Solo 2023 Utah Wasatch Muzzleloader bull elk

[Hackleback]

Preface

This is a really long read, about 7,000 words, you have ben warned! Thank you to those of you that provided help on this hunt. Several members provided location information that proved to be correct and extremely useful to the success of my hunt. I was able to harvest about 300 yards from one of these provided points. Contrary to what you may hear, there are still respectable bulls to be found in the Wasatch unit- you are going to work for them though.

Also, resident Utah hunters, please get your fellow hunters to pick up their trash, I picked up multiple water bottles, Twisted Tea, and Michelob Ultra cans. Hang onto your trash and dispose of it at the gas station if you don’t want to take them home- just don’t be a slob.

To appease the powers that be, I will refrain (or attempt to) from identifying specific locations and will speak in generalities. For those of you that are familiar with the area, and those that want to do a bit of sleuthing, you should be able to figure out where I am.

Applying as a NR in Utah started over 20 years ago when I got bit by the sheep bug. I had a young family and not much in the way of money and Utah allowed me to apply for not much, though even then, the draw odds were poor. Then about 15 years ago, things changed, and UT allowed NR’s to apply for multiple OIL and limited tags. I started to apply for everything, mostly the top tier units. This year I was tired of not drawing anything over all these years so I did a bit more research and changed my approach a bit. The Limited ML bull elk tag for the Wasatch unit had good success rates and better draw odds so I put in, with a rather low expectation of a “successful” draw result.

This ended up being a solo hunt, as my brother, my usual hunting partner had other obligations to attend (plus a vet emergency with one of his dogs). I had waited a long time for the tag and had the leave, so I went for it. It was an experience/adventure soon not to be forgotten and learned a lot as we often do with these types of activities.

Cell service is highly variable in the unit, but if you are on a high point, you are able to text and sometimes make good quality calls. Since I was solo, I activated my InReach that had been sitting in my safe for a couple years. InReach works well but can be slow to send or receive and you are limited to 160 characters per message, both incoming and outgoing, so sometimes the second half of a message arrives before the first. I had daily communication with my brother and other family members making the long solo days a bit better.

 

[Hackleback]

