Made it to CO

We are sitting in Pagosa Springs eating a real meal for the first time in 24 hours . Only two small things to take care of and then it’s into the mountains! We brought way less gear than last year and are trying to keep it light…sort of , my life long philosophy of rather having it and not needing it does not work on a trip like this . Service is sketchy up here but I will try to post if anything good happens !

Good luck man

Oh yes!!! We tend to always drive through this beautiful country at night , when we went into the restaurant it was dark, we just walked out to the most gorgeous landscape I can imagine!

Keep us posted if you can. I’ll be curious how it’s going. Good luck and stay safe

Good luck boys!!

Go get em’! Stay safe and have fun!

Good luck Todd.

Yesterday I saw 2 sets of a cow and calf. I had not seen anything today until a little bit ago. Working the side of a huge ridge I crossed a marshy area with several wallows in it right beside a finger that had Lots of sign. Marked it on the GPS and slowly continued past. Something caught my eye behind me so I pulled up the glass and saw a bull 80 yards behind me cruising up the draw. He was a legal bull but I hesitated for a second not sure about his size. Got a different angle on him, decided to shoot and before I could pull my gun up he was gone ! A little bummed but we still have some time .

If it’s hot and dry there, stick to that wallow.

I am there now, planning on spending the rest of the day here or at least in the area. Hoping for the best

Well how did the hunt end up? You guys have a good time? Any backstraps in the freezer?

No back straps but I came up with a new saying…it was the most beautiful place to be and not shoot anything. I will add to this in a day or two.

That is why they call it hunting. My brother, father and I did not fire a shot on our CO trip but it was the best place in the world to not shoot anything. The landscape and the terrain in southern CO are just amazing and will always bring me back.

I have read many stories concentrating on the memories made and the good times had on any given hunt but it never really hit home until this trip. I want to shoot a monster and never really think about everything else that is happening right in front of me. My dad has never been the nostalgic type but on this trip he would not stop talking about how perfect everything was and how happy he was to be there. It is always great to see him so happy but it did not penetrate my thick skin until the ride home. We are unsure if there will be another Hansen family hunting trip with all of us but to share this experience with my dad and my brother the last two years will never be forgotten.

Throughout the hunt I saw 2 calves, three cows and one bull. Last year I saw the same bull twice and was lucky enough to harvest him the second time but this year was definitely more fun. The others saw countless mule deer and one of them was a giant! The hunting was not fast and furious but the time spent in a tent with my family was one of the most enjoyable experiences in my life.

Sometimes when I am alone in the woods I can drive myself crazy thinking about this, that and the other thing but not on this trip. I concentrated on a fun way to propose to my gf of 7 years and trying to enjoy my surroundings in the present. She said yes and has still been allowing me to hunt hard so the future is looking bright! I did not propose in a tree, thought about it but found a different way. This picture was taken the day after we became engaged.

Good luck the rest of this fall! Looks like there are great reports rolling in on every forum and I hope to have my own soon!

Sounds like a great time spent with Family in some awesome country Congratulations on the engagement I forsee a very happy couple

I need our IT guy to help with the pics! Thanks Bob.

Very Cool! Sounds like a successful trip to me. Congrats!