Catch up on Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 before joining us for Day 3 of elk hunting in the Kaibab National Forest.
Frozen Toes and a Long Wait on a Fallen Tree
I wake up before the alarm. Figuring it is probably time to get ready, I make a quick trip to the bathroom then up front to turn up the heater. Deciding to jump back in bed until the alarm goes off, I check the clock and realize it is only 11:40pm.
HAHA….back up to turn the heater back down so I don’t sweat myself out. Guess I am anxious for tomorrow. The alarm finally sounds, and I follow my routine once again. I have laid everything out as to be more prepared for the day. I put on my layers, double check my gear, double check my layers, triple check my gear, etc…I finally turn the heater down, shut off the generator and head out the door.
Back Up the Hill
Jeff is only a few paces away and he is outside with lights on. We say our good mornings and I load my gear into the RZR. Back to climb that dreaded hill this morning. A little earlier, a little colder, and a medium breeze this morning. I let Jeff know I will pay him $1.00 for every 100 yards further he drives up that hill! LOL As we park he says I owe him $5.00! HAHA
He drove us right to the bottom of the steep part. Now I don’t even get a warm up walk, just straight to the climbing. We find our same outlook, grab a seat and bundle up waiting to hear movement. I finally send my wife the pic of the sunrise from the day before. ‘Good morning Sunshine’! Then I get in a small chat with my wife before the sun pokes out from behind the mountain.
Time to go as I need to be alert. We watch, we wait, we glass more, we wait. Nothing. No sound. No movement. Nothing.
Toes Frozen on the Peak
We decide to head up. Jeff is going to flank around to the left and wants Armon and I to head up the road. Armon and I trudge up the steepest part of the road, taking short breaks as needed. It is much colder today.
Reaching the top of the peak, we settle into a small saddle between two peaks, arriving just as the sun starts to rise over this peak. The warmth feels good, but both of our toes are frozen this morning.
Nothing But Deer Tracks
We wait there, looking, listening, looking, listening. Nothing. I snap a few photos. Some of the beautiful nature and one of Armon and I freezing on top of the mountain. We have some great conversation while waiting for Jeff to make his way around. He arrives to tell us the same…nothing. Seems this area is no good.
We drive to one more spot in the Kaibab National Forest before heading to camp, finding a nice open meadow with a small hill. From there we drive up the hill to glass around. Again, we see nothing. We drive down the hill and up the road a little further. I see something in the distance.
I point it to Jeff and he glasses in that direction. A big buck deer just staring right back at us. I see motion again. Jeff pans back and sees about 20 deer roaming around eating. Too bad we don’t have a deer tag. We decide to head back to camp for lunch and a warming session. We will head out again around 2:00 to scout some new areas.
Three Sisters in the Kaibab National Forest
Lunch is quick and we head back into the cold. We drive a short distance from camp to a spot in the Kaibab National Forest called Three Sisters. Again, we park and will now walk to the top of the peak. This hike starts out on flats, but the snow is a little deeper. Not a bad walk, and I’m not dying as bad.
My left leg is sore however, and I complain and whine to Jeff just to get a rise out of him. ‘Bet that other guide didn’t make his guy walk 6 miles a day in the snow uphill’. I remind him he called me fat! Laughs and jokes ensue and we meander on. We make it to the base of the peak.
Jeff wants to go up to the top. I will wait a minute for him. 5 minutes goes by, so I head up the hill too. I see Jeff taking a photo. Trying to see what he sees, I find my view is blocked. A bull elk with huge antlers. Unfortunately, bull hunt ended yesterday, and we have cow tags anyway. He comes into my view and we watch him meander away. He must have seen us.
An Elk Superhighway
We follow him for a bit, hoping he will take us to others. We walk, we follow, we see LOTS of fresh tracks, we look, we listen. Nothing. This place looks like an elk super highway. Bed marks, tracks, elk droppings…all signs are good! We see nothing.
Eventually we head back to the RZR. Armon is nearby, so we go over to chat with him. Lots of tracks, but no elk. Jeff is going to scout the other side of the road. Armon and I will wait, as Jeff will be walking about another hour. I don’t think my legs can take it, so I stay behind. Armon and I chat and have a few good laughs.
Missing Donna
We have signal here, so I check Facebook and chat with my Donna a little. I miss her dearly on this trip. We always travel together, and I like it that way. Guy trips are cool and everything, but I really miss her company. We just have so much fun together, and I always want to share my journeys with her!
Stories on a Fallen Tree
Jeff returns about 50 minutes later. Oddly, he is back on our side of the road. LOL He decides we should walk down near the water tank below us. At least the short walk is downhill. We walk the 1000 yards or so and find a great sitting spot. An old dead tree that has been blown over.
It makes the perfect spot for Jeff and I to sit and hope to see some elk walk by. Armon is off to the other side of the road to watch from a distance and a different angle. I tell Jeff a few stories my brother Scott shared with me recently. He and I had driven to the gun show down in Tucson just a couple of weeks ago.
On the way home, we talked about the hunt, and he shared some of his stories of hunting antelope up in Montana. He had some hilarious stories of our dad and his brothers. I was laughing so hard I was crying. I was sharing these stories with Jeff on our tree and laughter ensued! Trying to be quiet and laughing…yea, not so much.
Jeff knows my brother is a great story teller. I tell him one in full, and then tell him Scott must tell him the other, as it is so hilarious coming from him! We laugh and then try to quiet back down, so as not to scare away the non-existent elk we are hunting.
Racing the Sunset
It is starting to get to sunset, so Jeff decides he will walk back, grab the RZR and come get Armon and I. I stay to watch for elk. As Jeff leaves he talks about it cooling down. The temperature has dropped quite a bit in the last few minutes. You can see snowflakes falling lightly. Bummer.
I wait about another 20 minutes and decide I will head toward the road to find Armon, as it is getting dark fast. The temperature has dropped quickly and it is getting very cold now. Jeff has been gone 25 minutes. I still don’t hear the RZR and there is no sign of Armon. Hmmm….
A few minutes later I check my phone and find I have signal, so I call Jeff. He and Armon had just finished loading and they were headed my way. Good thing, as I am now shivering from the cold. They pick me up and we bundle up for the short, but ice-cold ride back to the RV.
Dinner and a Game Plan
Donna has supplied me with enough Jack Daniels Honey pulled pork to feed us all. On returning I fire up the generator and get the heater going for my dinner guests. I start looking at photos and time goes quickly. Jeff and Armon on here, and I haven’t even started dinner.
No big deal, we pulled out some chips, I fired up the microwave and dinner was ready in no time. The pork was delicious! Armon headed back to the trailer, and Jeff and I sat and chatted about tomorrow. We looked at the map a hundred times and then decided on a game plan.
We had a little more general conversation and more beer, and then decided to call it a night. I quickly prep for the morning and then shut off the generator and lights, set the furnace temperature to comfortable but cool, and tuck myself into my wonderful Sleep Number bed. How cozy it feels tonight. This trip has helped me to learn that my Sleep Number is 45. With my normal linens and my giant Marine Corps blanket and the furnace set at about 60 degrees, I tuck myself in and I am off to see the wizard.
The alarm will come early once again.
Up next: our last day, resting up at camp, in Chapter 4.