Scouting

I was able to do a scouting trip over Labor Day weekend. I was working in the backcountry of NE Nevada the week before and got off work Thursday afternoon and headed east. I had to make some stops in SLC at REI to replace my boot insoles and grab a couple repair buckles for my pack- then a short stop at Walmart for some fresh groceries and ice then headed to the unit. In the dark, I setup a quick bivy camp on a cot behind the truck for the night. In the middle of the night, it started raining so I grabbed a blue tarp and wrapped up in it. Of course, there were pinholes, so not the most restful night of sleep. I got up early to dark skies, made some coffee on the tailgate and was off driving the unit and getting a lay of the land. Midmorning, I ran into a couple grouse hunters that were quite helpful and provided intel on road conditions, rerouting me down a longer but much better road to an area of interest. Shortly after separating ways, I saw my first elk- a small bull with 4-5 cows on a burnt hillside, not far from a location I was given by a fellow RS’dr- off to a good start. The sky continued to look threatening, with the occasional rain shower. Up another steep windy dirt mountain road, climbing up to 10k in elevation for a commanding view of the unit. Windy and raining steady, I continued to drive roads, but quickly the roads became sloppy and I decided that it was best to get off the mountain. On the drive down/out as the road steepened up, the rear end of the truck broke loose and started sliding sideways for the edge. I gunned it and put the truck in the uphill side ditch to keep it on the road and drove the next half mile like this. Ya, getting out of here is a good idea. As I neared the bottom, a truck coming up towing a tandem axle toyhauler had sir come to the greasy mud as well and was blocking the road. Several of us helped to get him backed down to a wide spot where he could wait out the weather. I continued down to blacktop and made a big loop around the unit to check out another location I had been given. Rain continued, sometimes hard. I get to the next location, to find the roads sandy and rocky, easily passable, even with the current weather. I drive up an access road till I had enough bouncing around, pull over at a two-track intersection and do a bit of glassing. Not much to see for a while, then way off, skylined, I see elk rolling over a ridge- grab the spotter, yup, elk, I can see several bulls mixed in with cows and calves, but really can’t tell how big they are. Mark them on the OnX, ya, they are over 4 miles away, a successful evening. Make a simple camp, then up the next day. I head to the north-central portion of the unit- good looking country on the pavement, but as soon as I pull onto a dirt mountain road, its nothing but black pudding from the many ATV’rs recreating over the holiday weekend and the semicontinuous rain showers. Off to the next location, that I was given- its a large drainage dominated by expansive aspen stands. I hike some trails and two-tracks seeing no elk sign, old or new- I can scratch this area off my list. Back in the truck and head south to the high country where I started. I make camp about halfway up and below the spot where I had almost slid off the road. I do a bit of glassing in the evening, but uneventful. That night, I hear a couple squeaky bugles, so I at least know there are elk in the area. I get up the next morning make coffee and walk across the road to do a bit of glassing. Right away I find two cows moving through a burn, but they quickly roll over a ridge and disappear. I make a big loop and see if I can pick them up again, but no success. I hike around a bit and find a couple good glassing spots that I mark, then head back to the truck. As I near the truck, I can see to the west that the sky is looking dark and angry. A couple claps of thunder and I’m convinced to get out of there as the roads are still wet and I know it wont take much to make them impassable. I head to the low country where I know the roads have plenty of rock and hike back into the high country from an access point that I was given. When I get there I’m excited to find a road that heads up the drainage, however that is short lived as I find the first creek crossing is washed out and impassible. I park the truck and hike up the road a mile or so, where it turns to a trail that quickly disappears. Glassing across the valley, I see two small bulls on a steep burned sidehill. I watch then for a while feed, then they wander off into some thicker stuff and bed up for the day. I head straight up through the thick brush, some places having to pull my self up and finely break out on the top. I hike the grassy tops/alpine, glassing into many basins, many filled with standing burned timber. I find fresh sign of elk coming over the top between basins, but never see any other animals. Late afternoon, substantial weather starts to roll back in, I seek shelter under some fir trees with claps of thunder all around me. I find myself on top of the world in a thunderstorm and tired of dodging weather. I make a break across the top towards the truck and down a steep mostly open ridge getting back to the truck right before dark. I’ve had enough dodging weather in the high country, pack up the truck and head for blacktop. I end up spending the night in the back of the truck in a parking lot at Strawberry Reservoir. It rains hard all night and into the morning, I’ve had enough of the weather, so I load up and head for home. It rains solid till I’m on the west side of SLC.

Though not that many elk were seen on the trip, but I consider the trip a success as I have a better idea of how to get around, that if things get wet that the roads get really slick making some places difficult to access with a truck ( a bit of foreshadowing here), I have a good starting point for the hunt and a backup location if I get locked out of the high country by wet weather.

 

[Hackleback]

The Hunt

Fast forward about month, the season opens on a Monday and I want to get out there a few days early to do a bit more scouting. I arrive to the trailhead on Friday, after dark. Its windy and cold, but I can see stars and I’m unsure if this is where base camp is going to be, so I set up a cot behind the truck and go to sleep. It’s cold, the coldest night of the entire trip. Around 11:00, a couple quads drove past from the trailhead, that’s a bit late. I wake up several times freezing, by morning I am wearing a puffy coat, hoody, knit cap socks and thermal bottoms, ya it was a cold night. Get up, made coffee, grabbed the pack and headed in to check out potential country. It was sunny and quiet with not much moving. I could see that there had been some pack stock in recently, but didn’t think much of it. Midmorning, I’m glassing off a high point and see smoke coming from the next ridge over, so now I know I’m not alone back here. About noon, I’m working my way back and run into a pack string headed in. A young man had killed a 6 pt bull during the early rifle season (that was ongoing) and they were headed back in to pack meat. Shortly, on the hike out I was passed by another pack string that was an outfitter with a successful client a very dark, nice looking 6 point. Well, they were all hunting the early rifle season and were headed out. Was the upcoming ML season going to be just a busy here? Get back to the truck and decided to set up a base camp here -cabin tent with a cot, table for the stove and unloaded most of the truck for easer access to items. Later I hiked back in for the evening and out on a point that was mentioned as a good spot. As soon as I peek over the edge, there was a bull 125 yards below me in an opening bugling. I was able to get several photos and some video. He wandered out to about 300 yards, layed down and continued to bugle in his bed. There were several other bulls bugling, though most were in the thick stuff and couldn’t be seen. Near dark, another bull showed just for a moment that was even bigger than the first. Things were looking good for the opener in two days! A spectacular sunset ended a productive day on the hike out!

