2008 Elk Hunting Wrap-Up

Snap, crackle, pop. They’re not just the sounds you hear in your bowl of cereal every morning. They are the sounds you want to hear, very loudly, when you’re sitting in the dark timber at oh-dark-thirty waiting patiently for a 600+ pound elk to walk up on your position. Crash, bang, boom - as the sounds gets closer and closer the hair on the back of your neck begins to rise and your pulse quickens. Suddenly you’re aware that you’re breathing faster and faster despite your best effort to remain perfectly calm. You double-check the chamber on your rifle to make sure you’ve already got a bullet loaded. It would really be embarrassing to pull the trigger and hear “click” instead of “BOOM!” You double-check the safety on your rifle to make sure you haven’t forgotten which side it’s on. You look down at your scope, making sure the lens covers are off and the variable zoom is set no higher than 6x. It would be darn frustrating to look through the eye piece and see nothing but the knot on a tree 100 yards away instead of the elk you’re targeting.

You say a little prayer to the hunting spirits asking for their blessings because you’re not sure if the last time you bumped your scope against a tree while you were stumbling through the early morning darkness you didn’t knock it loose and mess it up. From directly behind the tree you’re sitting against you hear what can only be a herd of elk slowly trotting through the woods. You check your watch to confirm that shooting hours have started; there’s no sun in the sky yet to confirm what you’re pretty sure you know. You take a deep breath and slowly exhale. The sounds of snapping twigs and disturbed earth only grow louder. You decide that the time has come to take a look behind the tree and possibly take your first shot in three years. You slowly lift your rifle, putting one eye in the scope and the other wide open to take in the whole scene. As you ever so slowly swing around the tree you can feel your heart pounding in your chest as your walk down the mental checklist you’ve reviewed over and over for the last 11 months – where to aim, confirm a good backstop, safety off before you pull the trigger, squeeze the trigger slowly, keep breathing… OH CRAP!

There, sitting upright, perfectly in your scope’s sights is the fattest squirrel I’ve ever seen. So fat, that it just might be worth shooting it to make up for the fact that I was convinced it was an elk. Grrr. There is no elk anywhere in sight. I put the safety back on, drew a deep breadth, and wondered how any squirrel, no matter how fat, can make that much noise in the woods. Dang squirrels. It is amazing how a few days away from the television, radio, computer, and cellphone (and all the other noisy distractions like the wife and kids) lets your hearing become more sensitive to even the smallest sounds. When I talk to other elk hunters, particularly those that have actually seen and shot elk, they tell me that an elk walking through the woods is a fairly noisy animal. I guess it would be hard to be “light on your feet” if you weighed over 500 pounds. Now I know that elk make more noise than squirrels. How much more, I’m not exactly sure, but I’m betting it’s a fair bit more. Dang squirrels.

This year I was fortunate to get out hunting twice – once during the first rifle season with a bull tag and once during the second rifle season with a leftover cow tab. Despite hunting two seasons I came up completely empty. Grrr. My best guess is that the weather has been so good going into October that the bulls went their separate ways after the rut and haven’t been pushed lower to look for better sources of food and water. Without a big snowstorm in September to kill off the grasses in the high meadows, bulls and cows are pretty content to stay put and only move when absolutely necessary. In between hunting seasons I had to work at a tradeshow in Dallas. That’s a long time to be away from home. Needless to say, my kids missed me and my wife (probably) didn’t.

Now don’t get me wrong – despite not filling either tag I still had a great time. All the BS you hear from men about “its just great to get out (of the house) and spend time in the woods (playing poker and drinking beer) is honestly true. For me the best part is getting out of the usual routine (wake-up, feed the kids, make coffee for the wife, send everyone off to school) and having some time to commune with nature. While I was out during the second rifle season, hunting up near Walden, I saw more moose than you could shake a stick at. This is the same area where moose were reintroduced a number of years ago. From what I saw, the reintroduction is working just fine. Over three days hiking around the woods I counted three bulls, four cows, and at least one calf. One of the bulls must have been at least 4-5 years old. He had a gorgeous rack and looked like he weighed around 1,200 pounds or more. Even though elk hunting is still my greatest pursuit, I’m starting to think it might be worth the effort to start accumulating preference points for a moose hunt. I hear they taste just as good as elk, if not better.

For me elk hunting is done until 2009. I don’t have the cash or the time to pull another leftover tag. My three year running score is: Elk 3, Drew 0. No matter, I’ll be the first one to call all my hunting buddies when the 2009 big game brochure comes out so we can get together for a beer at Roy’s and start planning for next year’s hunt. Hopefully NEXT year I’ll finally fill a tag instead of running into any more giant squirrels. Grrr.

2008 Elk Hunting Season(s) Wrap-Up

Coming soon - watch this space...

Got (Elk) Meat?

Thanks to the Colorado Department of Agriculture, here is the 2008 List of Meat Processors.

Elk in My Back Yard!

Around 10pm last night 2-3 bull elk made their way through my yard, headed for higher ground and probably chasing a mob of cows. As far as I can tell, the rut is getting started and these boys were looking for some ungulate companionship.

