Ridgway Colorado Elk Hunt - 2018-10-20 (Updated)

Update of my initial posting for the elk hunt my son and I had on 20-24 Oct.

This hunt was planned since last year and it was a great success. I drove with my wife from Huntsville, AL with a few stops along the way. We over-nighted at Fort Smith, AR (still looks a lot like a frontier town and wish I had more time there) and Dodge City for the second night was cool. Back on the road the next morning to Brighton, Colorado to pick up our son (Keoni) and his girl-friend (Hi’i) the next day.

Windmills
Anyone venturing through Kansas/Oklahoma has seen all the windmills for generating power. Since we were taking a different route to Dodge City instead of the straight shot across the Plains on I-70 we passed through rural areas in Kansas that had hundreds of the windmills. We passed multiple tractor trailers carrying windmill blades, tower structure components and control cabins for mounting the blades. If anyone wants a job as a welder go to Central City, Kansas. We passed through there and it was obviously a major hub for windmill construction. There were literally dozens of blades, tower structures and control cabins being prepared for shipment. Not much else in the town but the plant for the components was immense covering several hundred acres.


Windmill Blades


Windmills

Arrived in and over-nighted in Brighton, Colorado which was convenient to the airport and picked up son and girlfriend at Denver International (they came from Hawaii).

We departed the airport and began the drive to Telluride, CO. During the drive up we hit the public gun range in Salida after a quick Google search. I had planned to use the range at Gunnison but it became apparent we would not get there in time. We also had a chance to practice at the Montrose rifle range the day before the hunt which was excellent. They have targets all the way out to 600 yards and it was critical that my son and I had the opportunity for some long range practice


Monarch Pass on Ride to Telluride
One of the most scenic areas along the way was Monarch Pass which gave us our first look at what was to come. This was also my son and girlfriends first look at scenic Colorado and the snow. Colorado had gotten a few snow storms over the previous two weeks and the mountain tops were covered as well as drifts on the side of the road. The return trip would see a lot more snow (later in the post).


Hi'i and Keoni at Monarch Pass

After a late arrival in Telluride (long, unfamiliar, and dark mountain roads are not that much fun) we grabbed a late dinner at The Last Dollar Saloon (good food, locally brewed beer and decent prices). Afterwards we searched out and found the condo where we were staying courtesy of AirBnB where the ladies would stay while we hunted. We spent the next morning looking over Telluride (more posted later) We had one day in Telluride before my son and I would depart to meet up with others coming from Huntsville as well as outfitter/guides.

The Hunt
The following day my son and I headed out of Telluride and up to Montrose to meet up with the hunting party and sight in rifles. On the ride from Telluride to Montrose we had a bit of snow/ice flurries and we saw a bull and another elk on the hill side as we approached Ridgway. We were both amped up and it felt like a good omen of things to come. We got to the rifle range in Montrose, met up with others in the hunting party, sighted in and then headed off to the lodge where we were to stay for the five day hunt.


The Lodge

The Hunting Party


John Jr, John III (Keoni), Jason, Justin, BW (front), John, Bud, Vance, Jerry and Tim. Jason, Justin and Tim were our guides.

Many thanks to our guides Justin, Jason (especially), Tim, Frank and Brad Grey at highsierraexpeditions.com. Additional thanks to Hannah who cooked for the hungry party during our stay.

Exceptional thanks also to Bud and his fellow hunters who graciously consented to letting us hunt with them. They have successfully hunted with High Sierra many times over the last several years in Colorado.


The afternoon/night before the hunt was spent organizing our gear. My son and I also had dozens of questions for Justin, Jason and Tim since this was our first hunt and we did our best to ask the right questions and figure out how to have a successful hunt.

