, I feel helped me recover faster, 200 00:11:12,040 --> 00:11:16,000 Speaker 1: so you know, I needed like, you know, by the 201 00:11:16,080 --> 00:11:17,840 Speaker 1: very first day, I was like, okay, I'll give me 202 00:11:17,880 --> 00:11:21,520 Speaker 1: two minutes. And by the very last day, when I could, 203 00:11:21,600 --> 00:11:23,360 Speaker 1: I could pound it out a little bit more. And 204 00:11:23,400 --> 00:11:26,600 Speaker 1: I think maybe you saw that as well, where I 205 00:11:26,640 --> 00:11:29,120 Speaker 1: got acclimated and I can start moving around and at 206 00:11:29,120 --> 00:11:31,360 Speaker 1: a at a better pace, and when I needed to, 207 00:11:31,720 --> 00:11:34,040 Speaker 1: you know, have a time out, it only took me 208 00:11:34,080 --> 00:11:35,920 Speaker 1: like thirty seconds to recover and then I could go 209 00:11:35,960 --> 00:11:39,680 Speaker 1: again for a while. So I don't know, man, I 210 00:11:39,920 --> 00:11:42,400 Speaker 1: It's one of those things where you almost have to 211 00:11:42,480 --> 00:11:47,680 Speaker 1: live up there all year round two to truly feel 212 00:11:47,679 --> 00:11:51,280 Speaker 1: comfortable moving around. I mean, I'm I'm from Iowa. I 213 00:11:51,280 --> 00:11:55,640 Speaker 1: think where I live is like three foot elevation, so 214 00:11:56,120 --> 00:11:58,520 Speaker 1: I don't know what it's we were what we were, 215 00:11:58,640 --> 00:12:02,360 Speaker 1: We camped at about sixty four hundred feet and I 216 00:12:02,400 --> 00:12:07,680 Speaker 1: think the highest we got was almost eight thousand, So yeah, 217 00:12:07,800 --> 00:12:11,200 Speaker 1: it was it was an experience. Yeah, I think, Um, 218 00:12:11,240 --> 00:12:13,120 Speaker 1: you know, in past years I felt pretty good, but 219 00:12:13,240 --> 00:12:15,800 Speaker 1: this year especially, you know, since I lived out there 220 00:12:15,840 --> 00:12:17,480 Speaker 1: for two months, I was hiking all the time. That 221 00:12:17,520 --> 00:12:19,720 Speaker 1: helped a ton. I mean, just like you said, having 222 00:12:19,760 --> 00:12:23,240 Speaker 1: that time out there just acclimatizing and and even no 223 00:12:23,280 --> 00:12:25,160 Speaker 1: matter how much you work out, it is hard to 224 00:12:25,200 --> 00:12:28,079 Speaker 1: really exactly replicate what you're doing up there, you know, 225 00:12:28,160 --> 00:12:29,640 Speaker 1: just hiking up and down, up and down, up and 226 00:12:29,640 --> 00:12:31,600 Speaker 1: down in that thin air. It's hard to really prepare 227 00:12:31,640 --> 00:12:33,600 Speaker 1: for that. You can all, you know, like you did. 228 00:12:33,679 --> 00:12:35,040 Speaker 1: You can just do the best you can and then 229 00:12:35,080 --> 00:12:37,440 Speaker 1: when you get out there and just try to tough 230 00:12:37,480 --> 00:12:42,440 Speaker 1: it out. Yeah, and we did. And I think what 231 00:12:42,480 --> 00:12:44,760 Speaker 1: was the what was the word of the week. The 232 00:12:44,760 --> 00:12:49,560 Speaker 1: word of the week was brutal, brutal, brutal. I think 233 00:12:49,880 --> 00:12:55,199 Speaker 1: we got home. We were sitting there, um cooking our 234 00:12:55,280 --> 00:12:59,560 Speaker 1: our meals are freeze dried meals, and uh, listen to 235 00:12:59,720 --> 00:13:02,040 Speaker 1: a couple elk google in the distance and just looking 236 00:13:02,040 --> 00:13:04,719 Speaker 1: at the stars and me and you were going, man, 237 00:13:04,760 --> 00:13:08,120 Speaker 1: this is gonna be an awesome week. And uh, fast, 238 00:13:09,280 --> 00:13:14,040 Speaker 1: fat fast forward about what five hours later, I'm I'm 239 00:13:14,080 --> 00:13:17,640 Speaker 1: fast asleep and my tent comfortable, cozy, dreaming of big bowls. 240 00:13:17,679 --> 00:13:21,920 Speaker 1: And then something happened. Yeah, I started feeling. They started raining, 241 00:13:22,800 --> 00:13:25,240 Speaker 1: and I started real quick, real quick. We are in 242 00:13:25,280 --> 00:13:28,240 Speaker 1: two separate tents, right, we just brought our own tent. Okay, 243 00:13:28,240 --> 00:13:30,440 Speaker 1: so I'm closing in my tent. You're in your tent. 244 00:13:30,640 --> 00:13:34,959 Speaker 1: Continue and it starts to rain, and I'm borrowing a 245 00:13:35,400 --> 00:13:38,000 Speaker 1: front Uh buddy who does a lot of backpacking, So 246 00:13:38,040 --> 00:13:41,600 Speaker 1: I borrowed his tent. He told me it's you know, hey, 247 00:13:41,640 --> 00:13:46,160 Speaker 1: it works pretty good. And I wake up to dribbles 248 00:13:46,200 --> 00:13:48,680 Speaker 1: of water on my face and I looked down and 249 00:13:48,760 --> 00:13:56,320 Speaker 1: my tent is full of water. So I'm like, oh, Mark, Uh, 250 00:13:56,400 --> 00:13:59,199 Speaker 1: you know, I tried to like adjust myself to where 251 00:13:59,200 --> 00:14:02,320 Speaker 1: I wouldn't need to get into your tent, but it 252 00:14:02,440 --> 00:14:05,400 Speaker 1: was inevitable, I mean, and then so we had to 253 00:14:05,400 --> 00:14:08,440 Speaker 1: make a quick adjustment. I had to throw all my 254 00:14:08,559 --> 00:14:12,280 Speaker 1: stuff in, like not all my stuff, but like, I 255 00:14:12,440 --> 00:14:14,960 Speaker 1: kept my gear in my tent and then I put 256 00:14:15,080 --> 00:14:20,200 Speaker 1: some of my clothes and my boots and my sleeping 257 00:14:20,240 --> 00:14:24,680 Speaker 1: bag and so I jumped in with Mark basically, so 258 00:14:24,760 --> 00:14:27,360 Speaker 1: we we snuggled up the very first first night. And 259 00:14:27,720 --> 00:14:29,480 Speaker 1: that's a good way to kick things off. That's right, 260 00:14:29,520 --> 00:14:31,720 Speaker 1: that's right. So the next morning, the next morning was 261 00:14:31,760 --> 00:14:36,240 Speaker 1: awesome because it was it still rained a little bit, 262 00:14:36,400 --> 00:14:39,920 Speaker 1: but it wasn't downpouring. I don't know, man, it was. 263 00:14:39,960 --> 00:14:42,800 Speaker 1: It was downpouring for a decent bit of that morning. Yeah, 264 00:14:42,840 --> 00:14:45,600 Speaker 1: I think, I think. But we wouldn't have gone hunting 265 00:14:46,200 --> 00:14:49,040 Speaker 1: if it like, because it started off it was raining, 266 00:14:49,240 --> 00:14:51,000 Speaker 1: but it was like a drizzle and we're like, okay, 267 00:14:51,000 --> 00:14:53,520 Speaker 1: looking at the weather, it's supposed to let up. Well, 268 00:14:53,560 --> 00:14:56,240 Speaker 1: we get about a half mile away from our tent 269 00:14:56,640 --> 00:15:00,120 Speaker 1: and then we just pounded and we're just we're and 270 00:15:00,120 --> 00:15:02,560 Speaker 1: they're going and we can't even move. It's rains so 271 00:15:02,600 --> 00:15:05,360 Speaker 1: hard we can't see. And the other thing is that 272 00:15:05,440 --> 00:15:09,040 Speaker 1: out there, you know the I don't I think it's 273 00:15:09,080 --> 00:15:10,400 Speaker 1: clay or something. I don't know what it is. But 274 00:15:10,440 --> 00:15:12,880 Speaker 1: whatever the mud is, the dirt we want, it gets wet, 275 00:15:12,960 --> 00:15:15,000 Speaker 1: it just becomes grease. I mean, you can't hardly take 276 00:15:15,040 --> 00:15:17,640 Speaker 1: a step without slipping and falling. It's so hard to walk. 277 00:15:18,000 --> 00:15:22,600 Speaker 1: It was it was walking on vasoline. And by that time, 278 00:15:23,200 --> 00:15:28,880 Speaker 1: the every my my thirty five dollar rain suit had 279 00:15:28,960 --> 00:15:32,800 Speaker 1: already soaked through. So like and like I said, I 280 00:15:32,960 --> 00:15:36,760 Speaker 1: said to you, every every place that I tried to 281 00:15:36,840 --> 00:15:41,760 Speaker 1: save money was was exposed. Meaning I tried to save 282 00:15:41,840 --> 00:15:46,400 Speaker 1: money on a cheaper rain suit that didn't work. And 283 00:15:46,480 --> 00:15:50,360 Speaker 1: so the whole point of this