During the summer of 1994, Harry, Bud, and I decided camping on the high ridge was too far from where we wanted to hunt. We mainly wanted to hunt around the Island Ridge area, there always seems to be elk on the top of the ridges within the island. In June we took one day off from other activities, to drive to Donnelly early in the morning so we would have all day for scouting. This was a good reason for getting out in the w○○ds that we all dearly love and respect so much. The day dawned bright and clear, not a cloud in sight, a nice spring day for June at Donnelly. The snow was long gone with the flowers blooming and the birds were starting to build their nests. The birds flying around were Northern Flickers, Nut Hatches, Steller Jays, Gray Jays, and noisy old Crows. The huckleberry bushes were showing off their little pink flowers. We have hunted this area for years now and had a good idea of what we were looking for. We drove down the road to the fence line at the gate where we camped one other time. There was a road up to the ridge top from the gate which dead-ended in a grove of trees. This looked like an ideal place to camp in the coming fall. Some large pine trees making a circle would provide a g○○d wind break from the October winds. We picked out a good place to Put up a meat rack just in case we were lucky enough to shoot an elk. We removed some of the brush and logs to help us put the trailer house in easier. We did not want to fix the place up too good because there are many hunters using the area, but very few ever camp out. The sun was warm, just right to sit around and play a few games of pinochle. We do not need much of an excuse to get a game going, mainly just a spare hour or two while sitting around doing nothing. Lunch time was coming up and we were getting hungry from doing nothing. We brought along a package of hamburger to fix for lunch. We had a bag of potato chips and a jar of pickles with a bottle of mustard for flavoring. There also was a bag of cookies and lots of pop to drink with lunch under our belts we decided to bid the camp farewell until fall. This place would be home for a week in October. Nothing else to do but drive around for a while looking over the trails for signs of elk being in the area. After a couple of hours, we were satisfied with finding plenty of tracks and a g○○d place to camp the coming fall.
Fall finally got there, time to go hunting. Elk Season always opens October 15th with the deer season already open. We never shoot deer when we have the chance mainly because we are after elk. The three of us loaded the trailer house and trucks with everything we would need to be comfortable for a week on the evening of the 12th. We wanted to be all loaded ready to go when morning came. We wanted to get out of town as soon as possible the next morning. Putting up a dry camp helps to make it warmer. We haven’t built a campfire for many years now, so Uncle Charlie does not go with us anymore. We get to smelling pretty gamy but smelling of smoke seems to be picked up by the elk. The trailer house was parked next to the grove of large pine trees with plenty of room for the lean-to out in front of it. The pipes for the frame are a big help in getting the camp set up. As soon as the tarps are tied around the lean-to frame, Plastic put down on the ground, before the carpet’s spread out. Next comes the large camp tables and the stoves with butane tanks. When the water can was put on a table by the door everything was about done. We spread out our sleeping bags on the beds and home was up for a Week.
This year Harry and Bud brought along their tree stands with the idea of sitting up in a tree early in the morning to watch for any elk that may be moving around. They found a couple of likely trees about a block from camp overlooking the main trail on the ridge. The stands were up about twenty feet in the trees, getting up to them was quite a chore. As soon as camp was all in order, we drove down to Joe and Vicki’s ranch to let them know we were back and where we were camped. This we do every year in case of an emergency at home. They always welcome us with friendly hospitality and a cup of coffee and hot chocolate. Vicki would make us a sandwich if we were hungry. We have a good visit to catch up on all the news of the area. It was time to head back to camp. Just as we turned down the road toward the camp, a Pair of two-point bucks were Standing off the road a few yards away. Deer season was open, but we just stopped to look at them. The little bucks were probably twins and they didn’t know we could shoot them if we wanted to. We drove on leaving them standing there watching us go. They were lucky this time, but the next group of hunters may not be so kind.
