A fellow THF member and myself went on a backpack elk hunting trip to unit 53 in Colorado. This was both of our first time to ever hunt elk much less camp in Colorado. This was a meat hunt and we were going to shoot the first legal bull that walked in front of us. We left Texas Thursday afternoon and arrived in Paonia, CO on Friday. We stayed in Paonia Friday night and got a good nights rest before hiking in to camp Saturday morning. We also might have enjoyed a whiskey drink or two.

Saturday morning we hiked in to camp about 4 miles down the trail. We were hoping this was far enough to get away from most of the other hunters.

We spent the rest of the day Saturday getting familiar with the area and enjoying the beautiful sights to be seen.


We spend all Sunday morning hiking around and stopping at various spots to glass. As the day went on we steadily kept getting higher and higher in elevation. As we leveled off on the side of a mountain we noticed that the Aspens stopped and looked as if there was a sharp drop off. We thought it might be a good place to glass. As soon as we came to the edge of the Aspens we noticed 5 cow elk standing in the meadow. The cows seemed to be going into the water and the mud trying to cool off. The temperatures were reaching into the 70's everyday we were there. We decided to move down the ridge a little bit and set-up for the rest of the day. We spent a few hours glassing when we began hearing elk bugling. They were a long way away and didn't know how to go after them. We got lucky. Elk started coming from all directions right to the area we were sitting. I was able to get setup on the biggest bull in the opening, but unfortunately I missed. I ranged him at 300 yards, but he was on the ridge closer. I was shooting through a tree. I rushed the shot. Many factors played into the unfortunate event. All the elk scattered whenever I shot. About 5 minutes later, one of the 5X4's that was there earlier came back into the meadow. My buddy laid down, I ranged him, and he made a perfect shot on the bull. He pumped 2 more rounds into him before the elk expired about 100 yards from where he shot him.

You couldn't imagine the excitement that came through us. Two rookies in the Rockies and we actually killed one.
We quartered the bull until it was way to dark to be walking back. We hung most of the meat from a tree to come back the next day to haul it out. When we arrived back at camp that night we enjoyed telling stories about the day by a fire and a hot MRE. That next morning when we woke up we hiked back to the kill site and started hauling meat out to the coolers in the truck. At this point we were better than 8 miles from the truck. Needless to say, the packout was not easy. It took all day to back the elk out of there and get it to the coolers. Luckily the nights in the dark timber were cool enough not to spoil the meat. That night we slept in the truck, as we could not make it another trip back to camp.
Tuesday morning we hiked back to camp. We didn't get in any hurry because we knew exactly where we were going for the hunt that evening. We left camp that afternoon around 1 p.m. The hike back to the spot where the elk was killed was not easy (especially on tired legs). We knew our odds of getting another one at that spot were less, but we had to try it. We showed back up to "dirt nap" (the official name we now call that ridge) about 3 that afternoon. 2 days before the elk showed up around 4:15. This time they were not there. Around 5:30 I started getting nervous that they weren't going to show up. I told my buddy that I was going to shimmy to the other side of the ridge (which was only 10 yards or so) and see if there was anything in the bottom. Sure enough there were about 12 cows. We watched them for several minutes, when my buddy turned around and there were cows and spikes coming over the ridge right at us. Before we knew it we were watching 40+ elk all around us. I am watching some spikes and cows Tyler says "Hey, there's your boy." I didn't know what he meant because all I saw was spikes and cows. sure enough a few seconds later I noticed the bull walking down the ridge. I got into position and waited for my shot. It seemed like a lifetime went by, but eventually he presented me with a good shot. Tyler whispers 200 yards. I squeeze the trigger and thumped him good. There wasn't any need to fire another shot, but this one wasn't getting away. I fired 2 more shots and he promptly went down. I'm surprised y'all didn't hear the excitement all the way down here in Texas.

We quartered this guy out and packed him all the way back to camp that night. It was the hardest work I have ever done.
That next morning we packed all the meat and camp to the truck. And of course it rained during the night so packout was completely different, slipping and sliding.


I know these bulls aren't giants, but we couldn't be anymore more proud of what we accomplished. Never having been elk hunting, no guide, and everything on our back, it was the hardest and best hunting experience of my life. I cant wait to go do it again.

Congrats! Nice recap and pics also

Congrats on a good hunt! My buddy was hunting the unit with his little bro and ended up killing a nice buck the first couple days.

Great story and pics! Congrats! You'll soon discover that elk hunting is
an addiction that is very hard to break. Each fall you'll want to
be in the woods hearing that loud bull elk bugle. Good job.

Great story, thanks for sharing, congrats to yall.

Thanks for sharing. Sounds like a great time. How I would love to be young again.

Paonia is absolutely beautiful. My grandmother had a house up on the slope north of Paonia that looked out at Mt. Lamborn with a view of Paonia in the valley. The elk herds were HUGE and they would raid the orchards pretty hard in the winter. Congrats on a successful hunt, great animals taken!

Looks like a great hunt. You did well.

Congratulations on a great hunt!!!

Awesome story! Congrats!

"Two Rookies in the Rockies." You have already found the working title of your magazine story.

Well done!

Thanks for all the comments. Its awesome to see all that meat in the deep freeze just off of one animal.

Man, great hunt, results, and story! Congratulations!

Way to go fellas, awesome! Y'all managed to beat the odds in a big way.

Congrats on two great elk!

That was an incredible journey almost two years in the making. Without a doubt the most challenging and rewarding hunt I have ever experienced. Good times with good friends.

great experience and so much credit as rookies and DIY. congrats!

Congrats to both of you. I am envious.

Well done guys! Well done indeed!

Very impressive!

IMO those are both trophy bulls. You guy's went in, did it right and in a most rewarding way. You will remember this hunt way after you take bigger bulls. Great job and very well done.

Hello from Colorado,
Nice pictures, I am in Antonito,Conejos County CO. 67% Public Lands, OTC unlimited license for Bull Elk, ATV and walk-in wilderness areas. Almost 3rd season, great little town with restaurants, market, and a really nice hotel called the Steam Train Hotel giving special hunter discounts. The number for the hotel is (719)298-8908. Best wishes to everyone!

Congratulations to a couple of hard core hunters. Way to go.

X2

Some dang fine meat, too. How do you like the size of those backstraps?