Hearing these guys bugle so loudly, so close to the house made my day! (night?) I've lived in the high country, in what I would consider prime elk territory, for almost 10 years. In that time I've never had any elk in my yard, let alone heard them bugle so loud and so strongly.

I should have known something was about to happen when I saw a cow elk swimming in the lake earlier in the evening. I have no idea why she was there or where she was going, but it was another first for me as well.

Things You Take Elk Hunting

Elk tag(s) and zip ties............... The FIRST thing you put in your pack! Forget this and you can kiss that 7x7 B&C record bull good-bye!

Ammunition.............................. 9 rounds should be enough for one day in the field. Keep the rest back at camp.

Headlamp AND flashlight........... ALWAYS make sure you have TWO sources of light, no mater how many other hunters are in your party.

BATTERIES............................. No batteries, no light, no fun, no kidding.

Snacks.................................... A little snack every hour or so will keep you going all day.

Knife (or knife set)..................... One great knife will probably do the trick. A few good knives will too.

GPS and Compass................... A GPS is awesome… until it doesn’t work. Not only do you need to carry a compass, you need to know how to use it.

Surveyor’s tape......................... Bright orange is nice and easy to see at night. You’ll use it to mark your trail, mark the campsite, mark the toilet, and decorate your cot. Blaze orange is to men as chartreuse is to women.

Sunscreen (unscented).............. Sunburn sucks. Put it on, keep it on.

Lip balm (unscented)................. Cracked lips suck.

Game bags.............................. Tag it and bag it.

Spare socks, gloves, warm hat... Easier to stay warm than to get warm when you’re sitting on your ass all day long.

Coat/Jacket.............................. Keep warm by staying warm

Rain poncho............................. Keep dry. If your coat will do both, leave the poncho at camp.

Toilet paper with a ziploc bag..... Pack it in, pack it out.

X’ parachute chord/nylon rope.... Useful for hold the game in position for cutting or tying the head/quarters to the pack frame.

“Wind bottle”............................. Squeeze bottle with odorless talc. If you are staying in just one area, consider bringing some string to setup as a windsock around the area.

Water bottle or bladder.............. 2 liters minimum. Whenever you have a snack, have a drink. The more you drink, the warmer and more energetic you’ll feel.

Space blanket (*)...................... Also doubles as a tarp to keep the meat away from the dirt while you dress it out. Make sure you get a good one.

First aid kit (*)........................... Critical medications (asthma inhaler, epi-pin for allergies, etc.) as well as the basic band-aids, bandages, etc.

Waterproof matches and lighter.. Fire good.

Fire starters (*)......................... Fast fire better.

Wet wipes................................ Great for keeping the privates clean.

Latex gloves............................. Great for keeping your hands clean.

Elk call(s)................................. Mostly cows and a bull.

20x One (1) gallon Zip-Lock Heavy Duty Freezer bags

Knife sharpener......................... Why be dull?

Multi-tool.................................. Mine is the classic Leatherman

FOOD...................................... Hunger sucks.

MAP........................................ Helps to know where you are and where you’re going. If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll always get there faster…

Spare blaze bandanas............... Hang'm in a tree near you while you bone-out the Elk. Keeps more bullets away.

Flask with Jim Beam whiskey.... To toast a successful harvest!

Emergency whistle.................... one of those orange jobs that doesn’t have a pea in it

The Elk are Here! The Elk are Here!

NEWSFLASH: The elk are in Unit 38. Reports over the weekend and yesterday confirm that there at least two sizable herds in area near Mammoth Gulch as well as a nice size herd in Golden Gate State Park. One of my buddies spotted a gorgeous 6x6 bull with the heard as well as a solo 5x5 near the same area.

Can anyone answer this question - where do the bulls go after the rut? Do they go high? Do they go low? Do they go to Mexico? Where the heck do they go!??

Call Me

The Sceery A1 "Special" cow elk call is so good even I can use it without sounding like a porcupine that just got hit by a lawnmower. Much as I'd love to learn how to use a diaphragm to call, there's just no way its going to happen. I've got a high pallet. The only sound I make with a diaphragm is "Go away, I'm a hunter without a clue. Run!" Check'm out!

UPDATE: I just got off the phone with the nice folks at Sceery. They're sending me a replacement rubber mouth piece (the black part of the call) as well as a new catalog. I love great customer service as much as I love great products! Thanks Sceery!!

Remington's 2008 "Load Up on Savings" Promotion

In case you missed the memo, Remington (my bullet of choice) is offering refunds on a whole slew of ammunition. In particular, they're offering a $5 per box (limit of two boxes) refund for their Core-Lokt ammo. I haven't been to Wal-Mart yet to see what the price per box is up to, but I'm guessing that $5 off is a good deal. The savings page is here. The refund form is here.

Shooting Practice Should Pay Off

In an earlier post I mentioned how I promised to practice shooting my rifle throughout the year. So far, so good. I've been to the Boulder Rifle Club three times (3x) and each time has been a successful venture. Each time I've started with a few shots from my bench, just to make sure nothing has changed with my scope. I've only made one minor adjustment on the first visit. On all my subsequent visits the scope was dead-on and I had a quarter-sized group in the first 4 shots.

