megalomaniac
Well-Known Member
Just got back from Colorado whirlwind trip. I took my 12 y/o son to test him out, we didn't draw tags as I was not convinced he could physically handle the hunt and I didn't want to waste the money for just a day or two hunting. Flew out Sat morning, got settled into camp that night, then fished all day Sunday.
Monday morning, we made the hike up to the top where I've killed 3 elk with a bow in the past. Heard a bull squeal in the dark, and we snuck into position. After it got light enough to see, we ended up in the middle of 19 cows/ calves as well as the herd bull... a nice 6x6 that was probably 320". Short 5ths, but great whale tails and incredibly long beams. He bugled 3 or 4 times about 200 yards away, and cows were going crazy. We moved to cut them off to see how close we could get, and managed to get within 80 yards of the herd bull before the lead cow busted us. They moved off to 350 yards and went back to feeding. There was a little satellite raghorn hanging around as well, and I thought about spending the time calling him in, but after an hour and a half at 12,500 ft, Ethan started getting altitude sickness with a horrible headache. I wanted to keep working around the mountain to see if we could spot another bull I had heard earlier that morning, but did not feel comfortable pushing Ethan with the headache.
We headed back down to camp at 10,000 ft and he felt better after an hour or so. Fished again that afternoon catching around 25 browns. I asked him if he wanted to go back up Tuesday morning and get back on the elk, but he said there's no way in heck he's ever climbing up the mountain again without a tag in hand :) Not sure if I'll get us tags next year or whether I'll wait till the following year when he's 14.... it's a tough hunt, especially for a kid who lives at sea level. Probably more hard mentally than physically, and he just doesn't quite have the mental toughness to do that hunt day after day after day.
He did manage to catch a nice 20" brown trout Tuesday afternoon, so that was nice icing on the cake.
Great memories that I hope will last him his lifetime, I know I will remember them the rest of mine!
Monday morning, we made the hike up to the top where I've killed 3 elk with a bow in the past. Heard a bull squeal in the dark, and we snuck into position. After it got light enough to see, we ended up in the middle of 19 cows/ calves as well as the herd bull... a nice 6x6 that was probably 320". Short 5ths, but great whale tails and incredibly long beams. He bugled 3 or 4 times about 200 yards away, and cows were going crazy. We moved to cut them off to see how close we could get, and managed to get within 80 yards of the herd bull before the lead cow busted us. They moved off to 350 yards and went back to feeding. There was a little satellite raghorn hanging around as well, and I thought about spending the time calling him in, but after an hour and a half at 12,500 ft, Ethan started getting altitude sickness with a horrible headache. I wanted to keep working around the mountain to see if we could spot another bull I had heard earlier that morning, but did not feel comfortable pushing Ethan with the headache.
We headed back down to camp at 10,000 ft and he felt better after an hour or so. Fished again that afternoon catching around 25 browns. I asked him if he wanted to go back up Tuesday morning and get back on the elk, but he said there's no way in heck he's ever climbing up the mountain again without a tag in hand :) Not sure if I'll get us tags next year or whether I'll wait till the following year when he's 14.... it's a tough hunt, especially for a kid who lives at sea level. Probably more hard mentally than physically, and he just doesn't quite have the mental toughness to do that hunt day after day after day.
He did manage to catch a nice 20" brown trout Tuesday afternoon, so that was nice icing on the cake.
Great memories that I hope will last him his lifetime, I know I will remember them the rest of mine!
