This would be our first trip to Canyon Creek, for a week of hunting for deer and elk. We had scouted out the area during the summer and it looked promising for getting an elk. Bud and Uncle Charlie hunted this area years before and found elk. Both sides of the canyon may be good for hunting. This would be our second trip this year. We spent several days hunting Clear Creek above Pioneerville with most of the same group of guys. We found elk but could not hit any of them. We try to make more than one trip per year, depending on everyone’s vacation time. The group consisted of Uncle Lewie, Uncle Charlie, LeRoy, Harry, Bud, and me. We borrowed a small trailer house to stay in that would sleep four. Uncle Lewie brought along his truck and camper, for LeRoy and himself to sleep in. We did not have camping spots picked out, but there were plenty of good flats to park the trailer and camper in. There was a large flat below the road near the North Fork of Canyon Creek that would serve us well as a camp site for a few days. The camp was spread out to keep other hunters from wanting to use the same flat for the same reason. The lean-to was tied up between the two campers to be used for the c○○king area. We gathered enough fire w○○d to have a large campfire going most of the time while in camp. Uncle Charlie was the keeper of the fire and kept the coffee pot hot. The coffee was so strong you could hardly drink it. The meals would be cooked on gas camp stoves under the lean-to. The camp was made comfortable in a few hours, as everyone pitched in and done their part. The weather was beautiful for October. There was some frost on the grass each morning but soon melted off when the sun hit it. There was no Snow Predicted for that week and no Chance of rain either, but we were prepared just in case. This is the time of year for the aspen leaves to tum yellow, making quite a contrast with the white bark on the trees. The bushes were turning red and yellow and, in a week or so, they would start falling to the ground. All this colorful background made finding deer and elk more difficult. With camp all in place and not much afternoon left, it was time to set up a table and establish who was the best Pinochle team. This was our favorite pastime on all our hunts to help us relax. It seems like everyone On Our trips are experts at the game, so no one has the advantage. The afternoon went fast with everyone having a turn at the past champions. There was no real champion but lots of bragging rights went with the winners. We really have a wonderful time and get along very well with each other. The first evening I fixed an early supper of steak and fried potatoes. Usually, I heat up a can of vegetables to go with them. I usually do most of the cooking on these trips and can put out a delicious meal in a brief time. If someone gets in my kitchen, they get bad mouthed and run out in a hurry. Everyone always gets enough to eat, no one goes hungry in our camp. There was a lot of time that evening left after supper, so it was back to playing Pinochle again. After everyone had a turn at playing the winners it was time for cookies and milk, then off to bed. We planned on hunting hard all day and wanted to be rested.
Morning came with the clanging of the old alarm clock. Seemed like we hardly got to bed, and it was time to get up. We really did not want to get up awfully bad, but we did. L cooked up a good breakfast of bacon and eggs with lots of coffee. While I fixed breakfast, the other guys fixed a Pile of sandwiches for lunch. Everyone grabbed up a couple of sandwiches and cookies to put in their packs. We would be a long way from camp by noon and no one was going to share their lunch with anyone. The two Uncles were not able to walk as far as we younger guys, so they would stay together and walk up and down the highway watching the hills on both sides for something moving around. Harry, Bud, LeRoy, and I went up the main road a couple of miles to where we could see some large timber pockets on the hill. which may have some deer and elk in them. It t○○k us a Couple of hours to get up to Where we wanted to hunt. The mountain was a lot higher and steeper than we thought. There were aspen groves, thick fir, and pine stands with some swamps here and there. There were streams of fresh water running down the hill in various places for the animals to drink from. We were surprised to find such a beautiful place so far up the mountain. Deer and elk tracks were everywhere. I walked into an aspen grove only to find that it was a swamp of gooey mud. As I backed out of it to get the mud off my shoes, a doe and twin fawns walked out the other side of the same thicket. They stopped to give me the once over then disappeared. Mothers with babies are not on our list to shoot. The other guys were somewhere in the trees, but I was not sure where, so I was not about to shoot. Anyway, I found Bud close to me wandering in circles looking at the ground. He had been sneaking through a timber patch when a spike elk walked out in front of him. He was so Surprised that the elk was so close he did not even think about shooting at it, until it had disappeared into the brush. What he was doing when I found him was trying to find a track to tell him which way he had gone. The elk must have flown because We Could not find any tracks anywhere. An elk can sneak away and not leave any signs or noise to give them away. The four of us spent the full day playing games, with the deer and elk all over the mountain without firing a shot at anything. Evening was starting to set in, so we better get back to camp before dark. By dropping straight off the hill, we could hit the highway and it would be easier walking. We had covered the mountain well that day and ended up close to camp not knowing it. We only had to walk down the highway for about a quarter of a mile to be at camp. Everyone gathered around the campfire to relate the stories about the day’s hunt. Each one of us had seen something but no one had a chance to shoot. This was only the first day, so there was plenty of time left to get something. I fixed a good supper of canned stew which was quick and easy to heat up. We were too tired to fix a full course meal. We ate all we could hold, then settled down to play some cards. We turned in early, there was another mountain to climb the next day.
The old alarm clock rang extra early that morning. We were still tired from walking so far, the day before. Uncle Lewie started pounding on the trailer house d○○r, with a pot of coffee and a cup of hot chocolate for Bud. This gave us the energy to get up and get dressed. After a good breakfast, the four of us went up a different mountain, below camp. We knew that elk were hiding somewhere up in the timber. We walked for hours around that mountain without seeing a thing to shoot. We were sure we would find at least a deer somewhere. Soon the afternoon was gone, time to head back to camp. Uncle Lewie and Uncle Charlie were back at camp, and we were getting concerned about being gone for so long. They had wandered up the main road about a mile because the highway was easier for them to walk on. Uncle Lewie spotted a small buck on the west side of the canyon. He promptly put him down and the two of them cleaned him out. They left the buck on the hillside to wait for us to return to camp. Uncle Lewie and I took a truck up to get him. I had to drag him down to the bottom by the creek, which was only a few hundred yards away. By the time I had reached the creek the other guys showed up to help pack him up the steep Part to the road. He was a nice two pointer in decent shape. Back at camp we skinned and bagged him up to keep the flies off and to help with the cooling process. This may be all the meat we would get on this trip, so we did not want it to spoil from lack of care.
For the rest of the week, we walked the mountains in all directions trying our best to find something to shoot. One day some elk were seen on some back hills but there would be no way to get them to camp except on our backs. We just will not get ourselves into a bad position by going too far from camp. The week was now over, with nothing else to do but pack up for home. All the camp gear had to be cleaned up including the dirty dishes. Everyone did their part and soon the camp was torn down. We headed for home with plans to get together during the coming summer to decide where to go next year. Uncle Lewie took his deer home to be cut up when he found the time. He wanted to share it with us, but we could go out again and he had used his tag already. He reported to us that the deer was tasty.