I proudly told Kevin as I returned with the dogs to the campsite at 6:20am. We had left for our "hunt"at 5:40am. The dogs had caught the elk scent and pulled hard on the leash throughout the short hike.
We didn't even have to go far to find the elk. I spotted what I thought were several dark tree stumps in the meadow, stumps I don't remember seeing the night before when I walked over to the meadow with the dogs. The dark stumps stared as us and the dogs stared right back, frozen.
The elks didn't move right away. The leader in the front, the tallest, slowly moved the pack across the open, shaded meadow, never losing sight of us. The other elk followed quietly. The black heads and dark bodies were hard to discern. Once the elk hit the forest line they disappeared from view.
I stayed on the trail a little longer, wanting at least a 30-minute hike with the dogs before we packed up and drove back in the hot desert. I walked part of a ski trail that meandered through aspen groves, around bubbling creeks and fallen trees. Horse hooves had grounded part of the trail where water had saturated the mud. It was a pretty hike but the dogs pulled on the leash the entire time, and I felt watched the entire time. I was expecting either a mountain lion or a bear to come charging from the treeline.
I told Kevin about my elk spotting, he told me of the Stellar Jay that came down to pay him a visit. The Jay came by two more times while we ate toasted bagels and sipped our camp coffee. His bright blue feathers glistened in the sun.
We didn't even have to go far to find the elk. I spotted what I thought were several dark tree stumps in the meadow, stumps I don't remember seeing the night before when I walked over to the meadow with the dogs. The dark stumps stared as us and the dogs stared right back, frozen.
The elks didn't move right away. The leader in the front, the tallest, slowly moved the pack across the open, shaded meadow, never losing sight of us. The other elk followed quietly. The black heads and dark bodies were hard to discern. Once the elk hit the forest line they disappeared from view.
I stayed on the trail a little longer, wanting at least a 30-minute hike with the dogs before we packed up and drove back in the hot desert. I walked part of a ski trail that meandered through aspen groves, around bubbling creeks and fallen trees. Horse hooves had grounded part of the trail where water had saturated the mud. It was a pretty hike but the dogs pulled on the leash the entire time, and I felt watched the entire time. I was expecting either a mountain lion or a bear to come charging from the treeline.
I told Kevin about my elk spotting, he told me of the Stellar Jay that came down to pay him a visit. The Jay came by two more times while we ate toasted bagels and sipped our camp coffee. His bright blue feathers glistened in the sun.
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