Sunday, morning I slept in a bit as I hadn’t slept well in a couple days (suspect a touch of altitude sickness). I got up and did some camp chores, then did a short drive to look at some new country and view where I was the day before from a new angle- from across a deep valley. I decided that I was going to pack in about 4 miles for the opener, so I could be on-site at first light. Much of the early afternoon was spent organizing food, ML accessories, and misc supplies then loading the pack. When done, it was a solid load mostly because of the two plus gallons of water needed since I have not found a good water source. I packed in around 3:00 set up a quick bivy camp as the weather had turned clear and stable then head back to the point I was on the day before. The evening was still and quiet, not much movement till right before dark when a there was a couple squeeks from the odd bull and a couple cows wandering a burned timber hillside. I spent the evening mostly being entertained by a doe that was 30 years away that couldn’t decide whether she should be concerned with me or not. A much different evening than the day before- too quiet. I headed back to camp, made a Mountain House for dinner and a small fire, then went to bed shortly after.

 

[Hackleback]

The alarm went off in the dark of Monday, the opening day. Make coffee, load the rifle, and get organized for the day, as the eastern horizon became red-orange with the dawn. I hiked out to the spot I was at the evening before and waited. There were a few weak bugles way below me or for away, but nothing close or real active. A large hillside had a few cow elk slowly feeding about as they would appear and disappear in the burned timber. As the morning became brighter, things became even more quiet and the cow elk wandered off to one of the few thick green timber patches that remained on the hill side. That evening was even more quiet, a few weak bugles and the odd glimpse of an elk in the thick burned timber. The weather had become too nice, bluebird days with not a cloud in the sky and warming temps- more like late summer than fall. Again, back to camp, Mountain House for dinner, resupply that pack with food and water for a quick getaway in the morning then hit the bag.

 

[Hackleback]

Tuesday morning came calm and clear. I went back out to my point with the same results as the day before, a few unmotivated bugles and a glimpse or two of cow elk in the burned timber. Late morning, I hiked around the ridge and over to the next drainage. It too was full of burned timber but wasn’t quite as steep and appeared to be a bit easier to move around in, so I planned to hunt this area in the evening. I have enough food and water for the day, but would need to hike back out for a resupply at days end. This afternoon, I’m sitting on a ridgetop watching the basin when I hear a two shots being and below me- the first shots heard- I hike across the top and can see a ATV sitting on the far ridge, but the shots were on my side and low- these must be some seriously motivated hunters! I have seen 3 guys glassing across a couple evenings, but didn’t think much of it.

I had been talking to my brother via text (off the high points) and also by InReach. I was getting a bit frustrated that I was seeing elk, but all were from afar- he suggestion was to just go in after them and try to make something happen. That evening, rather early I hear a bugle out of the top end where there was a patch of green timber. The wind was right so I dropped off the ridge lip and started heading toward them- sight unseen. Soon I’m to a big patch of 8-foot tall aspen whips and brush. I can hear elk breaking stuff and moving around- they were loud. It sounds like they are moving toward me, then away- I continue to creep forward, I can only see maybe 5-10 yards with the odd alley out to maybe 30. I soon spot a cow ahead of me, I freeze, then a raghorn appears right above me at 10-15 yards, he sees me but doesn’t know what I am and makes a big loop around me but never really spooks. I stand frozen for a while and eventually everyone wanders off and I backtrack out. In the end, I was able to see a small bull and about 6-8 cows. My first close encounter of the season. Looks like I will be doing more dives into the brush if I want to be successful. I stat the long hike back to camp and the truck for a resupply. As I come across a meadowy open ridge top I spot a couple cows out feeding. I drop to my knees in the two-track and start glassing. There is a nice bull with them, so I attempt to get closer by crawling down the road. It quickly becomes apparent that I can’t move fast enough and I’m running out of cover. I decide to give a couple cow calls and see what happens. At first the bull ignores them, but now I have the cows attention, I give a couple more cow calls and he perks up and starts to come my way! But soon decides that he should stick with the cows he currently has. I sit in the growing dark as the group wanders off feeding and soon out of sight. A neat close encounter for sure!! I continue down the ridge and start working my way back to camp,- pack up camp, have my last coffee I had brought in for a boost and head back to the truck, Its close to 11:00 by the time I get back to base camp/truck.