Camp was the same as we left it, we still remember the bears a few years ago. For supper I warmed up a large can of chili Con Carne. It was fast and easy to fix, and it was plenty to eat along with a can of peaches and cookies. We were getting ready for bed when someone mentioned Harry should go outside and blow on his bugle to see if something would answer. Harry gave out with a loud blast then all was quiet. Suddenly from the next ridge top, a bull elk answered echoing across the valley. Harry gave out with another blast like the first one. This time a bull elk answered a couple hundred yards from camp, but it was so dark we could not see him. A third bull elk answered from another ridge above us. This was great′ We knew that bulls were in the area. This year we put in for cow permits with Bud and I drawing out. Harry could shoot a bull and with this combination we were sure we could get something. There are always plenty of cow elk around, so finding one of them seemed to be easy. Little did we know how wrong we would be. There was one more day to waste before the season opened. This was a day of scouting and doing very little of importance, so Harry and Bud made sure their tree stands were in the right place. I walked up to the Island Ridge to mark the trails with red tape. To get to the ridge top I had to cross two main roads and all the finger ridges looked alike in that area. The red ribbons would tell me which ridge to take to get back to camp, if it was dark or foggy. We know the area very well, but everything can look different in the dark. The day had been beautiful, around forty-degrees, all day. I Walked around on the Island Ridge for just a short time checking for tracks. エ did not want to spook any elk that may be around thinking they are safe from hunters. The elk had been in there recently and that was what I wanted to know. Back at camp, we checked all the gear scattered around outside to be sure it was under cover in case a sudden rainstorm blew in. With all these chores done and evening coming on, I cooked a nice meal of steak, fried potatoes, green beans, and mushroom gravy. After eating all we could hold, we retired to the trailer to relax and play some Pinochle and make plans for the next day’s hunt. We turned in early so we could be up before daylight. Opening morning came with ringing of the alarm clock, time to get up. The sun wouldn’t be up for a couple of hours, but we wanted to be ready to hunt at first light. l fixed bacon, egg, and toast for breakfast, which is easy to make. There is enough silverware to last most of the week and we use paper plates so doing up the dishes each day is not on our schedule. Time came to get out on the hill. Well, the hill was where we were camped so Harry and Bud walked the few hundred yards to their tree stands. I Went to the spot I had picked out to sit where I could see a large area where the elk would come through when they leave the fields after feeding 7. all night. All was ready with nothing to do but wait for the elk to show up. We had no way on the ridge, to know that hunters go down to hunt at the edge of the farms, which is off limits. They try to intercept the elk before anyone else does. Three or four groups of hunters went by me, passed right under Harry and Bud in the trees and never saw any of us. The elk were coming to us at first light, but they were cut off by all the hunters, so they took off in different directions. Needless to say, we never saw a thing. After a couple of hours watching hunters go back and forth エ decided to head for the Island Ridge. Not too long after I Left, Harry and Bud went elsewhere also. To get to the top, took me about thirty minutes. The ridge I went up to the top was covered with large pine and fir trees with brush, small spruce, and jack pine trees everywhere. Walking was a dream because recent rains had dampened everything. There was not a sound to scare the elk. Conditions were perfect, the air was crisp, the sun was shining brightly, it was just a great day. Now to get an elk would top off the day in grand style. I was slowly sneaking along the ridge top, checking all the timber pockets and small valleys when I came to a grove of large pine trees on a flat. I hunt very slowly when alone so I would have a chance to spot any elk up ahead of me. This grove of trees was so inviting that I had to stop and admire its beauty for a while. As I was standing there watching the trail ahead of me, a bull elk walked into an opening about fifty yards away. He did not have a clue that I was anywhere around. I put the scope on him just to get a better look at his massive size and large antlers. I could not shoot him because I had a cow permit, but he did not know that. Suddenly he saw me standing there l○○king at him. He had his nose to the ground checking for cow smells just then. Without raising his head, his mouth dropped open as if to say, ‘I think I just messed up.’ He had a huge set of antlers even with his head down to the ground, they stuck up above his back a long way. I lowered the rifle to let him walk away. This was the old herd sire that rules the east mountains, the locals call him the Grey Ghost. He was nearly white with age and probably weighed nearly a thousand pounds. As I was watching him, the thought came to me, this is a bull of a lifetime, but l couldn’t shoot him illegally. I don’t know what I would do with such a large animal anyway. I would not even be able to field dress him, let alone be able to get him off the hill by myself. I had no idea where Harry and Bud were at the time. l actually felt good for not Shooting him as great as he was. I sat down for a spell to have a drink of water and eat an apple to let my old heart settle back in place. After a while I started on down the ridge. I did not know Harry and Bud had the same idea as I, going up on the Island Ridge. About halfway down the ridge I heard a volley of rifle shots. I quickly ran to where I could see off the hill.
