THE BACK PORCH
Pondering the Elk Hunt By Bruce Auchly
ILLUSTRATION BY E.R. JENNE
T
he older I getâjust turned 60, with 50 long gone from the rearview mirrorâthe more Iâm convinced that elk hunting is a young personâs game. Two years ago I called in an elk calf and thanked the Almighty it was not a fullgrown cow or bull. Thatâs because I was 3 miles from the truck and, as I slowly made my way down the mountain, groaning under a bulging backpack, I thought to myself: If I break an ankle, I hope someone can identify my remains next spring. Speaking of downhill, every hunter, especially every elk hunter, should memorize the following: Always shoot uphill of the truck. As for youth and elk hunting, I ran into a young friendâearly 20s, in the military, in shapeâwho hunts the same area I do. He told me he was on a nearby hill the previous week, spotted elk about 2 miles away, and took off on a run toward them. When I tell people I run, itâs a figure of speech. But when my friend says he runs, he does. He also got his elk. Iâm telling you, itâs a young personâs game. Another observation: If I shoot an elk one year, why canât I return to the same spot and shoot one there the next year? Last year I went back to where the elk calf ran to me the previous season and nothing happened. I mean, I did my part. Must be poor wildlife management. Another question: Why is it that it wasnât until the end of last season that I found a note I wrote to myself the year before: âNext year better boots, better pack.â? Well, at least I found it before the elk season begins this year. Anyone know of a good deal on hunting boots and backpacks?
Another thing: Why is it that year after year I bring too many clothes when itâs warm and too few when itâs cold? Youâd think a person would learn. One thing I did learn last year is why a wind-swept ridge is called wind-swept. As I sat on the gale-battered ridge early one morning toward the end of last season, it wasnât long before I actually started to hope that no elk would appear. My fingers were so cold after an hour of sitting still in near-zero windchill that I wasnât sure I could pull the trigger. You know youâre cold when youâve
Bruce Auchly manages the FWP regional Information and Education Program in Great Falls.
40 SEPTEMBERâOCTOBER 2014 FWP.MT.GOV/MTOUTDOORS
eaten your lunch by sunup in a failed attempt to stay warm. So why, you may ask, do I continue to go elk hunting? Each year it gets harder. The mountains are taller. My muscles ache more. I could quit and say Iâm just getting too old for it. The thing is, I know an 86-yearold man who shot his elk two years ago near Bozeman and spent five days packing it out. So thereâs the shame factor if I were to hang it up. Honestly, I donât know. But I do know that when I go out this fall, I wonât squeeze the trigger unless Iâm uphill of the truck.
