The past few months have been hit or miss on the Bucks & Beers blog page. We have been busy working on an eventual podcast and finally getting our e-commerce site operational. Our apologies to those who regularly read our posts, we will strive to do better here in the near term.
Much of our country’s attention is being paid on a virus, government reaction to it whether that is federal, state or local and the economy. Protests have broken out across our nation and opinions are as plentiful as a particular bodily orifice. I honestly sympathize with many of the protestors especially in states where government restraints on human activity are more extreme. For example, my older brother and his wife have seven kids making an Easter get together this past weekend illegal under Michigan’s orders. We all want this to end so we can get back to “normal’ life. It is interesting to witness those who are more easily willing to give up their social liberties or freedoms for the “greater good” versus those who want to stand and fight back. The hinge point for either side of the argument is whether any of this will be worth it in the end and if our liberties or freedoms are restored. The best you can hope for is to look back at data and do a rough analysis from point A to where we end up at point B. In business finances, this is often called a bridge. In life, however, things are not as clean and crisp as numbers in a spreadsheet.
In November of 2017, I parked my truck at the shooting range just outside Garden Valley. It was the last day of rifle elk season in the Sawtooths. As I was getting my equipment ready a local stopped by thinking I was someone they knew. We chatted briefly and they departed. I grabbed my GPS with OnX Hunt and started my climb above the range that is state-owned land. I headed east toward Boise National Forrest boundary to skirt around the private ground. As I made my way up the ridge I heard an elk bugle. If you have never heard the sound of an elk bugle in the wild you are truly missing out. For a hunter, there are few sounds like this that get you excited. An elk bugle is my favorite followed closely by the gobble of a turkey.
I waited for what seemed like forever when he bugled again. This time I could tell he was moving upward. He was located on a ridge on the private ground but from the two different bugles, it seemed he was moving toward the same crest as me though I was on a completely different ridge. This meant I had to bridge the gap and do so as fast as I could. There isn’t a person alive who can move as fast as an elk up or down a mountain. The best I could do was to mentally prepare myself for the physical assault on my body as I headed up the ridge. A quarter of the way up, he gave out one more bugle, the last of the day. I could tell he wasn’t too far from the top and that gave me more determination to push harder despite my lungs and legs aching. All I could hope for at this point was that he would bed down at the top so I might get a chance to sneak in. Finally in my climb, I came to a point that was roughly 500 yards from the crest. There, in the snow, I could see fresh elk tracks. He was with some cows and likely a calf. A little later, I found droppings and some yellow snow.
As I came closer to the top, I slowed my pace so the lungs could catch up. My breathing became more rhythmic to my steps as I inched closer. At about 45 yards from the top, a cow elk stood up and looked toward my direction. I could tell she heard something but hadn’t caught my scent. They were just off the horizon line of the ridge, enough in fact that I had a perfect backstop. A second cow stood up then a calf. Finally, a rag horn bull stood up. He moved right of the cows as he cleared a small pine. I raised my rifle, took aim and pulled the trigger. It was a solid hit and he moved steadily downhill for twenty yards and came to a standstill. I chambered another round, took aim and shot again to make sure he didn’t get back to the private ground. He stumbled forward and fell.
It was 10:30 in the morning. If I could hike straight back to my truck it would have been just shy of two-miles but I would have to have crossed private ground which wasn’t an option. I notched my tag, took some quick photos and began the real work. By late afternoon, I finished quartering the elk out and getting it ready to move. I was nearly spent as I had to fight gravity to keep the elk out of the dirt and from sliding down the drainage. I fought the urge to call it a night and come back until over the phone both my wife and bow hunting partner reminded me that dark was quickly approaching. Later that evening, around 20:30, I found my truck still parked at the range. I dropped my load into the bed and stopped at the local gas station. There I picked up some water and a Red Bull to keep me awake for my drive home.
The next day, Kelly and I, made our way back to Garden Valley to pack the elk out hoping I had done enough to keep wolves from it. That morning I was glad to have someone with me. Since that day I have not hunted elk alone. We were trying to figure out the best way to get to the GPS point I had marked the previous day when a little truck came down a drive that looked familiar. It was the same folks who stopped me at the range the previous morning. I flagged them down and we talked some more. Thankfully, they were able to guide us to a route that made accessing the elk easier. They actually stopped what they were doing and drove us to where we needed to go. I thanked them and asked if there was anything I could do out of appreciation since their information and help would literally save us hours of back-breaking work. They looked at me and said, “We like beer.” I was never so happy to oblige. Kelly and I made our way up to the ridge as far as we could with ATV’s and then hiked the remainder. We used our Copperbasin Gear Modular Game Packs that Kelly had designed to haul the entire elk out in one trip between the two of us. For his part in this, Kelly got a back strap and one of the tenderloins.
Sometimes, to get to where we are going we have to do things that are hard or go against our nature. Having a goal in mind makes it more bearable but it doesn’t make the work easier. A willing friend or complete strangers might pitch in to lighten the load. We ALL want our lives to get back to normal or some semblance of it once this is all over. Right now there are a lot of things that don’t make sense that challenges our ideas. It may be tough to see the value in what we are doing. Some bad actors might even make the journey harder than it has to be. We must bridge the gap.
- L. Yarbrough, Bucks & Beers
