Need to quit work!

Well, the last week has been so busy! sorry i haven't been able to blog very much. i thought this might happen, i was afraid that when hunting season came around the running and blogging might get a little less regular. i am trying, i promise. i did shoot a decent buck the other day, not what i was hoping for, but he had an arrow sticking out of his neck. so i shot him and got the other arrow out and the entire wound (from one side of his neck to the other) was badly infected and pus was just pouring out. he is probably the biggest deer i have ever gotten with a bow, so i can't complain too much. i did get to watch one huge 10 point. when i first saw him he was 20 yards from my stand, through some very thick brush, and i thought he was a 10 point that my uncle passed a few days before. however, when he walked out where i could see his antlers i knew no one would have passed him. he had mass, was wide and tall. i got to watch him through my binoculars (because it was getting dark) at 80 yards for a good while. i also saw another big 10 point at the other end of the field, out in the open, during the entire last hour of daylight. i saw another 10 point about 70 yards away. he has good G2s and pretty good width, but not much of anything else. it has been an extremely eventful and fun year so far, and we are still in bow season and haven't even hit the rut yet! other than that i have only been able to hunt a few days since i have had to work every saturday since i got back from montana, and teach the youth on sunday morning and evening. if anyone is hiring for a job where i could have the next 2 months off (plus march, april and may) and still earn a good salary, please call me asap!

i got a new bike, more of a road bike than my other bike, hopefully it will stop raining soon so i can get back to running and riding my new bike!

lesson of the day: while growing up they tell you, you should get a good job that makes good money, that's false, get a job that allows you to hunt as much as possible and that pays you enough to be able to hunt as much as possible. period.

Trying to get back on schedule

i must apologize for not posting like i said i would. this week has been busy, i was on call tues, had a birthday dinner wed, and on call again tonight. however, i think one of the vets is going to cover my night on call next week since i covered his call tonight. i should not be on call at all next week. hopefully that will help me to get back on track running and blogging. i know everyone has missed my blog so much. i really think only shannan reads it. at least she is the only one who comments. so maybe all this is for you shannan. even so, as long as i have at least one regular follower (or at least think i do) i will continue to post. this past tuesday i did run 4 miles over lunch, nearly killed me. to think a month ago i could have done that without thinking twice about it, a breeze. i will get back, look out marathons, here i come!

thought of the day: when around camels, wear a raincoat, they can spit a pretty good distance, even sideways.

Montana Hunting: Day 8 (The Real Hunt)

Walker and i got to the spot around 9 or 9:30 in the morning. we got back to the last blood i had found and started looking for more blood. after 30-45 minutes of not finding any blood we decided to crosshatch the hill we were on. we started at the top and would walk from the point of last blood to the first big gully we came to, about 100-150 yards. then we would move down the hill 20 yards and go back. we finished that hill around lunch time. we stopped to get a little drank and a little snack and discuss which hill was next. there were really 3 hillsides to choose from. we had the hill side on the back side of the one we just walked, the next hill in the direction the elk appeared to be running and the hillside on the back of that hill (which we thought was the least likely). i thought since the elk was so close to the top of the hill that maybe he crossed over the ridge and got back into his sanctuary. i had walked the next hill in the direction he ran, to get back to the truck the other day (just one trail about the level that i had found the last blood) and we had walked it coming back in today (a trail a little lower down the hill). we decided to crosshatch the hill on the backside of the hill we had just done. we walked down to the bottom of that hill (i knew there was a creek there) and worked our way up. we did find 4 or 5 nasty big wallows at the bottom of the hill but never found any sign of the elk. we had to get back into town that night so we quit when we got back to the top of the hill and walked out the top of the next hill.

Now it was the 3rd day looking for my elk and walker could not go with me this day. i decided i would walk the next hill in the direction that the elk had run. i started at the top and worked my way down, looking in every nook and cranny. i was starting to feel like someone looking for a lost person, the longer i looked the worse it felt like my odds were getting. the longer i looked the more disappointed i was getting with myself. i had worked so hard to prepare for this trip, running, shooting, etc and i had screwed it up. i would rather not get a shot at an elk than wound one and not find it. but here i was in montana, with a few more days left, i was not going to hunt anymore unless i found my elk then i would do some mule deer hunting. so i had all kinds of time to look for the elk. i saw several magpies flying to the northeast so i got on the ridge and headed that way. i got the point of the ridge and sat and listened for a long time but the magpies were gone. crosshatching a hill by yourself takes a lot of time and gets lonely. i had to do it, i owed it to the elk. day 3 no elk.

