2:00 AM came early on Saturday morning as I tossed and turned all night, double-checking my phone to make sure I hadn’t overslept. It was time to hit the road for the 28-hour drive from Perry, Georgia to Williams, Arizona. My goal was to put in 17 hours to make it to Amarillo, Texas, in time to watch the Georgia Bulldogs play Georgia Tech in their last regular season game. It was a long push, but I pulled into Amarillo just in time to grab a quick steak dinner at the Big Texan Steakhouse, and then it was straight to my hotel room to watch the game. After the Bulldogs' great victory, I was out for the night, resting up for the last leg of the trip the following day.

Sunday morning found me on the road at first light, heading west. The day flew by, and before I knew it, I was in Flagstaff, Arizona, at the Sportsman’s Warehouse stretching my legs. After picking up a few last-minute items, I headed to Williams, just 30 minutes west on I-40.

I checked in around 3:00 PM and couldn’t unload fast enough to get my feet on the ground in Unit 8. It didn’t take long to find my way out of Williams and onto the miles of service roads throughout the unit. With my OnX in hand, I was on my way to my first glassing spot before dusk. Driving through the big ponderosa pines, it was hard not to stop and admire the natural beauty of the landscape. It just looked like elk and deer should be around every corner. And speaking of which, as I rounded a corner on my way to the area I wanted to glass, I crossed paths with four cow elk in the middle of Forest Service Road 105. What a great start! After reaching the trailhead I wanted to explore, I decided to turn back as there was little light left for glassing. However, I was happy to have found my place, and seeing the elk really boosted my enthusiasm for the hunt.

First morning sunrise from Wagner Tank

The next morning, I found myself back at the same spot an hour before light. I hiked along the Yew Thicket trail to glass down into Government Canyon. This was the first time I had laid eyes on a canyon of this size, and as the sun rose, the canyon seemed to grow deeper. This country is no joke, and to be honest, I don’t see how you could retrieve a bull in some of the locations I was glassing. But if there's a big bull, we're going to find a way!

I worked the rim ledge, glassing down into the canyon as far as the rim would allow before turning back east. Then, I crossed over the open flat to glass down into Cedar Creek and Indian Tank. After hours of glassing, I came up with no elk sightings. Not to worry, though, there was big country ahead of me, and I knew there had to be bulls in there somewhere. I worked my way eastward all the way to Lonesome Pocket Tank and had my late lunch, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It was close to 3:00 PM now, and still no sign of any elk. My hopes remained high, though, as there is so much country here, and Unit 8 holds a very high density of elk.

Like many other hunters I have become very dependent with OnX Maps

I got back to my truck around 4:30 PM and made my way around to another canyon that was close to the road to view. Seeing nothing promising, I headed back to Williams to find some dinner at the Pine Country Restaurant. This restaurant is very well known for their pies, which I was turned onto years ago by my uncle Glenn. I was exhausted and ready to get caught up on some rest.

Such an impressive view looking down Government Canyon from Wagner Hill

Day 2 found me back at the same spot, but this time I hiked up on top of Wagner Hill before light. I found a great spot to glass a lot of the country I did the day before but from a different angle and without all the hiking. This was a good spot, as I discovered an old campfire ring where other hunters had been burning a small fire to keep warm as they glassed. After about two hours of glassing the whole countryside over, I noticed some movement below me. Two fellow hunters had hiked into the area as well for some pre-scouting. I was only 200 yards above them, but they never noticed me as I sat on the rocks enjoying the warm sun. After they hiked out of sight back the way they came, I decided to make a move. I’d spent a day and a half here and turned up nothing, which was concerning for me. As I navigated to my next spot, I came across a fellow hunter named David Sears. David was out scouting for his two daughters and had a wealth of knowledge about the unit. I sat and discussed elk hunting and all the spots with him for almost an hour. After we said our goodbyes, we parted ways, and I was onto my next spot. This time I decided to give Lee Canyon a look. I made my way into the area, which took forever due to the very poor road conditions. The roads here in Unit 8 are very rough with jagged rocks in areas. Flat tires are a definite concern on these roads. Lee Canyon was full of campsites already, and I could tell it would have a ton of opening weekend pressure, so after a quick glance, I made the slow backtrack out and back to Williams just before dark.

Be prepared for very tough road conditions in unit 8

Day 3, I decided to make a trip all the way east into Unit 6B to glass back west into Sycamore Canyon and Volunteer Canyon. It was a long haul, but once I was there, the glassing was spectacular. I took a hike down Kelsey Trail to Little Lo to get a view up Sycamore Creek. I finally discovered some fresh sign, but it was in Kelsey Springs, and that’s not in the unit Flint has a tag for. After hiking back up and out of 6B and back to Williams, I made my way to the US Fish & Wildlife Service office on the west side of Williams. This is where I met Richard Valdez who took the time to show me around Unit 8 on their maps. The local help has really been good for me, and I encourage anyone who’s doing a DIY hunt to reach out to the local resources. That afternoon, I spent my time checking tanks for fresh tracks one after another, trying to locate some fresh sign. As I was traveling from tank to tank, I met David again on the road. We stopped and compared notes again on what each of us had discovered. I told David that I was concerned about this hunt, as I had now invested three full days into scouting without turning up any elk.  David assured me this was a great unit with plenty of bulls, just keep pounding and one will turn up. 

Checking tanks for fresh tracks and finding dry tanks thought unit 8 this winter

Day 4 – It’s the day before opening day, and I find myself in panic mode with no elk spotted. On top of that, I have to drive to Phoenix to pick up Flint and my father at the airport first thing in the morning. Williams received its first snow of the season, and I’m missing probably the best glassing opportunity of the week, but hey, I miss my son, and I’m ready to see him. I hadn’t been in Phoenix long before Flint called me, saying they had landed and to pick them up at Terminal 4. As I pulled around, I could see the excitement in both my father and Flint. This is the first hunt my dad has been on in a long time, and he seems just as, if not more, excited about this trip as Flint is. They hopped in the truck, and we were off to Williams just in time for a good lunch. As we unpacked and discussed our options for the following morning, we decided to go for a drive just to see some country. It was great driving along the dirt roads, chatting with each other about what was to come this upcoming week.

Three generations here and that in itself is what made this hunt successful before it even started

Gear For My Prescouting: