Elk Hunting In Idaho

I have heard many tales about elk hunting in Idaho so I decided in 2020 to see what it was all about. We left that morning for our elk hunt in Idaho just as the sun was beginning to come up at 7AM. It was chilly and for the long ATV ride I wore camouflage cold weather gear that could be best described as a sleeping bag over my clothes. Hiking the two days before it was unseasonably hot and John and I ended our days in a sweaty stinky mess after hiking around. This morning was different. I was very happy to be bundled from head to toe for the 30 minute ATV ride. When we reached the top of the road Ryan was glassing the side of the mountain looking for signs of elk. Ryan has hunted this mountain the last 6 years and has been able to harvest an elk 5 of those 6 years. He is a bit of an elk whisperer on this mountain. (Sorry, I can’t say exactly where it is because it’s not my honey hole to share.)

Knowing that the day would warm up we ditched all of our cold weather gear at the ATVs around 7400 feet in elevation. Then we began the climb to the summit which was roughly 8300 feet. As the crow flies the elevation gain occurs over 3/4 of a mile. (I didn’t use a hiking app because I didn’t want to burn up battery. The distances are rough estimates using OnX maps.) That’s 900 feet in elevation gain before the hunt even begins. As I began climbing I quickly realized that John and I probably shouldn’t have gone on our huge walkabout the day before. The back of my legs were burning but not in the same way that you’d feel the burn during exercise. It burned but it was different.

Hiking Up The Mountain We Named Old Glory

John (age 51) and I (age 45) quickly discovered that Ryan (age 36) was a mountain speed goat. The vertical climb didn’t matter much to him. He’d pick a lane and simply walk right up the side of the mountain. I had heard that when elk hunting in Idaho you’d better be prepared to do some hill climbing. John and I hiked at roughly the same speed up the sandy covered mountain. There were random rocks sticking out of the ground that you couldn’t guarantee were secure and the ground around them was sandy and/or ashy from the recent forest fire. The mountain was slippery.

We made it to a flatter area and walking along I noticed a beehive in a hole in the ground. I stepped near it but didn’t really think much of it. You know when you see someone attacked by a swarm of bees on TV? Yep, that’s what happened. I was chased by a swarm of bees. They stung me 4 times on my back, right where my backpack rested. Just when I thought it was over. I got stung on the stomach right where the waist strap to my pack sits. When we got off the ATV’s I untucked a small part of my shirt to run an earpiece under it for my radio. I don’t know how that little dude found his way to that one untucked spot but he did. This all happened within the first 30 minutes of the day. As I’m writing this it’s been 5 days and I still have a big red spot on my stomach.

John and Ryan have worked with my husband in EMS so their first question was whether I was allergic. I was thankful that I’d never been allergic and I’d likely be fine because we were in the middle of nowhere. A bit further up the hill, I had the guys look at my back and a few of the spots were bleeding. Honestly, I wished they would have stung me on the arm or leg, somewhere that my pack wasn’t going to rest and rub all day long. Oh well, I trudged on.

The red ground cover is loud and crunchy and also slippery. As we hiked we tried our best to avoid the red stuff to avoid making too much noise.

The Summit

At the top, we all sat down and took a break while we waited for the wind to change. There was a herd down the mountain drainage from us. As the day warms up the wind moves up the drainage. When you’re elk hunting you want to keep the wind in your face as you approach the elk. If they smell you, they’re gone. It was peaceful on this Wednesday morning not only because it was mid-week but also because most people don’t want to work that hard for an elk without a rack. Evidently, during bull season the mountain sounds like a war zone with rifles going off all day long. My weapon of choice is still a bow.

When the wind changed we began hiking down the other side of the mountain. There were a lot of burned-out trees and ash everywhere. Still a little rattled from being stung I stepped over a downed tree with a bunch of bare branches that had been hardened and shortened by the fire. I don’t remember my misstep but then I impaled my shin on one of these dagger-like branches. There was only a little blood but I knew it was going to make a heck of a bruise. Every step I took with my right leg hurt but I kept going. It was a Murphy’s Law kind of day for me.