 

[Hackleback]

I am beat and slow to get up the next morning, but am in the routine and up by 7-7:30, make my coffee and debate what to do. Finely, I pack up and head out-I’m not going to kill an elk sitting in camp. Soon I’m looking across a valley at a long hillside covered with timber and spy a couple cows, they disappear and reappear in the burned timber and soon a nice bull shows. The wind is not conducive to loop around and come in from the top, so I decide go straight at them, drop to the bottom and climb up. As soon as I hit the burned timber, it’s a mess, down trees and thistles as tall a me are everywhere. I slowly pick my way through and soon at the bottom where I find a kill site from the week before. Not the best butchering job I’ve ever seen with the neck meat and brisket still there (though skinned out) and a rather rough hack job on the quarters and loins. Ya, they took the required meat, but that’s about it. Anyways, I start to make the climb up, its easier going, but steep. Soon I’m nearing the top and slow down, I can hear movement, so I drop my pack and continue to creep forward, there is a lot of sign and I’m standing in an elk bed when a raghorn busts out of the timber at close range, sees me and bails downhill, not really spooked, just unsure what he just saw. Soon cows are drifting by above me, I just stand still and silent and watch. Not sure what happened, but soon the cows are filing past with a bit of urgency (wind swirl?), not much to do other than stand and see what happens. I hear several cow calling in the timber above, so I do a couple quiet cow calls, all of a sudden, another raghorn, two spikes and a couple cows appear at 20 yard to my right, they see me, circle around and rejoin the group. I can see the group filing through a gap a couple 100 yards out side-hilling and around the next point. There were 30 or so cows, a smaller 5 pt, but I never saw the larger bull in the group. I can hear them continue to cow call with the odd bugle down the ridge, I decide to leave them alone. I drop back down to the bottom and follow the bottom out away from my usual access point. It’s a jumble of down trees, thistles, and slab sandstone in the dry creek bottom, but no water. I find one seepy spot but it goes dry again in 100 yards. I follow it down to a larger “creek” and plan to hike up the creek back to base camp, but it is full of logjams making it near impossible. I decide to bail up the other side- all 1,000 feet of climbing in less than a mile, a new meaning to steep! I grind out the climb, ya, it sucked, hit the road on the ridge and start the three-mile hike back to camp. I’m tired and out of water when I get back. I stop at a nearby camp and talk to an older gentleman (“camp cook”) for a bit. His son has a tag and is having a tough time getting on elk, though having encounters in the aspen stands. I get back to camp, make a big lunch and take a camp shower as I was starting to smell like a rutting bull myself. Soon a pack string comes by and it’s the guys from the day before. They had shot a nice 6 pt and had called their buddy with horses to pack it out. We chatted for a while, had a couple celebratory beers and soon went on out ways. On the pack trip in, they had seen a nice bull very near where I was chasing them that morning. I went back to camp and started getting food ready for another pack-in trip. I had a relaxing afternoon in camp, then did a short trip in the evening that was not particularly eventful.

 

[Hackleback]

