The greatest elk adventure of all time- hunting with JLG! First elk hunt

[AndrewJ]

I got up in the early morning and packed my bags. I had been waiting for the hunt for over a year, and it was finally here. I went to the door and looked at the weather, it was cold with snow and ice, no surprises there, but his time though there was a mean wind bearing down from the north, the type of wind that cuts right through your clothes and freezes your cheekbones and leaves you running for the heat of a fire. The cold doesn’t bother me, but wind does. I really hate the wind. I didn’t want to deal with the trek to the airport, so I made some calls and arranged for a ride in exchange for some 30-06 ammo upon my return.

 

I got to the airstrip and was worried the plane wouldn’t come due to the wind, but it showed up as expected and I jumped in. We got up into the air and could see the frozen world below. Even the Yukon was frozen solid.

 

While I was waiting for my flight to Arizona (my flight departed at 1AM), I took some taxis around to get some food and drink. It's amazing to be able to sit down at a restauraunt and order food. I don't know what I want so I order everything. I don't even look at the price, I don't care about the cost. I just want the food.

 

 

Got in to Phoenix the next morning and went to secure my rental car. I had reserved a minivan well in advance because I wanted room for gear and coolers. I did not want anything else. I thought the whole encounter would take 5 minutes, maybe 10. It took over an hour to get the keys in hand, there was a HUGE line of KC fans coming to watch a football game, and when I got to the counter the agent kept trying to bait and switch me…”well, we see you have this minivan for $30 a day, how about we upgrade you to a luxury SUV with a bunch of TVs in the back of the seats for the kids with a blue ray player and a huge engine so you can tear up the highways at 65mph for only $130 a day with the manager’s discount?” When I didn’t budge, they brought in the really attractive manager wearing a tight white skirt who tried to convince me the minivan was not the way to go and that I needed more style. After a relentless battle, they gave up and I had the keys in hand. I left the concrete jungle and was on my way to the hunt!

 

 

From the start I wanted to find a spike- not just any spike, I wanted a small spike. I wanted the meat to be tender and I didn’t want to deal with packing out bulky horns. If a big bull appeared I would probably take it, but given the option I’m going for the spike.

 

Day 1

 

I thought I was in shape. I walk everywhere, and usually do not get tired. I had prepared mentally for the hunt, but when you throw on a big backpack, binos, tripod, snacks, water, and rugged terrain, you realize there is another definition of being in shape. And that's when you realize the whole thing is really crazy! We hiked up to some points and my shoulders were screaming. I was really happy when we would stop to glass because the more time we spent glassing, the less time I had to deal with the gear and the weight. We glassed all day, and then JLG spotted a horn protruding from a bush. We had all looked over that spot a hundred times, and a lesser eye would have missed it completely. We hiked across to get closer to the spike, but had a hard time locating it again. When it finally came into view, it spotted us and started to move. I had a chance at a butt shot, but all I could think about was the hunter safety class I took when I was 10 years old, and I could see the instructor dancing in the scope telling me to never take that shot because of possible fecal contamination of the meat. I hesitated, and the elk vanished. I thought maybe I should have taken the shot, what happens if that’s the only chance I get? But you should only shoot when you are comfortable, and I was comfortable with not shooting.

 

A couple minutes later another group of elk appeared out of nowhere, and we were in perfect position. I had the lead spike in my scope and he was facing broadside to me. It was the perfect shot, but I pulled the trigger and missed, shot too high. Somehow I managed to get my nose in front of the scope, and it hit me really hard and split open the top of my nose. It was bleeding and the spent shell wouldn’t eject from the rifle, so I couldn’t get off another shot.

 

Mr. Rob was positioned below us, and he got one of the spikes in the group. We helped him field dress the elk, and we began the hike out. I wore a knee brace, but my knees were still screaming at me. By the time we got ready to hike out it was dark, and we made our way back to the road with only our headlamps and flashlights. The shrubs seemed to get angrier and angrier with every step, blocking every move. I almost fell a couple of times, but luckily kept my footing. I have never been happier when we made it back to the road and were able to drop our packs.

