November was a month of extremes, it seemed, not even considering the election!

No, I'm avoiding politics this month. Mostly, anyway... Besides, November is hunting season around here. Even if I didn't make it out a whole lot, except for one outstanding trip! I'm kind of short on excuses why not, right now, other than the usual bookwork and business, and let's see... some meetings. Which can be like big game hunting! With certainly extended seasons, but now we're back into politics, so how about the weather?!

Luckily it was still summer, or at least Indian Summer, back in the early part of the month. In fact it was gorgeous!

Son Cody and I took advantage of this by packing into the Madison Range. Even though we took four horses, it turned into a twenty-five mile hike. In all but T-shirts and tenny runners!

It was grand fun! Going in, we packed two of the horses with hay, and the other two with camp and supplies, and hiked. Although strolled is perhaps a better word for it. Except of course I'm supposed to say that this camp is horrendously difficult to reach! And it is a fair ways... Yes, unfathomably far.

Not only that, as you can tell from the photos, there was basically no snow at all, barring a skiff if you got much above 9000', or were in the north timber. But when we got into camp that first evening, lo and behold, there was a tiny skiff in the meadow out front. So at one point I went out there to see if there was enough to make a slushie. There wasn't, but in the light of the headlamp I was mildly astounded to see a cub grizzly track. I'd been told a sow with two cubs lives in the vicinity, but luck of the Irish or something, I'd literally never seen bear sign in the area.

So as calling cards go, that one was classy, I have to say.

We kept it clean, with temptations hung up out of reach, plus horses make a dandy alarm system, and no problemo.

Actually, before that happened Cody had climbed up on the ridge above camp, right at sunset, and saw all kinds of elk in a secluded canyon to the north, that you can't get a view into handily from almost anywhere, barring airplanes. And the next morning he confirmed this, including some of the best bulls we've seen in this area. I was occupied checking out a mystery or two down in the bottom, which I remain stumped on. Maybe next time...

Besides, our long-standing plan was to say "to heck with this getting up at 2:30 AM" sort of madness. Although in this place, to be on top of the Boulevard by daylight you only have to get up at 4:30. But still, we were tired of that model, so to speak, and thought an evening hunt sounded vastly preferable! Long as you don't mind hiking home in the dark, but really, in this spot, you wouldn't hardly even need a GPS.

Except wait, it's absolutely fraught with peril! The grizzly bears, remember!?

We had a spot in mind, for the perfect ambush, as it were. Right above the exit from the Luxury Suite bedding area, out onto the smorgasboard slopes below, which amazingly still boasted green grass!

Somewhat to our surprise, given the purported extreme difficulty of reaching this area, it turned out we weren't the only ones there. And in fact, as it turned out, earlier that day some moron had stumbled right into the Luxury Suite (which I have done myself), although I later found out they came from an outfitter camp over the mountain. And that really is quite difficult to reach, a 12-mile trip just to camp, and they never used to come clear up over Mystery Mountain, except I hear their normal haunts were all but devoid of elk.

Anyway, when we finally got to our carefully chosen ambush site, Cody glassed while I actually took a nap in the sun. That's when the local birds came visiting, encouraging us to provide dinner. Which fortunately, we managed to oblige! Not quite according to plan, but...

Turned out the elk had vacated the Luxury Suite, and were spread over the mountainside above. At least a couple hundred head, including some of the better bulls we've seen in those parts. Plus another we couldn't see, who was bugling his head off! In early November!! We later heard he was a dandy...

Getting toward sunset, sure enough, the elk started heading over to the ridge that leads down to the smorgasboard, but all of a sudden Boom! So they turned and ran the other way, and sure enough; Boom! That one from another father-son team we'd ran into (older than us).

So that totally fouled up our perfect plans. Luckily Cody had seen some elk also head downhill into a nice timbered bench, so we made a loop around the mountain down into there. And sure enough, first came on two spikes, who seemed to pick up on our non-threatening vibe. Although in retrospect they were probably looking at the elk we couldn't currently see at that point, just over a little ridge, and saying "ahem...!"

And sure enough, a few seconds later we ran into a raghorn bull and five cows. Cody dropped the bull. I could have shot a cow, and frankly, am still glad I didn't. Plus now he's nailed some whitetails, and in spite of being in buffalo withdrawal, it's looking like we'll make it through till spring!

Oddly enough, in spite of earlier predictions to the contrary, it's looking like hunter success is running quite high this season. At least partly because shortly after we returned, winter arrived with a vengeance. It turned downright brutal in fact, and in spite of even my own predictions to the contrary, the elk migrated out of the high country en masse. Not only in the Madison, in the upper Yellowstone I'm told elk came out "like it was the nineties".

Over in the Madison, 323 elk came through the Cameron check station. At a meeting just this morning, I learned the normal assumption is that is only 15% or less of the probable take. Which seems likely to me. We knew of at least four other elk taken while we were in there, again, up by Amnesia Lake, none of which came through the check station.

So that means something over 2000 elk taken in the Madison alone this season?!

Gads, somehow I kinda doubt that, but apparently I could be wrong yet again. And maybe I'll find out, soon as I get a report from another meeting I skipped this afternoon. We'll see...

In spite of Cody and I coming up a wee bit short in the big antler department, I know of not a few dandy bulls being taken. Once again, maybe I need to re-evaluate my priorities! You'd think since we're not skinning buffalo, I'd have had all sorts of free time, but no...

Although I did take one late afternoon backcountry ski venture recently, here on the west slope of the Bridgers, a trend I foresee continuing. And this Friday is $20 day at Big Sky. I might have to go see if it's as much fun as when it was $5! Plus of course we have to get yet another venture, BiOmega3 into gear. Speaking of big game hunting...