The year of 1974 only Harry, Bud, and I could make the trip to Canyon Creek for our week of elk hunting. We decided to camp at the same place on Banner Creek Summit as in 1972. The season was open for either sex elk and deer in Units 35 and 36. The boundary between the two units was the ridge top close to where we were camped.
Our camp was in Unit 36. We took along our motorcycles to use for packing in case we could find an elk. Everything was loaded into Bud’s truck and a small trailer. It was a good load, but we managed to get to the camp in great shape. We had replaced the rocks in the side road when we left before. No one had been down the road; therefore, we would have the camp all to ourselves again. The rocks were left to the side, so we could drive in and out this time. The frame for the outside area was still in place. The tent was put up in the same spot as before then we put up the plastic around the cooking area. This year Harry had a wise idea of a hood to put over the fireplace to draw out the smoke from the inside area. He fixed up some old stove pipes for a flue which really did not work, worth a darn. Some of the smoke went out but we still ended up all smoky anyway. By the end of the week, we still smelled smoky, but we had a good camp set up, warm and comfortable. With just the three of us, we could fix meals and do our thing as we pleased.
The weather was cool and clear, which seemed ideal for a successful hunt. Of course, in that country, rain or snow can come in at any time but we had a warm, dry, camp set up. We did not care what happened with the weather. The first two days we hunted in all directions from camp. Sometimes we would ride the motorcycles to different areas, but the elk would not show themselves. We walked the area where Harry had wounded the big bull a couple of years before finding a lot of tracks, but nothing in them. On the third day we took the truck down Canyon Creek to where the North Fork runs into the main creek. We have hunted there many times, so we knew the area quite well. We planned to walk up the creek several miles then cut over the hill at Bench Creek Summit back to camp. Later in the day we would ride a bike down to get the truck. There is a good trail up the creek if it can be found. We walked up to where the North Fork and East Fork split without finding a track. There was a good trail up the North Fork in the direction we wanted to go.
We had been following the trail for about a half a mile, when suddenly a cow and calf elk appeared on the same trail in front of us. They were coming downhill when we spotted them. Harry and I saw them first because Bud was behind us. The cow wheeled in the trail and took off in a flash. The calf ran up the hill above us, then stopped to see what we were. Since the calf was not following her mother, the cow stopped behind some bushes to look back at us. We could see her head and neck above the bushes so we t○○k careful aim on her neck. We both shot at the same time and down she went. She was a large cow and as fate would have it, she fell in a deep washout flat on her belly. There were two holes in her neck, where we both had hit her. In the meantime, the calf Still standing up the hill confused by all the noise and commotion. Bud shot him through the heart, and he dropped in his tracks.
Bud could clean him out without our help, so we started to do something. First, we had to get her turned over to start to clean her out. This proved to be one big chore, she must have weighed six hundred pounds on the hoof. We finally rolled her over and down the gully. We managed to field dress her, but we would need to cut her in quarters just to get her out of the gully and down to the flat land. Bud finished with the calf and came over to help us. It took all three of us to get the quarters out of the gully. We then cut the calf in half, so we could pack him. Each of us would carry a quarter or a half for a short way then go back for another piece. The three of us managed to get both elk to the flat land where we could get the bikes to them. It was about a mile to the main road from where we were with the elk. Nothing else to do but hang the elk in a tree for the night then come back with the bikes the next morning. By the time we walked to the truck, it was starting to get late, no way could we come back today. Our only hope was that there were not any bears in the area to bother the meat.
Back to camp where we went, it was time to fix supper. I cooked some meat and potatoes just to fill us up. It was not long before we were all in bed asleep′ We had had an exhausting day and tomorrow would be no better.
Morning seemed to come early for some reason, and we were still tired. Tired or not, we had to get the elk back to camp. The first thing to do was to fix a good breakfast of bacon and eggs. We planned to be out most of the day even with the motorcycles to do the packing. We made some sandwiches with some lunch meat and bread and put them in an ice chest, so we could have a sandwich when we got back to the truck. We loaded the motorcycles into the truck, then headed for the North Fork trail. The ride up the trail seemed to only take a few minutes. The elk had not been bothered during the night, but they had not gotten a bit lighter. Our motorcycles consisted of two Honda step through trail machines and a Kawasaki 120. All three machines were set up with low gear trail sprockets just for the mountains. We loaded Bud’s bike with the whole calf, I had the rear quarters of the cow on my Honda, and Harry had the front quarters on his. Harry and Bud are larger and stronger than I, so they could manage that much of a load. I could not touch the ground with my feet, so I was sitting high and dry. I made about twenty yards, before I fell over, elk, bike, and all, on top of me. All I could do was lay there hollering for help and hold the whole load off my legs. Harry and Bud had to lift the whole load up so I could crawl out from under it. We finally got the bike upright and the elk tied back on. They helped me down to the main trail which was flatter where I thought I could manage on my own. This time I made it a couple of blocks before going around a sharp bend in the trail. A tree limb touched my arm and over I went again. This time I had enough warning to jump clear of the bike and let it fall. Each time my legs were taking a beating and after the third time, I just gave up. Bud’s load was a different shape with the calf on it in two pieces, I could touch the ground to balance myself. We swapped bikes and headed down the trail again. I managed very well after that. The last part off the trail was uphill for a couple of blocks, not steep but steep enough to lean forwards because of the heavy load. Harry was in front and made it up the hill to a Place to Park, then came back to help Bud with my bike.