Thursday morning I loaded up for another 2-3 days and headed back in and set up camp closer to where I had been hunting. The location was sheltered well by trees and I had brought a tent in this time as there was a forecast for some weather to be moving in. The site looked like it had been used by archery hunters earlier as I found a hex wrench and a set of shorter shoelaces. I spent the afternoon glassing a large basin shaded by some trees near the top. As the evening approached, a few bugles rang out from down below, so I got up and made a big loop to get the wind in my face and dropped in. As I dropped into a stand of aspens, I was busted by a cow with a calf. She slowly, milled away and stood on a secondary ridge barking at me- I thought that that was the end of the hunt for the evening. Soon a bugle rang out, not more than a couple hundred yards below me, so I continued on thinking I had nothing to lose. I made it about 100 yards when a 5 pt came into view. He was quartering away from me raking a small aspen. The heart pumping, I dropped the pack, and worked up a game trail another 30 yards or so, took a knee and quickly took a shot, as the smoke cleared, he had only moved a short distance and was looking around. In a panicked state, I quickly reloaded, but he was gone by then. Grabbed the pack and headed up to where he was standing when I shot, no hair or blood, then over to where he was standing after the shot, the same no hair or blood. I walked a couple trails in the direction he had headed and did a couple circles with no signs of a hit. At the shot I didn’t hear the telling WACK of a big slow bullet hitting home. A clean miss- so frustrating!!! Reflecting on the shot, I was shaky, that heart was pounding, and a jerked the trigger- frustrating, but in the end, probably good as it really want the caliber of bull I was looking for. As I’m standing there, I can hear a big bugle rip, not more than 400 yards away- time to shake it off and get back at it. I drop down more and can see across the valley, up in the burned trees is a solid 6 point with some cows. He is just standing there screaming away. I drop down and start working my way up the other side- steep! I probably 150-200 yards away when I decide to drop the pack and do the final stalk. I inch up through the timber and soon see a cow looking at me from 75-80 yards. I freeze and we do the don’t-move standoff. I can see a couple other cows slowly milling about and finally see the bull behind them. I stand there fore awhile (you never really know how long some of these stand-offs really are) and the bull moves forward and presents a quartering to me shot. I line up on him, but the light is getting low, dark elk in black timber with a peep site, so All I can see is dark blob. He turns a bit and I get a bit more light on him, aim making sure to ssqquuzzee this time and get a resounding POP! WTF, the cap went off and that’s it! Go to to put another cap on and, wait- when I reloaded did I pour the powder in, pull the speed loader out of my packet and find it full of powder! What a bone head move and a lost opportunity on a nice bull!! I hurry back to my pack, dig through my stuff and pull out my CO2 unloader, unload- I can hear the bullet hit a tree maybe 50 yards away, reload (with powder) and hike back up. By then the elk had figured that something was up and had started moving up and away from me. I hike back down to pick up my pack and head back, now I can’t find my pack (with my food, water, Inreach, extra food, and clothes) sitting by the “big tree” in the darkening woods, in a bit of a panic, wandering a couple circles, I find it and head back to camp. A productive day with two blown opportunities. So frustrating! I’ve been at this for a while and starting to get full body exhausted from being at it-sunrise to after sundown.

 

[Hackleback]

Friday morning, I get up and head back to the same general area where I plan on using the same approach, listen for a bull, then try to move in. I get a squeaky bugle and move in but soon find myself above the thick patch of aspen regrowth. I can see 2-3 cows bedded, ears flicking from the flies, so I stop and wait, things quiet down as the morning progresses, then a spot a small 5 pt raking some small trees. He doesn’t stay long and wanders off into the thick stuff. Things go quiet and I back out a couple hundred years and set up under some large conifers for the afternoon. I try to eat (I’ve been battling a lack of appetite for most of the trip) and attempt to get some napping in in hopes of a recharge. An uneventful afternoon. As evening rolled in, a few bugles can be heard and I make a big loop around to get the wind in my face and drop in. I can see a group of about 20 cows, a 5 pt and a nice 6 point. Once again the nicer bull is on the far side behind the wall of cows. I move in but soon run out of cover and every time I try to move, I get picked off by some eagle-eye cow. Eventually they move up and into some thick timber, so I let them go. Again, inside 200 yards, but just can’t make the final distance. I can hear the big 6 pt bull from the day before way up on the ridge bugling away, though I can’t see him, but now know where he likes to hang out. He is too far up and I will run out of light before I get to him. So, another “productive “night with good elk spotted, but just can’t seem to seal the deal. Back to the tent for a quick meal of freeze dried Pad Thai and off to bed.