Early the next morning we sorted out who was going with who. Jason was our guide and the son and I piled in his truck and headed off through Ridgway to our hunting area. We arrived just before daybreak in the dark and Jason could already see the small herd in the pasture. They were going to move to their bedding areas higher up soon, so we exited the truck and began a quick trek to get out ahead of them. We only had to hustle about ½ mile and as we topped a hill side Jason was using a cow call to locate any bulls. He got a quick response. Keoni was right behind him and with an assist from Jason he got a bead on the bull and after two shots took him down. It was over so quickly (out of the truck to shooting about 30 minute’s total). The results are below:


A very happy man!


Keoni and Jason


Ditto.


Keoni and proud Dad.


Elk Sunrise

The quickness of this part of the hunt totally surprised me. Our first hunt and within 30 minutes or so my son already had a 5x5 bull elk!!!! We were both thrilled and if I had not got a bull later I would have already deemed it a great hunt. After field dressing the elk, Jason went to get the Polaris side-by-side to load it up. The Polaris had a winch on the back of it so it was a breeze loading the elk and moving it to the trailer which we would use to take it back to the lodge for skinning.


Carting a lot of dinners home.

Ridgway Father and Son Elk Hunt - 2018-10-20 – Part 1
https://youtu.be/Ekn7nvZ7vU8

Ridgway Father and Son Elk Hunt - 2018-10-20 – Part 2
https://youtu.be/wBMrJOa42_8

Ridgway Father and Son Elk Hunt - 2018-10-20 – Part 3
https://youtu.be/o3GA3XhBp8I

Ridgway Father and Son Elk Hunt - 2018-10-20 – Part 4
https://youtu.be/nH_SjmfMf9g


For anyone who hasn't been in Colorado, it really should be on your bucket list. The area we were hunting got a few snow storms over the last few weeks and bit more the day before the hunt. Conditions were perfect with no wind, frosty ground, a brilliantly clear sky and low 20's. The day was perfect for hunting and probably had a lot to do with our success and for others in the party. It would get warmer as the week went by.


Frosty Field


Peaks in the background.


Ditto.


More ditto.

So we transported the elk back to the lodge. Two other members in our party had also taken bulls that morning and they were all skinned and delivered to the processor in Montrose. Then back to the lodge for a quick lunch, a bit of rest and up again for an afternoon hunt in the same area.

My turn!!!

I was still elated from the morning hunt and my son killing his first bull. Jason and Justin set us up in a blind to watch the valley below at 3pm. About 1.5 hours before legal shooting time was over a bull walked out at about 460 yards (I had already ranged the area). We could tell from the antlers he was legal but I wanted a closer shot so we watched him slowly graze his way towards us. Another bull came out from the same area but after glassing him we could tell he was barely legal if at all. So we sat and waited and slowly but surely they both got closer at about 350 yards but in and out of a brushy area. About 20 minutes before legal shooting time expired another bull came off the mountain. I learned later my son had spotted him coming down the mountain but with my crappy hearing I didn't understand what he was saying. When I finally did see him there was no doubt he was most definitely shootable. We waited till he got down to the same area where the other two were but there was a good bit of brush and trees and they tended to remain behind it all, still at about 400 yards. The non-shooter walked off to the right and disappeared into a treed area, never to appear again. The other two seemed to sense something was up and eventually they both walked behind the brush/trees to the right and into the treed area also. I had my gun up but had no clear shot and it was still a bit longer range than I wanted. CRAP!!!! Sunset was quickly approaching (6:37) and at one minute before I figured that was that. I put the gun back on safety and was ready to start gathering up the gear when Keoni said he was coming back out. Back up with the gun and he walked across the clearing and turned towards me. 300 Winchester Mag, 200 grains at 300 yards right through the chest. Fell down, struggled to get up on two legs and fell over. He was done for with maybe seconds to spare before legal shooting time was over!!! We were both going nuts. First day of a five day hunt and we had both killed great bulls (both were 5x5s). These also were our first elk. Results:


Happy hunter hardly describes it.


This day will always be with me!

