By: Paul Brenner
Harlan Wyatt operates a prosperous elk guiding and outfitting service on the Western Slope of Colorado, but is still haunted by his role in exterminating the grizzly bear from the Colorado Rockies back in the 1950s.
As Harlan enters his final year on the Divide and prepares to pass the business on to his son, Harlan’s plans for a smooth transition are disrupted by a poacher, the long-time rancher on the mountain, the United States Forest Service, the local game warden, a female newspaper reporter and a record-setting bull elk on the loose within the permit area.
Harlan Wyatt’s final season at the helm of Wyatt Outfitters proves anything but ordinary.
Paul Brenner graduated from the Air Force Academy, completed his six year flying commitment in the Air Force, then served thirty-plus years as an airline pilot. During a furlough from the airline in the 1980s, he lived in western Colorado, working as a civil engineer and part-time elk guide. He is married and lives in southern New Mexico.