 

Day 2

 

The second day was the most challenging. We got up early and headed out to a high point along the rim and hiked down to a smaller ridge. We waited for the sun to come up, and as soon as it did a small herd of cow elk came running by. We didn’t see any bulls, but I was excited just to see elk. I had never seen many elk in the wild, and we were seeing cows nonstop. After that, we hiked to the bottom and had to fight manzanita and thorn bushes the whole way. It really wore me out It was no different coming back up. We glassed some more, and ended the day watching a big herd of cows come by. By the end of the day I was exhausted, my knees weren’t happy. I estimate we had hiked over 8 miles by that point.

 

Day 3

 

We went to a little meadow before sunrise, and as soon as the sun came up the elk started coming to life. They came darting out of nowhere and ran right in front of us, but we didn’t see any bulls. Mr. Rob had some family connections to an old ranch, and we got permission to go there for the day. It was a really nice place with old equipment and barns, and we hiked up into the hills to glass around. Then we hiked some more, and went a little farther after that. It was steep terrain, really rugged, and at times dangerous. It was nature’s obstacle course, and luckily we didn’t get hurt or sprain an ankle. We saw some elk towards the end of the day, but no bulls.

 

 

Day 4

 

It was the last day of the hunt, and I wasn’t sure what to expect. By this time the bulls have been feeling the pressure, and it would be hard to find one. We tried a few different spots, and in the afternoon JLG spotted a lone spike in the distance. We had a spotter keep an eye on things while we repositioned, otherwise we would have lost the elk. We got to the right spot and kept looking, and finally found the spike! He was alone, feeding by himself, and was waiting for the hunting season to close. I felt the surge of adrenaline, and knew I would only get one shot. I was also thinking about my nose, so I was extra careful to keep it as far away from the scope as possible. I waited for the right moment and the elk turned broadside and I shot, aiming for the front shoulder. One shot and a lot of luck is all it took. The elk was hit in the most improbable spot at the bottom of the upper neck.

It took a little while to get down to the elk, and my heart was still racing. I couldn’t feel the pain in my knees through the surge of adrenaline. We went to work field dressing the elk, and I didn’t feel cold for one moment until we were all done. We cut off every piece of meat and took the heart and liver, nothing went to waste.

 

 

The pack back out was an adventure. We were both exhausted, and I could hardly walk. It was dark, and everything looks different at night. We would have to hike down a hill, up another one, and down some more just to get back to the road, so we packed up half the elk and opted to come back for the second half in the morning. Halfway back we missed our trail and got lost. We kept walking in the right direction, and next thing we notice there are giant fences around us- we couldn’t climb over if we wanted to. We were stuck inside a giant ranch complex. Every step of the way we were fenced in by wealth unbounded. We kept running into dead ends, and the never ending spaghetti-string of roads with dead ends was really wearing me down. I considered knocking on the big ranch house door, but it was 11PM and I looked like heck with blood, gun, pack, and a flashlight. We finally made it to the exit- a big wrought-iron gate- and there was no way to get around the edges. It was too tall to climb through, and had barbed wire all around the sides. There was about 8 inches of clearance between the bottom of the gate and the road, so we threw down the packs, slid the packs under the gate, and scooted on our backs to get to the other side. We were free. We headed back up to the road, and I sat down and waited for JLG to get the ranger. The sweetest sound in the world was the distant hum of the engine getting closer and closer, we had made it out and it was time to go home.

 

We went and got the rest of the elk in the morning. JLG wanted a challenge, the last few days had been too easy for him, so he decided to pick up his 35lb blind on our way to the elk. When we started the last of the pack out his pack had to weigh over 100lbs.

 

 

Went down to Phoenix to cut up the elk and get ready for the flight. I spent the last day enjoying life in civilization. Went and picked up some 30-06 ammo, and spent the rest of the day eating. I used to like big cities, but now they just seem over the top and excessice. It is a nice change of pace to have everything at your fingertips and just around the corner. Life is easy.

 

Flying home

 

Had two coolers, my carry on, winter gear, and a backpack. It’s quite a load! The coolers almost didn’t fit in the minivan, and I had a hard time getting the cooler out of the back trunk.

 

 

I tied everything down, and made the forever trek from the rental car return to the top deck to wait for the shuttle bus. I had to make two trips to get through the elevator, and needed some help to get the coolers on and off the bus. When I got to the check-in counter, the ticketing agent’s eyes got as big as the moon when she looked at all my stuff. The two coolers weighed 90lbs and 83lbs, and cost me $150 to check them.

