Trinidad enlisted in the Army as a Combat Engineer in February 2015 and completed OSUT at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, before serving at Fort Hood, Texas, until May 2018. He then enlisted in the New Mexico National Guard, serving one weekend per month to fulfill his five-year service obligation. In 2019, after discovering he would be a father, he applied for active duty in the National Guard and has eleven years remaining until he is eligible for retirement.
He started hunting in 2019 after meeting his wife, whose family were all avid hunters. Trinidad shared, “One weekend, my father-in-law, Randy, invited me to go deer hunting with him and help out. Ever since then, I have become very passionate about hunting.”
Trinidad was disappointed that his name was not included in the 2024 NMDGF elk drawing. His mood, however, changed quickly when he later learned that the United Special Sportsman Alliance had a bull elk tag for him. “I was ecstatic to discover that I was chosen to attend my first elk hunt; no words could fully express my gratitude,” he said.
Trinidad, Randy, and his friend Mike packed their camper and drove to Valle Vidal, known as the “Valley of Life” in Carson National Forest. As they set up camp on Friday evening, it began to snow. They woke at 5:00 am to find two inches of freshly fallen snow blanketing the ground. By 7:00 am, they were on their way in the truck, excited to begin their hunt.
Trinidad said, “Twenty minutes into the hunt, we spotted a herd with two bulls. We parked the truck and saw them walking across a meadow on the side of the mountain. It was approximately a 600-yard shot, and I seriously considered taking it, as I was confident I could hit it from that distance. However, I ultimately decided against it, and we began our hike through the snow on a different mountain.”
Fifteen minutes into our hike up the mountain, it started snowing again, so we put on our wet weather gear and continued our hunt. We averaged ten miles of hiking that day and were about 9,200 feet above sea level. Unfortunately, we didn’t see or hear any bull elk for the rest of the day. Later, we spoke with a game warden who informed us that we might not encounter any more animals off the road. He noted that the herd in Valle Vidal has drastically decreased, and there’s a strong possibility we won’t see more bulls. We then returned to camp, prepared dinner, and regrouped; my father-in-law devised a new game plan.
We started late on Sunday due to some unfortunate events that morning. Eventually, we headed down the mountain and noticed that the roads we needed to take were extremely muddy and in terrible driving conditions. We attached chains to the truck tires and drove as fast as possible. We descended to about 8,300 feet on the mountain, with less snow.
We started our hike into the forest 
around 11 am, and within half an hour, we were hit by a rainstorm. Mike took out his rain tarp, and we hung it between trees. We stood under it until about 12:45 pm. The rain had calmed down a bit, so we put on our wet weather gear and continued the hike.
At around 3 pm, we heard the most beautiful sound a hunter could hear: a bull bugle. Soon after, we heard two bulls bugling at each other, so we tracked them to a water hole surrounded by a berm. Although the bulls were already back up the mountain and bedded down, my father-in-law began making cow calls to draw them down to us. After a while, we heard something moving towards us. I set up in a prone position on the berm and placed my crosshairs on it, only to realize it was just a small spike bull; the older bulls remained bedded. With sunset approaching, we gathered our things and started hiking back to the truck.
Before we knew it, it was pitch black, and we had about four miles left to hike. Lightning flashed in the sky as we turned on our headlamps. We reached the truck just in time as more rain showers began. After returning to camp, we prepared dinner, and my father-in-law mentioned that we would go back to the water hole the next day around noon to wait for the elk to come out.
We arrived at the water hole on Monday at noon, settled down, enjoyed snacks, and napped. Shortly after 3 pm, the bulls began bugling, just as expected. Instead of going to the water hole this time, they continued down the hill to another meadow. We stalked the herd through the trees for a while, then noticed they had turned around and were coming right toward us. We only observed cows and did not see any bulls.
We hunker down against the tree, my back resting against it as I rest the Savage 6.5 Creedmoor rifle on the shooting stick. Finally, I spotted a bull and began tracking it through my scope as it moved among the trees. My father-in-law attempts a couple of cow calls to get him to stop, but the bull continues to move. I briefly looked up from the scope to find a clear shot through the trees and locate a small gap. I then realize that my back isn’t pressed against the tree any longer; I’m now sitting on my butt, relying on my body weight to support the rifle on the shooting stick.
It’s around 5:00 pm, and I align the crosshairs on the opening, waiting for the bull to walk through; it’s approximately 100 yards away. Finally, the bull begins to cross. My heart is racing, and I’m trying to control my breathing. The crosshairs are on the pocket behind the shoulder, so I squeeze the trigger! The recoil from the shot pushes me back a bit. As I started to reload, my father-in-law told me it was down.
My 4X4 bull was down, and the mission was complete; my Apple watch said my heartbeat was 191 bpm. I walked over to him to make sure he was fully passed away. I placed my hand on him and prayed, thanking him and God for sacrificing this gorgeous animal for my family.”
The best part of the hunt was the experience and knowledge I gained from my father-in-law. He is incredibly knowledgeable about hunting, and whenever I have the opportunity, I soak up everything he teaches me. Additionally, the memories we made during the trip were truly invaluable.
Congratulations to Trinidad for bagging his trophy elk and the unforgettable memories he shared with his father-in-law and Mike. Thank you for your service! We want to extend our special thanks to the NMDGF for their assistance in making this hunt possible. God bless!
If you are interested in getting involved or know of a deserving youth or veteran, please get in touch with us at [email protected].