January 2022 - 4

A COUPLE PENNIES
The nicest strangers
By Tracie Binkerd, editor
I hunt elk every November. This year,
I drew an area 64 cow/calf tag and hoped
my luck would be better than last year
when I came home empty-handed. I was
confident enough that my husband and
both my parents came on the journey. I
was the only one with a license - and
I was planning for an all-hands-on-deck
pack-out.
We heard rumors some elk were lingering
at one edge of the Absaroka Front
Hunter Management Area, but it wasn't
an easy place to access. The woods around
there were treacherous ankle-twisters and
the type of elevation that makes your
heart pound hard within a few steps. Still,
I was ready to put in the work and make
it happen. We parked as close as we could
to an access point and began our arduous
walk up a logging road then straight up
the steep ridge. Finally, reaching the edge,
my hunting party gratefully settled in and
waited. After hours of glassing, we finally
spotted several elk just below us. My new
GPS showed they stood a few yards across
the boundary on private land - knowing
just where safety enveloped them. We
watched the herd until nearly sundown,
but they didn't work back onto public
land. Disappointed, we descended to the
truck, across slippery and steep terrain
as the sun inched nearer to the horizon.
The next morning we returned to the
access point early but chose a different
path to the top, thinking it would be an
easier climb. We were wrong. At times it
was so steep I grasped at the barbed-wire
fence just to pull myself higher. But at
the top we had a clear view. There they
were. Dozens of elk, half-a-mile away,
on public land.
As we quietly moved closer, two hunters
suddenly came up from behind. The
men in their 20s were clearly in excellent
shape and weren't even breathing hard
as they approached us. They could have
4 | January 2022
easily passed us and ruined my hunt, but
they didn't. Instead, the hunters - two
brothers who had scaled ridges like these
dozens of times - asked if we could all
work together.
We teamed up, and tried our best to
quietly inch within shooting range as
one large posse. Finally close enough, we
each lay prone and readied our weapons.
They wanted me to take the first shot. I'm
not a quick shooter. I take my time and
choose my moment. Still, they waited, no
impatience. I selected a yearling calf in my
sight, took a deep breath and squeezed
the trigger. I heard the familiar sound as
the bullet met flesh. Hit.
The rest of the elk fled over the ridge.
The brothers left in pursuit, hoping the
elk wouldn't move too far. Ten minutes
later four shots rang out. Hopeful for
them - my family stirred to retrieve
my elk and we found it easily enough.
It didn't go far. We began the work of
field dressing and quartering the elk to
pack it out. It wasn't long when those
two familiar faces came over the ridge.
Our new friends didn't find success that
weekend but they wanted to help pack
my harvest. It was small, but they insisted
they would take the load.
As we put a quarter on one pack, one
brother quickly insisted he wanted two
quarters. The other did the same. I figured
I would take part of the load when it got
too heavy for them. Wrong. Instead, we
couldn't keep up with their pace. They
slowed down for us and told us about
their recent hunts and backpacking journeys.
They said this load was light.
After our group got to the truck, we
gave them a ride to where they parked
and we parted ways. We saw them the
next weekend while hunting the same
area with my sister, and last I heard they
had yet to fill their tags. I hope they found
success this year.
They truly were the kindest strangers
you could ever meet in the woods.
WYOMING
WILDLIFE
VOLUME 86, NUMBER 1 * JANUARY 2022
State of Wyoming
Wyoming Game and Fish Commission
Governor
President
Vice President
Commissioner
Commissioner
Commissioner
Commissioner
Commissioner
Peter Dube, Buffalo
Gay Lynn Byrd, Douglas
Ralph Brokaw, Arlington
Richard Ladwig, Manville
Kenneth Roberts, Kemmerer
Mark Jolovich, Torrington
Ashlee Lundvall, Powell
Wyoming Game and Fish Department
Director
Deputy Director
Deputy Director
Chief of Fiscal
Chief of Wildlife
Chief of Fisheries
Chief of Services
Brian Nesvik
John Kennedy
Angela Bruce
Greg Phipps
Richard King
Alan Osterland
Eric Wiltanger
Magazine Staff
Editor
Associate Editor
Creative Director
Tracie Binkerd
Robert Gagliardi
Patrick Owen
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January 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of January 2022