There were the guys standing over a large bull elk. He was only four points, but very large in size, he grew up eating grain all the time. The bull had crossed the road ahead of them and was headed up hill on the run. Harry had the bull tag, so he had to do the shooting, but they both had run up the hill together to get a shot. Harry hit him three times before he went down, but the first shot was enough to kill him because the bullet went through the liver and tore him up Pretty bad. The guys were still out of breath from the run and were standing there puffing. Bud saw me coming down the hill first, with a smile a mile wide, he waved at me to come on down and help them. We proceeded to dress him out and its t○○k all of us to do it because of his size. We usually save the liver and heart to take home to the families. We carry special Plastic bags with us to put them in so we can put them in a backpack. With the bull cleaned out, we sat down to rest for a while to ponder on how to get this large bull off the hill to the road. We were not very far up the hill and with the three of us pulling on him, we should be able to drag him downhill. A rope was tied to his antlers which I crawled in like a harness and with Harry and Bud pulling on the antlers. We moved downhill pretty good for short distances at a time. We had to stop and rest quite often; this was a large bull. I tried to move him by pulling on the rope by myself, but I could not budge him alone. After many stops and a lot of huffing and puffing, we finally made it to the road. We were completely p○○Ped out. Harry was really out of breath, so Bud stayed with him, while I walked around the road to get Bud’s truck. It was about a half a mile away, but I was not gone very long. I back it up to a Pile of dirt to help in loading him. We were all standing there looking at the bull elk when l mentioned that it sure would be nice if a truck load of hunters would come by to help us load him. Just then a Pickup came around a bend and stopped to look at the bull elk. There were two guys in the truck and the younger one jumped out to give us a hand. The four of us loaded the bull really easily. They were local people and knew who we were and where we were camped. Our camps were quite famous, the way we have it set up. We thanked them for the help and away they went hoping to find an elk on down the road somewhere. We headed back to camp to get the bull skinned and hung in the trees to cool out. We always quarter our elk and put the quarters in meat sacks because of the flies. This chore t○○k up most of the afternoon so we didn’t bother going out again that day.
After resting for a few hours, I fixed supper of steak, boiled potatoes, canned beets, and cold milk. We were hungry as bears and not a thing was left over. The nice Warm trailer house really felt good because the night was starting to cool off quickly. We sat around in comfort, not needing a coat to stay warm. After several games of Pinochle, it was time to turn in for a good night’s sleep. Sometimes it is so quiet we have trouble getting to sleep. Bud can usually take care of the stillness with his snoring. We all can do a good job of snoring when really tired. The hunt was going as planned, try to find a bull first then find the cows on the Island Ridge. Little did we know how hard finding a cow would be. Last year there we saw cow elk everywhere and we didn’t have any cow permits.
Sunday morning dawned bright and clear, not a Cloud anywhere to be seen. We knew most of the hunters in the area, so we weren’t worried about leaving the elk hanging in camp for a few hours while we checked out the Island Ridge again. Joe hired a young man to patrol his fence lines this year to keep the hunters out. We were camped not far from his fence line, and he would keep an eye on camp, as he made his rounds. Joe instructed him that we were the only ones that could go through the fence, however we stayed out anyway. He ran out a lot of local hunters and they were very unhappy about it. Fences were being tom down, so Joe locked everything up. Even though Harry had used his tag, he went along with Bud in case they found a cow. I hunt alone most of the time, but I know the area and the guys are only a pistol signal away all the time. We have worked out signals to bring all of us together, if needed. We drove to the upper end of the Island Ridge where I would start to hunt. Harry and Bud then drove down to a parking place at the other end where they would climb up to the rocks to wait for me to Come through. As soon as it was light enough to shoot, I Started down the ridge in my usual fashion, slow and carefully. I was nearing the place where I saw the big bull elk the day before when I came across another hunter. There were two other guys at his party, but they were on the other side of a small valley. We were walking along chatting a bit when I saw legs moving through the underbrush. We quickly ran to a clearing just in time to see the old bull go through a patch of sunlight in the clearing. He was absolutely huge, but also speedy. He was gone like a puff of smoke. One member of his party shot at a spike that was with the big bull but missed him. The third guy had a cow run right by him, but he had a bull tag so he couldn’t shoot. They were the same type hunters as us, they played the game by the rules. They parted from me and headed down the hill to their truck to go somewhere else to hunt. I went on down the ridge to l○○k for Harry and Bud, where I knew they would be. An elk had run by them through the trees, but they could not tell if it was a cow or a small bull elk. Bud would not take a chance on shooting the wrong sex. This seemed to be all the elk on the ridge today. We Sat around resting and eating lunch trying to decide what to do the rest of the day. We drove around some of the back roads for a couple of hours, then went back to camp. The camp was located where we could sit out in front of lawn chairs and watch the area all around us. We hoped maybe something would walk out in front of us that we could shoot but were never that lucky. What to do the next morning was the main subject? Harry had a knee acting up from the hard pull of getting the bull out the day before, so he wanted to Stay at camp to rest it. Bud and I would take off from camp to try for a cow somewhere. Supper time was coming up and we were starting to get hungry, lunch had worn off a long time ago. I fixed some steaks from the bull to try it out. Elk steak, fried spuds, a vegetable and mushroom gravy make a real fine meal and does not take Too long to fix. When everyone had eaten, all they wanted we retired to the comforts of the nice warm trailer to play some cards and relax for a while.
