I'll tell a quick, related story first about a cool experience I had coming across deer while hiking in the mountains — but if you'd like to skip my AWESOME tale and go straight to the sooper-cool ELK video — its embedded below. : )
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| A Screen Capture From The Video Below |
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Hi!
Years ago I lived in the
Rockies and used to hike, camp and jeep all through those mountains and LOVED encountering many wild creatures from birds to squirrels — and porcupines to marmots — but I especially loved seeing the much larger and beautiful deer and magnificent elk.
I moved away many years ago — but still MISS ALL that so MUCH!
Back at that time, I went along with a guy who was bow hunting for deer. We four-wheeled up into the mountains and when he found a good place to stop — he suggested I wait at the jeep while he hiked down a ravine — and that I follow him down in 30 to 45 minutes — and he'd stop me when I got to his blind.
I agreed and waited, and then began heading down to him — but eventually I came to an old barbed wire fence on rickety ancient wooden poles running perpendicular to the trail— with a game trail running both directions along it.
I hadn't been stopped by the hunter so decided to continue heading downward along the trail — figuring he'd stop me at any moment.
After hiking about half the distance I had from the jeep to the fence — I decided he had missed seeing me — and having a lot of confidence then in my sense of direction (from all the time I'd spent hiking around in the mountains) — I made a diagonal cut back up-hill through the thick woods, heading back to where we parked.
It was rugged, rocky, and evergreen and aspen forested terrain — and soon I started coming across some steep open meadows with natural bush piles — probably created by heavy rain and snow pushing dead branches and trees together through the years.
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The Natural Brush Piles Looked A Bit Like This - Although There
Were WAY More Aspens Than Evergreens And Nothing Showed Evidence Of Being Cut
Or Being Placed There By Human Hands. |
Many piles were more than 6 feet high — so I couldn't see over them — and as I'd climb over one — I see another 20 to 30 yards further ahead.
I scrambled over several piles, and just when I got over one I heard CRASH — CRASH — CRASH — and saw a beautiful White-Tailed Deer bounding up the mountain ahead of me — beginning not more than 25 feet away - and "crashing" through the dry brush and tree branches.
I stopped in my tracks — watching her gracefully race away — and
then noticed a doe in the aspens — only about 15 yards away.
All I could see was her side because her face was hidden behind a tree — so I SLOWLY leaned forward to see her — and SHE was leaning forward to LOOK BACK AT ME!
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| The Beautiful Doe Looked Just Like THIS : ) |
Once we made eye contact she to crashed off into the woods and cleared a brush pile — like ones I had been struggling to climb over — in a single leap.
At
the moment she bounded away — I heard more crashing all around me — as
several other beautiful does (all within yards of where I stood) joined
her heading in all directions away from me — 10 to 15 at minimum — and
perhaps as many as 20 in all!
It's a awe inspiring sight to see White-Tail "run" because they spring-hop — and I'd estimate they were all easily clearing 5 to 10 feet or more with each leap.
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| White Tail Deer - The Doe Looked Just Like This |
Once I collected myself — AND had a bit more of a climb — I made it back to the jeep and sat there thinking about my GREAT experience — and waited for the "mighty hunter" to return.
When he arrived, I started to tell him the story about hitting the fence and then cutting back to the jeep and he interrupted and practically yelled — "I KNOW...I COULD HEAR YOU CRASHING AROUND!"
: )
I laughed and told him about my close encounter with the BEAUTIFUL herd — and that he had been hearing THEM!!
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Anywho — enough about that — let's get to the AWESOME video!
: )
It's just as the title of this blog post says,
Oblivious Elk Stand Feet Away From Incredibly Well-Camouflaged Man — and it's so cool I just had to share it with you.
At around 30 seconds in to it — you can hear a bull elk bugle with that unmistakable high, whistling sound.
Another elk gets with-in arms distance of the man — and even sniffs at his gear — before something (perhaps his sent) spooks her and she and the herd dart away.
At that — the guy in camo turns towards the camera and flashes a big grin. : )
Hope you enjoy watching this as much as I did!
Thanks as always for stoppin' by!
And if you're the last one to leave could you turn off the lights as you go.
Thanks!
: )
