The trip of 1995 turned out to be a very successful Outing. The weather was just great most of the time with some rain falling towards the end of the week. We could handle a light rain storm the way we were equipped. During the week we killed an elk, which makes a good hunt even better. Later in the season a second elk was shot. All these thing seemed to add up when deciding where to camp in the coming year. The camp we used last year was a good one. We had a year to plan for the coming hunting trip. This fall we would be going a week later but we did not know that the weather would turn bad a week earlier. We did not think a week or so would make any difference. As the planning progressed, two nephews, Brent and Howard Claassen were invited to go with us, if they could get their vacations at the same time as ours. They are good hunters, very experienced and lots of fun to have around us. They are archery hunters and hunted with us a few years ago.
During the summer, we took a quick run to Donnelly to l○○k over the hunting area and to do some scouting for elk. Brent t○○k his Bronco to have more room for the four of us to be more comfortable. Since Howard lives in Pocatello Idaho, it would not be possible for him to come to Boise for just a scouting trip. Everything was the same as when we had left it at the campsite, no one had been around it all summer. We sat around enjoying the warm sunshine and watching the birds flying around camp. Several chipmunks live in the old logs nearby and as soon as we sat down, here they came, looking for handouts. Oreo cookies are their favorite kind. Last year they were even inside the lean-to getting into everything. We took plenty of time getting to the camp and it was getting close to lunch time. A camp stove was put in, so I could cook some hamburger sandwiches for lunch along with Potato Chips and pickles. There was plenty of soda pop for everyone. We had to play a quick game of Pinochle, which is just a ritual every time we go out in the mountains. When we were tired of cards, we decided to take a hike up the old logging road above camp. We wanted to check the area over for tracks to see if deer or elk had been staying in the valley this summer. There were tracks just about everywhere we went, which was a good sign, hopefully they would still be around in the fall. The afternoon was fading fast, it was time to head for home, we had seen all we wanted to see. The day had been beautiful and very relaxing. Now we had to wait for fall to come around, so we could go back again. The summer went by slowly as usual in hopes of a good hunting trip coming up.
However, as most well-made plans usually end up, we could expect anything to happen. Neither of the nephews could make the hunt for various reasons. As we are all getting older, we decided to invite a good friend of mine, Dennis Knowlton, to go along to hunt with me. Harry and Bud hunt well together as they have done for many years while I go out on my own. We hunted within a pistol signal of each other but this year we thought the buddy system would be better. Dennis and I have been good friends for many, many years now. He would work very well with our group.
Finally, October arrived, time to go hunting. As we knew during the summer would be late going this year. Harry, Dennis and I would go up a day earlier than Bud because of the vacation schedules. Bud would not have any problem finding the camp. Saturday morning, October 19th, we met at Harry’s ready to head out for Donnelly. Harry would pull the trailer house and take the generators in the back of the truck. Dennis had his truck full of water jugs of fresh water, extra ice boxes and cans of gas. Both trucks had a good load to carry and to give them traction in case we ran into some snow. Bud would bring up what we did not need to get the camp set up. He, too, would have a good load. The weather reports were not good, Snow was predicted for Donnelly during that week. There could be snow on the ground when we get there. Rain was coming down as we headed out that morning with the possibility of snow falling on us was really good. We did not realize what we were in for that morning. We ran into snow on the ground near Cougar Mountain Lodge and more was falling. The highway was slick as glass with the new snow making it even worse. Cars were sliding off the road everywhere, but both our trucks were in four-wheel drive, so we went along pretty well. If we had to make a quick stop, we would be in trouble for sure. Little Donner Hill above Cascade was the first Challenge. As we crept over the top, a County Deputy was Parked in the center of the road trying to direct traffic that was already in a state of chaos. Several cars were off the road because of the icy conditions. A lady in a small car was ahead of us going slowly down the hill in the middle of the road. We were slowly gaining on her, but she kept a cool head and kept going at a steady pace in front of us. Harry moved to the side of the road in case we had to pass, but Lady Luck was with us. The hill flattening out a little and were adjusting their speed and away we went without any problems. The rest of trip went well for being so slick.
We turned off the main highway as we crossed Gold Fork River onto the Farmer to Market Road before getting into Donnelly. Hopefully the side road would not be nearly as bad, and we would be out of the main traffic flow. The road up the mountain was Patty Flats Road and it was snow covered and very rough. It, also, was extremely slick from other cars and trucks packing down the snow. About a mile up the road we hit a rough spot and bounced off the road into the barrow pit as quick as a wink. Harry was able to pull back onto the road after a couple of tries doing very little damage to the trailer house. The road on up to the camp. did not get any better. The snow was deeper, and the roadway was very slick. We should have turned around and went to a different place, but we pushed on. Chains had to be put on to get up the last little hill to the campsite.
