Well, today is packing-up day. We’ve just completed a successful hunt in the rugged mountains of central Utah. I’ll have great memories of this hunt for years to come.
Late in the afternoon of our fourth day, my hunting partner, Nelson Neal, shot this magnificent bull elk from 400 yards across a steep canyon. As I watched through a spotting scope from a peak nearly two miles away, the bull stepped out from a dense grove of cedars and gave Neal a full broadside view. He made a near-perfect shot and the great bull was down! A trophy of a lifetime!
We booked our hunt with outfitter Shane Scott, operating out of Richfield, Utah. Scott paired us up with professional guide Marty Hansen, who lives in nearby Centerfield. We couldn’t have been more pleased. Marty and his crew had been spotting for days before we arrived, and these guys really know their stuff! We glassed several fine bulls early on, but Hansen knew we could do better . . . and, boy, was he ever right!
The Monarch in all his regal splendor.
As we sat over dinner at the local café last night reminiscing about the hunt, the texts and phone calls of congratulations began flooding in. It seems that this bull was something of a legend in this area. Folks sent Marty several still photos and even a one-and-a-half-minute video of this king of the mountain herding his cows up the same ridge a few weeks earlier.
If you’re ever planning to hunt in this area, you couldn’t do better than hunting with Marty Hansen. His team knows this country well.
The story doesn’t end there. This magnificent bull is heading to the mountains of western North Carolina. Nelson plans to donate him to The Wilds Christian Camp and Conference Center, near Rosman, North Carolina. He will reside in the lodge there and be enjoyed for years to come as folks look and marvel at “The Monarch of Cedar Mountain.”