of me saying this 284 00:15:50,440 --> 00:15:54,840 Speaker 1: right now is save your money for Western hunts, because literally, 285 00:15:55,400 --> 00:15:58,800 Speaker 1: your gear, your life could depend on the quality of 286 00:15:58,840 --> 00:16:01,680 Speaker 1: deer you have. Mean that first day, when I was 287 00:16:01,760 --> 00:16:06,600 Speaker 1: soaking wet, I felt my body kind of going downhill 288 00:16:06,880 --> 00:16:13,200 Speaker 1: like I was maybe in the pre stages of hypothermia 289 00:16:13,360 --> 00:16:16,080 Speaker 1: or something like that, because I was just I wasn't 290 00:16:16,120 --> 00:16:20,360 Speaker 1: feeling feeling right. Yeah, well that it really became even 291 00:16:20,400 --> 00:16:22,760 Speaker 1: the whole trip to a degree, you know, became more 292 00:16:22,800 --> 00:16:25,720 Speaker 1: so just like survival versus like an enjoyable hunting trip. 293 00:16:25,760 --> 00:16:28,000 Speaker 1: It was just, you know, especially with with a bad 294 00:16:28,000 --> 00:16:30,760 Speaker 1: tent and bad rain gear and cold, you know, it's 295 00:16:30,800 --> 00:16:32,800 Speaker 1: cold temperatures. We had the tempts in like the forties. 296 00:16:32,840 --> 00:16:35,080 Speaker 1: I think you know, when you're soaking wet and in 297 00:16:35,120 --> 00:16:37,440 Speaker 1: the forties and you're out there miles and miles away 298 00:16:37,480 --> 00:16:40,320 Speaker 1: from civilization, you know, it's all you can do just 299 00:16:40,400 --> 00:16:43,200 Speaker 1: to keep on, you know, keep on keeping on. Well, 300 00:16:43,240 --> 00:16:45,760 Speaker 1: and that's what I said. I mean, I was telling you. 301 00:16:45,760 --> 00:16:47,400 Speaker 1: You're like, hey, let's stop here for a second. I'm 302 00:16:47,440 --> 00:16:49,840 Speaker 1: just like, man, we gotta keep moving because if if 303 00:16:49,880 --> 00:16:52,920 Speaker 1: I stopped and my body cooled down, I felt I 304 00:16:52,960 --> 00:16:57,160 Speaker 1: was going to get sick. And so so I had 305 00:16:57,680 --> 00:17:00,280 Speaker 1: we had to keep moving. You know, every piece of 306 00:17:00,320 --> 00:17:04,080 Speaker 1: equipment I had, it was a wet every article of 307 00:17:04,160 --> 00:17:07,879 Speaker 1: clothing and uh, you know, we get back to the 308 00:17:07,880 --> 00:17:10,960 Speaker 1: tent after this morning hunt, what do we do. We 309 00:17:11,000 --> 00:17:16,119 Speaker 1: saw maybe one spike buck, spike bowl, spike bowl. Yeah, 310 00:17:16,240 --> 00:17:19,359 Speaker 1: and you know that was the closest we had. That 311 00:17:19,440 --> 00:17:22,359 Speaker 1: was a pretty close encounter. What was how fifty yards 312 00:17:22,400 --> 00:17:24,280 Speaker 1: for you? Right? Yeah? I think I was within fifty 313 00:17:24,320 --> 00:17:26,280 Speaker 1: yards of him, yep. And then I thought we were 314 00:17:26,280 --> 00:17:27,959 Speaker 1: going to have a play on that because I was 315 00:17:28,320 --> 00:17:31,360 Speaker 1: after that hike. I was like, dude, I'm shooting anything. Yeah, 316 00:17:31,400 --> 00:17:33,840 Speaker 1: you were ready at that point, any any elk. And 317 00:17:33,880 --> 00:17:37,200 Speaker 1: that was the day one. So I was just like 318 00:17:37,800 --> 00:17:39,600 Speaker 1: you know, this is the first trip for me. I'm 319 00:17:39,600 --> 00:17:42,120 Speaker 1: going to shoot the first elk within shooting range. And 320 00:17:43,480 --> 00:17:45,399 Speaker 1: you know, I made a little play over this ridge 321 00:17:45,400 --> 00:17:47,800 Speaker 1: and by the time that I got up to it, 322 00:17:47,800 --> 00:17:50,399 Speaker 1: he had bounded away. I think our our scent was 323 00:17:50,480 --> 00:17:55,120 Speaker 1: kind of swirling. But yeah, and then after that, back 324 00:17:55,119 --> 00:17:57,719 Speaker 1: to the tent, your stuff was just soaking wet and 325 00:17:57,840 --> 00:18:01,040 Speaker 1: everything was wete. Your tent was bombed, so we decided 326 00:18:01,119 --> 00:18:03,359 Speaker 1: we had to go get you a new tent. Yeah. 327 00:18:03,600 --> 00:18:06,000 Speaker 1: That was fun. Yeah. We packed all the way back 328 00:18:06,000 --> 00:18:07,880 Speaker 1: out to the truck, then had to drive an hour 329 00:18:08,119 --> 00:18:10,520 Speaker 1: from where the truck was to the nearest town. Got 330 00:18:10,520 --> 00:18:12,600 Speaker 1: to that town, checked a couple of stores. They didn't 331 00:18:12,640 --> 00:18:14,440 Speaker 1: have any tents. Then we had to drive another hour 332 00:18:14,600 --> 00:18:17,760 Speaker 1: to get to a bigger town where we could find 333 00:18:17,760 --> 00:18:19,760 Speaker 1: a temp but we stopped at like four places before 334 00:18:19,760 --> 00:18:22,879 Speaker 1: we finally found a spot to get your tent um 335 00:18:23,040 --> 00:18:28,720 Speaker 1: five later. Yeah, yeah, I heard about that when I 336 00:18:28,720 --> 00:18:31,840 Speaker 1: got home. Did you tell her how much it cost? Yeah? 337 00:18:32,040 --> 00:18:35,600 Speaker 1: She's like, uh, how much did you spend on it? 338 00:18:36,520 --> 00:18:39,480 Speaker 1: I just don't worry about it. Well, I need to 339 00:18:39,480 --> 00:18:41,720 Speaker 1: know how much you spent on it. So I told her, 340 00:18:41,760 --> 00:18:47,600 Speaker 1: and she's like, are you are you kidding me? Words? Yeah, yeah, 341 00:18:47,600 --> 00:18:49,359 Speaker 1: I know what you mean. She's like, I thought you 342 00:18:49,400 --> 00:18:52,159 Speaker 1: had a tent. I'm like, I literally had to have 343 00:18:52,200 --> 00:18:55,800 Speaker 1: a new tent where I was going to die. Yeah, 344 00:18:55,920 --> 00:18:59,800 Speaker 1: pretty much. Uh. We had a good hamburger out of 345 00:18:59,800 --> 00:19:01,560 Speaker 1: this deal. We did, because at that point I was like, 346 00:19:01,560 --> 00:19:02,960 Speaker 1: all right, you know, the way things are going, we're 347 00:19:02,960 --> 00:19:04,919 Speaker 1: not going to make it in time to hunt the 348 00:19:04,920 --> 00:19:06,560 Speaker 1: evening anyway, so we might as well get a good meal. 349 00:19:07,160 --> 00:19:11,679 Speaker 1: So stopped a laundry matt and UH dried all my 350 00:19:11,760 --> 00:19:18,960 Speaker 1: gear out and uh headed back. And and really after that, 351 00:19:19,160 --> 00:19:21,919 Speaker 1: the next like three days almost we could fast forward 352 00:19:21,920 --> 00:19:25,520 Speaker 1: through and basically just say when it was absolutely pouring, 353 00:19:25,560 --> 00:19:28,560 Speaker 1: horrifically pouring rain, we just hung out in the tent 354 00:19:28,760 --> 00:19:31,080 Speaker 1: because your stuff couldn't handle the rain and everything was 355 00:19:31,119 --> 00:19:33,320 Speaker 1: soaking wet, and I didn't want you to die, so 356 00:19:34,119 --> 00:19:37,719 Speaker 1: we just literally it was I was dry at that 357 00:19:37,760 --> 00:19:42,520 Speaker 1: point too, but I was dry, but it was raining, 358 00:19:42,600 --> 00:19:45,360 Speaker 1: and the elk were the elk. We're not even bugling. 