With much jockeying around we finally put the trailer house in its proper place to be used for a home for a week. A bunch of snow had to be shoveled away so we could set up the lean-to. All that snow underneath the plastic and carpet would be too cold. The three of us had everything up in a few hours, they started up the furnace to warm the trailer to a comfortable temperature. Snow kept slowly falling, but it was not piling up very fast. We were not too concerned at this time because the road out was mostly downhill and with chains on all four wheels, we could get out with a foot snow everywhere. With all this in mind, we settled in for a good time. There was not much to do around camp, so we decided to take a drive to see if any elk were moving to and from the fields. There did not seem to be many elk in the area this year as of yet, but maybe the herds had not come out of the high country. What few tracks we found, were made several days earlier, and had snow in them. The signs did not look good at this early date, but the trip was just beginning. Back at camp we fixed an early supper then spent the evening playing Pinochle and shooting the bull. Dennis plays a good game of Pinochle. After cookies and milk, Harry had juice. We turned in for the night. Sound sleep was hard to get the first night especially after the hard trip to get there that morning.
We were still concerned about the light snow coming down. There was no need to get up real early, We Planned to do some hunting on the Island Ridge, but we were not in any big hurry to get out. I fixed bacon and eggs with toast then we headed out in Harry’s truck, he still had chains on it. We walked the full length of the ridge, but the elk were not anywhere around. We found very few tracks of any elk being through there in quite a while. Bud would be in later in the day and maybe we can find where they are hiding then. Snow kept falling off and, all day, hunting was really tough to do. The snow was so slick we couldn’t stand up at all, therefore we headed back to camp. We could hang around camp feeding the chipmunks and birds without falling down every step. Suppertime was upon us, and we were getting hungry. Bud told us not to wait supper for him, he would get a hamburger somewhere on the way up. That was exactly what we did, fixed our own supper, and made sure everything was secure outside in case a lot of snow fell during the night. Bud came roaring into the camp about dark. He really expected us to have an elk hanging in camp, but no such luck. He was more amazed that we were able to get to the campsite with the trailer house in one piece, as bad as the roads were. He had already eaten a sandwich on the way up, so after he put his gear away, we sat down for a couple games of Pinochle to relax. We also planned out the hunt for the next day. Dennis would only be able to stay until Wednesday. This meant we would have to hunt hard in the coming days to give him a chance to find an elk. The rest of us would try to stay the full week if we could, depending on the snow. Dennis has never shot an elk before and I was determined to get him a shot at one.
Monday morning, we were up early, fixed breakfast then headed out to the Island Ridge again. We wanted to make a quick trip down it hoping something had moved in overnight. Dennis and I started at the top end while Harry and Bud would climb the ridge up to the rocks and if there were not any elk around, they would find us somewhere in the middle. Dennis and I crisscrossed back and forth across the ridge checking everywhere an elk might be hiding. There just was not any elk around at all, not even so much as a fresh track. We met up with Harry and Bud in the middle of the ridge and they had the same story, not a track. We headed back to the trucks to ponder on what to do the rest of the day. Since we had two trucks we would split up and drive the roads to see if anything had moved through during the night. We would meet back at camp in a few hours. There was not a fresh track going to the fields to feed. Maybe the elk were trapped in the back country by the early deep snowstorm and could not get out. Back at camp, we took note of how deep the snow was getting. It had snowed lightly most of the day putting down a few more inches on top of the four already on the ground. Dennis was getting concerned about getting out if the snow was much deeper. He did not have tire chains but did have four-wheel drive. After a quick trip the next morning he called it quits, packed up his stuff and headed for home.
The day before we showed him the way out on the lower roads. He would have little trouble getting to the main road. Around noon the three of us loaded into Bud-s truck determined to find an elk. First, we went to the Island Ridge for a quick trip through it. All that was there was Mama bear and two cubs and they were headed down to the Valley floor to raid garbage cans. There were not any elk around on the ridge, so we headed up to Grouse Knob to look around. There was about eight inches of snow on the top. I walked out towards the Knob to look for tracks while Harry and Bud stayed close to the truck. l hadn’t gone very far when I came across some fresh tracks. It looked like maybe a bull elk, and a cow were wandering around when something spooked them and off the hill they went. I quickly went back to the truck to tell the guys about the tracks then I went back to where I had last seen them. I followed them downhill for about a half a mile, but they never slowed down a bit. They were lined up towards the far mountains and nothing was going to stop them. When it was apparent that I could not catch them, I went back to the truck. Bud was down in the brush below, but Harry was at the truck feeling really sick. When we went off the road on the way in, he injured the lower part of his back. He also was sick to his stomach, he felt like he had better go home. He just got over having kidney stones and was afraid he was having some more troubles with them.
