Big News
As has been the theme in recent years, we’ve made improvements!
Our Pack Station is the cornerstone of FTWG operations. For more than 35 years, hunters have mounted horses and departed into the wilderness from beneath its rough-hewn timber trusses. It is here that panniers are packed, mules are cinched tight, rifles meet scabbards, handshakes are exchanged, and gear is readied. For many of our guests, it’s the last building they will see on their trip. For our crew, it’s the center of the universe!
Contractors worked over the span of the 2024/2025 winter and spring months completing a much-needed overhaul of the building. The structural posts had settled and rafters had sagged. Lights flickered and were certainly not up to code. A complete demolition and rebuild of the entire hitching rail area ensued.
The result is nothing short of BEAUTIFUL! It has the same basic footprint and “feel” but with lasting structural integrity, improved lighting, drainage mitigation, and straight lines.
Also, the employee Bunkhouse received a facelift. New roof, flooring, finishes, furnishings and appliances made the space much more livable and elevated it to match the standards of the rest of the property. We have the best crew around, and now, they’ll know how appreciated they are!
Summer
Trips
The summer months were hot and dry, but the high country fishing was still lights-out! Along with the usual day fishing trips, we guided a handful of overnight wilderness trips at the Lake Camp and multi-day Lodge adventures.
Some of our most memorable trips included:
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- A Lodge multi-day fishing trip with a young, energetic couple whose primary interest was dry-fly fishing for wild Brook trout. We ate like royalty and visited a new wilderness destination every day.
- A wedding proposal on a full-day horseback ride to Turret Meadows (She said YES!)
- An overnight wilderness adventure with Eric and Ulf, the contractors responsible for the property upgrades. Lake Trout caviar, it turns out, is pretty darn good!
Derby Fire
On the heels of a drought-stricken summer, the range conditions were an absolute tinder box. On August 17th, a lightning strike in the West Fork of Red Dirt Creek ignited a wildfire in steep, rugged, wilderness terrain where firefighting efforts were next-to-impossible. Quickly, the fire grew in size and forced closures across most of our permit area and an evacuation order for our headquarters. In the midst of camp-setting, our productivity came to a halt! But our crew pulled together through adversity. All 44 head of horses were relocated to neighboring properties and the team of guides and packers made “camp” at Evan and Maggee Koster’s home on Colorado River Road. Working with our USFS permit administrators, we received approval to set our remaining camp locations via Coffeepot Road and Indian Camp. It was not ideal, but our staff never balks at a challenge! We got it done!
Near the end of August, we received heavy rainfall and fire crews made progress at containment. Evacuation orders were lifted and we were able to reoccupy the outfit right in time for hunting season! Aside from a few shifts in camp locations, we resumed normal operations. We are so grateful for the help of the community, firefighters, and USFS personnel as we navigated this difficult event. We’d also like to thank our guests for their understanding!
September
Lodge Black Bear Hunts
We kicked off the month with several guided bear hunts from the Lodge. Despite the drought and forest closures that limited our hunt area, we were able to turn bears up readily. 60% of this year’s bear hunters took home good adult male bears, and everyone saw bears or had fleeting opportunities. Guide, Colton Timmons, had fun experimenting with predator calls and found them to be effective at stopping/luring bears for a closer shot.
Archery Elk
During the first week of the season, drop camp hunters had several fantastic elk encounters. The guys at John Springs, in particular, had a great hunt with bulls seen daily and one missed shot. Later in the month, the camps on the eastern end of the permit area were into them as well.
Guided hunts were a resounding success, despite a last-minute shift in camp location (due to the Derby Fire.) We saw a 33% success rate on legal bulls, which is right in line with our expectations. We didn’t experience much bugling this year, and instead, targeted solitary satellite bulls willing to come to cow calls.
Goat
We guided 9 goat hunters this year and 8 out 9 went home with great billies! This was the first year that we did not have 100% success on the goat hunts and not due to a lack of effort! The CPW is allocating A LOT of tags across all the goat units and are increasing allocations every year. The increased harvest and pressure is changing how we hunt but are still making it happen on these once in a lifetime tags. We guided 2 hunters in a new unit (G18) for the first time this year and both hunters went home with billies on the first day.
Sheep
We had 4 sheep hunters this September and all 4 went home with great rams and a story to last a lifetime!
Moose
We guided one GMU 25/26/231 bull moose hunter. He was a great guy with the right attitude! Based on our scouting, a deep, horseback wilderness hunt provided the best chance at a trophy bull. Richard was on board with that idea, and he took a great bull for his efforts! While we didn’t officially score him, this bull was 41″ wide, with split brow tines, and 18 score-able points. Believe it or not, we saw several this size and larger on the hunt. Our moose hunting is off-the-charts!
1st Rifle Season
We got a skiff of snow on the tops in the days leading up to 1st Rifle which helped hunters in the higher camps read sign and locate elk. That snow, however, was short-lived and hunters in the lower elevation camps struggled unless they were willing to get out, up, and away from camp. One lucky hunter was also able to take a solid black bear. We encourage everyone to pick up a bear tag for their 1st Rifle hunt — it’s a fun and often productive side-opportunity for your elk hunt!
