Colin H. Rouaud
“What do you mean you killed 8 cow elk without even owning a pair of binoculars or a rangefinder growing up.”
Growing up as a first generation American in the Vail Valley, my parents exposed me to the outdoors early on in life. Their love for it fueled my passions, I can’t remember a time without the opportunity to be outside enjoying just about everything my backyard offered. Today, the outdoors is what I call home, living life to the fullest in the wilderness. This valley is full of opportunity to recreate in countless ways.
My dad picked me up from school one day in kindergarten and we drove to a secluded road to meet with his friend with whom he had joined on a deer hunt that day. His friend had shot a little buck, we were there to help him drag it out. I didn’t know it yet, but that day exposed me to what I was meant to be a part of. It wasn’t until the 7th grade that my dad and I got our hunter safety’s together, we had only gone on one hunt prior to that but truthfully I kept pushing my dad to get me into it. We spent a weekend that fall in a local unit, with absolutely no knowledge of what we were doing, hiking around in jeans, Walmart camo, and an orange vest. Hoping that we would find elk, we really just had an extended camping trip in the backcountry seeing deer and tracks every so often, without success that season. I had a lot to learn. From then on, I was hooked and hunted every late season until I went to college.
My method of chasing elk was not your modern time spot and stalk with glass style of rifle hunt. We kept it simple; day hunts with a pack loaded with the essentials, the rifle and open eyes until we met a group of unsuspecting elk. Each year I had success. We made it a tradition over the winter holiday break to eat a tenderloin and seafood on Christmas and New Years Eve. For me being able to share those memories with my family and essentially start a tradition, is really what hunting is about for me. The people and relationships hunting brings, the memories shared, and once in a lifetime experiences you get to relive with a story. It is a lifestyle, we connect with Nature and the people we share those days with at a deeper level. I believe being in the landscape in such a way is what we are meant to do, and having the opportunity to hunt with my family, friends and guide others on what may be their hunt of a lifetime, is what keeps me out there sharing those experiences. Since I have returned from college, I’ve gained an immense amount of experience with different methods hunting different species during different time periods. I have Tim and his wife Gin to thank for bringing me onto the team and making a dream a reality, living this lifestyle.
At Gypsum Creek Outfitters, our focus is not as simple as success of filling a tag. We’re a group of like minded people prioritizing the memories and lifelong relationships based on the live outside lifestyle.
