when i woke up i had to eat, i was trying not to, but after skipping supper i was pretty hungry. i ate a chocolate covered caramel granola bar. i tried to get all my stuff together as quiet as possible since i had not heard any elk and wasn't really sure where they were. when i got everything packed up and ready to go i still hadn't heard anything so i bugled....no response. i headed to the area where the elk was the day before that i had called in, thinking he might be in that area this morning. still no bugling so i tried something a little different, i did a few cow calls followed by a few low chuckles. not 2 minutes later the 2 bulls started bugling. they were in the opposite direction. i was not sure if they would come across the mountain like they did yesterday or just go up the mountain, i was in a bad situation. if they came across the mountain, like i thought they would, and i was up the mountain the thermals would be blowing my scent to them. if they went up the mountain and i waited on them to come across the mountain, i would not be able to get to them because the thermals would be going up to them by that time. i had to make a choice, and quick, and hope the wind and thermals would work with me a little. i decided to go up the mountain. at least i would be above them and it was getting a little later in the morning so i was hoping the thermals would soon be warming up and going up the mountain to keep my scent from the elk. i started up the mountain and the elk were still bugling pretty regular, to the south. as i got up the mountain i checked the wind and the thermals had started going up and the wind was blowing to the east, which was perfect because now one of the elk was coming across the mountain below me. i came into a spot in the woods and it was like i was guided there by some strange force. there were elk rubs everywhere (trees just torn to shreds), elk beds galore, and a stench of elk urine soaked dirt filling my nostrils. i wasn't sure if i had just died and was in heaven or if i had just accidentally found one great spot. after looking around for a few minutes i tried to guess which way the elk would be coming from. with the wind and the way the elk had came up the mountain yesterday, i set up to where i thought the elk would come from my right, into the wind, up a long ridge. i set my pack against a tree and sat on it. i had waited for just a few minutes when i heard an elk bugle from the spot i had chuckled from. hearing that made me think he was on his way around the mountain to come up the ridge into the wind. a few minutes later i heard a twig snap just over the hill directly in front of me. i was about 10 yards from the top of the hill. i looked in the direction of the twig that snapped and saw antlers coming over the hill. as he started walking up the hill i drew my bow. it felt lke someone had cranked the poundage to 100lbs. it took everything i had to draw it back. i did it so slow that when i got it to full draw the string made a little squeak with the elk now at 20 yards. of course he stopped in his tracks and stared at me at full draw. i don't know how long he stood there, but it seemed like 20 minutes. my arm tried to let down 3 times but i was able to catch it each time, with the elk looking directly at me. fortunately there was a small tree between us. then i noticed i was shaking so bad that the bow in my left hand kept tilting back and forth. i thought there was no way i was going to get a shot, i knew he could see the bow moving. finally, i decided i was going to have to let down. i decided to close my eyes and just concentrate on holding the bow at full draw. if he had turned when i opened my eyes, i would shoot him, if he hadn't turned i was going to have to let the bow down. when i opened my eyes, he was starting to turn to his right. when he got fully broadside i released the arrow. it appeared to be a really good shot. he turned and ran back down the hill. i waited for a few minutes, called emily and another friend and told them what happened. after 30 minutes i went to just see if i could tell the direction he went. finally, i found his hoof prints going straight away from where i had shot, down the hill. it had been about an hour now so i decided to see if i could find any blood. i followed his tracks down the hill and found the back 17 inches of my arrow, it had blood all the way up to the nock. i thought this would be pretty easy. great shot placement, good penetration, what more could you want. a good blood trail, that is what more i could want. there was a little blood where the arrow was laying but not much. i followed the tracks and finally found a little blood. i was able to follow blood for a short while until it starting becoming very scarce. i was down on my knees finding one or two occasional tiny blood spots. when i couldn't find blood for 5 to 10 yards i would follow tracks, if i didn't find blood with those tracks for 20 yards i would go back to the last blood drop and find another set of tracks to follow out for 20 yards. i finally got to about 150 yards from where i had made the shot and the blood just stopped. i looked for several more hours (taking a short lunch break), followed lots more tracks and found nothing. i had shot the bull at about 8am and finally stopped looking for blood at 6pm. i was severely depressed. i was going to have to leave my elk up on the mountain overnight. i went back to walker's house that night to get some rest and hot food. walker and i decided we would both come back the next day and look. i still felt pretty good we would find the elk but i was really worried about the meat spoiling.
tomorrow i will tell the story about finally finding the elk, don't miss this! (really it may not be as exciting but still it was a very important part of this story).
lessons of the day: it is better to get on your hands and knees to look for blood and leave no stone unturned. i had wasted a little time following a couple of sets of tracks that i was almost positive were his (when the blood would get scarce) just to come back and find another speck of blood going the other way. i thought he was going straight down the hill but he had actually turned and ran along the side of the hill for a long while. lesson 2 is elk do not always go downhill or towards water when they are hit, even if they are hit good. when you are tracking an animal be meticulous and if you need to take a break occasionally, take one, regroup and get back at it. elk hunting can go from an extreme high to an extreme low in a matter of minutes. looking for an elk on a mountain can be exhausting, it ain't no whitetail tracking.
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