on the 4th day i went looking for the elk, it was actually the day before i flew back to tn. i decided to go back to the mountains and look a little more. i had to drive back to billings for the night and fly out the next morning and the mountains were on my way. i was going to check the hill on the backside of the last hill i checked. i thought i would walk the hill about the same level of the last blood i found. i was going to look for ravens and magpies or try to get a whiff of the dead body. if i hadn't found anything by noon i was going to climb over the ridge and head back to the truck and back to billings. i had walked about 1/2 a mile in and looked at the gps and realized i was about 400 foot in elevation above the last blood i found and decided i should get down the mountain a little. i had moved down the mountains a little and came to a gully. i thought i saw an antler sticking up on the other side and was trying to look at whatever it was through my binoculars. when i did, a raven flew right by me and landed in a tree a little ways away. i looked again and realized it was not an antler, but a limb. i decided i would stay there for a little while to see what the raven was doing. after waiting about 10 minutes the raven did switch trees but that was it. the wind was blowing in my face pretty steady. i decided it was time for me to head out. just as i was taking my first step to leave the wind stopped. all of a sudden i could smell something odd. my first thought was, that can't be it, i'm not sure i really smelled anything. i started walking up the hill towards the raven and i smelled it again and knew it had to be my elk. i saw something about 40 yards uphill but couldn't tell if it was the elk of not. i walked up to it and there he was! it was the elk i had shot, there was no mistaking his rack. he was laying on his right side so i could easily tell where i had shot him. the shot was about 5 inches behind the front leg and mid chest. i do not think i could have made a better shot. however, there was very little blood on his body below the wound. it could have been because he had been there so long or maybe he just bled internally, i don't know, but i still think it was a great shot. i immediately got out my gps to see how far he had ran from where i shot him- 3/4 of a mile, and gained 400 ft in elevation. so much for wounded elk, especially ones shot in the lungs, running downhill and towards water. well, i found him, and he was rancid. there was a bubbling gas coming out of the wound...rancid. getting him out, the wind was blowing the smell from my back to my face. and i don't know how much an elk head weighs but i can tell you 2 things: 1)i packed it wrong, with the antlers hanging back behind me and 2) i thought i was going to break an ankle or tear an acl getting him off the mountain. it was ankle busting and knee knuckling!

lesson of the days: never, never give up. know how to pack your elk to get him off the mountain. hunting elk is a hard roller coaster ride of mental thoughts.

Montana Hunting: Day 7

when i woke up i had to eat, i was trying not to, but after skipping supper i was pretty hungry. i ate a chocolate covered caramel granola bar. i tried to get all my stuff together as quiet as possible since i had not heard any elk and wasn't really sure where they were. when i got everything packed up and ready to go i still hadn't heard anything so i bugled....no response. i headed to the area where the elk was the day before that i had called in, thinking he might be in that area this morning. still no bugling so i tried something a little different, i did a few cow calls followed by a few low chuckles. not 2 minutes later the 2 bulls started bugling. they were in the opposite direction. i was not sure if they would come across the mountain like they did yesterday or just go up the mountain, i was in a bad situation. if they came across the mountain, like i thought they would, and i was up the mountain the thermals would be blowing my scent to them. if they went up the mountain and i waited on them to come across the mountain, i would not be able to get to them because the thermals would be going up to them by that time. i had to make a choice, and quick, and hope the wind and thermals would work with me a little. i decided to go up the mountain. at least i would be above them and it was getting a little later in the morning so i was hoping the thermals would soon be warming up and going up the mountain to keep my scent from the elk. i started up the mountain and the elk were still bugling pretty regular, to the south. as i got up the mountain i checked the wind and the thermals had started going up and the wind was blowing to the east, which was perfect because now one of the elk was coming across the mountain below me. i came into a spot in the woods and it was like i was guided there by some strange force. there were elk rubs everywhere (trees just torn to shreds), elk beds galore, and a stench of elk urine soaked dirt filling my nostrils. i wasn't sure if i had just died and was in heaven or if i had just accidentally found one great spot. after looking around for a few minutes i tried to guess which way the elk would be coming from. with the wind and the way the elk had came up the mountain yesterday, i set up to where i thought the elk would come from my right, into the wind, up a long ridge. i set my pack against a tree and sat on it. i had waited for just a few minutes when i heard an elk bugle from the spot i had chuckled from. hearing that made me think he was on his way around the mountain to come up the ridge into the wind. a few minutes later i heard a twig snap just over the hill directly in front of me. i was about 10 yards from the top of the hill. i looked in the direction of the twig that snapped and saw antlers coming over the hill. as he started walking up the hill i drew my bow. it felt lke someone had cranked the poundage to 100lbs. it took everything i had to draw it back. i did it so slow that when i got it to full draw the string made a little squeak with the elk now at 20 yards. of course he stopped in his tracks and stared at me at full draw. i don't know how long he stood there, but it seemed like 20 minutes. my arm tried to let down 3 times but i was able to catch it each time, with the elk looking directly at me. fortunately there was a small tree between us. then i noticed i was shaking so bad that the bow in my left hand kept tilting back and forth. i thought there was no way i was going to get a shot, i knew he could see the bow moving. finally, i decided i was going to have to let down. i decided to close my eyes and just concentrate on holding the bow at full draw. if he had turned when i opened my eyes, i would shoot him, if he hadn't turned i was going to have to let the bow down. when i opened my eyes, he was starting to turn to his right. when he got fully broadside i released the arrow. it appeared to be a really good shot. he turned and ran back down the hill. i waited for a few minutes, called emily and another friend and told them what happened. after 30 minutes i went to just see if i could tell the direction he went. finally, i found his hoof prints going straight away from where i had shot, down the hill. it had been about an hour now so i decided to see if i could find any blood. i followed his tracks down the hill and found the back 17 inches of my arrow, it had blood all the way up to the nock. i thought this would be pretty easy. great shot placement, good penetration, what more could you want. a good blood trail, that is what more i could want. there was a little blood where the arrow was laying but not much. i followed the tracks and finally found a little blood. i was able to follow blood for a short while until it starting becoming very scarce. i was down on my knees finding one or two occasional tiny blood spots. when i couldn't find blood for 5 to 10 yards i would follow tracks, if i didn't find blood with those tracks for 20 yards i would go back to the last blood drop and find another set of tracks to follow out for 20 yards. i finally got to about 150 yards from where i had made the shot and the blood just stopped. i looked for several more hours (taking a short lunch break), followed lots more tracks and found nothing. i had shot the bull at about 8am and finally stopped looking for blood at 6pm. i was severely depressed. i was going to have to leave my elk up on the mountain overnight. i went back to walker's house that night to get some rest and hot food. walker and i decided we would both come back the next day and look. i still felt pretty good we would find the elk but i was really worried about the meat spoiling.