After I'm sure that the rifle is working right, I take a few shots from a sitting position, a few shots from a kneeling position, and few shots from a standing position (using a pole for support). So far I've put 99% of those shots on the paper, if not in the large target ring. Needless to say, I'm feeling pretty good about my shooting. Practice makes perfect... and instills confidence!

Elk Summer and Winter Ranges in Unit 38

Found this link on the Colorado Division of Wildlife website - Natural Diversity Information Source: Colorado's Biological Map and Natural Resource. Within the mapping system is information on the Summer and Winter ranges for Elk, as well as migration routes. The migration routes are not easy to see. I find it easier to compare the summer and winter ranges, drawing my own guesstimated migration routes based on natural features, water, and field observations. The best part is that all of this information is free and available for every GMU in Colorado.

Scouting Time

The grass above 9,000 feet is just now starting to sprout and go to seed. I know this because I live at 9,300 feet and I only have to look in my back yard to verify this. Intel from around Gilpin county tells me that the elk are moving up higher, so scouting time starts now. The only real bummer is that my access to Elk Park has been curtailed by some new gates locked on Apex hill. Not only is it time to scout, but it is also time to find a new (non-trespassing) route from my house to James Peak...

Results of the 2008 Big Game Draw...

YES! I got it!! (two years in a row, no less). I drew a 1st rifle season bull and a 2nd rifle season buck. Both tags are for Unit 38, my home unit (aka my backyard). Now I have to follow through with my training and scouting and I'll still have less than a 1 in 10 chance of harvesting an animal. Yahoo!!

4 More Days Until Christmas...

The results for the 2008 Elk season are scheduled to be released on June 10. That means just four more days to go until we know which tags we've drawn (and which tags we didn't). I've got my fingers crossed that I draw my 1st choice again this year, but I'll be just fine if I don't and end up with an over-the-counter bull tag to go with my deer tag.

On a somewhat related note, I'm on schedule this year to get in my target practice every month as planned. My first outting, last month, to the Boulder Rifle Club, was a great success. The second shot from the bench was dead center on the target. The rest of my shots, all done off-hand from a standing, kneeling, or sitting position, were in the black, white, or on the target. I don't think I had any shots that missed the target completely. Not bad for my first shooting of 2008, if I do say so myself.

Good luck to everyone on the 10th. I hope you'all get your first choice as well!

The Numbers Don't Lie

Statistics for the 2007 elk hunting seasons are available here.

The numbers don't lie - Unit 38 (my home unit, literally) had a composite success rate of 12% for all seasons and all manner of take put together. That's 70 bulls, 43 cows, and 9 calves (122 elk) for 1,005 hunters.

The majority of success was during the rifle seasons (50 bulls), with First Rifle season (71 hunters) accounting for 5 bulls, Second Rifle (256 hunters) accounting for 33 bulls, Third Season (122 hunters) with 12 bulls, and Fourth Season (25 hunters) with no bulls taken (just 3 cows).

I may to rethink my strategy for hunting #38. Seems like there is opportunity for hunting bulls during the 1st rifle season, but it requires a lot more work to find'em and hit'em.

Season Shot (this is NOT a joke!)

While checking out Dave Barry's website I came across a link to Season Shot - Ammo with Flavor in Dave's 2007 Holiday Gift Guide. These guys have apparently figured out that it is a lot easier to shoot and cook a pheasant/quail/duck with super compressed "seasonings".

I'm guessing salt is a key ingredient, but I don't know. The seasoned shot shells aren't for sale yet, and there's no published date when they will be. Still, this sounds like a great idea to me, for many reasons - no shot to extract from the bird, less pollution, and hopefully a less expensive shot shell. I'll keep my eyes on this and let you know when they announce availability of their seasoned ammo.

The Colorado Deadline for the 2008 Big Game Draw is April 1

No fooling, the deadline is April 1. I’m still trying to figure out if I’ll make the hajj to Steamboat (Unit 14) or just stay close to home (and a warm bed) and hunt out the back door. Each option has its advantages. If I go to Steamboat I’m in the woods with the guys for about a week. No extra chores to deal with. No white lies to tell the kids when they ask why they can’t get up at 4:00am to go hunting with me. Lots of downtime and plenty of social time. If I stay home and hunt in the back yard (my house is bordered on three sides by the National Forest) I get to sleep in a comfy, warm bed every night after I take a hot shower. If the weather goes to heck I can throw my clothes in the dryer and start each day with clean gear. Decisions, decisions, decisions.

When it is all said and done, know this – there’s at least six more weeks of winter left, turkey hunting starts in four weeks, and applications for next fall’s big game hunting are due in about two weeks. Aren’t you glad you have me around to remind you about all this?

Can You Say "I'm lonely!" in Turkey?

The start of the spring turkey hunting season is just around the corner. The official starting date is April 12th. I applied for a preference point and got one. My plan is to accumulate enough points to apply for a spring hunt along the South Platte River. That’s where the turkey hunting is a little easier (there’s more turkey’s living there) and a little warmer. Hence the need for more than one preference point to draw a tag for that area. In the mean time I’ll continue to stalk the elusive “ghost of the woods” up here in Gilpin and Boulder counties.

