“Jase” as he is known to friends and family is a lifelong outdoorsman who works in the seismic exploration field.  Since he is in the outdoors nearly every day, he was physically ready for the demands of a backcountry elk hunt.  He was the youngest member of our hunting party in Wyoming this Fall.   He was right there when his brother Matt Morris, killed his bull elk the day before.

Jase was accompanied by his father DeWitt (on left), and Matt (middlle) on their 2011 Wyoming elk hunt.

Hunting Elk on foot was no problem for Jase.

When I finished up field dressing my elk I notoced he had what looked like bangs (brucellosis) tags in his ears. The Tags had the message to “Notify Wyoming game and fish” on one side and a number on the other.

I made a quick phone call to the local office, and they asked if I wanted age information back. I replied in the affirmative.   On November 4th, I received a letter back with information on where he was tagged as a juvenile on February 11, 2009. That made him 3 years old when I shot him this October.

To be honest I was shocked he was that young.

Hee I am with my father Paul and what I now know is a 3 year old Wyoming Bull elk.

Matt Morris and his father DeWitt pose with Matt's 5x6 bull elk from Wyoming.

Matt was the first hunter in our camp to fill his tag during the General Wyoming Elk Season. On opening day evening, I heard the first shot, and a second later I heard a second shot. Even as far away as I was it sounded like a solid hit, with a finisher. The bull fell in his tracks and never knew what hit him. The 30-06 that Matt used was also used when his younger brother killed his first elk.

While this is Matt’s first elk, he is an accomplished bowhunter as well and has harvested numerous whitetails, turkeys and waterfowl in his lifetime. He is raising his son to appreciate the outdoors as well.

It was an epic hunt to be sure. More than words can express. I’ve put together a slide show with music by Dave Stamey to give an idea of what all went into this Adventure.

We had mild weather to start that changed to a nasty snowstorm that we had to pack camp out in. We were 11 miles from the ranch with 7 of us in camp.

DAY 1
We (Tony, Dad, Colby and I) packed in Camp on Five packhorses. 11 miles. Elk bugled us to sleep.

DAY 2
Colby and I rode out with the five horses to bring in the three Morris boys (Dee and Sons Matt and Jase- short for James Thomas) 11 miles.

DAY 3
Packed 3 horses and the Morris’s rode 3 into camp. 11 miles. The elk serenaded us again.

DAY 4
We hunted. Covered 15.25 miles on horseback.
Chased a bugling bull in the evening that another group of hunters bumped before I could get in sight of the bull and his cows.
Matt Morris killed a bull this night, a nice 5x6.

DAY 5
Went to the other side of the basin before daylight. Tied the horses and hiked in ½ mile where a cow elk barked at us. I answered with a cow call and hunkered down.
As shooting light came we could make out the cow who was boring holes in us with her eyes trying to see what we were. The bull stepped out of the rocks and trees at 30 yards. I saw branch antlers, put the crosshairs behind the shoulder and fired.
The muzzle flash blinded me. The bull was dead 150 yards away with a double lung shot from my .300 Win Mag.
Dad brought the saddle horses and we quartered and packed the bull back to camp before Colby and Tony got out to pack in Matt’s bull from the night before. We covered 5 miles that morning. We spent the midday Fishing.

I accompanied Dad and Colby on an evening hunt in the rain for another 4 miles. (9 for the day)
Jase shot a bull that night. Another 5x6.

DAY 6
Matt and I packed out our bulls with 4 pack horses to the ranch 11 miles.

DAY 7
Matt and I packed feed back into camp on 3 pack horses. 11 miles .

DAY 8
We packed the Morris’s and Tony out to the ranch along with Jases bull. 11 miles. Weather was getting colder and the clouds were stacking up. Dad Missed a bull that morning.

DAY 9
We (Colby Dad and I) rode back into camp with 6 empty horses as the rain became snow. 11 miles

DAY 10
Woke up to 18 inches of snow in camp. Collapsed Tony’s tent and the canopy over the kitchen area. We packed all of camp onto 5 horses and put an extra riding saddle on horse #6. Left Camp at 11:30 am and arrived back at the Ranch around 3:00 pm to everyone’s relief.

