We decided the year before to go back to the high ridge camp again, so 1991 found us on our way to Donnelly. The main difference was the time of year, and it was a rifle hunt for elk. The season was to Open October 15th, and we wanted to be there for opening day. Harry, Bud, and I put in for the cow drawing, but only Harry drew out.
We knew we were in for a hard trip this year because Harry was on crutches. All he would be able to do would be to walk the roads and drive the truck, while we did the hunting. A comfortable camp was set up in the same place as last year. The lean-to was put up and as usual we always take along more stuff than we need. The extra items were stored in the back of the lean-to out of the way. The plans were to stay a week or more depending on how the hunting was and what the weather turned out to be like. The bull elk were no longer bugling, but once in a while We could get one mad enough to answer. They are pretty smart animals, and they also know hunters are out there looking for them. As soon as camp was set up, we headed down to visit with Joe and Vicki. We always let them know where we are camping in case there are problems at home. They usually have a promising idea about where we are, but it is best to tell them exactly, to save them time in getting to us. Vicki has a pot of coffee brewed up most of the time. Since Bud and Harry cannot drink coffee, she makes them up a cup of hot chocolate. We catch up on all the gossip for the past year and also find out if the elk have been coming to the fields at night to feed. Joe did not get his elk during archery season but had several wild stories about his hunts. He passed up several cows and spikes wanting a big bull elk, then ended up with nothing. Fate sometimes works that way. After thanking them for their hospitality, we headed back up the mountain, towards camp. We checked the trails off the Island Ridge at both ends, looking for tracks of elk moving around. The elk had been using the trails but only in groups of two or three at a time. There were not any large herds moving around at all. The few elk going through were starting to set their patterns of going to and from the grain fields at night. We may have a chance to find one during the week of hunting. We had some extra time, so we drove around several roads in the area checking the trails for tracks and hoping to see an elk somewhere on the hill. Harry blew his bugle every time we stopped but there were not any takers. The sun was going down by the time we reached camp, so we hurried around to be sure everything was put away for the night. I fixed an early supper of steak and potatoes, so we could play some cards and unwind. We played cards later than usual, because there was one more day to waste before we could hunt. We talked about where to hunt and how far Harry would be able to walk from camp. He agreed to stay close to camp and not go off the main road, no matter what. Bud and I would walk the main ridges both ways from camp.
The next morning, we tried to sleep in a little later, but when Harry gets up, he makes enough noise, on purpose, to wake everyone up. There was no use lying in bed awake, so we begrudgingly got up to fix breakfast of pancakes, bacon, and eggs. When we are going out hunting in the early mornings, we do not take the time to make pancakes. We hung around camp until midmorning, then took another scouting trip around some of the other side roads. We did not stay out late in the day since we could not shoot anything if we saw something. We went back to camp to fix an early supper. I warmed up a can of chili for a change of diet. We try to vary the meals from fried stuff to keep everyone healthy. The evening was spent playing Pinochle after which the jug of milk and a bag of cookies showed up on the table. Milk and cookies are more of a ritual than just something to eat. We turned in early, we would be getting up before the sun peeks over the far mountains.
Morning found us up early to fix breakfast of bacon and eggs with toast on the side. While I made breakfast, the other guys made sandwiches and filled all the canteens with fresh water. A good lunch is packed in our backpacks because we may be out all day. With daylight finally coming, we were ready to head out to find an elk. Bud and I could only shoot bulls, with Harry having the cow permit. Bud and I went down the main ridge we were camping on, it was very brushy. There were several thickets and chaparral bushes, so dense we had to crawl through them. The aspens were turning yellow, and all the other bushes were already red and orange. It made finding an elk that much harder. The elk take full advantage of the colors and can blend in as part of the scenery. Bud and I fought our way through this brush the first half a mile without seeing a thing. When we finally came to some clearings there were fresh tracks where the elk had gone out in front of us, but in no hurry. They could hear us coming for blocks. We went a couple of miles down the ridge then went over onto the Patty Flats side of the mountain. We worked out the area to the Basin hole. We would not go down in there because we were one man short of a full crew in case, we should shoot something. We know our limitations.
We climbed up the trail to camp to see how Harry had fared out. He was sitting on a large rock about a block from camp where he could see anything moving on the Donnelly side of the mountain. Nothing had come his way all morning. None of us had eaten our lunches since it was not noon, quite yet. We jumped in the truck to take a ride to the other side of Patty Flats. We would eat our lunch somewhere over there later. One road took us up towards Jug Handle Mountain. Even in early October it can get cold if you go far enough up the mountain. There was some snow in the high passes but very few elk had been in there recently. We crossed one set of tracks that may have been made a week ago. It looked like an old bull had headed down towards the lower valleys. We found a warm place on a hillside where we could see the country and eat our lunch. Our bellies thought We had forgot about the lunches. After about an hour of sitting we started to get cold. Time to head down the hill to check another place or two before going back to camp. When we reached the main road, it was still early yet, and we wanted to see where the main road went. By watching the road signs, we could find our location on the maps. The area we were going into was called Kennelly Creek and there was supposed to be a lake by the same name about seven miles up the creek from the end of the road. It was a horse trail, but I think we could ride our motorcycles into it sometime. Needless to say, we were not about to walk in right then. The afternoon was about gone but it was still light enough to hunt on the way back to camp. Darkness was Setting in by the time we were back to camp. We have a couple of generators along for power, so we did not care if it was dark. For supper I fixed pan fried potatoes and hamburger patties with a can of pork and beans to use as gravy. We were too tired to play cards, so we just sat around in the nice warm trailer relaxing trying to figure out what to do the next day. Nothing was decided upon, but we might try the Island Ridge first then go down towards the fields to look around also. The night was going to be cold, so the furnace felt Pretty good. We could sit around with little clothes on and be comfortable. We had to turn the furnace down to pilot before going to bed or it would get too hot to Sleep.
The next morning after breakfast, We Went to Check out the Island Ridge first. There had been some elk there during the night, but if they were still there, they were hiding from us. Harry took the truck down to the lower end, while Bud and I went completely through from the top. We Went through quickly, which to us is a couple of hours. Harry stayed at the truck, rather than trying to climb up the hill to the rocks as usual. We could not run any elk his way. We met at the truck to go somewhere else. That afternoon we decided to drive over to West Mountain, which is clear across the valley. Away we went, stopping in town for gas. The West Mountain area has very few roads through most of it. We drove to the end of all the roads we could find, then up to No-Business Lookout. We got a Pretty good lay of the land. Most of the hunters we came upon were camped in the bottom lands near the main creek, which drains those mountains. These hunters ride horses to hunt in the back country, where there were no roads. Some hunters had deer and elk hanging in camp but not very many. ln all our travels, we found a few tracks but not many of them fresh. We enjoyed the change of scenery, but it was time we went back across the valley to camp.
After supper we made the decision to hunt one more day then cut the trip short and go home. Harry’s knee was getting pretty sore, and we did not want him to injure it any further. He would need to rest it up, so we could go archery hunting later on for deer near Lucky Peak. We hunted until noon, then packed up the camp. On the Way Out, We Stopped to tell Joe we were leaving but we would be back next summer to find a different campsite over at west Mountain. We would decide where to go later. The trip was a god one, but we could not find an elk to shoot. However, we knew it was going to be tough hunting beforehand with Harry being unable to walk. Everything was cleaned up ready for next year, wherever we go.