Love At First Elk: Nuptials and Perseverance

It all started over a year ago. I invited my wife Dusty, my girlfriend at the time, to come with me for a couple days of my archery deer hunt in southern New Mexico. Surprisingly, she said she had a few days off from flying (Dusty is a flight nurse) and said she wanted to see what this hunting thing was all about! I knew I had a golden opportunity here and I needed to make this an awesome experience. Although camp was simple, the days were hot and there were no deer in sight. Despite this, we both had a great time. She was enthusiastic toward the prospect of future hunts and although I had already decided, I knew I had to marry her. I proposed and she said yes!

As the months and engagement went on, the New Mexico big game application deadline was fast approaching. After applying for every species, I asked Dusty if she wanted to apply for the draw. Modestly, she proclaimed she only wanted to hunt elk and deer her first year. A month later, we both got the amazing news that we had drawn several tags. We both drew a southern New Mexico deer tag, and I drew a bull elk tag in the southern area and she drew a bull elk tag in northern region near Taos and Red River! That summer we were married at a small private ceremony. To my surprise, that experience had my heart pounding as hard and fast as if it were a trophy buck who stepped around a tree in front of me.

Eyes on the Prize

The deer hunt was, unfortunately, uneventful for Dusty, but I was lucky enough to fill my tag with a nice-looking Coues deer. However, this really put the pressure on me to find Dusty a nice bull elk to really hook her on hunting. For Dusty’s elk hunt, we decided to rent a cabin in her unit for a base camp. We were unable to make it up until the evening on the first day of the hunt due to work obligations. We went out that evening and found a watering hole that seemed promising due to recent bull tracks around the water. On day two, we were able to get an earlier start. We encountered rough roads, biting wind and snow flurries during the morning. We finally decided to return to camp to regroup and take a quick nap in hopes that the weather would pass. Alas, the weather did not break, and we planned our next hunt.

We decided to hike into some roadless forest land that looked promising. Our dads Bill and Bruce and Dusty’s brother Cody, who were along on the trip to help scout, decided to go further north of our location. After walking in a couple miles Dusty and I enjoyed the beautiful sunset as dusk approached. We set up the tripod and started glassing the hills above us and the flats below. I decided to let out a round of cow calls and we were immediately answered by a bugle behind and below us! We snuck around a stand of trees hoping for a better view and I gave a couple more cow mews with no further response and no sign of the bull. That evening, I couldn’t help but feel nervous as 2 of the 5 days to hunt were gone and we hadn’t seen a single elk. I couldn’t let it show and had to stay positive.

Back at the cabin, the drinks were flowing to warm our bones. Bruce, Bill, and Cody started telling their story of the evening. The three of them started storytelling in true hunter fashion and building suspense with each word. They played off one another and feeding into each other’s tall tales. They finally told us that they had watched a herd of 60-plus elk that evening on top of the mountain in a clearing. With this information, a plan was made for the morning to return to that area.

The morning was bitter cold, and the roads were covered in ice. We walked across the bottom of the valley in the twilight. Little did we know, there was a large herd of elk grazing in the meadow. Our approach spooked them into the heavy timber above the meadow. Dusty and I quickly set out up the canyon in hopes of finding them. The only things to be found that day were tracks, birds, and the occasional chipmunk. As the sun started getting lower, we moved back to our starting point to avoid a long walk in the dark. I decided to set us up on the side of the canyon near the tree line overlooking the opening where the elk had disappeared. The freezing wind was biting at our faces well into the lower temperatures. I was freezing but knew I couldn’t be the one to say we had to go.

Focus and Grit

Dusty was so focused and determined to see her elk. I don’t think she even felt the cold until I mentioned the temperature. We moved down the canyon as the last faint beams of light peeked over the mountains and under the clouds. Suddenly, Dusty spotted an elk! A barely legal bull sprinted out of the timber in our direction. He stopped briefly at 400 yards and looked behind him then took off perpendicular to us where he disappeared into the forest.

On day four, as we drove up the mountain, I could see Dusty was nervous and questioning if she would get an elk. We trudged on despite our doubts. We positioned ourselves to overlook the meadow. We saw three cow elk who moved quickly through the meadow before disappearing into the timber. With several inches of snow on the ground, we decided to track the cows and began up the valley. We quickly located their tracks starting with a few here and there and eventually turning into a whole herd of tracks. Shortly after, I began to smell the strong scent of elk. We moved slowly, glassing any openings in the trees. The tracks led to the north face of the mountain where devastating winds had hit the area in the last year. This caused an absolute obstacle course of giant pickup sticks which the elk seemed to have been navigating with ease.

We worked around to where we had a vantage point. I decided we should stop and let out a few calls. Dusty climbed on top of a crossed deadfall and got on the rifle. Calls were let out. Time to wait. Five minutes passed… nothing. Ten minutes… nothing. At 15 minutes, I was ready to move on. Before I could say this, I looked over and Dusty was fixated on something through the scope amidst the thick timber.

She then pulls her glove off. I thought perhaps she’s practicing for when an elusive elk appears, but I whisper anyway, “do you see something?” No reply. I repeat and hear a faint response. I respond with “what?” Then I hear one word… “Call." I ask, “Do you want me to cow call?” This time I get an exacerbated but quiet “Yes! I see a bull!”

In the Zone

I don’t see anything, but call anyway. She then asks, “Should I shoot?” I begin to say, “If you have a shot on a bull take it.” Half a second later BOOM! “I think I hit him,” she states.

“Stay on him try and to shoot again if you see him,” I encouraged. At last, I see a flash of elk as she shoots again. I lose him once again. After a few seconds she says, “He’s down!” Followed by the crashing sound of timber. On day four of her first elk hunt and she had a bull down! I couldn’t believe it!

The hike down was nearly impossible due to the deadfall. It took us 30 minutes to get 200 yards to the bull. Once there, he was an impressive wide-framed 5x5. As I turned to congratulate her, I saw the tears welling in her eyes as the emotions took over. We all know the emotion that comes with taking such a beautiful life for the first time. We said a prayer and thanked the animal for his sacrifice. Dusty called her dad to tell the group the news and give our location, they were ecstatic! Cody quickly made it to us and helped with the last part of the cutting.

Time for the pack out. None of us were ready for the rough hike back up the canyon over the dense blanket of fallen trees. Dusty carried her trophy while Cody and I took the quarters. We had about 500 yards to get back up to the main road where the dads were waiting with the 4-wheeler. What should’ve taken an hour at the most, lasted all afternoon due to the treacherous obstacle course. The only way through was to carefully pick spaces between the trees and climb over stumps, often losing all the progress you made. Several times Cody and I fell and thought we weren’t going to be able to stand back up. However, we finally triumphed and were able to get the entire elk out of the forest.

Reminiscing

Once back at the cabin, we toasted the elk and prepared a feast of roasted elk loin. I jestingly informed Dusty that she is never allowed to pick where she shoots her elk again because of the deadfall! Between you and me though, I would gladly hike through deadfall any day for her. A few months later, Dusty and I were driving when she randomly turned to me and said, “Jeez, I’m already getting excited for next season. What hunts should we put in for?”

With that I knew she was hooked! I now have a hunting partner for life!

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