Total Mileage for the 10 days…112.25 miles

The next morning we woke with the sun.  Our horses were where we tied them, so we took them for another drink, and a nosebag full of pellets.  I noticed the cinch had irritated Shorty’s “armpits” so I rigged my latigo to pull it back and away from the area that was chafed.  We had a breakfast of oatmeal and coffee and headed back out on the trail to explore some more.

Here on top we encountered more snow on the north facing slopes, and it presented some challenging detours.  See the video beyond the jump for examples.   (more…)

While watching fireworks the night before, my father and I planned our trip for the next morning into the Bridger Wilderness.  We wanted to get in farther than I had on my day ride.  We also wanted to check out an approach to a different way into the wilderness, and assess which way would put us in Elk country the most efficiently.

We packed just what we could carry on horseback.   My list of what I carried in my saddlebags

(more…)

On the fourth of July we had a chance for my folks to get settled with their horses.  I had set up a poly wire electric fence behind the tents for their two horses, and they grazed in knee high grass.  We had a leisurely morning breakfast of Greenlee’s Cinnamon Bread French toast.   Yeah, it IS that good.

I led my dad, wife and youngest daughter out on a ride that loosely followed the ride I toook Kelsey on arlier in the Week.  This time though we explored some other elk trails in the further reaches of the canyon.  My 4 year old daughter was game for the deadfalls and never whimpered when the trail got steep or the branches hit her in the face.  I was pretty tickled she was cowboying up.  Candy tolerated her pilot’s demands for a faster pace with a look of bored amusement.  We covered a circle of about 6.5 miles which seemed to work any soreness out of the two who had been in the high country the day before.

We returned to camp and were pretty much worthless.  We ate dinner early so we could go to the lake to watch the GROW special fireworks display.  Dee Morris bought an assortment of fireworks that boggled my CALIFORNIA mind.  The GROW camp counselors were the designated pyrotechnic engineers, and as we sat by a lakeshore campfire they kept a steady stream of ground blooms, roman candles, and bottle rockets , spinning bursting and shining.

In the morning, once again I was awakened by birds and the grey light of dawn.  Unusual since I am a heavy sleeper when in civilization and can sleep through most alarms.  I gave the horses a quick feed of pellets as I saddled Shorty.  No one took me up on my offer to join me for the day, So Candy went along  with no rider or saddle.  The drama of separating the two was more than I wanted to deal with anyway.

We rode across the  back pasture of the ranch and followed elk trails for three miles up to the ridge until we hit the goverment trail.  in the Dawn we rode along the very easy to follow singletrack, and up a granite switchback the locals call “Struggle Up”.  Despite the snowmelt running down the trail, it was technical but not treacherous, and my California mount seemed to handle the rocky trail with focused aplomb.  Candy kept up with no issues.  By 7:00 am I was craving breakfast and we crested into a basin with a pretty little grassy hillside above a clear mountain lake.  It was like a Folgers coffee commercial.

I hobbled both horses and turned them loose to graze.  A snowbank in the shade provided water for my Jetboil stove as I quickly melted two cups of water and rehydrated some Quaker oatmeal.   Anoyther quick melt and boil and I had coffee, as my mounts fed with a mountain lake below them I paused to reflect just how lucky I was at this very moment.

After all three of us had taken the edge off of our morning hunger, we continued on towards the Wilderness Boundary.   The rocky trails passed numerous wet meadows that were swamps, puddles that were lakes, and trail sections that were bubbling streams.  All of this was due to the high amount of snow and the melt that came late and with a vengeance.   At this altitude, the sun was intense and I could feel the force of the solar radiation on my neck, as I applied plenty of SPF 50 to prevent a more severe burn that what I had already.

After about 7 miles I began to encounter snow drifts on the north facing parts of the trail.  The first one stopped my West coast horse in his tracks. Candy, being raised in Idaho was no stranger to snow, and she muscled by and plowed a path without a second thought.   It took a few more tries but eventually Shorty was shamed into stepping into the strange crunchy white stuff, although on this trip he avoided it if possible.

