Elk

Badwater, Wyoming 2017


About an hour west of Casper Wyoming, is an area of the Big Horn Mountains known as Badwater Wyoming.  And within that area, within private property control, is the coveted Elk hunting area 120.  We've hunted it before for cow Elk.  We've hunted it many times for Mule Deer.  But it takes years to collect enough preference points to purchase a bull Elk tag, but finally after about 7 years of trying, we managed to draw our tag.  After trying for so long, we were excited.

We setup a camp on the area provided by the land owner.  We would be lodging in my brother's camper.  We setup our camp under threatening skys, hoping to get warm and comfy before the predicted snow arrived.

 

Our Camp

Ron and I live on opposite corners of the west coast.  He pulled his camper, while I towed my Jeep YJ.  Having the YJ turned out to be a necessary thing, as the snow arrived as predicted, and the entire area had been receiving rain prior to our arrival.  Mud was deep and plentiful.  Our heavy trucks would never have made it up the ranch mountain roads.  But the Jeep handled it okay.  We were the only hunters using street vehicles.  All the rest were in ATV/UTV's.

Jeep YJ

The first morning of hunting had us wondering if we were properly equipped for this endeavor.  And we really weren't, but our enthusiasm kept us going.

Snowy morning

From here the story will be about the scenery and the company.  The land is beautiful, made even more so by a blanket of snow.  And we enjoyed sharing a camp and a hunt.  Neither of us took an Elk, but it really didn't matter.

Beautiful country