Hoard

• Jurisdiction: Wyoming,United States
• Pages: 44
• Citation: Vol. 46 No. 6 Pg. 44
• Publication year: 2023

The Grizzly Hoard Vol. 46 No. 6 Pg. 44 Wyoming Bar Journal December 2023

by Hon. Clark C. Allan

Most of us who choose to live in the great state of Wyoming love spending time outdoors in one pursuit or another. For my family, that has always meant hunting and fishing. The adventures, hardships and sometimes trials, create bonds of friendship and trust that last a lifetime. Frequently, we work harder at having fun than we do at actually working.

A few years ago, my son, Jim, and his wife, Colby, drew elk tags in an area somewhere east of Yellowstone National Park. As we prepared for the hunt, we knew that part of the spice for this particular hunt would be the exposure to high grizzly populations. While we had hunted around the big bears for years, we had so far been fortunate to avoid any close encounters. This was probably more due to good luck than good management, but it also led to a bit of overconfidence with the issue.

The day before the hunt opened, we drove to the trailhead with four horses in tow—two for riding and two for packing—leaving us to take turns walking. We packed in up a relatively steep trail for about 10 miles and set up camp on the back side of a high ridgeline.

On the third day, Jim and Colby both managed to kill nice 6-point bulls in a high basin on the other side of the ridgeline from camp. That day is a story in and of itself and could be the subject of an independent article. In summary,

the day started bright and sunny, followed by a pelting of about two inches of hail between the shooting of the two bulls, evolved into a serious dumping of snow and ended in a stupendous horse wreck. The result was that we got back to camp after...