Ridgway Father and Son Elk Hunt - 2018-10-20 – Part 5
MY FAVORITE VIDEO OF THE WHOLE HUNT
https://youtu.be/J5sOuZRIwr0

Ridgway Father and Son Elk Hunt - 2018-10-20 – Part 6
https://youtu.be/1_TGeLLx2fQ

Ridgway Father and Son Elk Hunt - 2018-10-20 – Part 7
https://youtu.be/-Rs7v7avDwg

Ridgway Father and Son Elk Hunt - 2018-10-20 – Part 8
https://youtu.be/SQJ0EtBYQ1U

We were not the only successful hunters in the party for the five day hunt. Three others in party connected.


John got a bull on the first day.


Vance also got a bull on the first day.


John and Vance's bulls.


Bud got a bull two days before the season ended.

All in all we were all very successful. BW almost connected but the bulls he saw were in a herd of cows and no clear shot was ever available.

We took my bull back to the lodge, Justin skinned it out and the next morning I left early to pick up wife and Keoni's girlfriend from Telluride to visit the lodge. We all had a great morning, I took the bull to the processor. We conducted a bit of coordination with the processor (Goods Processing in Montrose, CO - http://goodsprocessing.com/). They were super cooperative, hung the meat for 10 days before processing it the day before we would depart, and charged $500 for processing two elk to include 20 pounds of sausage. They are a great family business. Now we had plenty of time to see a lot of Telluride and the accompanying area. Now that our hunt ended after one day we had a few extra days to all enjoy ourselves here. Ouray (You-ray) hot springs will see us soon.

The Rest of the Trip
I have been to Colorado a few times before (a Navy school at Lowry Air Force Base in 1978 (made sure it was Jan-Feb for the ski season), took my wife to Aspen in 2009, visited again with the wife after a Alabama Tacoma owners get-together in Moab in 2017 and also hunted Kremmling last year. While working on my rifle loads, I met a guy at the shooting range before I departed Alabama and he said if I had never been to this part of Colorado, I would find it to be the most scenic and best all around. He was right!!

Telluride AirBnB, and Suppers
Did quite a bit of walking around Telluride. The local population was very hunter friendly. Everyone asked where we were from and we let them know about the hunt. We did not run into any negative comments. That included shop owners, the bar tender (female) at Smugglers Union Brewery (great food and drink), and others we just talked to in passing. I met one individual that showed me pictures of a massive bull he took during the archery season. He mentioned a long wooden fence in the area we were hunting and asked if I had noticed it. I said no and he said the fence bordered property owned by Ralph Lauren. He owns 16,000 acres (25 square miles) in the area and is actually a hunter which surprised me. After I got back home I looked over an OnX Hunting chip which shows property boundaries and when I cross checked them with my GPS coordinates for where we were hunting we were actually quite close to part of his property. We drove through part of his property on the way to our hunt area (many roads transit private property in Colorado but they remain open to the public). I also looked over some posted articles for his ranch, the Double RL, and they offer elk hunts as well as other events.


The picture shows about half of Telluride. Telluride is .88 miles long and about .4 miles wide. There is a 15MPH speed limit through the whole town making it very pedestrian friendly.


Cable Car Ride - Telluride


Ditto


Top of Telluride


Telluride View


Trail Walk along the San Miguel River. My wife was very impressed with the trout (she wanted to invite them for dinner) and we met a couple of people that were successfully fishing (catch and release).

AirBnB
I booked two places through AirBnB.com for our Telluride stay and it was the first time I used their services. I am really impressed with what they offer and hands-down it sure as hell beats staying in a hotel and overall is much cheaper. Most of their places provide all the amenities of home (stove, fridge, microwave, cooking dishes, basic cooking necessities, washer/dryer, etc.). They are really great for staying a few days or longer and especially when you can cook your own meals and save a bit on the restaurant fees.


AirBnB Lodging

My son Keoni is a Sou Chef and a great cook. Unlike Dad (typical hash slinger), he can really prepare a great meal. We ate really well on this trip.