Between the national forest, the state wildlife area, and access to some private property, I figure I’ve got a 1 in a 20 chance of seeing a bird, let alone shooting one. Like elk hunting during the rut, turkey hunting in the spring has some unique characteristics. The male turkeys (you can’t hunt the females – go figure) are “lonely”, if you know what I mean. Theoretically all you have to do is make a realistic sound of a lonely female turkey and all the eligible bachelors will come running to the dinner table. The hard part for me is making the realistic sound of a lonely female demanding attention. How do imitate turkey talk for “get over here and take out the trash!” or “are you done playing poker yet?!” or “what are you making me for dinner tonight!”

Skiing Snackers (off topic)

This column has moved to http://drewschlussel.blogspot.com

Get Your Kids Outside Now!

I grew up at a time when stickball, tag, riding your bike, and fishing still had the upper hand on video games. This was when Pong and Atari were popular, but not popular enough to keep kids inside during daylight hours. If the sun was out, so were my friends and I. I can only remember one or two times when I reluctantly went to bed before the sun went down, missing the final inning of a championship wiffleball game and holding a grudge with my Mom for days. I guess I was lucky to grow up in a neighborhood where there was a lot of other kids to play with, trees to climb, and creeks to fish in.

Imagine my surprise when the following email was forwarded to me from Aaron Storms:

“The Boulder Trout Unlimited folks will sponsor [pay for] one kid to go participate in this week-long camp [the 2008 Colorado Trout Unlimited Youth Conservation & Flyfishing Camp], and they've had problems finding ONE kid to do it! So, I'm sending these details along to all of you, in hopes that between us we could come up with a few possible candidates. To submit candidate(s) for sponsorship by Boulder Flycasters, contact Paul Prentiss [at] peprentiss@earthlink.net [or by] phone (303.444.0270). Deadline for application is March 30.”

I found more information about the camp in the original Colorado Trout Unlimited (CTU) press release:

“Camp classes will include: principles of ecology, hydrogeology, aquatic vertebrate and invertebrate sampling, hydrology, trout behavior, trout stream entomology, the biology of pollution, acid deposition, and politics of conservation and human effects on the Rocky Mountains. In addition, the camp will include hands-on classes such as fly tying, fly casting, streamside ethics, angling literature, streamside botany, wader safety and survival, and the evolution of an angler. Students will also participate in a watershed project to repair habitat in a nearby stream. The River Conservation and Fly Fishing Youth Camp includes faculty from various environmental fields and state agencies such as the Colorado Division of Wildlife, Department of Environmental Protection and National Forest Service.”

Sign me up! If only I were 14 again, I’d be hand delivering the application essay to the President of CTU and sitting on his doorstep until I knew I’d been accepted. I’m having a hard time believing that not one kid has shown any interest in this amazing opportunity to learn about aquatic biology, environmental conservation, and fly fishing! What the heck is going on!! Something is wrong here. Is it television? Video games? The internet? What has changed so much in just a couple of generations that kids are more inclined to spend their time inside instead of outside? I know that I can’t just blame the kids – they follow their parents. Their Fathers and Mothers are their role models. If we ride the couch too much, guess what, they’re more than happy to sit right beside us munching on the popcorn and pretzels too. That has got to change.

I’m now convinced, more than ever, that I’ve got to limit my time in front of the television and spend more time outside with the kids. If they, and their friends, don’t develop an appreciation for the natural world, I worry that the next generation of conservationists and sportsmen will be even more limited than the last. (By the way, I feel that there is a strong connection between fisherman/hunters and conservationism; maybe more so than the connection between so called “tree huggers” and conservationism. More about debate that in a future article, I promise.)

If you have a teenager (14-18) that has even the slightest interest in aquatic biology, environmental conservation, and flyfishing, please consider applying for this sponsorship. Even if they don’t know what flyfishing is, please consider applying – they’ll learn how to flyfish as part of the program. After talking to David Nickum, the Executive Director of CTU, I can can tell you it is an experience that will be remembered for a lifetime.

More information about the Colorado Trout Unlimited Youth Conservation & Flyfishing Camp is available at http://www.boulderflycasters.org/ (click Youth Education on the right-hand side). Links to the Boulder Flycasters, Colorado Trout Unlimited, Trout Unlimited, and more of my barely edible writing can be found at rookieelkhunter.blogspot.com.

This week's Links

• Boulder Flycasters
• Colorado Trout Unlimited (CTU)
• Trout Unlimited (TU)
• TU's Youth Education material
  

Hell Freezes Over: Elk Calling Article in the New York Times

In today's New York Times (Feb 27th, 2008) there is an article about the elk calling competition in Reno, Nevada at the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation's 2008 Elk Camp. I don't believe it! Since when do New Yorkers give a rats ass about elk calling, or anything with the word "elk" in it. Amazing. Guess I need to start training the kids for the 2012 Elk Camp...