359 00:19:45,600 --> 00:19:47,480 Speaker 1: Oh that's the other Yeah, that's another thing we should 360 00:19:47,480 --> 00:19:50,239 Speaker 1: point out. There was almost there was no bugling at all. 361 00:19:50,320 --> 00:19:53,000 Speaker 1: During daylight, we heard a activity. Nothing. We heard a 362 00:19:53,000 --> 00:19:57,000 Speaker 1: couple very very very distant bugles late at night and 363 00:19:57,000 --> 00:19:59,240 Speaker 1: a couple of things like that, but nothing going on 364 00:19:59,480 --> 00:20:03,720 Speaker 1: during day it anywhere near us. Yeah, and I that's 365 00:20:03,720 --> 00:20:06,440 Speaker 1: when it kind of that's kind of when it came 366 00:20:06,480 --> 00:20:08,240 Speaker 1: to a reality where it's like, you know, if the 367 00:20:08,280 --> 00:20:12,080 Speaker 1: elk were bugling, and they were they were active, I 368 00:20:12,160 --> 00:20:14,240 Speaker 1: would I would probably have got out of my tent 369 00:20:14,320 --> 00:20:19,080 Speaker 1: more and maybe chased them. But from where we continued 370 00:20:19,119 --> 00:20:22,679 Speaker 1: to see them at the higher elevations, and and the 371 00:20:22,720 --> 00:20:26,400 Speaker 1: fact that it rained at one point, like eighteen hours 372 00:20:26,400 --> 00:20:29,520 Speaker 1: in a row, We're sitting in our tents going you know, 373 00:20:29,560 --> 00:20:31,080 Speaker 1: what do you do? I was at one point I 374 00:20:31,160 --> 00:20:35,280 Speaker 1: was reading the instructions on my blister kit because I 375 00:20:35,400 --> 00:20:39,679 Speaker 1: was so bored. But you know, we were dry, relatively 376 00:20:39,960 --> 00:20:44,400 Speaker 1: relatively Yeah, and um, I mean even your stuff got wet. Yeah. 377 00:20:44,520 --> 00:20:46,760 Speaker 1: Even my tent was starting soaked through on the bottom. 378 00:20:46,840 --> 00:20:48,520 Speaker 1: And every time you go out there, even in your 379 00:20:48,600 --> 00:20:51,359 Speaker 1: rain gear, when you get back in your tent, everything 380 00:20:51,440 --> 00:20:54,359 Speaker 1: is silking. What everything's muddy, And you know, I, you 381 00:20:54,400 --> 00:20:57,600 Speaker 1: know me, even with white tails, I hunt through anything. 382 00:20:57,720 --> 00:21:01,200 Speaker 1: But when this episode area like this, like you said, 383 00:21:01,280 --> 00:21:04,320 Speaker 1: you know, number one, you go out there, you're getting 384 00:21:04,320 --> 00:21:06,760 Speaker 1: soaking wet, especially you, your stuff is getting soaked through. 385 00:21:06,760 --> 00:21:09,119 Speaker 1: You're in a bad situation if you get even weather. 386 00:21:09,480 --> 00:21:13,600 Speaker 1: Number two, there's nothing talking, there's nothing nearby, and there's 387 00:21:13,680 --> 00:21:17,560 Speaker 1: hunting pressure that's pushed everything far away. Number three. You know, 388 00:21:17,680 --> 00:21:20,000 Speaker 1: if it wasn't raining, or if the conditions were better, 389 00:21:20,040 --> 00:21:21,760 Speaker 1: even if the elk weren't bugling, what I would have 390 00:21:21,800 --> 00:21:23,440 Speaker 1: been doing that situation would have been, We're in a 391 00:21:23,520 --> 00:21:25,720 Speaker 1: hike a lot, We're gonna glass a lot, and we're 392 00:21:25,720 --> 00:21:27,480 Speaker 1: gonna hope to spot something and be able to stock 393 00:21:27,520 --> 00:21:29,359 Speaker 1: in on it. But when it's pouring so hard that 394 00:21:29,400 --> 00:21:33,560 Speaker 1: you can't see anything and the dirt is so muddy 395 00:21:33,600 --> 00:21:35,800 Speaker 1: and slippery that you can't even hike without falling over 396 00:21:35,840 --> 00:21:38,000 Speaker 1: every thirty yards, you can't go up hills, you can't 397 00:21:38,000 --> 00:21:39,720 Speaker 1: go down some of these hills because you literally can't 398 00:21:39,720 --> 00:21:42,879 Speaker 1: even get down them. You can't do anything. And that 399 00:21:43,000 --> 00:21:44,399 Speaker 1: was what we were stuck with for a couple of 400 00:21:44,440 --> 00:21:46,600 Speaker 1: days there, for parts of days most of I think 401 00:21:46,640 --> 00:21:48,000 Speaker 1: we had parts of days we were stuck in the 402 00:21:48,040 --> 00:21:49,840 Speaker 1: tent because of that. And then it clear up a 403 00:21:49,840 --> 00:21:51,080 Speaker 1: little bit and we tried to get out there and 404 00:21:51,119 --> 00:21:52,560 Speaker 1: hike a little bit, but it was pretty much a 405 00:21:52,560 --> 00:21:55,320 Speaker 1: lost cause. I mean, I mean we we we hunted 406 00:21:55,640 --> 00:21:58,080 Speaker 1: one time a day, We got out of our tent 407 00:21:58,280 --> 00:22:02,160 Speaker 1: one time a day for the for the entire week. 408 00:22:02,680 --> 00:22:04,640 Speaker 1: So it wasn't like a huge bust, but we were 409 00:22:04,640 --> 00:22:07,760 Speaker 1: fighting elements the entire time. Yeah, And and it was 410 00:22:07,880 --> 00:22:10,600 Speaker 1: I mean, it was the toughest conditions I've ever hunted in. 411 00:22:11,119 --> 00:22:13,080 Speaker 1: And even when it did clear up and we were 412 00:22:13,119 --> 00:22:15,760 Speaker 1: able to walk a little bit, I couldn't get any elk, 413 00:22:15,800 --> 00:22:18,240 Speaker 1: could hardly see any elk. The only time we did 414 00:22:18,240 --> 00:22:21,400 Speaker 1: eventually see some elk is when you know, I think 415 00:22:21,400 --> 00:22:23,199 Speaker 1: our fourth day or fifth day, we were getting late 416 00:22:23,200 --> 00:22:24,879 Speaker 1: in the trip, and we kept on trying to you know, 417 00:22:25,280 --> 00:22:27,399 Speaker 1: push farther and farther away, trying to find where this 418 00:22:27,440 --> 00:22:29,119 Speaker 1: elk might be. And we finally just went up this 419 00:22:29,240 --> 00:22:32,080 Speaker 1: ridge right to the freaking top of a mountain, nearly 420 00:22:32,520 --> 00:22:33,960 Speaker 1: trying to see over the other side and see if 421 00:22:34,000 --> 00:22:36,199 Speaker 1: there's something way, way, way way over there. And we 422 00:22:36,280 --> 00:22:38,520 Speaker 1: finally did get way up high after climbing you know 423 00:22:38,720 --> 00:22:41,959 Speaker 1: feet or two thousand feet or whatever it was, um, 424 00:22:42,040 --> 00:22:45,040 Speaker 1: and we spotted a bowl and some cows on the 425 00:22:45,040 --> 00:22:49,640 Speaker 1: other ridge across the valley, and then we well, at 426 00:22:49,640 --> 00:22:51,280 Speaker 1: this point that was the first bowl we'd seen the 427 00:22:51,280 --> 00:22:53,639 Speaker 1: whole trip, so we decided to tear it down after it. 428 00:22:53,720 --> 00:22:57,680 Speaker 1: So then we went running down the steep hillside or 429 00:22:57,760 --> 00:23:00,680 Speaker 1: ridgeline dropped down to the bottom valley. But a pretty 430 00:23:00,720 --> 00:23:03,440 Speaker 1: cool encounter with a moose. Yeah, yeah, I saw two 431 00:23:03,440 --> 00:23:06,159 Speaker 1: moose down there at the bottom, and then tried to 432 00:23:06,160 --> 00:23:07,960 Speaker 1: bomb off the other side. But now going up the 433 00:23:08,000 --> 00:23:10,399 Speaker 1: other side, now it starts pouring rain again and it 434 00:23:10,440 --> 00:23:13,159 Speaker 1: gets super crazy slippery wet again. At one point you 435 00:23:13,359 --> 00:23:15,879 Speaker 1: fell and popped your knee out right, Well, I didn't 436 00:23:16,480 --> 00:23:19,320 Speaker 1: like I every once in a while, if I'm using 437 00:23:19,359 --> 00:23:22,600 Speaker 1: my knee a lot, it'll kind of it'll have it 438 00:23:22,600 --> 00:23:26,359 Speaker 1: has like a hitch in it sometimes. And I was 439 00:23:26,440 --> 00:23:28,760 Speaker 1: kind of trying to catch myself on some slipping mud 440 00:23:28,800 --> 00:23:31,760 Speaker 1: and my knee popped at like my knee caught and 441 00:23:31,840 --> 00:23:34,879 Speaker 1: I fell and laying it on my back and uh 442 00:23:36,200 --> 00:23:38,680 Speaker 1: and got up, you know, luckily I wasn't hurt. But 443 00:23:39,840 --> 00:23:42,280 Speaker 1: and when you say we went up two thousand feet, 444 00:23:42,320 --> 00:23:44,840 Speaker 1: I mean from our base camp to the top of 445 00:23:44,880 --> 00:23:50,640 Speaker 1: that mountain was like a thousand feet okay, maybe feet 446 00:23:50,920 --> 00:23:53,040 Speaker 1: and then we where we saw the elk at we 447 00:23:53,080 --> 00:23:56,320 Speaker 1: had to go down five feet and then come back 448 00:23:56,520 --> 00:24:02,560 Speaker 1: up another thousand feet. So it was it was one 449 00:24:02,600 --> 00:24:04,760 Speaker 1: of the hardest things I've ever done in my life 450 00:24:04,960 --> 00:24:08,600 Speaker 1: from a physical standpoint, pushing my heart rate in my body, 451 00:24:09,119 --> 00:24:13,480 Speaker 1: two exhaustion levels. Yeah, it was tough. And then we 452 00:24:13,480 --> 00:24:16,080 Speaker 1: get to the top it's pouring rain again. Everything soaked. 