An Outdoorsman’s Journal By: Mark Walters Montana or Bust Hello friends, This week’s column as well as next are about a 110% go for it Montana/Rocky Mountain adventure with myself and lifelong friend Todd Cibulka. Though Todd would not be hunting elk he was along for the physical, nonstop laughter, and incredible views trip with two buddies that clicked perfectly for 11-days. We would be near Bozeman, Montana and we would have two camps; one was our base camp at a USFS campground, the other was 2.5 miles up the mountain in elk and grizzly country. Todd Cibulka filtering water from our mountain stream. The ATV and trailer were used hard on this trip. There is so much to write about this experience that I am going to be very short on details so I can tell as much as possible. Todd and I arrived on Wednesday, which is 3 days before the elk season opened. We did this because I believe setting up camps and scouting is as important as hunting. On the ride here on I-94 in North Dakota we were caught in a wind storm that was an incredible display of nature and knocked our gas mileage down from 16 to 9. We are in major grizzly country and there are a lot of rules regarding them. Such as, food at camp and approaching an elk kill (if a grizzly is at your kill, the grizzly gets your elk). We both carried handguns and bear spray. The first part of this trip the air temp was perfect. I was shirtless for much of it, that would change on day 8 Climbing mountains: I am 62, Todd is 59. For me its 30 steps up and a 15 second break etc. Naturally the spot I whacked my 6x6 last year is on the top of a difficult climb, and sweat as well as lung and leg pain (feels like both could blow out) are a regular part of life. Camp fires at night. Todd and I ran around with the same crowd as kids and still do. We are also part of the same deer camp. Most nights we had campfires and I would cook supper between 9 and 11 and at night. Laughter and talks of 50 years ago as well the recent past were nonstop. Todd recently purchased and rigged up a Rock River Arms X1 in a 223 with a Vortex scope and was hoping to hunt coyote. We were both pleasantly surprised when we found out that he could purchase a wolf tag for $50.00 and buy up to five. Scouting: though we were not seeing elk, they were everywhere we went, especially on the top of the mountain. Tracks, droppings, and their smell had me higher than a kite at 30,000 feet. Our base camp was made up of a 10x12 canvas tent that was covered with a 30x20 tarp. My friend Pat from Rice Lake donated it last winter and it was perfect for the job. Our spike camp was made up of two tents. One was an Eskimo pop-up ice shelter that we slept and in the other was a 10x10 basic tent for hanging out in. We moved up to the spike camp the afternoon before season opener. Opening day I was as dedicated as I could be to every part of this journey. It has been on my mind since I was awarded a tag “$1,267.00” on April 15th that allowed me to shoot one deer and one elk. I was literally sitting exactly where I harvested my 6x6 last year two hours before daylight. I was sweated up from the climb and had zero cares as I was on top of my game and had 8 days to harvest my quarry. One minute after sitting down on the root ball of a long since fallen pine tree the first wolf howled within 2 football fields of me. Talk to ya next week! Sunset Our main trailer was heavily loaded for our Montana adventure. AWARD WINNER Stratford Building Supply, Inc., Stratford 715-687-4125 • 1-800-261-4125 CHEVROLET Klemme Sales Inc. 125-129 Second Ave., Stratford, WI 54484 ph: 715-687-4511 • fax: 715-687-4507 PRINTING CO. 130752 144552 715-223-2777 “For all your printing needs” 93304_2 www.smithbrosmeats.com Hwy. 13 South • Colby, WI 54421 103 West Spruce St., Abbotsford • (715) 223-2342 An Outdoorsman’s Journal By: Mark Walters Montana or Bust Hello friends, This week’s column as well as next are about a 110% go for it Montana/Rocky Mountain adventure with myself and lifelong friend Todd Cibulka. Though Todd would not be hunting elk he was along for the physical, nonstop laughter, and incredible views trip with two buddies that clicked perfectly for 11-days. We would be near Bozeman, Montana and we would have two camps; one was our base camp at a USFS campground, the other was 2.5 miles up the mountain in elk and grizzly country. Todd Cibulka filtering water from our mountain stream. The ATV and trailer were used hard on this trip. There is so much to write about this experience that I am going to be very short on details so I can tell as much as possible. Todd and I arrived on Wednesday, which is 3 days before the elk season opened. We did this because I believe setting up camps and scouting is as important as hunting. On the ride here on I-94 in North Dakota we were caught in a wind storm that was an incredible display of nature and knocked our gas mileage down from 16 to 9. We are in major grizzly country and there are a lot of rules regarding them. Such as, food at camp and approaching an elk kill (if a grizzly is at your kill, the grizzly gets your elk). We both carried handguns and bear spray. The first part of this trip the air temp was perfect. I was shirtless for much of it, that would change on day 8 Climbing mountains: I am 62, Todd is 59. For me its 30 steps up and a 15 second break etc. Naturally the spot I whacked my 6x6 last year is on the top of a difficult climb, and sweat as well as lung and leg pain (feels like both could blow out) are a regular part of life. Camp fires at night. Todd and I ran around with the same crowd as kids and still do. We are also part of the same deer camp. Most nights we had campfires and I would cook supper between 9 and 11 and at night. Laughter and talks of 50 years ago as well the recent past were nonstop. Todd recently purchased and rigged up a Rock River Arms X1 in a 223 with a Vortex scope and was hoping to hunt coyote. We were both pleasantly surprised when we found out that he could purchase a wolf tag for $50.00 and buy up to five. Scouting: though we were not seeing elk, they were everywhere we went, especially on the top of the mountain. Tracks, droppings, and their smell had me higher than a kite at 30,000 feet. Our base camp was made up of a 10x12 canvas tent that was covered with a 30x20 tarp. My friend Pat from Rice Lake donated it last winter and it was perfect for the job. Our spike camp was made up of two tents. One was an Eskimo pop-up ice shelter that we slept and in the other was a 10x10 basic tent for hanging out in. We moved up to the spike camp the afternoon before season opener. Opening day I was as dedicated as I could be to every part of this journey. It has been on my mind since I was awarded a tag “$1,267.00” on April 15th that allowed me to shoot one deer and one elk. I was literally sitting exactly where I harvested my 6x6 last year two hours before daylight. I was sweated up from the climb and had zero cares as I was on top of my game and had 8 days to harvest my quarry. One minute after sitting down on the root ball of a long since fallen pine tree the first wolf howled within 2 football fields of me. Talk to ya next week! Sunset Our main trailer was heavily loaded for our Montana adventure. AWARD WINNER Stratford Building Supply, Inc., Stratford 715-687-4125 • 1-800-261-4125 CHEVROLET Klemme Sales Inc. 125-129 Second Ave., Stratford, WI 54484 ph: 715-687-4511 • fax: 715-687-4507 PRINTING CO. 130752 144552 715-223-2777 “For all your printing needs” 93304_2 www.smithbrosmeats.com Hwy. 13 South • Colby, WI 54421 103 West Spruce St., Abbotsford • (715) 223-2342
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