We were not going to get up very early because we would start hunting right from camp. Some rain fell during the night, but not so much that we could not hunt. I fixed pancakes and eggs with bacon, on the side. Harry would clean up the cooking Pans, so Bud and I headed out hunting. We followed the fence line off the hill, so we could check to see if any elk had crossed it during the night. There were some old tracks, but nothing did during the night. Down near the creek, we noticed some movement in some trees close to us. A pine marten was jumping from limb to limb wondering what we were and why were in his woods. He was a noisy little character, but there did not seem to be any elk around anyway. He was not bothering anyone but himself and he was sure getting all worked up. We watched him for a while then went on with our hunting. We climbed to the top of the next ridge to check out the Tuley patch for signs of any elk using that area. There had not been much rain, so the patch was just a mud hole. There was not enough water for the elk to stay around there. On up the hill we went there was no plan to our Wandering, but we had all day to get back to camp. Bud and I were in great shape, and we could walk for miles with no problems. When we dropped off the next hill, we came upon the main road where some other hunters were parked. They were driving the roads in a couple of beat=up old pickups hoping to find an elk from the road. In each truck was an elderly man and woman and they were enjoying the ride. They told us of seeing a small herd of cows and calves in the road in the Valley they had just come from. They did not have any cow permits so all they could do was watch them walk off. Bud and I went l○○king for their tracks and found where they had crossed the road and headed up hill. The trail was not hard to follow because they knew they were not being chased. There was at least five cows and calves in the bunch, and they were going straight uphill to the main high ridge. We trailed them for several hours but could not catch up to them. It seemed like they were headed for the basin hole on the other side of the mountain to bed down for the day. Oh well, might as well head back to camp completing a long six mile walk for the day. We walked up and down a lot of mountains all in vain. It was g○○d to get out and really stretch our legs, instead of driving around all the time. We were out all day, and it was late in the afternoon when we were back to camp. Harry cleaned up all the dishes and silverware and even swept the dirt off the carpet. Everything looked really nice. We gave him a pat on the back. He was sure we would find an elk in all that wandering but we did not see a thing. For supper I cut a Piece of back steak off the bull elk, we had shot. We already knew it was good, but we had to try it again to make certain. I grilled a large platter of steaks and boiled up some potatoes with mushroom gravy. This was a meal fit for a king, there was not a bit left over at all. We topped the meal off with a can of pears. After the great super we retired to the trailer to play Pinochle and discuss where to hunt the next day. All the planning can go awry depending on the weather. Sleep came pretty easy that night. Bud and エ were completely worn Out.
The next day dawned with us still in bed. The weather was cloudy, and we were still tired from the long hike the day before. As usual Harry cannot sleep past seven o’clock, so he gets up and makes so much noise that the rest of us cannot sleep anymore, so we have to get up. I fixed a leisurely breakfast of bacon, eggs, and toast with a pot of hot coffee. I’m the only one that drinks coffee. So, I do not make it very often. An ice chest was put in the truck with stuff for lunch and we went for a drive to different areas hoping maybe to catch a cow elk out in the open. We checked the trails off the Island Ridge and the roads down near the fields. Only a few single tracks were found in all the travels and most of them were days old. We went up to Grouse Knob and the elk had not been there for days. A quick trip through the Island Ridge turned up nothing, not a fresh track anywhere. Looking at the sky that afternoon Confirmed what we had heard on the radio. A big storm was due to hit in the next couple of days and it might turn to snow. This news was enough to convince us to pack up the next day and get out. Trying to dry wet carpets and tarps is hard to do. The rest of the day was spent in camp feeding cookies to chipmunks. Stellar Jays and Grey Jays were around camp every day looking for a handout. Being a bunch of old Softies, we have to take care of the wildlife around camp. I tried to take pictures of them every day, but they would not cooperate. l did manage to get some photos, but they Weren’t very good. エ need them for records of the camp activities, how we spent the time while in camp.