 

When I got to Fairbanks the coolers were beat to heck, but everything held. Both of the coolers were heavily inspected and some of the meat packaging was even cut open.

 

 

I called for a shuttle to the hotel, and it was a real challenge to get the coolers loaded inside the van. Once we got to the hotel I was able to switch to a room with a balcony and kept the meat outside to keep it cool.

 

 

 

The next day I headed over to the regional hub of the airport, and checked in with my coolers (I don’t remember the price, think it was like $130 for the weight). The plane was full, so I had to sit co-pilot. My feet hardly fit, and my knees kept bumping the steering column. The pilot laughed and said don’t worry, if he needs to he will gladly smash my knees if he has to make a sharp turn.

 

 

We landed without incident, and I got back to my cabin and put the meat in the largest freezer known to man- the outside!

 

 

I needed some help with all the meat, and one of the natives I know has a meat grinder and agreed to help. Her sister was visiting from one of the villages north of here, and she cut up 11 caribou during their last hunt. By the time I got through cutting up the grind meat from one bag, they had finished everything else. I couldn't believe how quick they were. They knew every cut of meat and where it came from. They thought it was really strange I would cut the meat off the ribs- rib meat on the bone is supposed to be really good.

 

The first elk meal, and many more to come-

 

 

Special thanks to JLG for his willingness to help new hunters and taking them on an adventure you won't find anywhere else. There is hunting, hunting hard, and then there is hunting with JLG. I would also like to thank Mr. Rob, Jimmy, and RL, especially Jimmy on the last day. You made the hunt a very memorable experience, and without your help this wouldn’t have been possible! I couldn’t ask for a greater trophy bull than the one I got. For some the trophy is determined by the size of the horns, but for me the trophy is determined by the memories made along the way.

[stanley]

Awesome write-up!!! Glad you had a great adventure!!! Thanks for sharing it with the site!

 

S.

 

[DUG]

Great story and pictures! You only forgot the picture of the rental car manager!

[AZ8]

Great story! What an adventure!

[brndog1]

Great adventure and write up on it. Thanks for the take along!!

[tjhunt2]

I enjoyed every detail along the way. Glad to see you made it back safely. I too think the meat and memories are the real trophies. You certainly accomplished your goal and thank you for a great story. I hope you share more of your meat hunts with us please.

 

TJ

[Jcubed]

Andrew,

 

Amazing story and adventure! It has been a pleasure getting to know you. JLG is the man, as you know! Please keep us updated on your adventures in AK (say hello to your dad)!

 

If you want to go coues hunting again, you know who to call...

 

Congrats again and enjoy the meat!

[AZ8]

Man, I keep coming back to this thread. One of the best stories on CWT! What a great adventure all the way from the frozen north to Arizona and back! I assume Alaska. Did you live here at one time, or just decided to hunt elk in Arizona someday? Would like to hear a little background on how you got to this point.

 

Again, what a great hunt. Congrats!

[firstcoueswas110]

cool story.

[Mocha1545]

Great story and pics. I love your attitude towards the meaning of a trophy. Great pics.

[Matt Meyer]

Great story and Pic's. Thanks for sharing

[JLG]

Andrew this is a great write up and one I will reread several times more. You are a tough person. You never let the pain you where going thru show. You where with me every step of the way. I had some great hunts this fall and now into the spring seasons. But you getting your spike meant alot to me. I knew how valuable the meat was to you. I will long look back on your hunt with fond memories. It was a great hunt in terms of a mix of both old friends coming thru to help without a personal dog in the fight and new friends like Rob who by staying with us even after he killed his bull on Monday allowed us to keep hunting on Thursday by helping Chris packout his bull. I like to be surrounded by unselfish people willing to go above and beyond. We had that in that group of people. You, Chris, Jimmy and RL. Just added to a great experience. Enjoy your bull and I looked forward to our next adventure Friend. JLG.

[AZbowhntr]

That sounded like an awesome adventure. Great writeup. And congrats on your trophy.

[muledeerarea33?]

I love your cabin Andrew! It's a lot like what I live in Arizona, except the "freezer"! What do you do for work up there? Congrats on your elk! Bigger than I've ever taken.