Our Elk Hunting In Idaho Strategy

Our plan was that John would take the top shelf, I’d take the second, and Ryan would go to the lower shelf. We were each about 100 yards apart and we moved in unison across the face of the mountain. About 15 minutes after we spread out a huge bull elk came walking towards John and got within about 60 yards of him. I mean this guy could have scratched his butt with his rack. It made my climb, the bees, and the bruise to get there completely worth it. A few days later we would discuss how elk are magical creatures. They seem to appear out of nowhere. They’re majestic and then they disappear just as quickly. It was truly a magical moment.

The bull elk made his way back up the hill and disappeared and the three of us continued our walk. Something I learned last week is that you can hunt elk by smell. They stink and you’ll smell them long before you see them. As we were walking Ryan points to his nose indicating that he smelled them. A few moments later I thought I smelled them too, having never smelled elk before it was the one animal-ish, barnyard kind of smell, I picked up in the wind. Next, I looked down the hill to see Ryan looking through the scope on his gun. He pulled the trigger and I was a bit startled by the loud gunshot and the echo.

Quartering Out An Elk

The elk was down and we slowly crept towards it. You don’t want to do anything to stress the animal or make it get up and run further. Ryan made a good lung shot but to put the elk to rest he shot it again. This is where the hard work begins. It took the three of us two hours to get the meat off of the elk. In the desert, I once watched some guys quarter out an antelope so I was familiar with the procedure. We started with removing the skin from the quarters and basically removing the skin from the side of the animal. Each guy worked on a quarter and I was on the backside of the elk. I’d pull skin, hold a leg when necessary, and eventually, I used my own skinning knife to work on my side of the animal.

I grabbed the game bags as the meat came off and I used Ryan’s bone saw to remove the lower legs. Then I put the meat in the shade by balancing on some precarious logs that were about 3-4 inches wide stretching across a narrow mountain stream. It wasn’t a wide stream but I couldn’t get the meat to the shade without stepping on them and given my track record for the day I expected them to break and I lifted heavy meat across. Thankfully they didn’t.

As we got further into quartering out the elk we noticed ticks. Ticks were on Ryan and ticks were on John. Evidently, ticks love elk. When we were done we did a tick check. Everyone removed their shirts. Ryan found 3 crawling on the inside of his shirt. No wonder he felt like something was crawling on him. I didn’t find any ticks on me but I shook out my hair and vigorously ran my hands and fingernails over my scalp hoping to shake any loose. Although I was wearing a hat I have long hair and I simply couldn’t be sure.

Packing Out Elk

Ryan shot the elk around noon and after quartering out the animal we all decided on a quick snack before climbing back up the mountain. We were thankful for the stream nearby because we used it to clean up our hands and tools before we had a bit of grub. Using an app on his phone Ryan let us know that we were at 7575 feet of elevation. Using OnX maps, as the crow flies, it was roughly a mile from where we came over the summit. How steep was this side of the mountain? When I drew a straight line from 8300 ft to 7500 feet the distance was 654 yards. That’s 900 feet over 0.4 miles.

Ryan’s shot took out one of the front quarters so we had 2 hindquarters, 1 front quarter, and all of the other meat cuts to pack out. We decided to divide the load between the three of us. The guys each took a hind quarter and I took a front quarter along with the extra cuts. My first clue should have been that I couldn’t lift my own pack to put it on my back, they had to help me. It was heavy and having never packed out meat before I didn’t know what I didn’t know. If you ever decide to go elk hunting in Idaho be prepared for a steep climb and a heavy load on your back.

We started walking. Before we came to the mountain Ryan said his goal is 10 steps. Take 10 steps and take a break and then go again. It wasn’t about speed. Our goal was to not get hurt and eventually make it to the top no matter how long it took. I’m walking on this steep slippery mountain with a super heavy pack, and a 34″ bow on a sling draped across my body and mostly in my way. I’d take a few steps and stop, a few more, and stop again. I wasn’t climbing as fast as the guys and I was beginning to wonder what kind of hell I’d signed up for. I’ll reiterate, you want to be in shape before you go elk hunting in Idaho. The thing is I was in pretty good shape. I hadn’t been to the gym for months due to COVID but I was still doing taekwondo classes a few times a week via Zoom. Once a week I’d go run sprints in a field near our house, and I’ve been a fat-adapted keto/carnivore for years.