We based our guided hunt from a wilderness camp. We only guided two hunters, but both killed bulls and rode out of the wilderness early with heads held high and notched tags!
2nd Rifle Season
2nd Rifle saw a continuation of warm, dry weather. Elk hunting was more difficult than usual, but a handful of hunters were able to score. Bulls seemed to be holding in high, steep, rimrock country. The guys at Main Camp took an impressive 6×6. Deer hunting was fair, and over the course of the season, we packed a half-dozen bucks off the mountain including one solid 160” mule deer. In our briefings, we’ve started suggesting that hunters pass on yearling and two-year-old bucks (even though they’re often legal.) We really appreciate all of you guys that show restraint and an interest in the future of our trophy mule deer hunting!
3rd Rifle Season
Dry. Warm. Little-to-no snow. AGAIN!
Typically, 2nd — 4th Rifle Season success is heavily dependent on migration. Snow kicks things off, and we celebrate its arrival. On a normal year, snow coverage is a certainty above 8k feet in November. This year, there was no such luck!
In conditions like this, only the hardiest hunters will find success. It takes persistence, dedication, and sweaty shirtsleeves. Fortunately, we had several 3rd Rifle hunters who were willing to put in the work. One hunter from RS Camp killed an absolute giant bull in a deep backcountry basin. The mule deer hunting, again, was only fair. One group, however, went 3 of 4 on bucks. It seemed like the guys with drive and work ethic were still able to get it done, despite tough conditions.
4th Rifle Season
By 4th Rifle Season, we’ve pulled all of our remaining wilderness camps off the mountain. Instead, we focus on Lodge guided hunts. With the mild conditions in 2025, unfortunately, most of the game stayed well within the wilderness area all the way until the bitter end! We made long rides in the dark and put in the effort, but for the most part, the bulls/bucks eluded us. Thankfully, the hunters who joined us in camp understood the year-to-year variability of western hunting and they had a blast regardless.
Post Season, Renovations, Mountain Lion
With the tents rolled and stored, horses hauled to warmer locales, and big game seasons concluded — our attention shifted to mountain lions! Myron Miller (arguably “Rookie-of-the-Year” on this season’s staff) stuck around for a few days of horseback wilderness lion hunting with Evan and his hounds. On the third day of hunting, they caught and harvested a beautiful cat in the cliffs below Main Camp. Myron used his .50cal percussion-cap muzzleloader. It was a wild, wooly, hair-raising hunt to finish the year! If you’d like to get signed up for a future lion hunt, you can see an Overview at this LINK
This winter, property improvements continue. Contractors are working diligently to upgrade the Barn office and bathroom. Also, a major landscaping project will open-up the pond area and provide a more verdant and less cluttered aesthetic. There may also be changes in store for the historic “Meat House.” Stay tuned!
Colorado’s Hunting Outlook
GMU 25 Non-Resident Archery Elk Tags
We had countless conversations with hunters last year who feared that the elimination of over-the-counter non-Resident archery elk tags would affect their ability to come hunt with us every year. We predicted the tag allocation would remain liberal and drawing the tag with zero preference points (or as a Second Choice) would be possible. Now, with a year’s worth of data, you don’t have to take our word for it — there are hard numbers to analyze!
The 2025 tag quota for the archery non-Resident hunt code in GMU 25 (EE-025-V1A) was 1,030 tags. From that allotment, 659 tags were drawn-out and 371 tags were released to the Leftover List. This means supply exceeded demand (by about 36%.) This doesn’t mean you should wait for the Leftover List to secure your tag. However, it does mean you’ll likely draw the tag as a Second Choice if your priority is to build or retain preference points for future years. Great news!
Wolves
This subject gets plenty of media coverage elsewhere, so we’ll be brief. The only reason it deserves mention is because we get a lot of questions. In short:
- YES wolves are present in the units we guide.
- NO we haven’t had a confirmed sighting.
- NO there have not been population-level impacts to our elk herd, and likely, won’t be for many years. There are currently +/-30 wolves in the entire state and an estimated 308,000 elk.
2028 Changes to Colorado’s Big Game Draw
To combat “point-creep,” Colorado will move to a Split-Draw system in 2028. There will be massive implications for both low-point and high-point holders. Also, changes will be made to the way sheep, goat and moose tags are awarded. The guys at Go Hunt have done a great job breaking down the nuances of these proposed changes, item-by-item. You can read in depth HERE
If you don’t have a longterm preference point strategy in Colorado, shame on you! You should! Give us a call if you’d like to discuss a plan. (970) 343-4460
Booking Opportunities
December through March is our busiest booking period. We are actively answering phone calls, emails, and attending hunting shows. Hunters often ask, “When do I need to make a decision about booking a hunt?” The answer is: RIGHT NOW!
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Contact Us for dates
Here is our future availability:
2026
- Several Archery Drop Camps throughout the month
- One Guided Wilderness Archery spot
- Several 1st Rifle Drop Camps
- One 3rd Rifle Drop Camp
- Open Summer availability
2027
- Limited guided openings for each season, **but filling fast
- Open Drop Camp availability
River’s Bend Outfitters
See how our sister outfit on the North side of the Flat Tops did in GMU 24, HERE
