Rhett was still disappointed the next morning. There was a slight lethargy in his demeanor when he left camp before light to head up to his ridge. That remote rocky haven is his favorite section of the ranch and we aptly named it Rhett’s ridge. His plan was to pursue the bands of elk and the two big bulls that had played chess with him and won just the day before.

The nights had been progressively colder, low twenties, high teens, but it was still dryer than a bone. There was still no white mantle to assist with spotting and tracking our quarry. But midday’s were warm and sunny. When Rhett returned from the morning hunt he was far more animated. We sat in the sun and discussed strategy. It seems he had run into elk again, but rather than hunting them had climbed to and concealed himself in a high rocky perch. He studied every move to their day beds from his secret position. There was no doubt he was juiced about the evening hunt. We eagerly discussed different plans pending that evenings unknown and highly variable wind direction. An elk’s vision is only so-so.  They have fine audio senses however elk are not quiet themselves and sound is not critical unless stalking. It is an elk’s nose that you must outwit. They will smell human scent miles away. Unlike deer they won’t merely scamper a few hundred yards, they will have a new zip code and they won’t return.

I returned to camp about 7:00, a half hour after dark that night, the smell of sizzling trout and slowly simmering elk tenderloin enticing and delicious. We waited for Rhett to join us, but about 9:15 courtesy gave out to hunger and we feasted, commenting often that Rhett must have one down.

About 10:00, hours after daylight had retreated; we heard the roar of an ATV screeching to a halt in the gravel in front of the cabin. Rhett burst into the cabin in his hunting pants and a t-shirt. He didn’t seem to notice it was eighteen degrees. His face was flushed and his bloody hands told the story. It seems in his excitement he had left his fleece over shirt and wool cammo jacket up with his first branch antlered bull.