September 11-14, 2008: Bow Hunting the Sangres

Matt Clayton and I left Dimmitt around 9:30 Thursday morning. We drove north, arriving at Villa Grove in the northern San Luis Valley in the late afternoon. We stayed at a friend of Matt's family and waited for the rest of the group to arrive.
Friday morning we woke early and headed into the mountains. We the area south of Miller Canyon. Matt shot a blue grouse, which turned out to be our only quarry of the trip. We saw some elk, but none close. We spent the afternoon exploring the west side of the valley, including the old Bonanza gold mine and Mosquito Lake.

Late Friday afternoon we headed back out. This time we packed in to North Brook Canyon. We set up camp about a mile in and headed out from there. I went up to the treeline and hunted the high meadows, but once again did not see anything.

We headed back down Saturday morning and hunted south of the canyon mouth. I saw a few mule deer, but the elk were more elusive.

Saturday afternoon we headed up again. This time I went up the north side of Carr gulch. I had an outstanding vantage point among some rocks, but only saw more mule deer.

Finally, Sunday morning we headed up one last time. more elk were out, but none clsoe enough to pursue with a bow. Matt's older brother and a friend stayed, but our hunt was over. I had a great time, but came back empty handed.