The Moment It Got Real

Despite my pretty good shape, it was simply too much weight. Hiking up this slippery hill with too much weight I couldn’t help but notice what was downhill. Heck, I noticed what was downhill all day. Boulders, trees, and downed trees with their poky little branches. If I fell I wasn’t likely going to slow down until I hit something. The ash on the ground was like hiking in baby powder. I took a moment and sat on a rock and my eyes began to fill with tears. I wanted to pull my weight and carry my 1/3rd of the meat. It also dawned on me that my pack was too heavy. The guys were headed up the mountain and I knew I’d have to admit defeat, but I’d better hurry up and do it before they were out of earshot. I choked back the tears because I didn’t want them to see me cry. I’m that person who watches This Is Us with a dry face so tears aren’t my norm.

After a moment the tears were gone and I was ready to begin climbing again. As I stood up Ryan was coming down the mountain toward me. He had dropped his pack and he took mine from me. We climbed up to where John was and the guys divided the extra cuts I was carrying between the two of them. Now that I only had a front quarter on my back I could hike again. It was heavy but it wasn’t too heavy. The guys seemed to barely notice the extra weight so I had to get over feeling bad for what I simply couldn’t do.

We Reached The Top

I don’t know how many hours it took us to reach the top but we finally made it one step at a time. John and I took a victory selfie because I don’t think either of us could believe we made it. This is where Ryan warned us that the downhill is where most injuries happen. You’re tired from hiking all day, you have a bunch of weight on your back, and the terrain is slippery. Once again our plan was to take our time. Elk hunting in Idaho there is a lot of slippery terrain, loose rocks, and the occasional ash from forest fires.

The top was our first taste of victory. After climbing up, then down, and back up again we knew we were done with the hardest part of the day. Not too shabby for a guy with a genetic heart condition and me with my autoimmune issues. We’ve both been able to find relief with the low carb lifestyle that we discussed periodically during the week.

Back At Elk Camp

We packed our gear and meat onto the ATVs. I took off my sweaty shirt and put on my heavy coat for the ride back because the sun was beginning to set. It was a chilly ride. We put the meat in my coolers just before the sunset. I went to my trailer and fired up the hot water heater for a shower. Since we got into the ticks I had to wash my hair which is something I typically don’t do while hunting or camping. The dust in the air works almost like dry shampoo so you don’t really need to. I will say that it was a glorious warm shower. Between the warm shower, comfy clothes, and cozy trailer I felt like I had my own private 5-star hotel.

Ryan came knocking at the door and asked what I was up for on Thursday. Between 0 and 10, today being a 10, what number are you up for tomorrow? I said maybe a 1 and showed him my leg. When I took off my sock my leg looked like a mushroom, tapered where the sock had been and bloated above. He suggested letting me hang out with the ATVs tomorrow but after he left I thought about it. John and I had walked a long way at lower elevations and we didn’t see any signs of elk. It was too hot.

During the night I decided that I wanted to enjoy my week at elk camp so I decided to sit Thursday out. My leg hurt, it throbbed with every step and every time I changed position. That night I tried sleeping with my foot elevated. I’m not a back sleeper so sleep didn’t really happen that night. Every time I moved my leg hurt.

Would I Do It Again?

Hiking up the mountain I mentioned to John that they sell beef at the store. It’s easy, you just walk in on flat ground and buy it. Heck, even Kobe Beef is cheaper and easier than what we were doing. After the day was over I was happy to be done. When I really thought about the day and what we accomplished I began to realize what a challenge the day had been and I made it. It was the most physically taxing 12 hour day I’ve EVER experienced and I pulled it off. Hearing the guys commend me on my grit and Ryan said I could elk hunt with him anytime really meant something to me. Then after all of the events of the day, it slowly dawned on me what had happened and I began to feel like a bit of a badass. Whether I truly am or not doesn’t really matter, it’s the experience and memories of elk hunting in idaho that will never dim from my memory that I will always hold dear.

Last week was a week that I’m pretty sure changed who I am as a person going forward. On one hand, I gained two new brothers. I saw some epic backcountry and I learned what I was made of. It’s 2020 and I was looking for a win, heck I’ve been looking for a win for the last few years. Then it hit me. All of the effort I’ve put into JenniferMichelle.co compares to this 12 hour day I just had. While it may not have been the win I’ve been looking for I still got my wish. I did something so incredibly hard and I made it.

We went back up the mountain 2 days later to go hunting again.

You can read more of my hunting posts here.

Originally posted on October 11, 2020 @ 11:27

Know someone who needs to read this? Share it!