Timberdoodle
Well-Known Member
I returned from Idaho saturday evening at around 9:30 PM. First off, let me say that it is beautiful country, and as far as just getting away from everything, it was the trip of a lifetime.
However, I will never go on a guided hunt again that I do not research myself. My partner done all he could to ensure a good guide,etc. and it still turned out to be a nightmare.
We packed in a day later than we were told that we would. Our outfitter did not even have water in base camp!! We had to filter our own for most of the trip.
We saw and passed on several 5x5's the first two days that we were there because we saw some really good bulls when glassing and had the better part of two weeks to connect on one of them. We made it clear to our guide that we would rather go home empty handed than take a small bull.
First two days were perfect weather. 18 @ night and a high of around 40. The third day it hit 70 and every day after that it was 70 to 80 for a high. It was still around 20 at night, but too hot for the elk to be moving after daylight. They were high and in the timber.
I finally got a shot at a bull the day before we were to leave. It was right at dark and my guide told me that he was sure that it was a NICE 5x5. I put the beast down, only to watch my guide throw his hat on the ground and start cussing when he reached my trophy. I had passed two bulls larger than this ine the previous day!! It was a 3x4. Yeah this trip doesn't get any better. It is well after dark when we finish taking care of the elk and our guide loses his bearings and can not find the horses. I told him that we had no chance of finding the horses when we had no idea where we were either. I told him that I was building a fire and seeing the night thru. We could get our bearings when the sun came up to identify the sky line. He decided that that was probably best.
SOOO, I got no sleep that night. Got to base camp the next day, packed the elk out and then packed out to the trailhead and went to the meat processor with the elk. Got a room and 7hrs. sleep and headed home after picking up the meat.
I drove straight home. Only stopped for gas and potty breaks and hung in there for the 29 hours home. If you are not keeping up, I had 7 hours sleep in four days, but I made it.
Good points are that I got to see a lot of beautiful country and met two of the nicest country folks that you could have imagined. This gentleman and his father showed up in camp the second night and we really hit it off. Come to find out he owned a meat processing plant. He took care of my elk and done the best job that I have ever seen done processing wild game. Brats, sausage, summer sausage, pepperoni's, jerky... I got it all and over night too!!! First class operation and great people,too!! Hope to be friends for a long time. That in itself is worth the whole trip.
However, I will never go on a guided hunt again that I do not research myself. My partner done all he could to ensure a good guide,etc. and it still turned out to be a nightmare.
We packed in a day later than we were told that we would. Our outfitter did not even have water in base camp!! We had to filter our own for most of the trip.
We saw and passed on several 5x5's the first two days that we were there because we saw some really good bulls when glassing and had the better part of two weeks to connect on one of them. We made it clear to our guide that we would rather go home empty handed than take a small bull.
First two days were perfect weather. 18 @ night and a high of around 40. The third day it hit 70 and every day after that it was 70 to 80 for a high. It was still around 20 at night, but too hot for the elk to be moving after daylight. They were high and in the timber.
I finally got a shot at a bull the day before we were to leave. It was right at dark and my guide told me that he was sure that it was a NICE 5x5. I put the beast down, only to watch my guide throw his hat on the ground and start cussing when he reached my trophy. I had passed two bulls larger than this ine the previous day!! It was a 3x4. Yeah this trip doesn't get any better. It is well after dark when we finish taking care of the elk and our guide loses his bearings and can not find the horses. I told him that we had no chance of finding the horses when we had no idea where we were either. I told him that I was building a fire and seeing the night thru. We could get our bearings when the sun came up to identify the sky line. He decided that that was probably best.
SOOO, I got no sleep that night. Got to base camp the next day, packed the elk out and then packed out to the trailhead and went to the meat processor with the elk. Got a room and 7hrs. sleep and headed home after picking up the meat.
I drove straight home. Only stopped for gas and potty breaks and hung in there for the 29 hours home. If you are not keeping up, I had 7 hours sleep in four days, but I made it.
Good points are that I got to see a lot of beautiful country and met two of the nicest country folks that you could have imagined. This gentleman and his father showed up in camp the second night and we really hit it off. Come to find out he owned a meat processing plant. He took care of my elk and done the best job that I have ever seen done processing wild game. Brats, sausage, summer sausage, pepperoni's, jerky... I got it all and over night too!!! First class operation and great people,too!! Hope to be friends for a long time. That in itself is worth the whole trip.