453 00:24:16,119 --> 00:24:19,960 Speaker 1: We've both fallen down multiple times, were covered mud, but 454 00:24:20,119 --> 00:24:22,600 Speaker 1: all the elk are gone, of course, and then we 455 00:24:22,640 --> 00:24:24,879 Speaker 1: had like I don't know how long it seemed like 456 00:24:24,920 --> 00:24:26,720 Speaker 1: a couple hour hike to try and get back to 457 00:24:26,760 --> 00:24:30,479 Speaker 1: camp at that point, just through nasty, boggy, wet crap. 458 00:24:31,640 --> 00:24:34,760 Speaker 1: And I mean that was based waste high grass. Yeah, 459 00:24:34,880 --> 00:24:36,280 Speaker 1: that's basically the story of our hunt. I mean, you 460 00:24:36,320 --> 00:24:38,320 Speaker 1: fast forward another day or two that we were there, 461 00:24:38,359 --> 00:24:40,760 Speaker 1: it was basically that it was just more hiking, soaking, wet. 462 00:24:41,400 --> 00:24:44,400 Speaker 1: The final morning we had nice weather for a little 463 00:24:44,440 --> 00:24:46,240 Speaker 1: bit there in the morning, but we didn't see anything, 464 00:24:46,240 --> 00:24:48,239 Speaker 1: didn hear anything, nothing going. We was hiked a lot 465 00:24:48,320 --> 00:24:50,200 Speaker 1: and looked around a lot and that was our hunt. 466 00:24:50,800 --> 00:24:53,520 Speaker 1: I mean, we we had you know, it was one 467 00:24:53,520 --> 00:24:57,119 Speaker 1: of these things where it was. It was Friday morning, 468 00:24:57,920 --> 00:25:02,040 Speaker 1: and we had planned to hunt Thursday or excuse me, 469 00:25:02,119 --> 00:25:06,879 Speaker 1: Saturday morning. But we're sitting there going, okay, Granted, anything 470 00:25:06,960 --> 00:25:10,000 Speaker 1: can happen, right, anything can happen, But we knew where 471 00:25:10,000 --> 00:25:13,680 Speaker 1: the elk we're at. They were the next ridge line over, 472 00:25:13,960 --> 00:25:17,199 Speaker 1: which is a huge walk from where I mean, they 473 00:25:17,240 --> 00:25:21,040 Speaker 1: were deeper into the national forest, which meant we would 474 00:25:21,040 --> 00:25:26,280 Speaker 1: have had to double the amount of walking or hiking 475 00:25:26,359 --> 00:25:28,240 Speaker 1: to get to get to those spots. And if we 476 00:25:28,440 --> 00:25:33,920 Speaker 1: did and some reason kill an elk on the Friday 477 00:25:34,040 --> 00:25:38,119 Speaker 1: night or the Saturday morning, it was gonna take us 478 00:25:38,160 --> 00:25:40,760 Speaker 1: twenty four hours with two people just to get the 479 00:25:40,840 --> 00:25:43,560 Speaker 1: elk out of there. Yeah, it would have to get 480 00:25:43,600 --> 00:25:47,040 Speaker 1: to where those elk were by foot. Would have just 481 00:25:47,200 --> 00:25:51,840 Speaker 1: been nearly physically impossible for us to pull off. I 482 00:25:51,920 --> 00:25:53,520 Speaker 1: mean we could, we could have got in there and hunted. 483 00:25:53,600 --> 00:25:55,639 Speaker 1: We would have a nasty, nasty hike in and out 484 00:25:55,760 --> 00:25:57,040 Speaker 1: to try to get in there, but we could have 485 00:25:57,119 --> 00:25:58,919 Speaker 1: done that, but we wouldn't have been able to get 486 00:25:59,000 --> 00:26:01,639 Speaker 1: knlk out unless you you know, literally just you know, 487 00:26:01,720 --> 00:26:04,480 Speaker 1: a day or two, like just go back and forth, 488 00:26:04,600 --> 00:26:06,920 Speaker 1: back and forth, back and forth, back and forth and 489 00:26:07,040 --> 00:26:11,600 Speaker 1: literally kill ourselves about I mean, not to make excuses, 490 00:26:11,920 --> 00:26:14,119 Speaker 1: but I mean you had a flight to catch and 491 00:26:15,520 --> 00:26:19,840 Speaker 1: I mean and and the wet conditions, every step you 492 00:26:19,920 --> 00:26:24,280 Speaker 1: were sliding, So it just became a logistical nightmare and 493 00:26:24,480 --> 00:26:28,680 Speaker 1: it really wasn't safe at some points. Yeah, I mean, man, 494 00:26:30,320 --> 00:26:34,680 Speaker 1: it was just just as we said, brutal, brutal. It 495 00:26:34,840 --> 00:26:37,359 Speaker 1: was just brutal. But I tell you what, I tell 496 00:26:37,400 --> 00:26:40,879 Speaker 1: you what was awesome about that trip. Those kind of 497 00:26:40,920 --> 00:26:45,679 Speaker 1: trips tell you something about who who you are. If 498 00:26:45,720 --> 00:26:47,480 Speaker 1: you can tough stuff like that out, you can tough 499 00:26:47,560 --> 00:26:50,440 Speaker 1: just about anything out, you know what I mean. Oh yeah, 500 00:26:50,560 --> 00:26:54,720 Speaker 1: that's the stuff that makes you. And it's like, I 501 00:26:54,840 --> 00:26:59,680 Speaker 1: just remember the I was so frustrated and so mad 502 00:27:00,240 --> 00:27:02,720 Speaker 1: and just like the way things were when we were 503 00:27:02,800 --> 00:27:06,320 Speaker 1: hiking back into town that set that uh what that 504 00:27:06,560 --> 00:27:09,400 Speaker 1: the next morning after our first day there, and I'm 505 00:27:09,440 --> 00:27:12,720 Speaker 1: just like I'm literally having to talk to myself to 506 00:27:12,920 --> 00:27:16,440 Speaker 1: motivate myself to keep moving and just and just like 507 00:27:16,720 --> 00:27:18,920 Speaker 1: one more step, one more step, one more step, because 508 00:27:19,560 --> 00:27:24,000 Speaker 1: the elevation was getting to me, the the wetness was 509 00:27:24,080 --> 00:27:27,400 Speaker 1: getting to me. And but I tell you what, it's 510 00:27:27,400 --> 00:27:28,680 Speaker 1: going to be a story that I'll have for the 511 00:27:28,720 --> 00:27:30,200 Speaker 1: rest of my life. And like I said, I just 512 00:27:30,280 --> 00:27:34,040 Speaker 1: remember that time when we the very last morning we 513 00:27:34,240 --> 00:27:38,119 Speaker 1: hiked all the way up as this one ridge that 514 00:27:38,160 --> 00:27:40,880 Speaker 1: we couldn't get to the previous three days, and we're 515 00:27:40,920 --> 00:27:45,240 Speaker 1: sitting there and we come across this old camp that 516 00:27:45,440 --> 00:27:49,280 Speaker 1: was there and we're sitting on the when we're looking 517 00:27:49,359 --> 00:27:52,080 Speaker 1: over this huge bench and we're what We're just looking 518 00:27:52,119 --> 00:27:55,840 Speaker 1: at the mountain in the background, and it was one 519 00:27:55,880 --> 00:27:58,320 Speaker 1: of those moments where it's just like this is this 520 00:27:58,560 --> 00:28:01,240 Speaker 1: is worth it? Yeah? Uh, it really was one of 521 00:28:01,320 --> 00:28:04,159 Speaker 1: those that the hunting, you know, it was nothing to 522 00:28:04,240 --> 00:28:06,560 Speaker 1: talk about it at all, but it was just it 523 00:28:06,680 --> 00:28:10,600 Speaker 1: was an adventure being out there, beautiful, beautiful country and uh, 524 00:28:10,800 --> 00:28:14,560 Speaker 1: from that standpoint, it was awesome. So that was our 525 00:28:14,600 --> 00:28:17,600 Speaker 1: Idaho trip. Well, let's not forget a couple of things 526 00:28:18,000 --> 00:28:22,840 Speaker 1: on the Idaho trip, which was Taco Bell. Taco Bell 527 00:28:23,000 --> 00:28:25,639 Speaker 1: was good. Taco Bell. That that's like that was our 528 00:28:25,680 --> 00:28:28,720 Speaker 1: care mantra when we were out there, was like Taco Bell, 529 00:28:28,840 --> 00:28:30,200 Speaker 1: Taco about, what are you gonna do when you get 530 00:28:30,200 --> 00:28:32,639 Speaker 1: out of here? Taco Bell. It's like it's like we 531 00:28:32,720 --> 00:28:34,200 Speaker 1: were in some kind of prison. What are you gonna 532 00:28:34,240 --> 00:28:37,280 Speaker 1: do when you get out man, Taco Bell? Yeah? But 533 00:28:37,720 --> 00:28:40,320 Speaker 1: but we finally got Taco Bell and did get out, 534 00:28:40,360 --> 00:28:44,480 Speaker 1: and it stabbed me in the back and made me, 535 00:28:44,880 --> 00:28:49,040 Speaker 1: if you know what I mean over can you pull over? What? Dan? 536 00:28:49,120 --> 00:28:53,080 Speaker 1: Can you pull over? Okay? Okay? Made me very uncomfortable 537 00:28:53,160 --> 00:28:57,920 Speaker 1: for a part of that drive. And then yeah, fast 538 00:28:58,000 --> 00:29:02,680 Speaker 1: forward to your organ hunt. I want to hear about that. Yeah, Organ. 