I took off 3 months in the fall of that year. I was single and could do it
I hunted South Dakota antelope, then to Colorado mule deer hunting. I picked a wilderness area, packed a pack and in I went. I got caught at dark, climbing the side of a mtn, pouring rain and a 50 degree slope and finally found a 4' x 8' level spot I tossed my dink tent up and spent a lonely, cold, miserable night best I remember. Not much sleep to be had but next morning I went another few hundred yards and topped out on a flat and hunted all day, actually shot at and missed a big muley doe (and glad I did!) But what I found was enormous amounts of elk sign. I walked off the mtn that night, and muley hunted near the roads, camping out of my truck for nights.
When I got back to Arkansas my buddy was enamored with my tales of elk sign and said lets go and I said ok, so next day I drove back to Colorado. Heck of a hunt - the hunt I missed my giant 6x6, my buddy got lost for 36 hours, I remember bugling in bulls everyday but so many things can go wrong if you don't know what you're doing !
On the way home my buddy asks what I'm doing the next week and well, I'm hunting right? Because I took the time off and he says go back, you got a tag, it will only cost you the gas so that's what I did. I turned around and drove BACK to Colorado a 3rd time.
I think I hunted 3 nights and the third evening I bugled to this bull, he answer, I was more savvy now that I had 2 1/2 weeks under my belt and I missed him at 7 yards thanks to branches. As he ran I bugled, he stopped and my second arrow hit him through the neck/jugular and he bled out in short order.
A very shortened version of my first elk ....... I think I probably earned it