These elk are only a few of several I caught on my trail camera at the pond.

I felt confident that elk would begin using both waterholes.

The last step was to locate the perfect tree and hang my stand. After clearing some branches, I hung my treestand in a large pine. From there I would have a 25-yard shot to either pond.

The first year I didn't see many animals. However, over the next couple of years, more elk started frequenting my ponds. To get a better idea, I hung two trail cameras and was amazed. Some pretty nice bulls were coming in at various times of the day and night.

In 2007, I was sitting in my stand when a giant six-point bull came in. He never came right to the wallow but fed around it, where I ranged him at 65 yards. As badly as I wanted to take my first bull elk, I had to pass because the range was just too far for a guaranteed clean kill. And, besides, part of my goal was to take a bull up close.

Reluctantly I watched him walk away, and I did not get another chance that year.

With renewed hope in the summer of 2008, I made the trek to my pond. Each summer I had to dig it out because snow runoff in the spring filled it with mud. As I cleaned out the pond and looked at my little piece of heaven, my excitement grew for the coming hunt.

The Utah archery season opens in mid-August, and I had planned to start hunting early in the season. However, my two sons wanted to go hunting, and I knew they couldn't make the brutal hike to the ponds. So I took them out camping in the trailer to an area they could hunt for deer. We spent a fun-filled week together. We didn't get a deer, but we did walk away with fond memories and a ton of smiles.

Soon after that I hiked to the ponds with my bow and treestand and hung the stand as quietly as possible. I was excited to be there, but as I looked down on the ponds, I wondered if I had waited too long. The ponds are in a transition area where elk spend their summers. Then they migrate to a different area for the rut. As the hours ticked by, I felt sure my chance had slipped away again. Before starting the long hike out, I debated whether to take down the treestand. I finally decided to leave it, but all the way back to the trailhead I wondered if that was a mistake.

Not until the Friday before Labor Day was I able to return. Arriving at the trailhead in the dark, I began the hour-and-a-half climb and was encouraged at bumping an elk in the dark. At least some elk remained in the area.