Jumping Off

There is always something to be learned.  Always.  That is what I learned on my last two elk hunts.  I hope this next one results in another great experience as well as my first elk.  I hope that my experiences, trials, and stories will have some value.  If they are educational, inspirational, entertaining or humorous then maybe I have done something right.  If not then this blog will sit like an unused tag, collecting dust, an unused reminder of an unachieved goal and things that still need to be learned.

            The journey officially started Monday, although in reality it has been going on for eight years.  That journey is to harvest an elk.  Harvesting an elk however is not the real goal.  The real goal is to do it my way and on my terms.  If I just wanted to kill an elk I could go to an elk farm, buy an elk, and slaughter it, just like a cow.  Not much journey there.  Nothing epic, just meat in the freezer.  I could hire a guide.  He could set up the tent, cook dinner, find the elk, call him in, tell me when to shoot, and clean up the mess afterwards.  Again, not much journey there, more meat in the freezer.
            I want an adventure, no I want an expedition.  I know it is not climbing Mount Everest or dog sledding to the South Pole, but in my context it is an expedition.  I need to do the research and the preparation and the packing and the cooking….. OK, you get my point.  My expedition is to explore the mountains of Colorado and with some luck harvest an elk.  That expedition was kicked off Monday when I sent for my license.
            Now that you know my goal, let me introduce myself.  I am Nate, I am 38 years old and I want to hunt elk.  I enjoy hunting for other things, but if I could I would hunt elk every chance I could.  I also like to do things my way, so this hunt is going to be a DIY special.  I live in western Pennsylvania and plan on driving to Colorado with my father for the September muzzleloader season.  We will be camping and hunting on public ground.  We are doing it in a way that is accessible to any hunter. 
            This is my first attempt at blogging.  We shall see if I can translate my gray matter into text for everyone’s enjoyment.  I hope that my experience will help some of you take a similar trip without any pitfalls that I may encounter.  If you have experiences of you own that you would like to share, remember knowledge is always appreciated and there is always something for us to learn.  If you like it let me know, if you don’t really let me know.  I can handle it.  Stay tuned, the expedition is underway!