Moose Hunt 2009

I must admit that it took me a few moments to realize why my wife was calling to hound me about a $400 charge on my credit card from the Utah Division of Wildlife. I thought someone had put her up to a dirty april fool's joke or something. She just kept saying..."What hunt did you buy now?"...and I just kept saying, "Dear, your not funny."

Of course, it didnt take me long to jump online and verify that I had been one of the lucky fools who had drawn a Southslope Uintah Bull Moose tag (once-in-a-lifetime). I called my good friend, Doc Smith (bearbums.net) to share the news. He couldn't beleive it either. A couple days later I was shocked when he called me to say that he had just gotten word that he too had drawn a once-in-a-lifetime moose tag for the Diamond Mtn Unit. It was shaking up to be a very busy fall as his son had also drawn a Limited Entry Elk tag for the Book Cliffs Unit. Too many tags - now thats a problem we can handle.

Kent and I looked forward to the hunts all summer long without being able to spend much time scouting. We put the feelers out to all the local fisherman and horsebackers to keep their eyes out for a good bull moose or two. A few good reports came in throughout the summer.

The night before opening day my father, my oldest son Koy (6 years old), and I arrived at our camping spot near Chepeta Lake. We arrived late and were up early the next morning for our hike into the nearby Whiterocks Basin. I had chosen to hunt the southern end of the Basin due to some reports I had received the week prior of a big bull in this area.

We made our way up the trail about 2 miles before Koy and Dad wanted to stop for a break. Now, this is where I have to tell you a bit more about my dad. He loves to wear thin formal socks most of the time. His shoe covering of choice is a typical pull on cowboy boot. Needless to say he had already developed some good blisters that day. Koy had tuckered out a bit too so I left them in one of the many beautiful high country parks overlooking a large stream.

I left them and made a big circle over towards Ted's Lake next to the ballies. Just north of Ted's Lake, and just south of Sand Lake I ran into a couple of bull moose. I snuck in close to get a good look at both. One was an obvious young bull, but the other bull was a borderline shooter for this unit.

I have talked to many guys who have had this tag - some have really struggled to find a mature bull later in the hunt after passing on a borderline bull or two. Many of these hunters ended up killing very young bulls towards the end of the hunt. I am one who usually subscribes to the philosophy of "If you would be happy with it on the last day than dont pass it up".

I tried and tried to raise dad on the radio but was unable to reach he and Koy. I really wanted he and Koy to be with me when I harvested my bull. After watching the bull for quite a while I decided that I would play with him a bit. I called to him two or three times - doing my best imitation of what I have heard and seen in moose hunting videos. He rose from his bed and approached to within 25 yards before he realized I wasnt the hot cow moose he was expecting. He and the young bull bolted into the trees.

We left camp that night to be back for Sunday Church meetings the next day. I hunted closer to home the next couple of days (Monday & Tuesday) with no luck at finding a good bull. I did have some real close encounters with some cows though. I headed for the high country again with the horses in tow. I only made it to just above Snake John on Farm Creek before I blew up the fan belt on dads truck and he had to come rescue me.

So the next morning I was back up high heading back into Whiterocks Basin. I made my way back across the same trail and into Ted's Lake. Headed north from there again and just as I rounded a corner spotted this bull trotting across a park away from me at about 75 yards. I could see his left side well, but was unsure of what his right side consisted of. I made a quick decision that this was most likely the same bull I had spotted a few days earlier. I had time for one quick shot as he quartered away from me headed into the pines. At the crack of the rifle he trotted a few feet towards the pines with no reaction of being hit. He stopped next to a big dead pine to look back at the cause of the noise. I watched as he quickly started to lose his legs and slowly teetered to his right into the large dead pine.

His big body came to a rest in a mostly upright position leaning against the tree. I approached him carefully and admired his tremendous body size. A dead bull moose, when approached ALONE, can create a very overwhelming situation. I looked at my watch and it said 8:45 AM. I was 4 miles from the truck, and from there about an hour and half back home to get the horses.

I was very grateful for the help that I was able to summon from friends and family that day. Kent was generous enough to skip out of work early to come help, along with Dad and Brett. Koy skipped out of school along with Cole (My nephew) to come along for the adventure. Also, my good friend and neighbor Jon Bingham and his father in law came along. We made it back to the spot at about 3:30 PM, just as the long shadows were starting to cast themselves across the parks of the high country.

It was a wonderful experience to soak in that beautiful setting with family and friends. A bull elk bugled several times from a nearby park as the sunlight slowly started to fade. We worked quickly and were lucky enough to get all of the meat on two heavily loaded pack horses and headed back to the truck right as it was getting dark. By this time the two boys were pretty much spent after walking about 6 miles, so I doubled them up on my old grey horse and they chatted the whole way keeping me company.

We made it to the truck with no problems, other than hoping that Jon and his father in law werent lost (they joined us shorlty thereafter). We made our way off the mountain, hustling to get home to our anxious brides. We could see that a thunderstorm had passed to the south of us but didnt think much of it until we reached one of the final dugways before the flat ground and pavement. Needless to say, the clay mixture that was used on the roadbase in this one particular area was as slick as ice due to the rain. Brett was in front pulling the camper, and in spite of his cautious approach, the camp trailer pulled itself off the shoulder of the road on the steep downhill side nearly pulling the truck over with it (with Brett and the two sleeping boys inside).

It was a pretty precarious situation...we evaluated it as best we could, but eventually decided the only safe way to get back on the road was to call a tow truck. A couple hours later, and well after midnight, we had the camper back on the road with the help of Hirschi's Auto Body. This still left the two loaded horse trailers at the top of the dugway. Luckily, the couple of hours we had waited for the tow truck had allowed the road to dry JUST ENOUGH for us to ease down (sliding at times) until we were on flatter ground.

The highlight of this trip, as with all others, is the time spent with those who are most important to you. Its not about the hunt or the kill, its about time spent in God's vast creation with those who you love and admire.

SIDENOTE: Kent and I had a bit of a bet going on regarding who would kill the bigger moose - I won! I will see if I can get him to post his story here too!