Harry was trying to hold Bud and bike on the trail by holding onto the back end. Bud goosed the bike too much and it jumped off the trail heading straight downhill towards a large pile of dead fall logs about three feet in diameter. Harry was dragged downhill hanging onto the back yelling whoa! Whoa! While Bud was breaking and dragging his feet trying to stay upright. They all came to a stop with the front tire within inches of the logs. All I could do was stand on the trail and laugh and it was my bike about to be creamed. A video camera would sure have been nice about then. The guys finally caught up with their senses, brushed off the dust, and then took the bike and its load on around the hillside to the trail again. They came back and helped get my bike and load it over to where the others were parked. The last part of the trail was downhill and quite steep for about thirty yards. Its t○○k all three of us to get all the bikes and their loads down to the main road, where the truck was parked. We swore right then and there that we would make a couple of trips with smaller loads, if we ever had to do this again. Once we were beside the truck we could relax and rub the sore spots and there were plenty of them. We had our cameras in the truck to take some Pictures of the bikes still loaded down as proof of what we had done. Now was the time for a sandwich and a can of soda pop to relax. We thanked the lord for helping us survive the trip. We were about five miles from camp down the main highway. I decided to ride my bike back to camp. But Harry and Bud were terrified, they loaded everything into the back of the truck including the elk, and away they went.
We put our tags on them to be legal anyway. The elk picked up a lot of dirt on the exposed meat from all the wrestling it around and from the spills, I took off the bike. After skinning them out, we trimmed all the dirt and pine needles off and put them in meat sacks. The flies did not seem to be a problem, but we just did not want to take a chance that some might still be alive. The meat racks were still in the trees that we had put up a couple of years earlier. We could hang them high enough in the air for them to stay cold and any varmints around could not reach them.
Now came the time to rest, all the challenging work was done, and we were sure glad. We fixed an early supper so we could relax with our usual games of Pinochle before turning in for the night. We had no intention of getting up early the next morning. We had earned the right to sleep in and rest.
Morning came as usual, but sleeping in Harry is when he wakes up. He manages to make enough noise that no one else can sleep and he knows it. Bud and I finally crawled out of our nice warm sleeping bags and after giving Harry a good cussing, we started breakfast. This morning would be a suitable time to fix pancakes and eggs. Bacon is fixed to go along with a good hot pot of coffee. Bud does not drink coffee, so I heat up some water for hot chocolate for him. Pancakes are on the menu the days we are going to stay in camp to rest up. Everyone stayed around camp most of the day, cutting firewood and doing up the dishes. In the late afternoon, we took a walk-up Bench Creek to look for a third elk.
Nothing had been through the area for several days, so it was back to camp. We had a meeting of the minds about what to do. The plan seemed pretty clear, there were not very many elk in the area, and we felt fortunate to have two elk on the meat racks. Some of our relatives were camped on Clear Creek above Pioneerville at this same time. This was Uncle Lewie, Aunt Lucy, and LeRoy with his wife Alta, who we have hunted with many times. We had a couple more days to hunt before our allotted vacation time ran out. Let us see what they were doing. We knew exactly where they would be camped. With this move all planned out, I fixed a good supper of fresh elk steaks and potatoes, and gravy was made with some special gravy mixes with a can of mushrooms thrown in extra to give it more flavor. We eat well, while camping out and everyone can eat anything I fix. We do not fix a bunch of fancy dishes, good wholesome meals. We played our usual games of pinochle and after some cookies and milk. We turned in to get a good night of sleep. We wanted to get up early to pack everything up to move as soon as breakfast was over, we hustled around packing everything in its place. The bikes were tied in the trailer, and the two elk were put in the truck. We had really mild weather that morning and we were on our way in no time at all. Clear Creek was about sixty miles away by going through Idaho City. We arrived at Clear Creek before noon and sure enough the families were camped where they said they would be. Of course, everyone was surprised to see us pull in with our two elk. They have been hunting for several days without seeing a thing to shoot. The truck had no more than stopped and shut off when here came Aunt Lucy with a big butcher knife. She wanted fresh elk liver for supper that night. We would never refuse to share our game with them, they are such great people.
We set up our tent but only made a light camp for the night. Since they had not found any elk all the time they were hunting, there was no use of us beating the brush for nothing. We had a good community supper then spent the rest of the evening visiting. We had to tell them our ordeal of packing out the elk on our motorcycles. They agreed that we were slightly off to do it as we did but we survived. The next morning, we packed up again for the trip home. The two elk had to be taken care of and it was time to get them cut up and in the freezer. This winter’s eating was well earned, and we would really enjoy it. We would decide where to go next year before fall comes again.