539 00:29:03,040 --> 00:29:06,680 Speaker 1: So this is a situation where, you know, I wasn't 540 00:29:06,720 --> 00:29:09,160 Speaker 1: planning on doing this hunt until this summer. I got 541 00:29:09,280 --> 00:29:12,280 Speaker 1: word from our partners at Lacrosse, who are the same 542 00:29:12,320 --> 00:29:15,280 Speaker 1: company as Danner Boots UM, and they reached out and said, hey, 543 00:29:15,360 --> 00:29:17,120 Speaker 1: we'd love to spend some time with you this fall. 544 00:29:18,040 --> 00:29:20,600 Speaker 1: Have you come check out our headquarters, get to meet 545 00:29:20,680 --> 00:29:22,840 Speaker 1: some people, and then hunt for for a few days 546 00:29:22,960 --> 00:29:26,480 Speaker 1: in eastern Oregon. Um. So, you know, this is a 547 00:29:26,520 --> 00:29:28,520 Speaker 1: scenario where we'll be hunting with an outfitter, which I've 548 00:29:28,520 --> 00:29:31,280 Speaker 1: actually never done before. And you know, I think, as 549 00:29:31,280 --> 00:29:33,160 Speaker 1: we talked about before, Daniel, I've I've never had an 550 00:29:33,200 --> 00:29:35,720 Speaker 1: interest to hunt with an outfitter because I'm all I 551 00:29:36,080 --> 00:29:38,720 Speaker 1: and I'm I've got this idea that I'm just this 552 00:29:38,840 --> 00:29:40,800 Speaker 1: d I y guy, and that's you know, what I 553 00:29:40,880 --> 00:29:43,040 Speaker 1: really enjoy. So I didn't think this would be something 554 00:29:43,080 --> 00:29:47,000 Speaker 1: I'd enjoy necessarily that aspect of it. But there's something 555 00:29:47,040 --> 00:29:48,960 Speaker 1: I couldn't say no to. It would be a great opportunity. 556 00:29:48,960 --> 00:29:50,440 Speaker 1: It was gonna be great to meet these guys from 557 00:29:50,480 --> 00:29:52,400 Speaker 1: Danner and Lacrosse, so I thought, hey, I'll give it 558 00:29:52,400 --> 00:29:56,440 Speaker 1: a try. So I flew out there on Monday, got 559 00:29:56,520 --> 00:30:00,479 Speaker 1: into camp, and um, really, from the beginning to the end, um, 560 00:30:00,920 --> 00:30:04,160 Speaker 1: it was a really positive experience. I mean, I found 561 00:30:04,240 --> 00:30:06,440 Speaker 1: there are some really cool things about doing an outfit 562 00:30:06,520 --> 00:30:08,800 Speaker 1: and hunt like that. Um, it's not necessarily something you 563 00:30:08,840 --> 00:30:11,160 Speaker 1: know that I would you know, see myself doing the future, 564 00:30:11,400 --> 00:30:13,600 Speaker 1: mostly because I can't afford to do something like that, um, 565 00:30:13,640 --> 00:30:15,800 Speaker 1: and I do love doing things on my own. But 566 00:30:15,880 --> 00:30:18,360 Speaker 1: there was a lot of actually really cool fun aspects 567 00:30:18,400 --> 00:30:20,800 Speaker 1: of being at a camp with a bunch of hunters 568 00:30:21,360 --> 00:30:23,680 Speaker 1: and you know, coming at night and sharing your stories 569 00:30:23,760 --> 00:30:26,760 Speaker 1: and sharing a good meal and you know, that camaraderie 570 00:30:26,840 --> 00:30:29,640 Speaker 1: aspect was really cool that I've never got to experience 571 00:30:29,720 --> 00:30:32,120 Speaker 1: to that degree. So I really enjoyed that we hunted 572 00:30:32,160 --> 00:30:36,800 Speaker 1: with opal Butte Outfitters in eastern Oregon. Really good guys, 573 00:30:37,480 --> 00:30:40,320 Speaker 1: incredible properties out there that they're hunting. UM, and I 574 00:30:40,440 --> 00:30:42,440 Speaker 1: just it was kind of the exact opposite of our 575 00:30:42,480 --> 00:30:46,959 Speaker 1: hunt in Idaho. Dan, we heard elk every day like crazy. 576 00:30:47,240 --> 00:30:51,360 Speaker 1: We're in elk every day. They're buglin very well, almost 577 00:30:51,400 --> 00:30:53,959 Speaker 1: the entire time. Uh, you know, we'd be we'd get 578 00:30:54,000 --> 00:30:56,720 Speaker 1: out start hunting in the morning beyond you know, a 579 00:30:56,800 --> 00:30:59,520 Speaker 1: handful bowls. If it didn't come together by the you know, 580 00:30:59,680 --> 00:31:01,920 Speaker 1: on our walk back to camp, we usually hear one 581 00:31:02,640 --> 00:31:05,000 Speaker 1: striking up again in the late more and have another chase. 582 00:31:05,600 --> 00:31:07,640 Speaker 1: But kind of the story of the whole week was 583 00:31:07,720 --> 00:31:10,080 Speaker 1: that we we were in them, we were seeing them, 584 00:31:10,200 --> 00:31:13,200 Speaker 1: hearing them, chasing them every day, but really couldn't quite 585 00:31:13,360 --> 00:31:16,640 Speaker 1: break that hundred yard barrier, couldn't quite get into them 586 00:31:16,680 --> 00:31:20,600 Speaker 1: close enough. Um. Even though this was like a great area, 587 00:31:20,640 --> 00:31:24,080 Speaker 1: it wasn't public land. Um, it was private, so a 588 00:31:24,200 --> 00:31:27,160 Speaker 1: lot more elk, a lot less pressured. UM. They still 589 00:31:27,280 --> 00:31:29,720 Speaker 1: weren't really responding to calls. That they wouldn't come into calls. 590 00:31:29,760 --> 00:31:31,960 Speaker 1: They would respond to bugles in the distance, and you know, 591 00:31:32,040 --> 00:31:34,240 Speaker 1: you could locate them, but you couldn't get them to 592 00:31:34,280 --> 00:31:39,360 Speaker 1: come into you. So we just moved a lot, and 593 00:31:39,680 --> 00:31:41,240 Speaker 1: you know, one of the things I was worried about, 594 00:31:41,280 --> 00:31:43,080 Speaker 1: you know, like I just mentioned, I was worried that 595 00:31:43,160 --> 00:31:45,200 Speaker 1: by doing an outfitted hunt, I wouldn't feel like I 596 00:31:45,280 --> 00:31:47,640 Speaker 1: earned it. And so that was my concern going into 597 00:31:47,640 --> 00:31:49,320 Speaker 1: the hunt. I was like, I'm gonna even if I 598 00:31:49,360 --> 00:31:50,960 Speaker 1: do kill an elk, it won't really feel like I 599 00:31:51,040 --> 00:31:52,640 Speaker 1: kill an elk. It'll feel like I've shot an elk. 600 00:31:52,680 --> 00:31:54,960 Speaker 1: But I didn't really earn it. Um. But by the 601 00:31:55,120 --> 00:31:56,920 Speaker 1: end of the trip, in my head, I was saying, 602 00:31:56,920 --> 00:31:59,200 Speaker 1: you know, if I kill one, I earned that, son 603 00:31:59,280 --> 00:32:03,360 Speaker 1: of a gun. Because we worked, We worked physically. That 604 00:32:03,560 --> 00:32:05,400 Speaker 1: was even more so than you and me in Idaho. 