Once we arrived we made the switch of vehicles, and we rode in a Gator the rest of the journey. (A LONG ride!) The cold of the wind stung my lungs and made my eyes water to the point of distraction, but I was so excited to be at ELK CAMP! "We are here!" my mind kept screaming and shouting. It was all I could do to not just jump right up and out of the Gator ;)
The trees parted like the Red Sea as if we were Moses and we kept climbing up and up to where camp was set up. White tents came into view like whitewashed barn boards. A lazy tendril of smoke rose from the chimney on the main tent; lunch was almost ready! We pulled up and parked the Gator and our guide showed us to our own white tent. Inside two cots were arranged toward the far side and a wood stove was near the doorway.
The first night we were there another guest at camp needed to take a shower, so Dan, our camp cook went to show him how to operate the water. (You had to turn on the heat pump- so I found out) Once it was getting dark I decided to jump in for a quick shower myself, and everyone gave me a deer-in-the-headlights look when I strolled off into the woods for the shower room. They called after me "Are you sure you know how to work it?" I thought, "gosh... it's a shower! Pretty much like my best friend! Sheesh!" It was the only room with a water hook up (gravity- fed system) and a heater (run by a generator) so I didn't even think twice about the water heater. BIG mistake. BIG, HORRIBLE mistake for sure! The temperature outside was in the twenties, and with the windchill.. well, you do the math. Give it a few hours between showers and there you have it- a gigantic pot of ice water. I turned on the heater and jumped in the shower without even thinking twice. It felt like sheets of ice pouring out of the faucet- TORTURE!
Pride got in the way and I stood there like an idiot trying to rinse off the soap in my hair- wanting to make sure that I was in the shower for long enough so people wouldn't ask why it was such a short shower. So stupid. Jumping out onto the rug my feet exploded with a thousand needles poking everywhere...the little heater just wasn't putting out enough heat to warm me up! I wrapped a towel around my head and made it back to the cook tent. A dozen eyes turned my way and stared- waiting for something. What?! The shower was great! What do you mean, did I turn on the water heater? Of course! (with lots of snickering and my cheeks turning flaming scarlet) Well, the truth came out and the next day I had a hot shower. So very nice ;)
Three days into the hunt we finally found some elk! We could hear them bugling back and forth and shivers tickled up my spine at the eerie sound. We made our way up a hill and just on the other side of the ridge some elk had been spotted! My heart thumping in my chest, our guide angled the Gator towards the rise. It was so cold and my eyes just wouldn't stop watering! I was so worried that I wouldn't be able to see an elk even if it was five feet away from us! Our guide stopped the Gator and my eyes grew like large saucers when the massive rack started to crest over the top of the hill. So quiet, majestic, King of the Forest. He made his way up and stood perfectly broad-side just over the top of the hill. I shot three times and he went down.
Touching his shoulder with one hand and leaning over to grab his horns with the other, I posed for pictures with a breathtaking view at my back. Snow covered peaks rose up with angry jutting points to meet an icy blue sky. Naked trees stripped of their leaves stood out against those that had not. It was a dream; an experience that I will NEVER forget!
After skinning and properly bagging the meat, we all sat down to a hot meal and the stars came out bright that night. The northern lights even made their presence known! A truly fantastic adventure; every moment worth a thousand words!
The bull I shot with a 7mm 08- scored 378 0/8
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