The ever elusive Wapiti

   After 4 separate days of elk hunting with my son, he finally had an opportunity to fill his cow elk permit in a game management area.  Bulls were abundant.  In his area there was one bull elk youth permit and 25 cow elk permits.  We saw several herds of over 200, many of which were bulls, and trophy ones included.

  It took us 2 hours up hill on an old logging road skinned and quartered with a game cart to get it out  1 mile.

   Lots of grizzlies in that area.  About 5 air miles from us last week  two hunters came back with pack frames to retrieve their killed deer and 3 grizzlies were on it and 2 of them charged the hunters. They killed the two and the 3rd one went back to the kill.  In that area several years ago a hunter was killed by a grizzly while dressing an elk out.  Two years ago about 10 miles away a young woman pedal biker was dragged out of her tent at night and killed by a grizzly, with houses nearby.  Lots of hunter grizzly encounters around here.

   On our 2nd day of hunting we were trying to catch up to some moving elk in the timber and couldn't figure out why they were so spooky not knowing we were behind them until we saw a mountain lion after them about 100 yards from us.

   So, our hunting season so far has been eventful and still 2 weeks left.