Cooperative Living May 2022 - 13

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More than 300
elk roam the
makeshift plains
of the flat-topped
mountain.
months ago, are preparing to
burst into bud just as the elk begin
dropping their antlers.
I am rolling this thought around in
my mind when, high and faint, piercing
the air above the peepers' cries, I hear
a screech or whistle, like a screaming
firework - a bugle, rare in the spring.
My fellow tour guests and I are treated
to it twice during our tour.
When the group has taken its fill
Fall tours take place during the rut,
and feature contests of dominance
between bull elk eager to form harems
for the mating season. Guests on these
tours can expect to be treated to the
ephemeral vocalization known as
bugling, a bull elk's assertion of
dominance, reminiscent of the sound
of a whale's song.
ELK WAT
After roughly 25 minutes driving
along the Russell Fork River, our bus
labors up a curvy, gray, gravel drive
towards the flattened peak of the mineturned-mountain.
No sooner have
we crested the first hill than we spot
ou fi rst grouping of elk, more than
60 of them: cows, calves and bulls.
Some stand, some lay, their legs
folded beneath them. A few languidly
turn to face our bus, gnawing nonchalantly
on their cuds. The mane
of one of the bulls blows majestically in
the stff breeze. Avery cuts the engine
and the throaty grumble of the bus gives
way to a chorus of spring peepers. He
tells us to " talk low and move slow " as we
disembark, which we are permitted to do
only if the elk are at least 60 yards away.
I stand with my back to the bus, facing
the herd and a backdrop of mountains.
Th re aren't many trees on the peak of
this mountain sliced flat, and their
branches, still stark and naked, resemble
the antlers of a bull elk. It strikes me that
the trees, which dropped their leaves
co-opliving.com
Elk Tours: Reservations required: breakspark.com/elk-tours
Dinner provided: $35 for adults - $20 for children 12 and under;
Tours in March, April, May and August, September and October
May 2022 ● Cooperative Living ●
11
of photos, we board the bus once more,
and head further up the mountain, to
a large, flat, grassy area to eat barbecue
from a food truck in nearby Haysi.
We eat our barbecue from containers
at an elevation of roughly 2,300 feet,
enjoying panoramic views of the
mountains. Five bull elk graze in a
little valley to one side.
I watch the shadow of a mountain
creep across the hills, each one a chin
stubbly with still barren trees. In the
distance, blue mountain peaks form the
choppy, angular waves of rough seas.
A startled rabbit skitters across the grass.
Avery walks around, offering guests
local fare - catfish nuggets. He runs
out before he gets to me.
When there is more shadow than sun
on the flat top and the peaks and valleys
that surround it, we pile back onto the
bus in search of more elk. Our efforts are
quickly rewarded. The bus gets as close
as 30 yards to another large herd. Avery
lets guests look from the open door, but
explains we are too close to disembark.
HEADING HOME
As we head down the mountain,
twilight gives way to darkness, and I can
no longer see the Russell Fork fl wing
beside the ribbon of asphalt that hugs
the curves of its banks. I sit behind
Avery, trying to see past my reflection
in the dark window.
Failing, I glance up at the rearview
mirror, and see dozens of faces: a young
boy, an amorous couple, an old man.
Today, we all shared in a little bit of
history, a little bit of wonder, a little bit
of the natural world and humankind's
ability both to destroy and rebuild it,
to exploit and redeem it.
Humankind drove the Eastern elk
to extinction. But humankind also saw
the opportunity for reclamation and
repopulation, repurposing this barren
wasteland into plains and repopulating
it with elk.
These elk, I realize, are more than
Appalachia's Greatest Conservation
Story. Th y are evidence of stewardship
and care, of an infinite capacity for hope
and perseverance. It makes a trip up a
mountain on the last day of winter less
of a bumbling bus ride and more of
a journey. 
http://www.breakspark.com/elk-tours http://www.co-opliving.com
Cooperative Living May 2022

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