2009 Spike Elk Hunt

Joe, Dave, and I all had spike (yearling bull) tags this year. The hunt lasts ten days. Eric came with us on three or four of these hunts and Daniel came out for three hours or so on Day Eleven to help pack out meat. The view below is looking down Mayfield Canyon. From the vantage point this photo was taken (elevation: 10,700 feet) we could see a lot of country and "glassed" much of it from here in search of elk.

In the photo above, Dave & I spotted a herd about a mile or so distant. We decided to drive as close as we could and stalk them. It was way cool, but no spikes in the herd.








Shepherd's camp trailers that slide off the road. Bummer (a little sheep humor).










Happy Hunter Dave on a very windy and very cold ridge.







Aspens.



























On the far right of the ridge
in the right photo (known as Black Mountain), I sat above three herds of elk (about 35 total) hoping to see a spike. No spike, but a very cool experience.







These next four photos (left, and below) show Dave "glassing" for elk. This is within a half mile of where Joe got his elk earlier in the day.










































Joe's truck near where he harvested his spike.










Second to last day of the hunt. This is the spot where a few years ago, Dave took some shots with a borrowed rifle at a spike standing on the ridge on the right. He now has his own, a 7mm, and gets his elk every time. In the center of this photo is a little nob of a hill where Dave, Joe, Eric, and I spotted a buck across the canyon and to the north (right) and Dave used his trusty 7mm to harvest it. We packed it out after dark up the wooded canyon seen here.