ACROSS THE BOARD

Hunting success

For as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to hunt elk in a particular area of Colorado. By many, it’s considered one of the toughest areas to hunt in Colorado, if not North America. It is high, rough, dense and unforgiving. As I type this, I am wondering what that says about me, and especially at my age.

Past lives, business and then young kids always seemed to give great excuses to put off this trip and go down easier paths. But perhaps some awakening, or being sick of being cooped up from COVID or a mid-life crisis sparked me to venture out. It was an over 1,000-mile drive with the RV in tow, with the fi nal 35 being off road to our camp spot at an altitude of 9,500 feet. It was just a very good friend and me, following months of research, satellite images, and planning, alone in the Colorado wilderness without another soul around. The forest here is so dense that unless you’re on a rise looking out or up, you have about 40 yards of visibility.

We had two days of scouting before the season opened. Day 1 had a comfortable high of 51 degrees and then, as the old Colorado saying goes, “If you don’t like the weather, wait a day.” Day 2 dropped to 38 and opening day had a high of 28 with wind chill down to 15. Then the snow started—about 36” in all. Each day started at around 3:30 a.m. with three hours of hiking to our target spots. Carrying roughly 30-lb. packs isn’t a huge challenge—until you’re at 10,000 feet or more. Although I spent the past six months training, I quickly began asking myself what the heck I was thinking.

The fresh snow made tracking easy and we were quickly on their trail. The rapid change in weather kept us moving to stay warm, and kept them moving to lower elevations as their summer and fall food sources quickly gave way to banks of snow. But, each time as we would get into position, we would fi nd we were out of range. As we moved to a new position, they would move—like a carefully orchestrated dance, only with each partner oblivious to the other’s moves. Sooner than later, the day would have us looking at our watches and saying we better get back to camp before we get caught with nightfall and dropping temps.

Being in such a remote, and beautiful place gives you a lot of time to think. As we dragged ourselves back to camp on Day 5 (third day of the season), I started questioning what I was thinking. I’m out here in the true wilderness with just one other person. We have ZERO cell service and the closest town is around 70 miles away. Weather is moving in rapidly and we have supplies that could last us about three weeks if needed. But more importantly, why did I feel the need to do this?

I don’t know if everyone goes through this, but coming to terms with your age, your dreams and what you have left to accomplish is an interesting dilemma. I’m not one to “give up,” and dreams left unexplored feel like that. I realized I feel like I’m at an age where I have to “grab” at things before “it’s too late,” which has me in the middle of nowhere, with 40% less oxygen, carrying a pack that feels like it already has an elk on board, hoping I can catch up with these amazing creatures I see 2,000 yards out.

It made me think about just how blessed I am in so many ways that I couldn’t begin to count them. My amazing wife is also my best friend who I trust and adore more than anything on this Earth. My amazing, hysterical, fantastic kids who teach me about what’s important in life every day. My amazing friends and team at the offi ce who always have my back and never let me down. What am I doing out here when I have it all at home? What am I trying to prove, and to whom? I looked at my buddy and without saying anything, we seemed to both be thinking the same thing. I smiled and asked, “Can we call this trip a success?” He laughed and replied, “Yeah, we left it all out there, we tried our best, and they were just a little better than us this time.”

Maybe, but while their adventure of surviving winter is just beginning, I get to go home to the real prize. Another 1,000 miles through rough weather had me home late. My daughter heard the truck, woke up and asked, “Daddy, did you get them?” I replied, “No baby girl, all the elk are safe and accounted for, but having you guys to come home to is what really matters.”

As the world changes, my hope is that we also change. This year has brought challenges, and opportunities that we never would have considered in January. I hope that the year has brought each of you surprises and realizations that remind you how lucky we all are. I wish you, your family and your team a blessed holiday season. Thank you.

Patrick S. Adams

Publisher/President padams@526mediagroup.com