 

[Hackleback]

Saturday morning feels like another rinse and repeat. Back over to where I have been hunting the past couple days, sitting up high waiting for the sun to rise and bulls to give me a tell. Soon a bull bugles off to my left and down in the general area where I shot and missed the 5 pt a couple days before. It’s a squeaky weak bugle so I immediately think it’s a small, young bull. I can hear the big 6 pt up on the other side somewhere in the thick timber bugling as well. Since “squeaky is reasonably close I head that way, walking along the ridge top, then drop into a aspen stand start to work my way down. He is bugling every couple minutes now, so its easy to keep tabs on him. About a third of the way down he lets out another bugle, I scan with the binoculars and pick him up. He is bedded in an open spot with a few mature aspens- out in the open from my vantage point. I am concerned that he will see me in the open until I see a bushy pine about 40 yards uphill from this location. I side will and put the tree between us and start to work down, attempting to be quiet. Soon I’m about 80 yards out with a giant blowdown in front of me. I awkwardly climb the blowdown over knowing that I’m getting close. All the time he is still in his bed bugling to the world. I’m concerned that the wind will swirl and it will all be over, So I give a couple cow calls but get no response. I continue to butt scoot down the hill with the tree still between us, and at about 50 yards, the bull stands up and walks around the tree looking at me broadside. I go to one knee, cock the hammer on the Thompson Renegade and take aim, telling myself to get steady and to ssqquueezzee! Squeeze! The un goes off with a big cloud of smoke, that obscures. The bull acts disoriented like a hit. I reload again telling myself to focus on the task at hand. He is still about 50 yards away when I fire again. At the shot he drops, but is still alive, I reload again, walk up and put another shot in the chest! After the multiple days of hunting, it now over, so quickly. I can still hear the other bulls bugling across the valley. I lay hands on a nice 6 point, not the biggest I’ve seen on this trip, but still a respectable bull. I’m happy! I go get my pack and pull out the knives, game bags and other tools and get to work. The bull is so big that I can’t move him in any meaningful way, so I gut him, mostly to make it light enough to move. The butchering takes the rest of the morning and I find a couple nice pine trees a short distance away where I push a pole in the limbs to hang meat. While butchering, I find two of the 485 grain No Excuses slugs, one under the hide on the far side and the other under the scapula, both perfect mushroomed. My first shot was a miss, second shot hit high behind the shoulder, clipping the spine, third was in the ribs quartering forward. All in all there are six bags of meat, plus the head. I get all hung up on the meat pole including the head and toss the loins and tenderloins in the pack. I hike out of the kill site early afternoon, stop at camp, pack everything up and get it all loaded. The pack now contains my spike camp and the substantial loins, so a full load. I do the 5-mile hike back to base camp and the truck, break down base camp and load into the truck. Weather is in the forecast and I know the road out will be near impassible if we get weather. I plan to go in and pick up the rest of the meat from another trailhead that is 2 1/2 miles closer but requires a 2,000 foot climb to get to back in. The advantage of this location I am able to drive to pavement even if the weather turns and the dirt roads get wet. By the time I had the truck packed up, it was getting dark. I made the drive down off the mountain and started looking for a camp spot. I found one right off a main road with water near by and set up a base camp as I know it was going to be a couple days. A quick dinner, get the pack organized for the next day and off to bed.

 

[Hackleback]

The plan for packing meat was to “shuttle” it out by moving a load a short distance, then going back to get another till everything had been moved forward, then repeat until all was to the truck. The distance that seemed to work best as about a half mile, with 5 “legs” in total. Back up and at it a bit later than the recent past days, but still a reasonable early start, make the 3-mile drive to the trailhead and start hiking up the road that is the first mile or so. When I hiked this a month earlier scouting, this road was a mess, with deep washouts at every crossing. It quickly became apparent that someone had done some significant road work making it passible for even a full-sized truck. I was in a hurry to get to packing meat, so I left the truck at the bottom and continued to hike in. During the scouting trip, where the road ended, I had gone off trail straight up, but OnX did show a trail (that I couldn’t find before) so I followed to map and to my surprise more work had been done- someone had doner a bunch of trail work and had cut most of the big blowdowns out with a chain saw. Ther was one short section that was still covered, and the upper half was a bit brushy, but still easy to follow. This was a huge score as it was going to make packing out much easier.

I hiked into the kill site and dropped the largest load in my pack, got the trekking poles out and started the steep 500-foot climb to the ridge above. Each of the five loads was taking me about an hour each to make the round trip. The slow progress as frustrating as I watched a large portion of the day slip away. The next leg went much faster as it was mostly flat, I was able to move everything about a mile the first day. The weather had turned much cooler and windy this day as the impending storm approached. That evening, I packed out the largest of the game bags back to the truck, so now I had four loads on left. Back to camp for a quick meal and off to bed.

