Which wilderness?

I've been scouting whitetails about every weekend since mid-January. Have located more big bucks than in any previous offseason, at least four different bucks of 4 1/2 years old. To say I've patterned them would be claiming too much.

Last weekend I took a Monday off work and made my first long weekend backpack trip of the year to scout elk. Had a blast! Got really wet on Saturday, between rainstorms and multiple creek crossings. Went up into a hellhole in the 2000 burn that I've just started sniffing out. (Took my 8 year old nephew in there last Sep. for a playaround hunt, he's a tough little kid, and we had four bulls bugling at once. Two came in but no shot opportunity offered.) What I saw this weekend backed up my impressions from that short hunt last fall. Good elk numbers, good bull age structure, absolutely no hunting pressure - most people are too smart to crawl into holes like this one.

Anyway, I saw a calf nurse its momma, which for me is one of the coolest things there is to see. Each summer I look forward to that first sight of a calf elk nursing, it just symbolizes the cycle of life to me in a way I can't really express. Saw a real nice bull, probably 4 1/2 years old, going to score 280-290. He was absolutely the sleekest animal I've ever seen in the woods. It took my breath away. He looked bronzed, or dipped in butter and curry-combed. I really got that bull patterned, of course, September will throw that right out the window. Found sign of another real monster, by fresh tracks and last year's rubs I'm saying he's 5 or 6 1/2 years old this fall. OH BOY OH BOY OH BOY! Found two sheds, one a 3 1/2 year old, the other a 4 1/2 year old. Interesting deal on the bigger shed, which would have scored maybe 270-280 as a five-pointer. It had an unusually long G-3, longest point on the rack. Also, the bull I saw had a notably long G-3, probably longer than its two brow tines. Must be a genetic thing in that area.

Saw plenty of muleys in there, too, including a big buck. I don't care much for muley hunting or eating, but they are nice to see.