Crazy Winds

This is the time of the year when new residents of the high country call up a real estate broker and scream “sell it NOW!” If you don’t know why, then you’ve either lived here for more than a few years or you’ve been in Costa Rica for the last week or two. Severely cold temperatures and high winds are the true test of will for anyone “living the dream” just a few miles as the crow flies from the continental divide. With all the wind and cold over the last couple of weeks it was almost impossible keeping the house warm. It was so windy at our house that we’d only let the dogs outside to do their business with a strong rope attached to their collars. One of my buddies living near the Justice Center tells me that he’d measured the wind gusts at 80+ MPH. Maybe that explains why my house was shaking so hard on those crazy, windy nights.

If you ever wondered why it get so windy up here in the mountains, here’s the simplest explanation I could find: As wind runs into a mountain it flows up the side until it reaches the top. It cannot continue to flow upwards because wind flowing above the mountain forces it back down. When the rising air reaches the top of the mountain, it has to all funnel all that converging wind through a small area just above the peak. To allow that much wind through a limited amount of space, the wind speed increases. You can see this same effect in a river. When a river is wide, the water flows slowly, but as it narrows, the water speeds up. This is because the same amount of water needs to fit through a smaller space. This principle of fluid dynamics explains the high wind speeds on mountaintops.

Here’s the explanation that I tell my kids at bedtime: When the earth was born, all the winds gathered here in Gilpin/Nederland to decide who was the biggest and loudest wind. They liked living in the mountains so much that they forgot about the gathering and made this their permanent home. That’s why all the wind in the world starts here and is the strongest, loudest wind in the whole world. My daughter, like her mother, is not susceptible to my tall tales. She just looks at me and scowls.

Then she tells me that the winds are made by differential heating and cooling of the earth and oceans, resulting in areas of high and low pressure. Wind and weather move from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure. Finally she tells me that there’s this thing called the Coriolis Effect, caused by the rotation of the earth. The Coriolis Effect causes wind to rotate clock-wise around a high pressure system and counter clock-wise around a low pressure system. That’s why we get the nasty high winds in the winter and the awesome upslope snow storms in the spring. There’s no fooling that girl.

All I know is that when I went online to find the cities in America that have the lowest average wind for the year I found a few that I were interesting – Oak Ridge, Tennessee, Medford, Oregon, and Missoula, Montana. Oak Ridge was a city built during World War II to support the Manhattan Project. The Manhattan Project was the effort to build the world’s first nuclear bomb. If you think radon is a problem when it comes to places to live, I’m guess that nuclear research is also a big turn-off. Scratch Oak Ridge from the list. Medford, Oregon looks interesting, but I’m not big on living in truck stop towns. Scratch Medford. That leaves Missoula.

The last time I was in Missoula was when we took our camper to Kalispell for the 4th of July a few years ago. We’d just bought the camper and I had no idea how heavy it really was. I was still learning about the gas mileage you don’t get when you pull a camper when I passed a gas station and said those words to my wife that I’ll never forget – “Don’t worry, we’ll make it to the next gas station. We’ve got plenty of gas!” About 10 minutes later the gauge went from half-a-tank to a quarter-of-a-tank. That’s when I started to get a little nervous. 10 minutes after that when we started up a long series of hills and the gauge started to drop towards empty is when I really got nervous. Assuming the worst I looked at my wife, smiled, and said “I just want to apologize now for running out of gas in the next 5 minutes.” Then a miracle occurred. With the needle on empty we managed to drive another 5 miles uphill, only to spot a gas station on the outskirts of Missoula at the bottom of the hill. To this day I don’t know what got us over that hill into Missoula, but I can tell you it wasn’t a tailwind. I can’t wait to retire to Missoula, but I’m not going to take the camper.

If you’re looking to retire to one of the “least windy” places in the lower 48, here are your top choices:

1. OAK RIDGE,TN

2. MEDFORD, OR

3. MOUNT SHASTA, CA

4. LOS ANGELES C.O., CA

5. CHARLESTON, WV

6. ELKINS, WV

7. ELKO, NV

8. QUILLAYUTE, WA

9. SANTA BARBARA, CA

10. CHATTANOOGA, TN

11. PHOENIX, AZ

12. LONG BEACH, CA

13. TALLAHASSEE, FL

14. MERIDIAN, MS

15. KALISPELL, MT

16. MISSOULA, MT

17. FLAGSTAFF, AZ

18. BAKERSFIELD, CA

19. FRESNO, CA

20. AUGUSTA,GA

21. JACKSON, KY

Send me a postcard when you get there. I'll be here, living the dream, telling my kids tall tales about the home of the winds. Wish me luck, I'm gong to need it!

The 2008 Colorado Big Game Application is Here!

Run to the mailbox! The 2008 Colorado Big Game Application is here! Hooray!!

Swimming with the Geese

My track record for goose hunting remains unchanged: zero, nada, zip. I went home after sunset on Super Bowl Sunday empty handed. Too bad we don’t have pizza delivery around here. The bad news is that this past weekend was very different then any other goose hunting trip I’ve done in the past two years, despite not dropping any birds.

