Thorofare Elk Hunt - The Drive and Final Thoughts

Thanks to Eric, we had a minimal virus-risk means of travel to the hunt - his new RV trailer. Our plan was to have virtually no interaction with people on the way.  Potty-stops and meals in the trailer, automated transactions to purchase gas.  Near perfect social distancing.  The last thing we wanted was to pick up Covid on the way into a remote wilderness hunt.

So on September 24, I drove up to Chicago in the morning.  This allowed a visit and lunch with the grandsons before we got on the road.

Last year we hunted mule deer and antelope in Wheatland WY so we were well aware of what we might encounter for winds out there.  We allowed ourselves a 3 day trip out to give us some contingency time.

After visiting with the boys, we prepared to get on the road with this rig.  It immediately threw a "trailer brake error" on the Expedition.  After some troubleshooting, we found some arcing on these wires on one of the brakes.  A little bit of tape and we were good to go do mountains.

Eric had taken it on a couple short "shake out" runs but this was its first big trip.  Our route was I-90 from Chicago to Buffalo WY.  We just drove until tired and then found a campground near I-90.  First stop was Albert Lea MN.  We checked in after dark and out after sunrise without ever interacting with another person.

We kept it at about 65 mph and switched drivers with each tank of gas.  It was pretty uneventful and then we started to get a western flavor at our gas stops.  Buffalo at one stop and prairie dogs at another.  Prairie Dog Gas Station

We were making good time and decided to take a detour thru Badlands National Park. Neither of us had ever been.

It was pretty awesome.

Visitor Center was closed by the time we got there - probably didn't want to go indoors anyway.

Eric's eye for photos.

This is the way I saw it.

We saw a back exit out of the park that we could take to get us over to Mt Rushmore.  It had 6 miles of gravel road.  We didn't count on 6 miles of washboard.

This seems to be the only thing that we shook loose in the trailer.

It was late by the time we pulled into the KOA at Mt Rushmore.  I'd been before but Eric had never seen it.  He had to satisfy himself with the dark, lit up, drive-by view.  I'm sure he will visit again with the boys.

We only had about 8 hours of driving time left to get to Cody but it was also the hairiest section with regard to high winds.  The forecast was showing mid-day 20 mph winds with gusts to 30 mph.  Calmer at night.  We had 1.5 days to get there. So we decided to get an early start and, if it got too windy, stop and finish it the next morning.

We drove I-90 past Gillette to Buffalo.  The winds were pushing that trailer around some.  It was actually the worst when a semi passed and blocked the otherwise constant force of the wind.  

We made Buffalo before noon and we decided to continue.  We got off I-90 and onto Route 16 to go over the pass in the Bighorn Mountains.  I'd done this once before and knew what to expect in Ten Sleep Canyon.

It is a picturesque area and the Ford Expedition engine braking was great coming down that grade with the trailer. 

We might have cut things a little close on the gas stops.

Google gave us three choices from Ten Sleep to Cody.  We picked one and then got diverted due to construction.  We had a two lane country road to ourselves and we stumbled on to our own private Badlands.

We pulled in and made lunch.  Only one other car went by in the next hour.

It was a pretty cool place too.

We made it into Cody on 9/26 and setup/dropped the trailer at a KOA.  Sliders for dinner.

Before we headed into the mountains on 9/28,  we took a drive to the Deer Creek trailhead for a look and also over into Yellowstone National Park to the lake.

Here's the Ford's summary of the drive out.  We didn't do too well on mpg heading into the wind and gaining elevation.  Better on the way home.

The way home didn't include any sightseeing.  We made a quick stop in Buffalo to give the bull head/cape to a processor for our taxidermist to pick up later (once Eric turned the trailer inside out looking for his copy of his tag).  We continued on and drove to Sioux Falls for the first night.  Even the Sinclair dino's were wearing masks due to the pandemic.

We were on the road early the next day and made it to Eric's house in time for tacos with Jeni and the boys.  The boys were glad to to get their RV back.

Final Thoughts

What an epic adventure.  

In my "day job", I spend a lot of time trying to remove risk and do things safely in industrial and construction environments.  If there is a potential exposure to a fall of greater than 6', engineer a solution (handrails) or insure the use of a harness and tie off.  I also have a pretty healthy aversion to heights even though I've been hundreds of feet high at the top of blast furnaces and cement towers.  My company works in some hazardous environments but the mindset is to always remove the exposure - make things safer - reduce risk.

This trip was "pretty far out of that wheelhouse".  The risks are substantial.  Inexperienced horsemen, trails with huge fall exposure, remote from help, surrounded by grizzly bears (with no apparent fear of humans), etc.  I couldn't help but think about what bad things could happen as I was sitting elevated on a horse making a switchback within inches of a fall exposure far exceeding any OSHA standards.  Unlike mountain climbing, there are no harnesses or belay lines.

If people aren't dying every week, it must be because those horses are pretty amazing.  I am so glad that we had good weather for our rides in and out.  I can't imagine doing that in rain or snow.

I'm glad that I didn't wait any longer to do this trip - younger is better.  Fitter is better.  The experience is one that I will always remember.  I wish that I could have had a shot opportunity but that's hunting.  Five out of six hunters had shot opportunities in our camp - on a full moon hunt with clear skies and warm weather.  Eric took his first bull on an unbelievable bugle-fest hunt and he's a beauty - and a great shot to boot. 

The Thorofare is everything it is advertised to be - gorgeous, unspoiled, remote, and hazardous.  Nature in all its glory and cruelty.  By the luck of the draw I hunted with a guide who had dogs along.  Thanks Pooch & Garrett.  I'm sure that's the exception - not the rule.  Those little Aussie Shepards were awesome and we'd have had a different experience without them.  Although I never fired it, I'm glad that I always had the 44 on me.  I thought about just carrying bear spray and was convinced otherwise (thanks Sheila).  I sincerely doubt that bear spray would have saved the day on the charge that we experienced (wouldn't have wanted to find out).

Part of the experience is the rugged crew that lives to be in the mountains.  Our camp had "git er dun" types who were completely at ease wrestling uncooperative horses on cliff-side trails, dealing with a dead horse on a mountain top, walking miles into camp after dark in grizzly bear country with a load of meat, cow calling in deep timber while surrounded by bears, and putting up with greenhorn hunters who didn't have a clue.  And we worked our ass off in the mountains and gained weight - how'd that happen?

Would I do it again?   Probably not at my age but I would recommend it to anyone who is capable to do it at least once.  Whether successful or not it is "the hunt of a lifetime".  An unforgettable experience. 

But be aware, there's a reason the outfitter posts this on their Facebook page.

Other posts on this hunt:

Thorofare Elk Hunt - Flash Update

Thorofare Elk Hunt - The Basics

Thorofare Elk Hunt - The Ride In and Out

Thorofare Elk Hunt - Day By Day Hunt

Thorofare Elk Hunt - The Drive and Final Thoughts