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“My First Elk Hunt with Vickie Gardner of Alpen Optics”
 Editor’s Note: Vickie Gardner, vice president of stuff (everything that doesn’t fit under any other category) and marketing for Alpen Optics, never had hunted or appreciated or understood hunting until about 3- or 4-years ago. Rather than tell Vickie’s story, we decided to let her tell it.
I was hunting with Lobo Outfitters of Pagosa Springs, Colorado, and my guides were Mike and Dick Ray. Someone asked me, “Vickie, were you in one of those big fancy lodges,” and I answered, “Heck no. I was in one of those big white outfitters’ tents the sheepherders stole.” My hunt was being filmed by the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (RMEF). We spent the first day at Rocky Mountain Wildlife Park, which is 5-miles south of Pagosa Springs, because the Rays wanted me to appreciate the size of a bull elk before the hunt. Because I’m a new hunter, they didn’t want the first time I saw an elk to be on my first elk hunt. They spent a lot of time teaching me about elk. The Rays do a very-effective job of educating new hunters about western wildlife before the hunt actually begins. Mike and Dick wanted to make sure I felt comfortable around these wonderful, awesome animals. After a day of orientation at Rocky Mountain Wildlife Park, we left Pagosa Springs and went to New Mexico to hunt. We hunted at 10,000 feet, which didn’t bother me because I live at 5,000 feet and hike up to 10,000 feet regularly in the mountains of southern California.
When we drove in to New Mexico, we were blessed with a light snow. The scenery looked much like a movie. In the area where we hunted, a portion of the movie, “Lonesome Dove,” was filmed. Our camp was in a big meadow, and we’d get up before daylight in 15-degree weather. As the sun rose, the weather warmed-up, so we dressed in layers. I really enjoyed hiking up and down the mountains. But when I heard that first elk bugle, it was so awe-inspiring I had to sit down. Although, I’d been to the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation’s Annual Convention and heard plenty of callers bugle like an elk, when I heard the real thing, it sounded like it came from heaven. We didn’t take that bull but decided to return late in the afternoon.
 For the afternoon hunt, we hiked to a completely-different mountain range. We heard a bull bugle and saw cows at about 600 yards through our Alpen binoculars. Then we spotted a bull. My guide said, “Vickie, there’s no way for sure we can know that the bull will come our way.” The bull elk went in and out of the dark timber several times. I didn’t know if I’d get a shot at him. Finally, the bull elk was at 300 yards. I got excited when a young bull came in close to the older bull. But the older bull ran the younger bull away and then left. We heard the elk bugle, come out of the timber again and start moving toward us. When the bull was at 300 yards, my guide asked if I wanted to take him. I said, “No, I want to wait until he’s at 200 yards or less, and I know I can put him down quickly. I want to make a perfect shot. I don’t want to wound this bull.”
When the bull got to 200 yards, I had the crosshairs of my Alpen riflescope on the bull’s shoulder, but a cow walked in front of him. So, I had to hold my shot. Then the bull went down into a ravine, and I couldn’t see him. The satellite bull reappeared and started splashing in a pond. The bull was really putting on a show. I was so excited to be there and see the show. I was excited the entire trip. To think I could be in New Mexico on an elk hunt with elk guides and learning all I could about this sport was almost a sensation overload.
Finally, the bull came out of the ravine 150-yards away from me, and I got my crosshairs just behind his front shoulder. I felt a total calm. I pulled the trigger on my .308, and the elk traveled about 20 yards and went down. I was so glad I’d taken my time, let the crosshairs settle and been confident about taking the shot. When we reached the downed elk, I couldn’t believe how beautiful he was. I had to walk away from him for a few minutes and collect myself. Then I went back, put my arms around him and gave him a kiss on the nose.
Next we took a few pictures and field-dressed the elk. I wanted to help, but the guides worked so fast since they knew what they were doing. So I just stayed out of the way. The sun was beginning to fade. We knew we had a 4-mile hike out of the mountains back to camp. We covered the elk with pine boughs, and I hung my camouflage jacket over his antlers. It was really hard to leave him because I didn’t want to leave my elk lying out in the mountains. He was so awesome, and I respected him so much that I wanted to stay with him until the morning. But we hiked out and returned to camp about 8:30 pm.
The next morning, we gathered-up some horses to help carry the elk meat out. Now, I’m not a horse person, but I knew I had to be brave and get on the horse anyway. I rode the horse up the mountain. When we reached my elk, we quartered him and got ready to pack him out. I really appreciated Mike Ray because he didn’t mind answering my two-million questions about elk and elk hunting. I wanted to know where the elk’s heart, lungs and liver were located in his body. I wanted to see the inside of his stomach and find out what my elk had eaten. I was amazed to see the different stomachs the elk had and how elk processed food. We finally got the elk skinned and quartered, loaded on the horses and packed out of the mountains. This elk hunt was such an amazing experience.
 I’m so glad I got to go. I didn’t know until I saw Randall Eaton’s movie, “Sacred Hunt,” that from a very young age, we all become hunters. For instance, when we play hide and seek, that’s a form of hunting. I’ve learned that taking animals to provide meat for our families is a part our history. The earliest Americans were hunters. Since my hunt with Lobo Outfitters, I’ve become an avid hunter and conservationist. Now, I better understand the relationship between the hunter, the conservationist and the need for conservation organizations to protect all that’s wild and ensure the future of hunting and the animals being hunted.
For more information about Lobo Outfitters, call (970) 264-5546, visit www.lobooutfitters.com, or write to them at 4821A Highway 84, Pagosa Springs, Colorado, 81147.
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