Supper


Ditto


More Ditto


More more Ditto

Attended Saint Patrick Catholic Church services (built in 1896) on Sunday to offer thanks for a great hunt and prayers for an eventual safe journey home for all of us. All prayers were eventually fulfilled. They asked for visitors to introduce themselves and when I said Huntsville, Alabama someone popped up and said “Roll Tide.”


Saint Patrick Catholic Church

Last Dollar Road
Took the wife for a ride over Last Dollar Road which had not closed for the season. I wanted to ride from Telluride to Ouray using the Camp Bird Road which goes over Imogene Pass but when I cruised up to check it out it was already closed as were most of the other off-roading roads. I was somewhat surprised when I asked some of the Telluride residents when the busy season is and they said it was summer, not winter. More people visit the area for hiking, off-roading and general tourism during the summer and not for skiing in the winter which I thought would be a busier period of time. So, I took the wife up Last Dollar Road which is a fairly passive ride and very scenic. I was hoping to find her an elk to look at. We saw the back side of one during the night ride into Telluride and a road killed cow but she really wanted to see a live one besides those and the ones we shot. We didn’t see any but by the end of the trip she had seen quite a few deer during the trip. I really need to take her hunting with me as she is an ace at spotting game. She did get a bit nervous as we passed over the snow at the top of one of the passes but I have driven more than a few times in those conditions and aside from being by ourselves it wasn’t that big a deal. Some really beautiful homes in the area, especially as you begin the drive up the road behind the Telluride airport.


Last Dollar Road View

Ridgway Father and Son Elk Hunt - 2018-10-20 – Part 9
https://youtu.be/zHWF78IsUPw

Ridgway Father and Son Elk Hunt - 2018-10-20 – Part 10
https://youtu.be/KLUEBfFIFu4

Ouray Springs
One of my favorite things to do in Colorado is go to the various hot springs. The town of Ouray is a great place to visit (the Ouray Brewery and local shops) and is a lot like Telluride as it is nestled in between steep mountain peaks on both sides. I have psoriasis and take bio shots to control breakouts. During my elk hunt last year near Kremmling I went to Hot Sulfur Springs several times and the psoriasis went into remission for almost 10 months up until about two months ago. I really looked forward to going to Ouray Hot Springs and although the psoriasis hasn’t totally disappeared again it has subsided somewhat after our two visits there during our trip.


Ouray Springs


Ditto


More Ditto


More more Ditto


The Beaumont Hotel in Ouray

Mesa Verde
I am quite a history buff and for decades have seen the pictures of the Native American cliff dwellers at Mesa Verde. The fact that these areas were occupied and then abandoned well before the Europeans arrived in the Americas has always been fascinating and it is quite a mystery as to why they really abandoned the area.


Mesa Verde South of Telluride

Ridgway Father and Son Elk Hunt - 2018-10-20 – Part 11
https://youtu.be/xkdHoWqYyRg

Monarch Pass Snow Fall
Well, it was time to go. The ride up was nothing compared to the ride out. Snow was forecast for the area and we got a bit on the way to Montrose to pick up our processed elk. It rained the whole time we were in Montrose and for the next few hours as we proceeded to Monarch Pass, where it quickly changed to snow. As we proceeded to the pass it became increasingly steady and by the time we went over the pass, semi-trailer trucks were pulling over and putting on chains. Wife got a bit more nervous as we lost traction a few times going up the mountain (wasn’t really an issue for me but her first real experience with driving in a major snow-fall). What was a nice event to observe a snow-fall changed rapidly after we got down the mountain to the Salida area and we turned northeast to Denver. It became a full blown snow storm as daylight departed and conditions deteriorated. Long story short, 35mph in a 65mph zone following the locals for about 70 miles. I didn’t mind it but it was a bit of a challenge for someone (and passengers) who doesn’t drive in those kind of conditions on a regular basis. I love 4-wheel drive and it was really a blessing to have for this drive. I got put in the lead of the caravan a couple of times and did not like being the guy breaking the trail along a snow covered road with vague tracks in the snow. I tended to let others that were more familiar with the area take the lead and then followed in their tracks. By the time we got closer to Denver, the snow was disappearing off the roads due to all the traffic. We rolled into the hotel in Castle Rock and it was still snowing. About 8-10 inches accumulated on the truck by the time we got up the next morning. Truth is, I loved every minute of it (mostly).

