Copenhagen, Chunk & The Bull
By Trayson Gardner | ELK-WY-DIY-PL
We spent countless hours shooting our guns and scouting areas where we thought elk would be. Summer and early fall in Wyoming was spent legging up and conditioning our horses scouting and hunting mule deer, patiently waiting for the day we all dream of, September 15th, the opening day of the elk rifle hunt, a day we had all anticipated for months.
The night before the opener I hardly slept, as it felt like waiting on Christmas morning and woke up at 1 a.m., as usual, to get the horses ready and pack all of my stuff. I had the feeling that it was going to be a successful day. We got to the trailhead around 3:00 a.m. and loaded the pack horses and began our three-hour horse ride to a glassing knob.
On the ride in, as I looked up and saw the stars doing what they do, I just couldn’t help but think to myself how lucky I was to be there, doing what I love. It was about 28 degrees with a slight breeze. I looked back at my buddy, Weston Nield and said, “I have a good feeling today pal.”
He replied, “I’m happy someone does.”
We continued the ride that seemed to take forever. We finally reached our glassing knob about 6:20 a.m. We sat around a fire warming up with the anticipation of all of us tagging out. I looked at the hill to the east and saw the sun coming up and starting to light up the horizon. I grabbed my rifle and walked over to where I would get setup and be ready. I sat down and got my spotter set up, my bipod put on my gun and a backpack under the stock. I heard the footsteps of Weston and Kenzie. They came and set up a couple feet down the little knob that we were sitting on. It was getting light enough to glass, so we all started scanning the opposite hillside.
One Response
What a great story. Living in florida , I can only dream of your experience. Hopefully in years to come , and time served , I will get the opportunity you have had . I hear to share any out door experience I am fortunate to share! Osceola possibly. Great story ! Thanks mj Swat