What started with the usual early morning start was only complicated by the fact that I’d stayed out a bit later than I wanted to the night before playing poker with some buddies. By buddies I mean the guys that took my money and sent me home a few dollars poorer. Four in the morning isn’t so bad, as long as you don’t forget to set your alarm like I did. For some reason I woke-up 20 minutes after my unset alarm was supposed to go off. Luckily my goose hunting buddy knows me pretty well and doesn’t get bent out of shape when I show up 20 minutes late each and every time we get out. I’ll have to work on that.

After a quick pit stop for gas and picking up my buddy’s son in Longmont we pulled into the parking lot at the Simpson Ponds State Wildlife Area (SWA) just northwest of Johnson’s Corner. I think they should rename it “Goose World”. Seems that we picked the one day when everyone else also thought it would be fun to go goose hunting. The parking lot had at least a dozen trucks and half a dozen trailers. The trailers are important because that’s where the dozens upon dozens of decoy were stored before the twenty something hunters set them up on the frozen ponds in preparation for the first flights of geese at sunrise. We were too late to grab a great spot, a good spot, or even a crappy spot. We resigned to take a really crappy spot and hope that we could pick off a bird that didn’t respond to the billions of decoys. That’s when the fun really began for me.

I grabbed my shotgun, my gear bag, and hotfooted it toward the really crappy spot, just in case someone else grabbed it and we had to give up the hunt altogether. On my way across the ice I came to a spot that must be a shallow channel between two of ponds. With sunrise just minutes away I neglected to notice that the ice was particularly clear and thin and charged straight ahead, dead set on getting into position before the geese started to fly. As I plunged up to my waist in the icy water a few thoughts crossed my mind. None of them can be published in this paper or any other paper with standards for decency. Fortunately, as I already mentioned, the spot where I fell in was shallow and I was able to jump out almost as fast as I fell in. Drenched in frozen water I made a beeline for the truck where my buddies were still gearing up.

Imagine the most you’ve ever laughed in your life, multiply it by two, and that would the amount of laughter I heard from my buddies as I stripped off my soaking wet clothes and dove into the truck to warm up. Cold, wet, and embarrassed I wondered what karmic sin I’d committed to be rewarded with a refreshing dip in the pond. I told my buddies to keep going and I’d figure out something to keep hunting. I tried braving the cold with just some long johns and my sockless boots, but that got embarrassing quickly after a carload of folks on their way to church pointed in my direction and started laughing. The something I figured out was a quick trip to Sportsman’s Warehouse in Loveland to buy some dry socks and pants. Returning to the SWA, the fun just got better.

Moments after I pulled into the parking lot a Colorado Department of Wildlife officer pulled in behind me and proceeded to check our hunting permits, shotguns, and shells. In my haste to be only 20 minutes late picking up my buddy I neglected to grab my permit. On the bright side, I did have my current fishing/small game license which showed that I’d paid for my Colorado waterfowl permit. On the not-so-bright side I didn’t have my Federal Duck Stamp with me. Seems the computer system that tracks Colorado permits doesn’t keep track of the Federal permits. More thoughts that can’t be published in any respectable newspaper ran through my head. Since the DOW officer hadn’t actually seen me actively hunting I got a break and she didn’t issue me a fine; instead she gave me a stern warning and made it clear that if I even thought about pulling my shotgun out of its case she’d write me a ticket. Not wanting to waste the time and money I’d already invested in this goose hunting holiday I jumped back in the truck and drove to Sportsman’s Warehouse again to purchase another Federal Stamp. Thank goodness they’re cheap and the money goes to protect wetlands and other waterfowl habitat.

The insult to injury was finally getting our decoys out on one of the ponds for the late afternoon flights only to see every possible goose we could hit shot down by the hunter in the adjacent pond. So what if he had more decoys and knows how to use a goose call. Our meager spread of decoys could easily fool a half-blind goose any day of the week. I can’t really say I was too surprised. Whenever one of my buddies or I tried to call in the geese we sounded like a bunch of American Idol rejects. The 4^th chair oboe player at the elementary school could call a goose in better than any of us. At least now I know what I have to do for the next goose hunt – stay away from the thin ice, don’t forget my permits, and learn how to use a goose call. What could be easier? I think I’m going to take the rest of the goose season off and start getting ready for next year. That way I have a shot a regaining the circulation in my lower extremities sometime in the next twelve months and maybe those poor folks that saw me on their way to church will recover too.

Colorado's Top Fishing Towns

As reported in Field & Stream and reprinted with minor commentary in Charlie Meyers' outdoor column in this past Sunday’s Denver Post, Glenwood Springs was selected as one of America’s top fishing towns. From the article - “The town at the confluence of the Colorado and Roaring Fork rivers won out over Mountain Home, Ark.; Traverse City, Mich.; Bozeman, Mont.; and Minocqua, Wisconsin. In 11th place, Missoula, Montana, is the only other Rocky Mountain location on the list. What about Gilpin/Nederland? How come we never make it on the list?!?