As soon as Bud returned, we decided to go back to camp and get packed up for the trip home. Besides the fact the elk weren’t there, it was trying to snow. We packed up the camp in a hurry. We were on our way out in a couple of hours. Suddenly the sky opened up and it really started snowing hard, large fluffy flakes that were piling up fast. We may be doing the right thing by getting out while we could, even if Harry had not gotten sick. The trip home was a snowy one, slick and icy. We drove slowly and carefully because of the conditions. The snow quit around Banks, but it rained the rest of the way home.
The guys had some vacation time left and if Harry could get over his problems, we could go back for a couple more days. We could save most of the groceries except the milk for a week. Everything was stored in Harry’s garage to be handy, if we could go again. Harry had his back worked on and was feeling much better in a week.
On Sunday morning October 27th, we reloaded the trailer, bought some more groceries and headed back to Donnelly for three more days of hunting. Dennis had to go back to work, so just the three of us would go. We took Bud’s truck to pull the trailer house and we went light. Most of the lean-to poles were left home along with a lot of the extra items. We only put up enough lean-to for one table and stove. I was able to fix meals in the smaller Space just fine. We didn’t try to go to the upper camp but parked on a flat just inside the main gate about a mile. There was more snow than before and the farther up the hill the deeper it was. We were able to make it to our campsite and set everything up for the short Stay. This place was where we should have camped before, but we are a stubborn bunch and wanted to get into the other camp. We could get out to the main road however deep the snow was. As soon as camp was all in order, we headed out in the truck to look for elk. The new camp was not far from the Island Ridge, so we wanted to check it out first. As we neared the fork in the road a herd of elk ran across the hill in front of us. There were at least six in the herd that we saw for sure. They vanished into the trees when we stopped. Bud took off after them to the top of the ridge. The elk were standing around in the brush but were very cautious. Bud had not made much noise getting up to them, so they were not spooked yet. He could even hear the elk walking through the brush but could not see them. A fat spike walked out in a clearing and stood there. Bud had a cow permit, so he could not shoot him, the young bull elk was lucky this time. Finally, the cows in the brush took off in a hurry.
With evening coming fast there was not enough time to go after them. We hoped the elk would stay on the ridge overnight. We would be back the next morning to look for them. We headed back to camp to fix supper and rest for the evening. After a good supper of steak and potatoes, we played our normal game of Pinochle. We went to bed early, this time we would get up early to check out the Island Ridge. The elk may stay there overnight. The alarm clock startled everyone to wake up at six o’clock, time to get up. I fixed a quick breakfast of scrambled eggs and bacon so we could get out sooner. We didn’t bother with making toast. Some lunch was put in an ice chest, because the plan was to be out all day. We headed for the Island Ridge to check it for the elk last night. l started at the upper end as usual, with Harry and Bud climbing the hill to the rocks. We would meet somewhere in the middle. I caught up with Harry and Bud near the area where the elk were before. but they had moved out during the night. We found their tracks where they were while Bud was looking for them and they were watching him all the time. During the day a logging contractor was in the area Setting piles of slash on fire from the past logging jobs. The piles were large and made huge fires. This did not help the hunting with all the smoke in the air. The whole day was spent walking and driving the roads looking for signs of elk somewhere, anywhere at all. If we could find a fresh track, we would try to run the maker down. No luck at all so we headed back to camp. Snow was starting to fall again real hard. We had everything inside, so we did not really care how much it snowed. There was not anything else to do, but fix supper and play cards. We would enjoy the last evening doing the things we like the best, mostly doing nothing. With more snow coming in we didn’t have any choice but to pack up for home the next day. Only a few inches of new snow fell overnight but as s○○n as breakfast was over the lean-to was taken down. Everything was packed up for the trip home.
Again, we were empty handed, but we did see some elk this time. We were home before noon, plenty of time to clean everything up and put it away until next year. While getting the equipment put away, we talked about going back to that area again for just one more day. We would not stay overnight this time, one more day of snow would be enough for this year.
On Wednesday, November 6th Harry, Bud and I loaded into Bud’s truck for a fast run to Donnelly for the day. We left home early enough to get to Donnelly just after daylight. First thing to do was to check the Island Ridge to see if anything had been moving through there during the week. It didn’t take long to find out there were no elk in the area, nor had they even been there during the past week. I went from one end to the other and never crossed any tracks. We were all back to the truck before noon and the reports were the same.
We were eating a sandwich trying to figure out what we should do the rest of the day, when the answer came from above. Snow started coming down very heavily. There were not any elk around anyway, so we decided to bag it and head for home. We had no choice but to concede defeat for this year. We will probably camp in the lower area somewhere next fall instead of trying to get back in that basin again. That was a great camp, but it was too far to drive to the hunting areas each day. Where we camp will be decided next summer When we make a scouting trip. This year we were thankful to have survived the slick road conditions. We could have slipped off the road and rolled down the hill about anytime but using common sense helped us survive. However, getting snowed out was a little much even for old time hunters like us. The third time, put a stop to the hunting for the season.