The next morning, we were up early to get breakfast over and start taking the camp apart. While I washed up all the dirty silverware and pans, Harry and Bud began untying ropes and folding up tarps. It takes us about three hours to get everything packed in its place for the trip home. We had a four-wheel ATV and a Honda motorcycle along, but we didn’t have much need for them. When everything was packed ready to leave, we double checked the camp to be sure we had picked up all the gear. We also made sure the camp was clean as could be. We don’t leave a messy camp anytime.
The following afternoon, the three of us met at Harry’s Place to get the bull cut into steaks and stew meat. All the bones are taken out of the meat, bones only take up space in the freezer and do not eat too well. We do not care for elk burgers, so none was made up. Three boxes of similar sizes were set beside the cutting table. Each box gets wrapped in packages of meat containing the same cut until the job is completed. Usually, the boxes were nearly full, and we had some good meat to eat during the winter. I try to save some of mine for the summer camping trips. The season for cow elk under the permits was open until November 8th in the Donnelly area, however the 8th was on Tuesday. Saturday the 5th seemed to be the only day that we could go because of work.
We wanted to make one last try before giving up on elk. Harry used his tag on the bull, but we are a team, so he would go along also. Should we happen to get a cow elk down, he would be a lot of help getting her to the truck. Saturday morning, we loaded the meat sacks and a roll of rope into Bud’s truck along with the ice chest and lunch stuff, then headed for Donnelly. We wanted to go light so none of the motorcycles went along. After we left in October, the weather turned bad and about a foot of snow fell on the mountains around Donnelly. We were not worried about driving around the back roads in the snow with the four-wheel drive. Bud can put the truck about anywhere we want to go. We thought the Island Ridge would be a good place to start hunting. We waded through foot deep snow most of the morning checking out the places where elk usually hang out. Elk had been crossing the ridge recently but not today. After a few hours of walking the ridge, we went up to Grouse Knob to check to see if any elk were hiding there. Nothing at all anywhere.
In the afternoon We decided to drive the back roads to see if we could find any fresh tracks. We found a side road covered with deep snow going uphill to a large flat area. The road was dead-ended and there were plenty of large pine trees everywhere. As we neared the end of the road we knew where all the elk had been that morning. Elk tracks were everywhere′ there must have been about twenty in the herd. There were places where they had been bedded down during the night. This was where we should have been that morning, but we did not know it at the time. They were all long gone. The Snow was too deep to follow them, and they seemed to scatter in all directions at once. Besides everything else, they had a few hours head start on us. We looked around the area and planned to remember it when we l○○k for a new campsite next summer. This place had good possibilities of being a good camping area. It was off the beaten track, so road hunters wouldn’t be driving by camp all the time. There were plenty of large trees and an open area, where we could see out in a meadow from camp. The rest of the day was spent driving the back roads looking for an elk. Several places, elk had crossed the road going both ways, but we could not find them. Time finally ran out; it was time to head for home. Since it was going to be late when we got home, we stopped at Cascade for a hamburger. I enjoyed not cooking for a change.
On the way home we talked about going archery hunting for a couple of weeks. Deer would be open for archery in Unit 39 near town. Towards the end of November, we worked up a trip to the Lucky Peak hills east of Boise. I called Montie Davis to let him know where we would be hunting so he could meet us there. On a Saturday morning we donned our camouflage clothes and headed out to find some deer to shoot arrows at. We went to the mouth of Cottonwood Creek to get in the open area: Even though the snow was about a foot deep′ We Still found some deer running around from brush patch to brush patch. We couldn’t get close enough to them for a really good shot but fired some Hail Mary’s at them. The deer seemed to be spooky and leery of humans being around. They wouldn’t even come close by sitting in a blind. Everyone had the same problems too far away all the time. The following weekend we went back to the same spot again. We had the same results. The deer were still there and still spooky. We shot arrows at them then if we were lucky, we would find some of the deer in deep snow.
Just to get Out hunting was a pleasure. Over the years we have shot a few deer with bow-and arrows but that was back when there were many more deer. Now we have to wait until next fall to plan for the fall hunting trip. We planned to go back to the Donnelly area again.