Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Anyone ever hunt elk from the Durango & Silverton train in Colorado?

The best way to hunt archery goat in unit G5 is to start out from the D&S train (G5 is archery only). I went with my buddy in the late 80's--but I'll be darned if I can remember what the train stop at the trailhead is called.....it's hell getting old. Most goat hunters use the train--It's a blast bringing down the meat, head, cape and skin to the train stop after 4-5 days in the hills......amongst all the tourists

Casey

Needleton!--That's it!

A guy can get across the river fairly easy in August.

Pardon the off-topic, but are these tags all archery and resident?

PredHunter exaggerated a bit. There are 12 archery tags (one non-resident) and two rifle tags (resident only). The rifle tags are only good in a small portion of the northern end of the unit, which is more easily accessed by vehicle than train.

this is my first ever post so bear with me...

I did this hunt about 10 years ago. ML for elk. The train dropped us off at elk park. We did see elk, a few very nice ones but never close enough for a ML shot. The terrain is very very steep. The year I went I trained for and ran a 1/2 marathon and I was none too conditioned. We camped as I recall at 10,500 ft and hunted about 12,500 ft. We gained that altitude very quickly, darn near straight up. One of my companions had to head out fairly quickly due to altitude sickness. Back then the tag was good only east of the river. That area is also wilderness designated, so no wheels of any sort (i.e. cart) if you get one it comes out on your back. (Too steep for cart anyhow). Call the good folks at the RR they were most helpful, they do this all the time. I recall they will haul as much as you want, you pay per 100# and it is relatively cheap. You can cross the river a short ways north of elk park on a walking bridge. Any specific ? let me know. A great hunt, great adventure, great memories.

Can you buy back 25 years and a few surgeries through the train plan as well...................

I read about this hunt/train package deal many years ago and it sounded wonderful......isolated, pristine areas, elk in their own backyard playin' by their rules, lots of "seat of the pants" decisions to be made, reasonable rates, etc. An adventure to share amongst the best of buddies.

For those w/o physical limitations or time constraints who desire to see such areas, whether for hunting purposes or not........don't put off what may someday not be possible to do. It sounds like a challenge for sure, but a fun and memorable one with the right people, information and attitudes.

Don't put off today, fellas.................

When my buddy drew his G5 tag, the unit had only been open for a few years. 3 goats had been harvested, and two archery hunters had been killed--one struck by lightening, the other fell off the mountain.......Hunters 3, Goats 2

Casey

One should always have a prudent grasp of their limitations..............but it's the "how do we get to know what our limitations are".....THAT'S the fine line.

When I would free dive, it was oftentimes a bit of a rush (quite literally), to break the surface in time. Testing the waters if you will........

Be safe and good luck, oftentimes have more in common than we think.

Good info Casey.