Mental Toughness

Justin Olk in the New Mexico Mountains

After a 4 year drought in drawing a quality Elk tag, Justin Olk headed west to hunt the world-famous Gila National Forest in New Mexico’s Rocky Mountains.

The mountains can make for tough hunting but this trip became stressful before even arriving in New Mexico. While driving across Northern Texas, at around 1am, Justin and cameraman JD Fox lost the lights on the truck. Being in the middle of nowhere, about 90 miles from the nearest town, the boys evaluated the problem. It was apparent that the alternator on the truck had went out, meaning the truck would only function as long as there was juice in the battery. With the alternator not charging the battery, Justin and JD feared they might not make it to the next town. With the lights not working, Justin did his best to use the only other vehicle they had seen for hours to light the way in front of him. Thankfully they were headed west as well.

The next morning, after a few phone calls, a lot of begging, and a few prayers, a new alternator was located and installed. Keeping their fingers crossed the two continued westward.

Crossing the New Mexico state line, the temperature on the mirror read 111 degrees. Not ideal temps to chase elk in the mountains to say the least, the guys crossed their fingers and wished for cooler temps at higher elevations.

Arriving in camp a 1/2 day late we met our guides, the other hunters in camp and a 91 degree temperature. Everyone was concerned about the temps, it had kept the bulls quiet for the last few days and the rut seemed to be non-existent.  The strategy was to spot and stalk in the morning and then sit over water in the evenings.

Mountain sunrise

After about 4 hours of sleep everyone was eating breakfast with anticipation of the days ahead.

After hiking a short distance with the moonlight to guide us, the sun rose from behind the mountain peak to the East. Almost immediately elk began to appear. It was a large herd of cows and young bulls but it was a welcomed sight and the thoughts that had everyone concerned about the heat may not be as much of a factor as once feared.

As the sun rose, so did the temps, up to 93 degrees at 7800 ft elevation. It seemed every sign of life disappeared except for the sounds of rattlesnakes and the buzz of insects. Another elk was not seen the rest of the day.

The next few days were spent hiking mountain tops in search for elk and glassing ridges for signs of rutting activity. For the next few days everyone in camp battled dehydration, rattlesnakes, fire ants, and bears all the while struggling to find quality bulls. The hunt quickly became more of a mental challenge than physical. By mid-week Justin was also battling sun poisoning on his arms which made things just a little more miserable.

By the end of the hunt Justin and JD had only heard a total of 4 bugles. They had spotted one world-class 5×5 but as the bull followed his cows across the fence and on to a private ranch Justin and JD could only watch as he disappeared over the ridge. Not wanting to kill a lesser bull just to fill his tag, Justin let 5-6 smaller 5×5 and 4×4 bulls walk without even attempting a stalk.

The mountains will break a man down and build him up at the same time. Hunting in the Rockies chasing elk with a bow is the purest form of hunting a man can attempt. There is nothing more beautiful than a mountain sunrise, nothing more enchanting than hearing a bugle in the canyon below, and nothing more gratifying than resting your head on a pillow after completing a 15 mile hike.

Although this trip ended with a tag not being filled, it was the memories of the hunt, the feeling of accomplishment for not letting adverse weather conditions win, and most of all, the new friends that were made that made this hunt successful. When a hunter can enjoy the hunt and not just the kill, he can find success in every hunt… not just the ones that put trophies on the wall.