Colorado hiking, camping and sightseeing

OUTDOOR

I returned from Colorado with very little gas left in my “tank” from two days of scouting and eight days of hunting._Obviously, the hunting was a huge part of the experience but I also enjoyed the camping, hiking and sightseeing which all deserve some air time here._ This week’s report will be about all of those great things. I will cover more of the actual hunting part of the trip next week.

Our camp was set up in the Uncompahgre Wilderness Area just south of Gunnison, Colo. There were no electrical hookups, WiFi, or anything else that are taken for granted in normal everyday life. The view in all directions was that of high mountain peaks and dark green pines with a smattering of aspen trees in every direction. In other words, it was perfect._ The scouting bore out that we were in the right spot at the right time.

Even though we had traveled all of the way for elk, we still took time to enjoy everything else around us._Turns out, the area is also a popular spot for trophy mule deer._Almost every day we encountered mule deer and almost just as often we bumped into mule deer hunters._ That wasn’t a bad thing because it gave us a chance to network and find out where the other hunters were seeing elk and in turn, we alerted them to where we were seeing the mule deer bucks.

It just wasn’t mule deer and elk we came across. We did run into a fair amount of scat but were fortunate enough not to have to deal with any bears up close and personal. That is always a concern when camping in Colorado, especially when it comes to camp where we cook and store our food. Seeing bears is always fun but because we have them around here, it’s not a rarity for us._Moose, on the other hand, are a treat to see so when one was spotted close to our camp it was a worthwhile timeout from hunting to capture the giant with our cameras.

It was amazing just how fast the days flew by, even though we only had one item on our agenda: Elk. Our routine was getting up early every morning and hunting until about noon._We would make our way back to camp to rest up, and then prepare for the afternoon hunt. After eight straight days of that, it felt good to head for home.

For me, the camping, hiking, sightseeing and hunting made for the best Colorado hunt ever._Now that the dirt has been knocked off of my hiking boots and I have gotten a couple of good nights of sleep, I’m ready to go back.

BY DAVE BECK

We frequently ran into mule deer and hunters, giving us a chance to network to see if they were seeing elk.Photo by Dave Beck

Although we were hunting for elk in the Uncompahgre Wilderness Area in Colorado, it was a treat to see a bull moose. Photo by Dave Beck