CANYON CITY — A Grant County teen has been venturing deep into the backcountry to seek out valuable treasures from nature.

Cash Madden, 16, of Canyon City, returns from his wilderness treks with the antlers shed by deer and elk in what’s called shed hunting. The animals lose their antlers after mating season, usually in late winter or early spring.

Madden said he’s been hunting for antlers for the past three years and it’s good exercise. This past spring, Madden said he traveled 300 miles all around the county in pursuit of his hobby.

“I’ve been going out on my own doing a lot of shed hunting for three years,” he said. “Every week, I would hike three or four times a week. I do 10 to 12 miles on most hikes.”

During the spring, Madden said, being outdoors and getting exercise is a good part of shed hunting. On a good day, Madden said he hikes about 10 miles — or about 30,000 steps for each excursion.

The season for shed hunting, Madden said, is in the spring when the grasses aren’t too high and the weather isn’t too inclement.

“This past spring I’ve done over 300 miles,” said Madden, who said homeschooling allowed him the time to pursue his hobby. “I do online school — homeschooling. I’m able to go out so much. I get a whole week of school done pretty fast, and I’m able to go out.”

Madden, the son of local Realtor Michal Madden, said he finds the shed antlers in mountainous areas throughout the county.

“Shed hunting gives me a good idea what animals are in the area,” he said. “In the winter and spring, they’re in the lower country because of the snow, and during summertime and hunting season, they go up into the higher country. It has more feed.”

The largest elk antlers Madden said he’s found have a main beam of 51 inches, or a little over four feet.

“They kind of start itching their heads,” he said. “It starts bothering them, so a lot of them rake their antlers on trees and stuff. Some get into fights and they ram their horns against each other. That’s how they usually shed.”

Madden said he does both regular game hunting and shed hunting, but prefers shed hunting.

“With hunting, you only get to go out and get one thing, and then you’re tagged out for the season and can’t do much else,” he said. “With shed hunting, all you do is go out and you find more and more.”

Madden said he’s collected about 300 to 400 pairs of antler sheds in the past three years. About 50 or 60 of those are coveted elk horns, and 10 of them are very large, which can be both impressive to look at and lucrative if Madden were to sell them.

“I’ve sold a few; not many,” he said. “I’ve kept most of mine, but right now, I have two piles in my room: a pile of deer shed that’s four feet tall and a pile of elk shed that’s also four feet tall.”

The shed elk antlers can go for about $300 to $400 a pair. Elk horns are sought after in the production of dog chews, Madden said.

“This year, I just got my (driver’s) license,” Madden said. “I have to sell some elk sheds so I can get some gas money. They sell for quite a bit.”