 

[Hackleback]

It was windy all night, not making for the most restful sleep. Sometime in the middle, I was woken to the patter of rain on the tent, sometimes light, other harder. I got up at first light to find everything wet but not sloppy. The past couple days were starting to take a toll and the poor sleep that night didn’t help. I was ready to be done and headed for home, but still had a substantial amount of physical work to be done. As I drove up the main road it was apparent that a short distance from camp had gotten significantly more rain as the road was muddy but not overly slick. I as singly focused on getting all the meat out this day as I turned the corner and headed up the side road to the trail. The first section was rocky and not steep and was able to navigate the truck up with no issues. As I climbed, the road became narrow and steep, but I forged ahead focusing on the saved time packing when I got the truck to the trail. As I came to a steep and narrow section, the truck broke loos and stated sliding sideways for the edge with an 80-foot drop to the creek below. I hit the brakes hard and slid into a small dead juniper that stopped my slide. With a volley of expletives, I get out to survey the situation. The road is sloppy wet clay that is like greasy two-inch deep pudding. I pull out the one set of chains I have, get one on the hill side front an back tire and back the truck about a couple feet and realize it still sliding for the edge. Copious expletives of frustration as I knew to stay off these roads when they are wet- but the exhausted brains just don’t function very well. I had done the thing that I was most concerned about- the single reason I had come out of the high country a few days earlier- to avoid steep muddy/slick roads.

I left the truck where it was, grabbed my pack and headed up the hill to continue to get the meat. It was my hope that the weather would cooperate and dry things out and I would be able to extract the truck. As I got back up on top, weather had degraded to lots of wind and wet snow. I continued the meat shuttling the rest of the day and had the last load back to the very stuck truck at about 9:00 PM. Another huge physical day with about 18 miles of hiking, and with substantial about of climbing to boot. I still had to get back to camp some three miles away and free the truck. I hiked down and checked out a nearby camp. A camp trailer was there, but no vehicles or lights- I assume they had headed home for the work week. I Hiked down the road and made it to camp, grabbed a quick meal and off to bed.

 

[Hackleback]

I slept in the next morning knowing that I would need some sunshine and hopefully a bit of wind to dry out the muck pool that my truck was sitting in. I puttered about camp, having multiple cups of coffee, packing, and organizing stuff and just keeping busy. I told myself that I would be patient and wait till noon before hiking up to let conditions to improve. Being impatient could lead to disaster if I tried to move the truck while the ground was slippery. Shortly before noon, I started the hike back up the road to the truck. When I arrived ground conditions had improved dramatically, and I got to work digging trenches for the hill-side wheels to ride in and building up the down-hill side with rock and dirt to build a level shelf. After about an hour, I was ready to give it a try. I backed the truck out, then came forward and was fully back on the road. I had to back the truck a couple hundred yards down the road to a wide spot to turn around, a bit stressful on frayed nerves, but uneventful. I kept the chains on till I was back to the main road, then headed for camp to pack up and head for home! At last headed home! The last handful of days I felt like I was on a never-ending hamster wheel, but now I am really on my way home.

Back to camp, break down the rest and pack and repack a couple times to get all to fit. On the road finely, nice to be able to relax a bit and roll along on smooth pavement. I stop in Heber City for a burger, fries and a drink- the first meat that I didn’t have to prepare in 12 days, then back on the road headed west. I made it to NE Nevada that night and spent the night with a friend- my only request was a shower. I gave him a hind quarter as they were not able to harvest this fall and having a few challenges as of late, then on the road for home.

This was probably the longest and the most challenging hunting trips that I have done. Multiple lessons learned and an experience that I wont soon forget.

 

[TxTaurus74]

Nice write up and congrats

 

[elkguide]

Don't you just love it when a plan comes together?!?!
Thanks for taking us along.

 

[tlh2865]

Congrats and thanks for sharing!!

 

[slvrslngr]

Quite the adventure!

 

[WRO]

Fantastic write up, congratulations on a well earned bull.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Billinsd]

Outstanding!!! I got a great bull there a few years ago.

 

[Adamsfj]

Thank you for sharing. Great write up!

 

[twdjr]

Congrats!