This is one of the cut-throught trout I could. The goal of the trip was to catch Golden Trout (which are rare) but I didn't catch any of those (if you know my fishing history, you are not surprised).
I spent August hauling gear for hikers and mountain climbers. (Not as much fun as it sounds to spend all day on a horse).
In September we started hauling gear and setting up for elk season. Up until this point I couldn't believe I was getting paid to live in the mountains surrounded by immense grandeur but then something even better happened; ELK Season. Since it was my first year doing this job I wasn't promised the opportunity to do any guiding but my boss gave me a chance on the first day of rifle season. I got my hunter on three bulls before noon but I just couldn't get the deal done. We had a shot on a nice 5x5 at 247yds but held off; I called him to about 80 yds but he wouldn't come out of the timber. An unexpected wind in the afternoon kept us from having any success but we saw close to 500 elk on the day.
On the second day of the hunt my boss didn't feel well enough to go out in the morning, now on my second day ever of hunting elk I had two clients with me. I heard I bugle at first light and when I saw the bull, I knew he was a shooter. The wind was absolutely perfect so I didn't call, just stayed downwind cutting them off the dark timber where they spend the day. We finally got to a spot where I thought we had a chance. He was 100 yds off screaming at every opportunity. If he went left he would be broadside at 70 yds, if he went right, he would be 200 but within range. He was bugling just behind a few trees for 40 minutes. Finally, he went left and stepped into view. I told the hunter to relax and shoot whenever he was ready. He pulled the trigger but nothing happened. Suddenly he was in full panic mode not knowing what was going on. I knew we were seconds from blowing this shot so I said as calmly as I could to "chamber a shell" (he had forgotten). He connected on his first shot but missed on the second. We got into a better position for the third and down the bull went. All three of us highfived and the next time I looked up the bull was standing there. The client went to shoot him again but I stopped him because something wasn't right. When I looked through my binocs I saw a rack lying on the ground with a bull standing over it. A sub-dominent bull that I hadn't seen was now looking right at the three us and panic mode hit again. The other client took aim while I judged if he was big enough. He was borderline to small but when I said "well, he's got six on one side" all I heard was boom! Nine (not a typo) shots later the second bull was down.
The first bull was a 6x6 but broke one side right after the fourth point.
The second bull was smaller but still a 5x6 and this hunters first elk.
We ran two more weeks of rifle season with every single client taking a bull 5x5 or bigger but I wasn't able to guide anyone else. Once the heavy snow hits the horses and camp in general need much more attention.
While I think I deserve very little credit for the success I had, I certainly take pride in what I accomplished. Good luck to those joining me in a forth quarter hail mary to finish the deer season on a good note.