605 00:32:05,520 --> 00:32:08,200 Speaker 1: I mean, we hiked and hiked and hiked and hiked, 606 00:32:08,880 --> 00:32:11,479 Speaker 1: and we didn't win stop. We just kept hiking up 607 00:32:11,560 --> 00:32:13,920 Speaker 1: and down these huge ridges and mountains and hills and 608 00:32:13,960 --> 00:32:16,920 Speaker 1: all sorts of stuff. Um. I mean, it was thank 609 00:32:16,960 --> 00:32:18,760 Speaker 1: goodness that I had lived in the mountains for two 610 00:32:18,840 --> 00:32:21,720 Speaker 1: months and I did this trip in Idaho beforehand, because 611 00:32:21,720 --> 00:32:23,959 Speaker 1: if I you know, if this has been any other year, 612 00:32:24,000 --> 00:32:26,080 Speaker 1: when I hadn't been doing all that stuff, I would 613 00:32:26,080 --> 00:32:27,600 Speaker 1: have been killed up there. I wouldn't have been able 614 00:32:27,600 --> 00:32:31,280 Speaker 1: to do it. We hiked, I bet you probably ten 615 00:32:31,360 --> 00:32:33,960 Speaker 1: miles a day, but it was non stop, up and down, up, down, 616 00:32:34,080 --> 00:32:36,800 Speaker 1: up and down. Um, a legitimate ten miles a day, 617 00:32:36,920 --> 00:32:39,080 Speaker 1: just chasing elk up and down mountains and just burning 618 00:32:39,120 --> 00:32:40,760 Speaker 1: it up. You know, if there's an elk. It wasn't 619 00:32:40,800 --> 00:32:43,000 Speaker 1: like we're stopping every thirty seconds. We were burning it 620 00:32:43,120 --> 00:32:46,280 Speaker 1: to get up there and get to the elk. UM. So, man, 621 00:32:46,400 --> 00:32:49,160 Speaker 1: it was. It was tough, but it was fun. UM 622 00:32:49,320 --> 00:32:51,560 Speaker 1: met a lot of great guys from Danner Boots and 623 00:32:51,600 --> 00:32:55,080 Speaker 1: Lacrosse and other hunters out there, and the guides with 624 00:32:55,120 --> 00:32:59,160 Speaker 1: the opal Beew really nice guys, really good crew, great place. Um, 625 00:32:59,480 --> 00:33:03,320 Speaker 1: I saw what was probably my first legitimate plus bull. 626 00:33:03,760 --> 00:33:05,640 Speaker 1: I saw just a giant. I mean it was just 627 00:33:05,720 --> 00:33:07,960 Speaker 1: cool to see elk likeick that. UM. I'd seen some 628 00:33:08,080 --> 00:33:10,040 Speaker 1: big you know what I thought were big bulls past 629 00:33:10,160 --> 00:33:14,760 Speaker 1: years in Idaho. Um, but man, these are some impressive animals. 630 00:33:14,840 --> 00:33:16,640 Speaker 1: So it was a lot of fun from that standpoint. 631 00:33:17,520 --> 00:33:21,760 Speaker 1: So fast forward days one through four gets me a 632 00:33:21,840 --> 00:33:24,280 Speaker 1: day number five. Uh. You know, up to this point, 633 00:33:24,320 --> 00:33:25,920 Speaker 1: it's been great, been a lot of fun, but haven't 634 00:33:25,960 --> 00:33:28,120 Speaker 1: been able to close a deal. Night number five. I 635 00:33:28,160 --> 00:33:30,080 Speaker 1: think it was night number five or night number four. 636 00:33:30,120 --> 00:33:32,479 Speaker 1: Want to I don't know. We um, me and one 637 00:33:32,480 --> 00:33:35,680 Speaker 1: other guy, a guide. We're hiking down. They weren't talking 638 00:33:35,760 --> 00:33:37,920 Speaker 1: this night. We're coming down this ridge and we were 639 00:33:37,920 --> 00:33:41,040 Speaker 1: about to sit down and and just glass and listen 640 00:33:41,080 --> 00:33:43,240 Speaker 1: for a while. And we just come over this knob 641 00:33:43,400 --> 00:33:45,800 Speaker 1: and we spot some cow elk feeding right beneath us, 642 00:33:45,880 --> 00:33:48,320 Speaker 1: like seventy yards down beneath us in the shade. They 643 00:33:48,360 --> 00:33:50,840 Speaker 1: didn't see us. We stopped, snuck back a couple of steps, 644 00:33:51,400 --> 00:33:53,440 Speaker 1: and as we were going to kind of circle down 645 00:33:53,560 --> 00:33:55,400 Speaker 1: wind a little bit just to get a better view 646 00:33:55,520 --> 00:33:57,320 Speaker 1: and make sure our wind was good. As we did that, 647 00:33:57,960 --> 00:34:00,400 Speaker 1: something spooked them. Maybe they heard us, maybe our shadow 648 00:34:00,880 --> 00:34:02,320 Speaker 1: something that because the sun was at our back and 649 00:34:02,400 --> 00:34:06,120 Speaker 1: was casting along shadow, something spooked the elk. They go 650 00:34:06,280 --> 00:34:09,160 Speaker 1: running away. Um now, Dan, I don't think I've told 651 00:34:09,200 --> 00:34:11,640 Speaker 1: you the story at all, have I? No? I haven't, Okay, 652 00:34:11,680 --> 00:34:13,320 Speaker 1: So yeah, this is brand new for you to So 653 00:34:13,920 --> 00:34:16,319 Speaker 1: the elko running down and we, you know, crouched down 654 00:34:16,560 --> 00:34:18,279 Speaker 1: like son of a gun. We just spooked these elk. 655 00:34:18,360 --> 00:34:20,480 Speaker 1: They're so close like if there was a bull in there, 656 00:34:20,760 --> 00:34:22,239 Speaker 1: we would have had a perfect set up, and that 657 00:34:22,360 --> 00:34:24,880 Speaker 1: was like our first really good opportunity, and we just 658 00:34:24,960 --> 00:34:27,680 Speaker 1: blew it because we spooked him somehow. So we're crouching there, 659 00:34:27,719 --> 00:34:30,640 Speaker 1: and as we're crouching there, I see this nice bull 660 00:34:30,719 --> 00:34:33,440 Speaker 1: come walking up the opposite hillside and we're like, shoot, 661 00:34:33,719 --> 00:34:37,120 Speaker 1: we screwed it up. There was a nice I think 662 00:34:37,120 --> 00:34:39,920 Speaker 1: it was a five by five um. It might have 663 00:34:39,960 --> 00:34:41,560 Speaker 1: been a six point. I couldn't tell if he had 664 00:34:41,600 --> 00:34:45,000 Speaker 1: the double fronts, the double kind of brow times their 665 00:34:45,040 --> 00:34:47,200 Speaker 1: eye guards or whatever they call my west. I couldn't 666 00:34:47,200 --> 00:34:48,600 Speaker 1: tell if he had one or two on each side. 667 00:34:48,840 --> 00:34:52,200 Speaker 1: So possibly a six by six, definitely five by five um. 668 00:34:52,360 --> 00:34:54,160 Speaker 1: And he stands there AND's just staring right at us. 669 00:34:55,160 --> 00:34:57,960 Speaker 1: So I'm pissed at myself. We are um for having 670 00:34:58,040 --> 00:35:00,320 Speaker 1: spooked him. But we just stayed there, crowd coached, and 671 00:35:00,360 --> 00:35:02,280 Speaker 1: he just stood there staring at us for like thirty 672 00:35:02,360 --> 00:35:05,719 Speaker 1: five minutes, literally thirty minutes, thirty five minutes. He just 673 00:35:05,800 --> 00:35:08,640 Speaker 1: stares there, staring in the general direction, not exactly asked. 674 00:35:08,640 --> 00:35:10,440 Speaker 1: I don't think he ever really spotted us, just he 675 00:35:10,520 --> 00:35:14,360 Speaker 1: knew something over that didn't seem right. So we're crouched, 676 00:35:14,440 --> 00:35:18,720 Speaker 1: he's standing half an hour passes. Finally he says, okay, 677 00:35:18,840 --> 00:35:20,920 Speaker 1: I don't see anything anymore. I think it's safe, puts 678 00:35:20,960 --> 00:35:24,200 Speaker 1: his head down, starts feeding, feeds behind a tree. Dave, 679 00:35:24,280 --> 00:35:26,440 Speaker 1: the guy I'm with, he backs up behind me and 680 00:35:27,280 --> 00:35:30,239 Speaker 1: goes back to fifty yards and starts cow calling. First, 681 00:35:30,280 --> 00:35:31,839 Speaker 1: the bull doesn't really seem to care about it all. 682 00:35:31,840 --> 00:35:34,080 Speaker 1: He just keeps feeding, keeps feeding. But finally he looks up. 683 00:35:34,640 --> 00:35:37,479 Speaker 1: He bugles once in our direction, and then he keeps 684 00:35:37,520 --> 00:35:39,600 Speaker 1: feeding and again he's probably two hundred yards away on 685 00:35:39,640 --> 00:35:42,400 Speaker 1: the opposite you know, there's a deep ravine between us, 686 00:35:42,440 --> 00:35:44,879 Speaker 1: and he's on this opposite ridge two hundred three hundred 687 00:35:44,920 --> 00:35:47,800 Speaker 1: yards away. He keeps feeding, and then he starts walking 688 00:35:47,960 --> 00:35:50,760 Speaker 1: parallel to us on this other ridge, kind of uphill 689 00:35:50,800 --> 00:35:52,680 Speaker 1: and away from us, goes behind a bunch of trees. 