I believe that the Peak-to-Peak stretch between Black Hawk and Ward is the best place to live. (I’d say Gilpin/Nederland, but I’ve got friends in Ward and points beyond.) Forget about just fishing, we’ve got much more. There, I wrote it. Now I’m hosed. Like the curse of Chief Niwot, I believe there is some spell that the high country has cast over me. As cold as it gets, as much as the commute to Boulder/Englewood is a pain, I doubt I’ll ever be able to leave. I tried once, before I was married, but here I am - living the dream above 8,000 feet. Something tells me I’m not alone with this curese/blessing.

What doesn’t living in the mountains have? Pizza delivery? Sure, but who needs pizza delivery anyway! The delivery guy always brings the wrong pizza and then looks at you with those sad, red, watery eyes that says “dude, I’m so fired if you don’t pay for this pizza that you didn’t order”. So I pay for the pizza and scrape off the artichokes, black olives, and all the other stuff I didn’t want, until I get down to the cheese, sauce, and dough that I did want. Yummy. Something tells me that if we ever did get pizza delivery in the mountains there be even more delivery guys with red, watery eyes delivering pizzas that I didn’t order. Oh well.

Here’s what we do have, all out our backdoor or within a few minutes: skiing, snowshoeing, hunting, fishing, snowmobiling, four wheeling, mountain biking, hiking, dirt biking, camping, trail running, swimming, and ice fishing. I still don’t give a hoot about ice fishing, but it makes the list longer. Not only do we all those things that we can do, there are actually folks that do them. The canyons that come up to Hwy 119 are the training ground for international cyclists. Magnolia Road is the training ground for Olympic runners. Eldora is the training ground for the national champion Colorado Buffalos ski team. My driveway is the training ground for future bobsled champions… or snowboarders. It depends on whether or not the kids sit or stand in the sled while taking turns sliding into the cul-de-sac. Until you write it all down, it can be easy to forget how much living in the mountains has to offer, summer or winter.

While I may not have grown up around livestock, I did grow up in the woods with a creek flowing through it. I got to do all the things kids do in the woods – climb trees, build tree forts, hunt for snipe, and have acorn fights. I can’t remember a summer day when I didn’t play in the woods or go fishing in the creek. Well, there were a few, but those were the days that I had to cut the lawn or pull weeds. I’ll never understand my mother’s complete infatuation with weeds. Anyway, the fish we caught were nothing to shout about, mostly catfish or sunfish, but they did provide use with hours of entertainment and kept me out of trouble.

Lucky for me I’ve got lots of woods to play in now, a few creeks, and a lake. The lake is stocked with trout every spring and by fall the bigger ones tend to tip at 3+ pounds and measure almost 22 inches. Yes, I said 22 inches! I’ve fished the Roaring Fork River by Glenwood. It is a great river and the hot springs make a nice rest stop after fishing all day long. I’ve never caught a 22 inch Rainbow or Brown in the Roaring Fork. I’d rather save the time, gas, and money by fishing in my own neighborhood than schlepping all the way out to Glenwood. Perhaps one day Gilpin/Nederland will top the list of Field & Stream’s best places to fish next year. Until then, I’ll just enjoy everything we have and appreciate all the wrong pizzas I don’t have to pay for.

The Outdoors Goes Indoors

Along with everything else, the 31st annual International Sportsmen’s Exposition is at the Colorado Convention Center today through the 27th. Adults are $12, kids 12 and under are free. Park at Coors Field for $5 and take a free shuttle to the Convention Center. Did I mention that kids are FREE? Sweet! I’m going Thursday night by myself, for obvious reasons (no kids to haul around), so I can hear Frank Miniter speak. He’s the fellow that wrote “The Politically Incorrect Guide to Hunting”, the book I mentioned in my very first column.

I finally found a copy of the book at the Barnes and Noble in Boulder. Let me repeat that – I finally found a single copy. I was not surprised that there was only ONE copy in all of Boulder. Nobody in Boulder is stocking the book in a quantity greater than one. What a shock. The copy I found was hidden between books by Hillary Clinton and Al Franken. My guess is that whoever was stocking the shelves when that book came in had a pretty twisted sense of humor. (If you didn’t already know, Hillary and Al are very outspoken gun control advocates. Both seem to believe that guns, any guns, are a problem. That’s a problem for hunters. We’ll talk about how gun control laws affect hunters another time.) I’ve read the first few chapters of the book already and I expect to finish it before I go and meet Mr. Miniter at the Expo. I may even have him autograph my copy while I interview him for a future column.

At the Expo you’ll find just about any kind of field and stream vendor, you could imagine, as well as dealers showing off boats and off-road vehicles. There will be: outfitters that will take you hunting or fishing anywhere in the world, nearby hunting clubs selling memberships for deer/elk/duck hunting, various state and national associations, and some great educational opportunities with the Colorado Division of Wildlife. From the DOW website: “DOW experts will be on hand to answer your questions and present seminars. The Pavilion includes new merchandise, educational exhibits, live raptors, a laser shot game to practice shooting, a catch and release fishing pond, spawning demonstrations, an archery shoot, an antique fish truck and more!” The DOW will be premiering a new DVD titled “Fly-Fishing Colorado”. I’ve got a few of their DVDs already I expect this one will be added to the collection. I will definitely be taking the kids to the expo, if only to see the DOW booth. The Division is offering an admission discount coupon at your local licensing agent. For anyone reading this column that would be the Ace Hardware store in Nederland. I called and confirmed that they do have the coupons – tell’m Drew sent you.

