DIY - Washington Roosevelt's Elk

Jose Ortega y Gasset said, “One does not hunt in order to kill; on the contrary, one kills in order to have hunted. If one were to present the sportsman with the death of the animal as a gift he would refuse it.” And while the trip had many successes, cutting the notch on my license was not among them. Yet, I go to the memory of that week often, as many of us do when something we desired to find eludes us. It becomes something more in our mind than just a hunting trip and draws us to return.

Roosevelt’s elk are one of the three subspecies of elk in North America. They were not high on my list until meeting Kyle Lehr, assistant director of big game records for the Boone and Crockett Club. His desire to substitute the arid mountains of Montana for the wet rainforest of the coast was contagious. There was no singular element that drew him; it was about the entirety of an experience. This is a feeling Ortega y Gasset would agree with and one that resonates within myself. While the kill is part of sum, it is not the total or even the ultimate goal of hunting.

We began preparing two years before our hunt by researching Roosevelt’s elk along the coastlines of Washington. Washington requires a hunter to select which half of the state to hunt and the method they will use. At the time, Kyle was not an archery hunter (he has since picked it up) so we selected the rifle season in November. The unit we chose was over-the-counter, requiring no points or prior applications. Other units can have lower hunting pressure or easier access, but they will also require years of building up points. Looking to add an experience to our hunting career we took the most expeditious route with a general season elk license. Knowing that the bear population was robust, I made sure to put one of those tags in my pocket as well.

I go to the memory of that week often, as many of us do when something we desired to find eludes us. It becomes something more in our mind than just a hunting trip and draws us to return. The forests of this area are infamous for being thick, dense, and wet. There can be abundant feed in young growth areas, but they would also be extremely difficult to move through or spot elk.

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has two excellent resources as starting points for planning a hunt. The hunt planner dials in Game Management Units (GMU) based on your specific criteria. This generates a list that is further whittled by looking at the game management reports. These reports are compiled by the biologists working year-round in their areas of responsibility. Parsing these reports for the past few years can help you find trends on harvests, populations and ratios. The unit we settled on had low public land but highly accessible private areas, increasing elk numbers, and a good number of branch-antlered bulls (a three-point minimum was required in the unit we hunted). We also opted to pay an access fee to a timber company for a key to open 100,000 acres. While this increased the cost of our trip significantly, it also helped to relieve hunting pressure in a general unit.

After watching clear cuts for some time I decided to try my hand entering the dense wet forest through a bear tunnel only to be turned around by an impenetrable wall of Devil's club. - Kyle

Now that we had our “spot,” we had to find the spots on the spot. This ultimately came down to two things: what would concentrate the elk and how could we find them. The forests of this area are infamous for being thick, dense, and wet. There can be abundant feed in young growth areas, but they would also be extremely difficult to move through or spot elk. The old growth stands have canopies that prevent the sunlight from hitting the floor, which keeps them open but dark and without grass or forbs for elk. The solution was to find clear cuts that were 2-4 years old. That would give elk open areas for feed with nearby security of standing trees—and us the ability to see the Roosies and maneuver into position. A unique benefit to hunting timber company land is that they employ their own biologists. With less area to cover, they are keenly aware of movements and behaviors of the game on their properties. It is almost like having someone scouting for you. Based on generous feedback from one such official, along with the promise of beer when we got into town, we were given direction within the access area to focus on the movement of elk and their general patterns. Utilizing internet satellite imagery, we identified several areas that would have a high likelihood of holding elk. All that was left was to put boots on the ground.

Camp was a spacious Kodiak Canvas tent at the end of a short spur road. Evidence around the campsite showed only deer and the occasional elk had been there recently.

Entering the western slope of the Cascades was exactly what I was hoping; everything seemed foreign, otherworldly. Opaque fog followed the contours of the ridgelines. It was present every day, but it also did not last long. Everything was bathed in dampness, keeping green things growing. The new growth on trees would stretch over 14 inches indicating a long growing season. Camp was a spacious Kodiak Canvas tent at the end of a short spur road. Evidence around the campsite showed only deer and the occasional elk had been there recently. Very tall, mature conifers surrounded us, providing a wind break as well as a serenade of short, high-pitched creaks that made us wonder if a good storm might give us unwanted excitement. We would not have to wait long to find out.