690 00:35:52,680 --> 00:35:54,319 Speaker 1: I lose sight of him, so at this point looks 691 00:35:54,360 --> 00:35:57,759 Speaker 1: like he's going away, going uphill. Um I sneak back 692 00:35:57,800 --> 00:36:00,160 Speaker 1: to go get Dave and tell him, hey, hey, we uh, 693 00:36:00,680 --> 00:36:02,239 Speaker 1: we're losing this elk. We probably need to make a 694 00:36:02,280 --> 00:36:04,400 Speaker 1: new plan. He's not responding to the calls, so we 695 00:36:04,480 --> 00:36:07,000 Speaker 1: start walking back towards the front side of our ridge 696 00:36:07,080 --> 00:36:09,040 Speaker 1: to kind of drop down and start maybe seeing if 697 00:36:09,080 --> 00:36:10,960 Speaker 1: we can get going up that other ridge after him. 698 00:36:11,000 --> 00:36:13,320 Speaker 1: And as we do that, Dave was like, we'll stop. 699 00:36:14,200 --> 00:36:17,200 Speaker 1: The bull had dropped down after he got in the 700 00:36:17,200 --> 00:36:18,880 Speaker 1: trees and I couldn't see him. He dropped down in 701 00:36:18,920 --> 00:36:21,320 Speaker 1: the valley and was coming back to us, and he 702 00:36:21,400 --> 00:36:24,759 Speaker 1: busted us again or saw some kind of movement or something, 703 00:36:24,800 --> 00:36:27,359 Speaker 1: because they're like a hundred yards He's frozen there looking 704 00:36:27,360 --> 00:36:29,320 Speaker 1: at our general direction again and we're like, shoot, we 705 00:36:29,400 --> 00:36:32,440 Speaker 1: just do again. No, our wind was perfect this whole time, 706 00:36:33,239 --> 00:36:36,440 Speaker 1: so he must not have really really seen us though, 707 00:36:36,480 --> 00:36:38,160 Speaker 1: because he must have just heard the noise or something, 708 00:36:38,280 --> 00:36:41,120 Speaker 1: because Dave was able to drop back behind me again 709 00:36:41,160 --> 00:36:44,319 Speaker 1: without him seeing and start calling. Start Kyle calling again. 710 00:36:45,200 --> 00:36:48,720 Speaker 1: He Kyle calls, I'm frozen there. Long story short. Finally 711 00:36:48,760 --> 00:36:50,960 Speaker 1: I start seeing movement up to my left and he 712 00:36:51,120 --> 00:36:54,799 Speaker 1: had circled down or circled up up the hill, got 713 00:36:54,880 --> 00:36:57,360 Speaker 1: way above us and his circling trying to get to 714 00:36:57,880 --> 00:37:00,239 Speaker 1: be down wind of us, circling up in our round. 715 00:37:00,320 --> 00:37:02,080 Speaker 1: So I see him. I dropped to my knees knock 716 00:37:02,120 --> 00:37:04,440 Speaker 1: an arrow. He's about eight yards away, kind of starting 717 00:37:04,440 --> 00:37:07,000 Speaker 1: to angle towards me. It's really thick though. I don't 718 00:37:07,000 --> 00:37:09,600 Speaker 1: have any good shots. So I start belly crawling almost 719 00:37:09,880 --> 00:37:11,799 Speaker 1: through the brush and stuff, trying to get to an 720 00:37:11,800 --> 00:37:13,840 Speaker 1: opening where I'm watching where he's going. I'm looking at 721 00:37:13,880 --> 00:37:15,520 Speaker 1: where I'm at, and I'm trying to anticipate. Okay, where 722 00:37:15,560 --> 00:37:16,879 Speaker 1: do I need to get to to get a shot. 723 00:37:17,360 --> 00:37:20,279 Speaker 1: So I'm scooting along, scooting along. There's one opening he 724 00:37:20,360 --> 00:37:22,600 Speaker 1: goes through. He's seventy five yards. I'm like, all right 725 00:37:23,400 --> 00:37:26,120 Speaker 1: for me, I wanted to I wanted a shot within 726 00:37:26,239 --> 00:37:28,719 Speaker 1: fifty yards. Um, A lot of guys out there shoot 727 00:37:28,800 --> 00:37:30,600 Speaker 1: past sixty, but I really wanted to be in the 728 00:37:30,640 --> 00:37:33,200 Speaker 1: fifty yard ballpark. Maybe a little bit longer if I 729 00:37:33,200 --> 00:37:35,640 Speaker 1: absolutely had to. But really my comfortable zone was other 730 00:37:35,640 --> 00:37:39,560 Speaker 1: than fifty, So obviously seventy five yards I wasn't taking 731 00:37:39,600 --> 00:37:41,880 Speaker 1: that shot. He goes cruising through that. I'm now scurring 732 00:37:41,880 --> 00:37:43,120 Speaker 1: around in all the four is trying to get to 733 00:37:43,200 --> 00:37:46,400 Speaker 1: another spot with my bow, and UM, I get to 734 00:37:46,480 --> 00:37:48,320 Speaker 1: my final spot, I'm like, okay, this is gonna be 735 00:37:48,440 --> 00:37:50,919 Speaker 1: this is my one good lane. I think he's gonna 736 00:37:50,960 --> 00:37:53,160 Speaker 1: come through within range. So I really quickly ranged a 737 00:37:53,200 --> 00:37:55,239 Speaker 1: couple of spots, and he's like starting to move faster, 738 00:37:55,360 --> 00:37:56,520 Speaker 1: coming this way, and then all of a sudden, he 739 00:37:56,560 --> 00:37:59,320 Speaker 1: sticks out of his neck. He's probably about like sixty 740 00:37:59,360 --> 00:38:01,239 Speaker 1: five yards away up but behind brush, but I can 741 00:38:01,280 --> 00:38:03,200 Speaker 1: still see him. I see him stick out his neck 742 00:38:03,239 --> 00:38:06,480 Speaker 1: in front of him and just let out just a scream, 743 00:38:06,680 --> 00:38:11,040 Speaker 1: just a nasty and then he tucks his neck back 744 00:38:11,080 --> 00:38:14,759 Speaker 1: in and then starts hauling it, starts trotting right past, 745 00:38:15,040 --> 00:38:18,440 Speaker 1: coming right down towards me, and I'm like, holy smokes, 746 00:38:18,480 --> 00:38:20,200 Speaker 1: he's going to run right through my lane. This is it. 747 00:38:21,080 --> 00:38:22,560 Speaker 1: He gets into my lane right as it gets to 748 00:38:22,560 --> 00:38:25,319 Speaker 1: the lane. I'm drawn back. I bleak to stop him. 749 00:38:25,360 --> 00:38:28,080 Speaker 1: He stops right in the shooting lane, and I've ranged 750 00:38:28,120 --> 00:38:29,600 Speaker 1: a couple of things in front of him. Behind him. 751 00:38:29,600 --> 00:38:32,440 Speaker 1: He's at forty five yards drew back. He stopped right 752 00:38:32,480 --> 00:38:37,640 Speaker 1: there about broadside, maybe a touch quartering two, but really good. 753 00:38:37,960 --> 00:38:40,880 Speaker 1: I feel greatly this is the shot. He stops. Let 754 00:38:40,920 --> 00:38:43,640 Speaker 1: her rip right behind the shoulder. The arrow looks good 755 00:38:43,680 --> 00:38:46,360 Speaker 1: at the take off, and then instantly on the release 756 00:38:47,280 --> 00:38:50,239 Speaker 1: that some of the guns spun just as fast as 757 00:38:50,280 --> 00:38:52,200 Speaker 1: any white til I ever seen, But instead of just 758 00:38:52,400 --> 00:38:55,560 Speaker 1: dropping right down, he spun he jumped that string and 759 00:38:55,680 --> 00:38:59,120 Speaker 1: spun a full ninety degrees between the time I released 760 00:38:59,160 --> 00:39:01,600 Speaker 1: my arrow in the time it hit him. Instead of 761 00:39:01,640 --> 00:39:04,400 Speaker 1: hitting HI behind the shoulder, it hit him right in between, 762 00:39:04,560 --> 00:39:06,880 Speaker 1: right in the chest, right between the two legs, you know, 763 00:39:06,960 --> 00:39:09,960 Speaker 1: as if you were walking right towards me. Hit him 764 00:39:10,040 --> 00:39:14,520 Speaker 1: right there, spun around, continue finished his spin, and went 765 00:39:14,680 --> 00:39:19,160 Speaker 1: tearing out of there. So of course I was, you know, 766 00:39:20,360 --> 00:39:22,800 Speaker 1: flustered and excited by the encounter and the shot, but 767 00:39:22,880 --> 00:39:27,080 Speaker 1: really unhappy obviously with the hit. Um. You know, I 768 00:39:27,200 --> 00:39:29,640 Speaker 1: know that kind of shot. Sometimes people will take that shot. 769 00:39:30,560 --> 00:39:33,120 Speaker 1: It can kill an animal. You can definitely get in 770 00:39:33,120 --> 00:39:36,359 Speaker 1: the vitals. But in my opinions, a shot I would 771 00:39:36,400 --> 00:39:39,800 Speaker 1: never personally take on purpose. UM. Was obviously not the 772 00:39:39,840 --> 00:39:43,040 Speaker 1: shot I wanted. UM. But at that point still I thought, Okay, 773 00:39:43,840 --> 00:39:45,640 Speaker 1: not what I wanted to happen at all. But there's 774 00:39:45,640 --> 00:39:48,520 Speaker 1: still it looked like I got good penetration. It looked 775 00:39:48,560 --> 00:39:51,840 Speaker 1: like I could have got into that cavity. UM. So 776 00:39:51,840 --> 00:39:56,040 Speaker 1: at that point I was still relatively optimistic. UM, long 777 00:39:56,120 --> 00:39:58,160 Speaker 1: story short, because I know we're coming up on time here. 778 00:39:58,280 --> 00:40:02,000 Speaker 1: He tore off. Eventually later that night started tracking. We 779 00:40:02,120 --> 00:40:05,160 Speaker 1: had great blood for like two yards really good blood. 