For those of you that have the time and money to go to the show twice, once by yourself and once with the family, there’s a vast array of seminars, presentations, and competitions to check out. As I already mentioned, I’m going on Thursday night to see Frank Miniter give his presentation, titled “Learn How to Defend Yourself with the Anti’s!”. From what I’ve already read in the book, I expect to learn some great tips and tricks for applying some logic to what can be a very emotional argument. Something like that whole “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus” thing, except that in this case “Hunters are Good People doing Good Things, Anti’s are Just Bambi Lovers That Think Hunters are Evil and Stupid”. Should be a lot of fun! Also on my hit list of seminars are: a lecture on hunting public land, fly fishing Wyoming with Jack Dennis, an introduction to using electronic collars (on dogs, not kids), and ice fishing for lake trout. What’s amazing is those are just a few of the 50 seminars they’re putting on EACH DAY! Overall there will be over 150 different seminars on hunting, fishing, dog training, and fly tying. (I’m just kidding about attending the ice fishing seminar. I still believe that I’d rather wait for hours in the dentist’s office reading “Highlights” than go ice fishing.)

While I’m there I plan to spend a fair amount of time talking to the folks at the national groups that I belong to – the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (RMEF) and Ducks Unlimited (DU). Quick plug for RMEF and DU – if you hunt elk or duck in Colorado or anywhere else you need to be a member of these organizations. They do great work – they preserve habitat, they advocate for hunting and hunters, and they provide education to the general public on the value of habitat preservation and hunting. Good folks doing good work deserve our support. When I talk to the Elk Foundation folks I want to see if they have an official position on the plan to thin the elk herd in Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) and make sure they’re aware of the plan to create a gravel quarry in Gilpin County. I think the plan they came up with for RMNP stinks and I’m strongly opposed to the quarry. If possible, I’m going to offer my time and energy to the Elk Foundation as another voice to the Gilpin County commissioners. We’ll see how that goes. With Ducks Unlimited folks I’m curious to hear about what they think about the shrinking access to rivers and lakes for hunting, as well as the 30 year decline in successful duck hunts in Colorado. Seems I picked one of the most difficult states possible, at the most challenging time in recent history, to start a duck hunting career. Both conversations should be interesting and I hope to be able to dedicate a column to each one down the line.

Since there’s a lot of outdoorsmen (and women) in Colorado and there’s no NFL football to watch this coming weekend, I expect the crowd at the expo to be pretty big. If you’re going with the family make sure you grab a coupon at Ace and get there when they open the doors at 10:00 A.M. That way you won’t have to wait too long for the kids to have a turn at the laser rifle shoot, the archery shoot, or the fishing tank. Have fun, I hope to see you there.

Big Gun, Little Patience

One of my good buddies just bought a muzzle loader from Cabelas as a christmas present to himself. He's only been elk hunting for two years, the same as me. I asked him "Why a muzzle loader?" and his simple answer was "Because I can hunt earlier in the season and call in the elk." His answer sounds reasonable, but there's more to the story...

My buddy is ALSO going to take his new muzzle loader hunting on private property in a unit that is known to be full of elk for most of the year. Besides having the advantage of hunting an earlier season he'll also enjoy the benefit of hunting on private property, which in Colorado is rapidly becoming a HUGE advantage. It seems as if more and more of the elk have figured out that private property is safer and more secure that the public property crawling with tons of hunters. Despite the falling number of hunters there seems to be no drop in the amount of pressure put on public lands during hunting season. Let me restate that - even with the falling number of hunters there seems to be no drop in the amount of pressure put on public lands within 5 miles or less of a road during hunting season.

Here's my takeaway - switching to a muzzleloader is NOT the end-all-be-all for getting an elk. Even if you are hunting on private property. I know in my heart-of-hearts that what's going to get ME an elk is hard work - lots of scouting, lots of conditioning, and unwaivering determination. A bigger gun and the same (limited) patience is not the solution. Sorry buddy.

More Shows, Less Hunting...

January has got to be the busiest show month there is in Denver.
We just had the two fly fishing shows, the stock show just opened, the RV is going on, and the International Sportsmen's Exposition is in Denver next week. Remind me to spend less at xmas next year so I have some money left over for all the shows.

Avalanche Safety in a Nutshell

How to avoid being a victim of an avalanche

• Get some training/education
• Know the conditions before you go out
  
• Avoid areas that are an obvious threat
• Get the right gear (beacon, probe, shovel) and know how to use it
  

Links from this week's column in the Gilpin County News:
Rocky Mountain Rescue Group
National Snow and Ice Data Center - Avalanche Awareness
Colorado Avalanche Information Center
REI stores on the Front Range
Eldora Mountain Resort - Avalanche Course
Colorado Mountain Club
Gilpin County Search & Rescue