First off, thanks to all that answered my posts and helped me with info on this year's Idaho elk hunt.

The day we arrived, we talked to a couple game biologists that said our area was full of elk, so my dad, friend and I hiked in a day early to set up camp. Carried camp in on our backs...a tough way to do it but a "real" experience. Scouted the rest of the day...a lot of sign, but no elk.

First morning up at 4am, ate the instant oatmeal and started our 2 hour climb up the mountain. It wasn't even 8am when I heard a bugle. Not long after I had him spotted...a beautiful 6 point with about 10 cows. Watched him for a while (waiting for him to bed down), he did and we were ready to go. He was in a perfect location for a stalk. All the cows were to one side and the wind was in our favor. We were hiking for about an hour when the bull suddenly stood up, gathered his cows and high-tailed it into the next drainage. Then we saw the two hunters on an opposite ridge, perfectly silouhetted. Dam!

I proceeded to get on the bull's trail, just to see where he was going. I never did see him again, but I saw about 30 elk on that day. Several spikes, that I wasn't going to shoot the first day.

We saw elk all week and every day. The next to last day, I spotted a bull bugling by himselfin the early morning (above me). I tried to cut him off, but I wasn't quick enough. He went into some thick timber on top of the mountain. P.S. I left my pack, calls, and water behind.

I sat there all day to see if he would come out in the evening. At 3:30pm a group of 15 cows came out....then I heard a growling bugle....and then he showed himself. He was atatched at the hip to this one "red" cow.

I put the stalk on him and after two hours, I was in the middle of the cows about 7.5 miles form camp. I was creeping out the ridge top and I saw the "red" cow. I've got to be getting real close. I peeped up over this bump into the ridge saddle and there he was....looking at me. The gig was up, he hauled a$$ down through the thick timber, knocking trees down that were the size of a baseball bat in thickness. I was only 50 yards and had a shot at the hind quarters. As bad as I felt afterwards, I would have felt even worse if I would have wounded that animal. I'm tellin ya, his rack was soooo wide, I don't think it would've fit in the bed of a pickup truck.

The final day we hunted til about noon and started heading back to the truck. We were about a mile away when a nice 5 point muley jumps out of the brush. Head shot and I had a muley. My other buddy carried was carrying my rifle (about 300yds away), when a raghorn jumps out of the same drainage (only 10 minutes after I shot). Anyway, he shot him.

All in all, a great hunt in the Sawtooths of Idaho. I personally saw a lot of game....over 90 elk and 30 muleys in 8 days. Something I learned was to set up camp higher next year.We set up camp at 4600' and I was finding elk at 8200' That's a lot of hiking each day. My pedometer said I did about 100 miles in 8 days. I don't care who you are, that will kick your a$$ in those mountains.

Can't wait until next year.