Occasionally the snow was so deep we had to go off trail to get around the drifts.  Such was the case before the lake I had determined was our turn around point for the day.  We managed to negotiate through the willows along the creek with me leading the horses before we arrived at one of the most picturesque mountain lakes I’ve ever been to.

Once again I hobbled the horses, but feed wasn’t as far along at this elevation over 9700 feet, so the horses just rested rather than try to graze for very long.  Lunch was another “Snowbank Special” ,  Mountain House Pro Pak Spaghetti.   It is funny how good these meals taste in the alpine!

While my meal was re-hydrating I walked around to see what kind of sign was apparent.  I was hoping to find some sign of big game.  I think I did that!

After watching Marmots, and basking in the sun, I checked my watch and decided I had better get down the Trail if I was going to be at the ranch to meet my parents and the rest of my family who would be arriving that night.

As soon as we hit the trail headed back the way we came, Shorty knew we were headed home.  He put his head down and kept a steady 22-26 minute per mile pace  (2-3 mph) on a loose rein.   Snow banks weren’t an issue and he plowed through them without a care.  He drank more frequently at the multiple creeks crossing the trail though!

Through rocks, mud, willows and down logs he kept cruising along, down the rocky slick face of “Struggle-up” and really hit a lick on the well groomed trail.  Here his pace jumped into the 3-4 mph range and the last 3 miles were all in the 16 minute per mile  range.  The amazing thing was it was at a walk on a loose rein.  Have I told you how I like a fast walking horse?

We came into the ranch well before my people arrived.  My horses had a good roll and nosed around at their pellets before seeking relief from the mosquitos in the shade.

Once my folks arrived we turned their horses out, and got their horse trailer levelled.  this would be our kitchen and pantry as Dad unloaded a variety of camp cooking accouterments and Mom organized what looked like a month’s worth of food.  I made My wife and youngest daughter comfortable with their sleeping arrangements  and then introduced the Newcomers to the group.  Immediately we were invited to dinner, and I grilled up some venison sausage for Hors d’oeuvres.

After dinner that night, lots of elk got killed and lots of adventures were recounted as elk hunters from California and Wyoming got acquainted.   We called it a night as the Milky Way made it’s presence known across the night sky.

After 2 days of sitting on my butt , I was eager to be active.  But I noticed just doing minor physical tasks seem to get me breathing a little quicker than I was used to at sea level.  a quick check of the topo map confirmed my thought.  Our elevation was 7500 feet at the ranch.

I was awakened by birds and the grey light just before the sun rises, so I quickly rose and put on my running gear.  I had considered entering the Chuckwagon Chug 10 k in Big Piney, but I didn’t feel like another 50 miles of one way driving to run on asphalt.  I was going to do a 10K here in the mountains.

I headed out of the ranch up the gravel road that leads to the Scab Creek Recreation Area trailhead.  This is the jumping off spot for folks like me who want to get into the Bridger Wilderness.  The three miles to the trail head was uphill every step, as I gained 850 feet in 3 miles.  At home that is about equal to what many of my runs in Annadel State Park  at sea level start off with.  But at 8000 feet, it was a chore to make that short climb.  My first 5K(3.1miles) took over 40 minutes.  Of course the scenery was as breathtaking as the altitude.  I looked over the wide valley that drained into the Green River, and the Wyoming Range beyond.

I had left the ranch before the sun came up over the eastern horizon, so I had a pretty cool climb. As the sun’s rays crept across the land, things began to wake and the first rays of the sun hit me as I investigated the trail head. Once I felt the sun I knew it was going to get warm quick so I descended back down the road, still feeling the alititude and days of inactivity. Along the way I surprised a doe Mule Deer who seemed more annoyed than scared. I arrived back at the ranch sweaty and huffing an hour and twenty minutes after I’d left. Not a PR for running time, but perhaps the best scenery of a road run in a long time.

I fed and watered horses, and enjoyed a cup of coffee while I helped Tony with little chores around the ranch. Some electrical wiring, checking fences, and a quick tour by car of some of the areas you can’t see from the road, as we headed to the lake to pick up campers for the ride back to the ranch.

