We began the process of getting a Colorado elk tag. We both had to take a hunter safety class before we could apply. We took the class online. I remember having one screen up for my MBA class and one up for the hunters ed during class nights. After that, it was a lot of research on what game management units (GMU) to pick. Many weeks of discussion were spent on this topic alone. Then there was the issue of what method of take would we go for. Bow, rifle, muzzleloader? In the end we decided we had the best chance of drawing a tag by applying during muzzleloader season in GMU 82. We applied, paid our $600 and waited. A few months later the results were announced and we had drawn a cow tag in unit 82 during muzzleloader season, September 9th-16th.
Though we had spent months preparing and imagining, it was now real. We spent the next couple months languishing over what gear we needed, which brands to buy, how much weight we could carry, how much food would we need and all the other variables that we had no experience with. Basically everything. We managed to make it through these months and I can tell you it seemed like the whole process took forever, but then it was like it snuck up on us and we didn't have enough time to prepare.
We decided to leave on Thursday September 6th. The plan was to cut out of work early and get on the road by 1pm. Of course that didn't work out as planned. Was this an omen of things to come or just a rocky start to be overcome? By 5:15pm we were on the road. We drove through to Salina Kansas and finally had to pull over and catch a few winks at a rest stop around 3:30am. I had the very distinct feeling that this was the same rest stop we pulled over and rested at several years ago in the Hizzy on our way to Estes Park. We woke up about 3 hours later and started driving into the sunrise of the new day.
Day 2 was off to rough start. My companion was grouchy from lack of sleep. It was obvious that he was not as use to running on fumes as I was. Just outside the Colorado state line we got behind a tractor trailer that pulled out in front of us. Tyler mashed the gas and truck took off around the semi. All of the sudden the truck jerked a little, lost some power momentarily, and the check engine light came on. Tyler wasn't sure what to do. As I told him to pull over, the light went off. We started researching this online and there is definitely a history of this happening in F-150s of similar year with turbos. Everything we read said there was nothing to worry about and not to goose it so hard. We pressed on. We were to close to turn back now or worry about engine problems.
A few miles down the road we saw our first mule deer crossing the highway just shy of the Colorado line. That pumped us up again and we were ready for the hunt.
We crossed the Colorado line and started gazing off in the distance waiting for that first glimpse of the mountains. It had been so long since I was last in Colorado that I forgot just how long that takes. Truth be told, I was looking while we were still in Kansas. We passed through the city of Pueblo on our way to the Sangre de Cristo range. I couldn't believe how many weed shops there were. Just going down what seemed like the main drag we passed 8 weed shops. We also encountered numerous stoners wondering up and down, and twice into, the streets. We grabbed some Subway, knowing it would be our last decent meal in a week.
As we drove through the mountain passes we were treated to some wonderful sights. We saw turkey and sheep on the roadside and of course spectacular views in every direction. We pulled off the highway and took a county "rock" road about 5 miles back to the trailhead. On the way in we saw a herd of pronghorn antelope. They took a quick interest in us, then bound away in a flash.
It was 4:30 pm mountain time when we pulled up the trailhead. This was our view.
We had to frequently take brakes. A couple hours later we were about 1 mile away from the truck as the crow flies, and about 2 miles up the trail. We decided to make camp for the first night since we were badly in need of sleep.
We camped at 38.0883363,-105.7504671 if you want to look it up on google maps. We had to kick cactus out of the way to set up our tents. We cooked our first meal, lasagna, over our camp stoves and tried to make a camp fire but it was to windy. Shortly before we turned in for the night 4 young hunters from Missouri came walking up the trail in the dark. They startled us initially because they were not using flashlights and we didn't see them till they were right up on our camp. We made small talk for a while. They let us know they heard the elk were up high then they pressed on up the trail. Tyler and I immediately started a discussion about what sissies we were. We had 10 times the gear those guys had and there is no way we'd walk up that trail in the middle of the night without lights. They were going up high and we were going to bed. Oh well, we had walked slightly over 2 miles up hill with 60 lbs of gear on our backs. We were tired.
We stayed up till the stars came out so that Tyler could witness a Colorado night sky. He couldn't believe how many stars were visible out there. He was clearly awestruck and I have to admit that even though I had been looking forward to this for a while, I didn't really remember it in all it's splendor. We stood there staring up and a shooting star raced across the sky. It was a very cool moment. We turned in and laughed about how the tent really gave you a false sense of security in an area that was known to have rattle snakes, black bears & mountain lions. Sleep came quickly.
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