We used the day to drive the roads looking for recent logging activity and open areas to glass. There were many promising areas with recent sign, and that evening we had a game plan. Most nights in the tent we were treated to downpours and wind; to the point where we had a calm night and found it harder to sleep. - Kyle

We were expeditious in setting up camp, which allowed us an extra evening to scout. Traveling within the timber company land was easy. The roads were marked to show the routes that active logging trucks would take so we would avoid those. We were into elk within a mile of our camp. In a rare absence of trees along the top of a ridge, we could glass down the draw and watch open rectangular patches of cleared mountainside. A small herd, maybe a dozen, of cow Roosevelt’s elk fed up a spur road and into the dense forest. For 10 minutes we watched through a spotting scope and binoculars, studying and hoping to see a bull. None presented itself, but an instant satisfaction was felt in so quickly locating a species we had never before hunted.

That would be our best view of elk our entire week.

The next would be our only day for scouting. Our intention was to walk through several clear cuts and young-growth trees looking for fresh sign. The growth we found at a few stops was actually several years older than our satellite photos showed. Since timber companies closely guard where, and more importantly, when they cut, we did not have any other real-time maps. This dynamic made us completely rethink how we viewed the unit. Our overall strategy was sound; local knowledge had prepped us to locate elk. We used the day to drive the roads looking for recent logging activity and open areas to glass. There were many promising areas with recent sign, and that evening we had a game plan.

LEFT: We used the day to drive the roads looking for recent logging activity and open areas to glass. There were many promising areas with recent sign, and that evening we had a game plan. RIGHT: Everett's Browning X-Bolt Hell's Canyon Speed is Cerakoted which was great protection from rust. Also, electrical tape at the end of the barrel kept rain out.

Opening morning was preceded by a significant wind event; trees fell somewhere around us overnight, which made a predictably restless night even more so. It was raining steadily. This was expected, and I had bought new Sitka Cloudburst raingear and put a new coat of wax on my boots. The entire week we only saw a few hours of sun. Kyle and I setup in our first opening and waited. Instead of seeing elk, blacktail made an appearance. While it wasn’t quite what we wanted, it was still a new experience for both us. The deer moved back into the green curtain of trees, and our opening morning was quiet. Our evening hunt likewise provided the same experience. However we were treated with constantly shifting rainbows as the fog moved through the saddles and deeper into the hills. New views would open and close leaving us wondering if an elk would simply appear. They never did. On our third night we passed three bulls feeding in the area we hunted on day one. It was past shooting light, but for Kyle and I, our strategy and planning had been validated.

LEFT: Everett with a chocolate-phase ruffed grouse, which provided a bonus opportunity. RIGHT: Kyle taking a break from the action to check on the family.

The end of our trip found us with tags that would later serve as bookmarks instead of identifying Roosevelt’s elk steaks. Yet, we found what we were looking for: adventure. The experience was the drive that took us further west than we had been before, and it was multifaceted. Each species has its unique challenges that cause a hunter to rely on past hunts for the skills and tactics learned, not the memory of where animals were found. And hunting teaches us much more than just pursuing animals. It also shows us how we pursue the life we want. It is rare when something unfolds how we envisioned it in our mind. Instead of causing us to fold when pressured, we focused and discovered that we could adapt. I’m not certain when I will return, only that I will. I want to see my world fade way again and hope for a Roosevelt’s bull to oblige me.

We were treated with constantly shifting rainbows as the fog moved through the saddles and deeper into the hills.

Compromise

Costs:

Washington Nonresident Elk Tag: $497.50

Lodging: 10”x10” Kodiak Canvas tent

Weyehauser Access: $350 Includes motorized travel and free camping.

Gear:

Mystery Ranch Metcalf

Browning X-bolt .300 Win. Mag. with Vortex Viper HST Scope

Nosler E-Tip 180-grain bullet

Vortex Viper 10x42 Binoculars

Vortex Viper Spotting Scope

Sitka Technical Clothing (Especially the Cloudburst)

Alaska Guide Creations Bear Cub Binocular Harness

Cabela’s Meindl Perfekt Boots

All food was prepared by Everett’s wife, Te Ata, vacuum sealed and frozen

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