Here I met the three counselors for the GROW Summer camp.

• Sam Steele is a Texan and a graduate of Colorado College. This is his second year as a counselor at the camp. He would later keep us entertained with a variety of stringed instruments and vocals.
• Casey Grey, was walking around with her leg in a brace, and getting around quite well. She had had a run in with one of the counselor-horses earlier in the week and had decided she would stick to gentle bomb-proof camper horses for the remainder of summer. She is a graduate of Louisiana State University with a degree in Wildlife Biology.
• Will Frehse is a student at the University of Montana.  He is a fellow bowhunter and we talked about hunting bugling bulls and our equipment.

When we got back to the ranch at noon, it had heated up into the high 80′s.  After lunch the campers were requesting a swim.  I joined the group in a swim at the lower ponds which helped wash the salty sweat residue off .

Preparations for the trip to Wyoming were rather last minute due to lots of other time commitments like work and the local fair.  I was fortunate that My wife and mother were available to meet the vet to get Coggin’s tests (negative test for Equine Infectious Anemia (EIA)), and later get a health certificate.  We had to wait for the Health certificate since until June 27th Wyoming was requiring a health certificate within the previous 72 hours before the horses entered the state. On June 27th they lengthened that time period to 30 days. We also shod all four horses that would be making the trip, did a service and put new tires on our pickup.

The plan was for me to take our two oldest girls, and 2 horses (Shorty and Candy) and travel Thursday and Friday (June 30-July 1). My parents would follow with 2 more horses (Snoopy, and Dudley), my wife, and our 4 year old daughter to arrive on Sunday, July the 2nd.

We loaded the trailer with tack on the night of the 29th, along with hay pellets (Weed free according to Public land feed rules). We loaded the truck with tent, camping gear, a couple days of food, and our luggage.

THe morning of the 30th we were hooked up, loaded up and on the road by 8:00 am, and the travel was pretty uneventful. My sister’s trailer towed well, the horses were nonplussed by the trip each time we checked them at rest and fuel stops. The combination of the two older kids was pleasant to travel with.

We were in Reno around Noon, Had a late lunch at the Martin Hotel in Winnemucca at 3:30, and Pulled into the Wells, Nevada Rodeo grounds at around 7:00pm with plenty of daylight left. We unloaded the horses there for the night and gave them a feed of pellets and access to water. Neither horse was very hungry or thirsty.

Horses getting their evening pellets in Wells Nevada with the Ruby mountains in the background.

We pulled out our cots and sleeping bags. The girls played cards in the horse trailer while I took some pictures and wrote down my thoughts from the day by headlamp. Seeing the sunset and the Ruby mountains with snow still on them was a special memory. We slept there at the rodeo grounds listening to our horses stomp and chew until Friday’s dawn crept across the desert at 5:00 am the next morning.

Day 2:

We had horses fed and on the road by 6:00 am as we headed North on Highway 93 through Jackpot and Twin Falls.  The Desert was as green in the beginning of July as it normally is in May.  We saw the Deer Migration overpasses in their partially finished Stage.  They should be ready for this winters migration of deer and Antelope.  With tall fences tokeep the animals off the highways, there should be fewer wildlife -car collisions along that corridor.

The trip was uneventful across the Snake River plain along highway 84/86/15.  typical interstate fare.  When we crossed into Wyoming on Highway 20/26 from Idaho Falls, even my 13 year old was impressed.   We picked up highway 189 at Hoback Juction and the Wind River range began to reveal itself more the further south we travelled.  Along this stretch we saw more antelope than any other part of the trip.

Finally we passed through Daniel Junction, and after passing through Pinedale  arrived in the town of Boulder.  We turned onto the Well maintained gravel road and traveled 7 miles to the Mountain Springs Ranch, home of GROW (Green River Outreach for Wilderness).   This would be our base camp for the next 7 days.  While the girls joined the campers I turned out horses, and set up my tent.    We had been on the road for 10 hours, and it was nice to have my feet on the ground.