If it sounds like an elk and smells like an elk- it must be an elk

Last fall, after not elk hunting much for a few years I anxiously waited for September to archery hunt elk. The season started with a bang. On opening evening Ardella and I left home in sunny 70 degree weather only to arrive at the gate of the tower our son-in-law had rented in a snow storm with thunder and lightning. They were not there yet so we waited a few feet from the gate with a blizzard swirling around us. Suddenly lightning struck the tower and we we were thankful that we were inside the truck. A few minutes later lightning struck the gate post and danced acrossed the gate and into a clump of small trees. We turned the truck around and drove back down the mountain about two miles until the storm passed.

Two weeks later found me leaving home on nice sunny afternoon to go hunting with my son-in-law Vance. I decided that camo cotton pants would be warm enough even though I rarely wear cotton when I hunt in the fall, knowing if it gets wet hypothermia can result. We drove high up into a favorite hunting spot , only to arrive with dark clouds and thunder engulfing the hunt area. Other nearby mountains basked in fall sunshine. When we were half way up the mountain we split up to each hunt a water hole. The thunder intensified so I took cover in the bottom of a small ravine while the sky opened up to a heavy pelting of sleet. It sleeted for a half hour and every thing turned a winter wonderland. As I trudged up the mountain I got soaked from the waist down and soon water was running down the cotton pants into my hunting boots. At one point I stopped and drained the water out of my boots as each step was producing a loud squishing sound.

Arriving at the spring torn up by fresh elk tracks, I proceded to spray elk urine on every bush in the area. I then back off a few yards below the spring into a clump of small spruce. Over the next few hours I meowed like a herd of love crazed cow elk. At one time a bull answwered from the dark timber to the right and later one bugled from the ridge top. I just knew this was the night. Did I notice the cold creeping into my body? Not at first, but soon the north slope I was hunting turned into a refrigerator. My feet were freezing in the wet insulated boots and my legs tingled against the wet cotton pants. I realized that I needed to watch my body and maybe leave early for the warmth of the truck. But I stuck it out.

I heard something to my right a few times so thought a bull might be on his way to the cow calls that I was still sending out as love signals. I had about ten minutes left to hunt when I saw a black blur charge out of the brush and through the water hole. It was a nice black bear! I had never taken a bear with a bow but I could see this one was looking for an elk for supper. He came in so fast I couldn't get a shot. Now the bear was behind a large spruce tree that was just a few feet in front of me. He never appeared so I started edging around the tree for a shot . I had to straddle a large log and suudenly was looking into the black eyes of a hungry bear at about five feet. We both jumped back in panic. I don't carry a sidearm but do have a big canister of bear spray on my belt. I went back to my clump of spruce thinking I had scared him off and there he was at forty five yards staring me down. He never moved a muscle. I cow called and slowly walked toward him . As I did confidence built up that I knew he was my bear! He never moved- 40 yards, 30 yards, 25 yards. He was quartered to me so the shot wasn't what I wanted. I started to pull the 70 pound compound but discovered my body was so cold that the bow would not budge. Problems! I remember asking God to help and slowly brought the bow up. The pull was so easy that it required little effort from my cold body. The limbs rocked back and the 20 yard pin looked like a laser light on a spot just behind his front leg. The release was smooth and the bear spun around and jumped over a big log only to stop and cast a glance back at me. I was looking for an arrow on either side but could not see it. He tried to walk uphill but started to sway back and forth ; then he turned left and entered a small brush patch. I heard him quietly expire a few minutes later. I discovered later that the arrow had taken lung and liver as it went through him diagonal and stuck in the log behind him.

Why did God answer my call for help? Because He cares about even the smallest of things in our lives. He is a Father of relationships and cares about each one of us. I firmly believe that I did not pull that bow under my own power. It will always be one of the most memorable hunts I will ever experience.