Today was the day!

We made our way to the blind about 7:30am.  The middle photo is the start of our half mile walk because the usual way to walk in was very slippery.  The photo to the left is the trail from yesterday which froze overnight so we are walking on the snow parts that were still snowy and not so slippery.   The photos to the right are the way we went with the blind being in the oak brush at the back of the white spot in the middle of the photo.  The blind was covered with snow again but we did remember to fold up the chairs so we had dry chairs to sit on!

A magpie flew by while we were sitting and watching.   I like the black and white of these birds.   In the middle photos you can see a coyote track...it went all the way down the hill but turned away from where we were going.  The second track is a bear!  It apparently came through the area early this morning or yesterday afternoon.    The last photo is the second elk of a pair that came over the ridge which was close enough for Jerry to get a shot.  

So this hunting day was a success.  Luckily for me, the other guys staying at the lodge who were hunting here were back from a morning hunt and they could go with Jerry to get this approximately 660 pound animal out of the brush.    As you can see from the terrain, it would be mostly an uphill climb to get it out.  They had a very good ATV with a cargo trailer so the retrieval went very smoothly.       Jerry took the animal to the local meat processor where they will cut it up into steaks, hamburger and tenderloin roast.  They will wrap this in freezer wrap, flash freeze it and we will pick up the meat before we leave.  It travels well and remains frozen on the three day drive home.   We will be eating elk meat for a long while.  

We will be here for a few more days while Jerry hunts for his mule deer.  Four of the six hunters here with us have shot a mule deer but they are still hunting for elk.   Hopefully we will be leaving here on Friday to start back to South Carolina.

I love the outdoors but I am ready for something besides hunting!   

Thanks for all the stars and comments on the previous days photos!  I just can't make time to sit here for very long.   Up early and then to bed early.