780 00:40:05,239 --> 00:40:07,879 Speaker 1: I thought we'd come up on any point. Finally found 781 00:40:07,880 --> 00:40:11,080 Speaker 1: a spot he bedded down. You can see coagulated blood 782 00:40:11,120 --> 00:40:13,799 Speaker 1: there and stuff. And after that we found he headed 783 00:40:13,840 --> 00:40:16,160 Speaker 1: straight downhill. From that point we found four little pin 784 00:40:16,200 --> 00:40:19,239 Speaker 1: pricks of blood and then nothing. And we tracked all 785 00:40:19,280 --> 00:40:21,879 Speaker 1: that night and most a good part of the next day, 786 00:40:21,920 --> 00:40:24,400 Speaker 1: and we just grid searched and we circled, and we 787 00:40:24,480 --> 00:40:26,680 Speaker 1: walked all these canyons and all these ridges and every 788 00:40:26,719 --> 00:40:29,080 Speaker 1: low spot and every while we just searched and searched 789 00:40:29,120 --> 00:40:32,200 Speaker 1: and search and search, and we never found a bowl 790 00:40:32,920 --> 00:40:38,320 Speaker 1: man's top. Yeah it's um man, I mean, as you know, 791 00:40:38,520 --> 00:40:40,799 Speaker 1: that's that's about as low as it gets for a hunter. 792 00:40:41,320 --> 00:40:47,040 Speaker 1: UM obviously, very upset, very disappointed. The only difference, you know, 793 00:40:47,400 --> 00:40:49,560 Speaker 1: as anyone who's listening to this podcast for a while. Nos, 794 00:40:50,200 --> 00:40:52,320 Speaker 1: last year I hit a white tail and wounded and 795 00:40:52,440 --> 00:40:54,640 Speaker 1: lost my first white tail ever, and that was a 796 00:40:54,640 --> 00:40:59,880 Speaker 1: really hard experience, UM obviously. And during that experience I 797 00:41:00,040 --> 00:41:01,799 Speaker 1: went back and looked at that encounter over and over 798 00:41:01,880 --> 00:41:03,640 Speaker 1: and over in my head again and thought through, I 799 00:41:03,680 --> 00:41:05,760 Speaker 1: should done that differently. I could have done this differently, 800 00:41:05,760 --> 00:41:07,560 Speaker 1: I could have changed if I would have just done 801 00:41:07,680 --> 00:41:11,040 Speaker 1: this this time, when I went and tried to replay 802 00:41:11,080 --> 00:41:13,120 Speaker 1: the scenario over and over and over again in my head, 803 00:41:14,040 --> 00:41:17,120 Speaker 1: I wouldn't have done anything differently. Like, I really feel 804 00:41:17,160 --> 00:41:19,600 Speaker 1: like I did everything I possibly could have to get, 805 00:41:19,920 --> 00:41:22,480 Speaker 1: you know, to make this a clean, ethical kill, and 806 00:41:22,800 --> 00:41:24,560 Speaker 1: in the end, I just you can't control what that 807 00:41:24,680 --> 00:41:27,399 Speaker 1: elk does in that moment after you shoot the arrow. Yeah, 808 00:41:27,840 --> 00:41:31,520 Speaker 1: and um so, I don't know, in some tiny little way, 809 00:41:32,320 --> 00:41:37,160 Speaker 1: it's a slight um I'm struggling to find the right word, 810 00:41:37,239 --> 00:41:41,520 Speaker 1: but I can't figure out the right word. It's very, 811 00:41:41,640 --> 00:41:43,680 Speaker 1: very upsetting. But I guess I feel that at least 812 00:41:43,719 --> 00:41:45,640 Speaker 1: in this scenario, I don't think I could have done 813 00:41:45,640 --> 00:41:48,640 Speaker 1: anything differently. I think it was just like a mother 814 00:41:48,800 --> 00:41:51,480 Speaker 1: nature type of thing, Like just when you hunt, wild 815 00:41:51,520 --> 00:41:54,560 Speaker 1: animals do wild things, and you can't control that. Um So, 816 00:41:55,600 --> 00:41:57,920 Speaker 1: you know, my lesson learned from this is just always 817 00:41:58,000 --> 00:41:59,839 Speaker 1: always do everything you can to make sure you get 818 00:41:59,880 --> 00:42:03,040 Speaker 1: the best, most ethical, clean kill you possibly can. Work 819 00:42:03,080 --> 00:42:06,560 Speaker 1: your tail off practice, do all those things, and execute 820 00:42:06,560 --> 00:42:08,000 Speaker 1: the hunt as best as you can. In the end, 821 00:42:08,160 --> 00:42:09,600 Speaker 1: you know, it is out of your hands in the 822 00:42:09,680 --> 00:42:11,680 Speaker 1: very end. And I guess that was my big lesson 823 00:42:11,800 --> 00:42:14,000 Speaker 1: learned here is that you can do everything you possibly 824 00:42:14,040 --> 00:42:16,239 Speaker 1: can and sometimes it's still won't go the way you 825 00:42:16,320 --> 00:42:20,239 Speaker 1: want to. So I can't control that at one bit. No, 826 00:42:20,920 --> 00:42:23,680 Speaker 1: So that's um. That was my elk hunt. It was 827 00:42:24,520 --> 00:42:28,239 Speaker 1: obviously very very disappointing and UM sad way to end 828 00:42:28,280 --> 00:42:31,239 Speaker 1: the hunt. But if I, if I look outside of that, 829 00:42:31,360 --> 00:42:35,040 Speaker 1: the rest of the experience is great. So UM big 830 00:42:35,080 --> 00:42:36,759 Speaker 1: thank you to the guys that Danner and lacross an 831 00:42:36,800 --> 00:42:39,000 Speaker 1: opal Butte for a cool hunt and a fun time 832 00:42:39,080 --> 00:42:41,120 Speaker 1: and some great lessons learned. And I really looked at 833 00:42:41,160 --> 00:42:43,440 Speaker 1: it as elk hunting lessons. That's what I thought this 834 00:42:43,560 --> 00:42:45,200 Speaker 1: week would be, really just trying to learn from these 835 00:42:45,239 --> 00:42:47,040 Speaker 1: guys that know what they're doing, and so it's pretty 836 00:42:47,080 --> 00:42:50,560 Speaker 1: cool from that standpoint. So it's time for white kilw 837 00:42:50,600 --> 00:42:53,200 Speaker 1: It's time for white tail. So um yeah, you and 838 00:42:53,320 --> 00:42:56,520 Speaker 1: me we um We've got some hunts coming up, but 839 00:42:56,520 --> 00:42:58,399 Speaker 1: we won't talk about the white tail stuff now. We're 840 00:42:58,400 --> 00:43:01,399 Speaker 1: gonna have another podcast episode coming up very very soon 841 00:43:01,880 --> 00:43:03,759 Speaker 1: that we will be talking about white tail stuff. So 842 00:43:04,480 --> 00:43:06,719 Speaker 1: I think Dan we should just zip our lips right now. 843 00:43:07,160 --> 00:43:10,640 Speaker 1: Save the white tail excitement for another day and shut 844 00:43:10,719 --> 00:43:14,360 Speaker 1: this show down. Short and sweet, short and sweet today, 845 00:43:14,520 --> 00:43:17,759 Speaker 1: so well that being the case, really really quickly, make 846 00:43:17,800 --> 00:43:20,440 Speaker 1: sure you're checking out The white Tail Q and A podcast. 847 00:43:20,600 --> 00:43:23,040 Speaker 1: That's the new show from word Hunt, where me or 848 00:43:23,280 --> 00:43:27,279 Speaker 1: different white Tail experts answering a listener submitted question on 849 00:43:27,400 --> 00:43:29,920 Speaker 1: the podcast. It's really short and sweet, so check that 850 00:43:30,000 --> 00:43:33,239 Speaker 1: out on iTunes or on Wired and hunt dot com. Um. 851 00:43:33,600 --> 00:43:35,560 Speaker 1: We of course need to thank our partners who helped 852 00:43:35,560 --> 00:43:38,759 Speaker 1: make this podcast possible. Big thank you to seek a 853 00:43:38,880 --> 00:43:43,759 Speaker 1: Gear Trophy, Ridge Bear Archery, Redneck Blinds on Terra Maps, Ozonics, 854 00:43:43,800 --> 00:43:47,200 Speaker 1: Carbon Express, Lacrosse Boots, and the White Tail Institute of 855 00:43:47,320 --> 00:43:50,520 Speaker 1: North America. Thank you to all those guys, and finally, 856 00:43:51,040 --> 00:43:54,640 Speaker 1: most importantly, thank you all for listening to this podcast. 857 00:43:54,840 --> 00:43:58,320 Speaker 1: Thanks for dealing with our absence last week and sticking 858 00:43:58,400 --> 00:44:00,360 Speaker 1: with us to to hear about things today. So I 859 00:44:00,440 --> 00:44:02,680 Speaker 1: hope you enjoyed the show, hope things are going well 860 00:44:02,760 --> 00:44:05,560 Speaker 1: for you if your season has opened, and whether or 861 00:44:05,600 --> 00:44:07,759 Speaker 1: not it has, we wish you all the luck in 862 00:44:07,800 --> 00:44:10,520 Speaker 1: the world on your next hunt, and until next time, 863 00:44:11,480 --> 00:44:13,759 Speaker 1: stay Wired to Hunt.