Ridgway Father and Son Elk Hunt - 2018-10-20 – Part 12
https://youtu.be/uBgQCU34NOo

Ridgway Father and Son Elk Hunt - 2018-10-20 – Part 13
https://youtu.be/3tLYMR4KeB0


Monarch Pass


Ditto

The Ride Home
Nothing like the anticipation of returning to work after a great time like we had!!! NOT!!! We visited for the day in Castle Rock with a nephew and the next day we were all eagerly up early in the morning for flights for the son and girl-friend and for Loie and I to head back east. NOT!!! Everyone was truthfully a bit grumpy but we got our gear together and headed for Denver International. A special shout out to Tony (Denver Police) who conversed with me in the departure lanes for 30-45 minutes as I waited to for Loie to check Keoni and Hi’i in at Alaska Airlines. He was gracious enough to stall for time as she managed their check-in. Son had about 90lbs of elk meat in two coolers. Tearful goodbyes and the wife and I were headed back to Huntsville while Keoni and Hi’i arrived safely back in Hawaii about 12 hours later. Loie and I stopped in Ponca City, Oklahoma for first night of trip back (1-4AM at the Osage Casino where she took a bit of their money). Up at 0900 (frickin’ hangover) and off to east of Memphis where we visited with another nephew for the night. Arrived back in Huntsville Saturday afternoon, put the rest of the elk in the freezer and I had a brew or two courtesy of Rockyard Brewing Company in Castle Rock.


Loie and the Moose

“Get busy living or get busy dying.” is a favorite phrase of mine and I try to live it each day. That and being a winner every day in one way or another. I have a goal to win at something every day and this trip fulfilled that goal in spades. Everyone had a great time and like all stories, there is beginning/ending to it but it is also just a part of the bigger picture. Hope everyone enjoys this post, it’s great to share an adventure and this truly was one. Thanks to our ever gracious God for watching over us every step of the way and granting us good fortune for our hunt!


Photo Courtesy of Tony

 

Nice!! Congrats! Were you hunting an OTC or LE unit?

 

OTC license but private ranch. Expensive but I will be able to live with it. Hunted near McCoy (OTC) last year with a friend that lives there and one other guy from Alabama. Hear and saw bulls but no shots. Took a muley though. Had my offroad trailer out in the area and it was a super relaxing 3 weeks in the boonies.

 

My son and I are planning a DIY archery hunt next year. Still working on unit selection. I also want him to start building points for the LE units.

 

Archery hunt in our future too. Wanted higher odds of bringing something home for this one. What is LE?

 

LE = Limited Entry. Draw unit

 

Need to do the same but wouldn't mind being a Colorado resident. Seriously giving it some thought. Wife really likes Teluride/Ouray and points in between.

 

We've been giving some serious thought to moving as well. I would love to do Colorado as well, but having talked to quite a few former co-workers that have moved there as well as some bowhunters, it's quickly becoming a copy of Kalifornia. Wyoming might be better suited, except for the Jackson Hole corridor.

 

Bump.

 

Excellent write up!! Enjoyed it very much!! Thanks

 

Nice write up! Looks like y’all had a blast.

 

Elk mount finished. I did the European mount for my son's.

 

That's awesome, thanks for sharing your hunt. I love hunting stories like that, where your there for all the right reasons not the "score". What a memory you and your son have, congrats!

 

nice!!

 

Turned out great!! Again, congrats!!

 

Thanks to all. However, wifey's are usually not impressed with big mounts. After a few "discussions" I wasn't sure whether it would be me or the elk on the wall. Son is out of state so he has yet to see anything but pictures. He will be back home in June to get a good look.