tomorrow i will tell the story about finally finding the elk, don't miss this! (really it may not be as exciting but still it was a very important part of this story).

lessons of the day: it is better to get on your hands and knees to look for blood and leave no stone unturned. i had wasted a little time following a couple of sets of tracks that i was almost positive were his (when the blood would get scarce) just to come back and find another speck of blood going the other way. i thought he was going straight down the hill but he had actually turned and ran along the side of the hill for a long while. lesson 2 is elk do not always go downhill or towards water when they are hit, even if they are hit good. when you are tracking an animal be meticulous and if you need to take a break occasionally, take one, regroup and get back at it. elk hunting can go from an extreme high to an extreme low in a matter of minutes. looking for an elk on a mountain can be exhausting, it ain't no whitetail tracking.

Montana Hunting: Day 6 (9/23/2009)

i got up this morning and nothing was bugling, not a sound. i climbed up to a little higher viewing area to take a look and get a better listen. still nothing. i let out one bugle and one bull started up. i wasn't 100% sure i could get to him, i thought there might be private land i would have to get around. i thought to myself, the only way i'll know is if i go to them. if i get to private land, i will have to stop or try to call him over, if i didn't run into private land....yowzah...i'm in. so i headed that way, luckily there was a ridge that led me pretty close. i got between 150-200 yards from the bull. however, he was going up the hill and he was ahead of me, no way for me to get ahead of him when i didn't really know the terrain. but he was bugling a lot, i had to do something. i thought that if i bugled over top of one of his bugles he might get a little upset and come to run me off. slim chance but it was all i could think of. so, on his next bugle, i bugled. to my surprise there was a bugle about 100 yards on the same level i was one, a different bull. i snuck up another 40 yards and called some more, a few very excited cow calls followed by a short, screaming bugle. both bulls started bugling back constantly. when i decided the second bull was not going to come in, i decided to try and sneak a little closer. i made it another 20 yards and came to a spot with a tree i could not get around without making too much noise (rocky ground on one side and brush on the other). where i was i did have a pretty good view. if he came around the tree i would see him in enough time to draw, if he came the other way i should be able to see him in plenty of time too. can you guess what happened? neither of those. when got in position (kneeling) the bulls were still bugling but not any closer. so i let out a few, very excited, almost painful cow calls followed by a short, bugling scream. when i did that i could hear the closer bull pawing and panting, then he let out 5 very short bugles right in a row, better than a triple gobble from a spring tom. i wasn't sure if he would come in, but it didn't matter, this was good enough for me. all of a sudden he took off running down the hill to my left. when he stopped i knew i was in trouble. if he came up the hill from where he was he would have to go to his left (my right) to come into my shooting lane. if he went to his right he would walk behind lots of thick brush. if he walked in one spot i would have one small spot for a shot. when i raised my bow to make sure i could take a shot i realized the lower limb of my bow was going to hit a branch. as i tried to move a little i saw him coming up through the woods, about 40 yards away. i raised my bow and it still hit the limb so i tried to move a little more and twist just a little to be able to shoot through the small opening. when i did, a branch caught my pack and made a little scraping sound. the next thing i saw was the bull trotting back down the hill. i was so excited, just to have even been that close. i had never been that close to an elk before, let alone a bull, let alone a mad bugling, snotting bull that was coming in looking for me. i knew my hunt was over for the morning, one bull trotting away and one, still bugling frequently, but now far up the hill with the thermals now going uphill. i did not have enough supplies for the night so i was going to head back into town. on the way back to the truck i ran back so i could call emily and tell her what happened. she sounded pretty excited for me. i went back into town, got my food, etc. and headed back to the mountains. i thought i might be able to catch at least one of the bulls coming back down the mountain. i got to a spot about 1/2 way up the mountain on a very good trail. unfortunately, there was no action that afternoon. as it was getting close to dark i decided i had better get up the mountain and get a spot to sleep before it was too dark. i did not want to be walking around the mountain in the dark, for obvious reasons and to try and not scare any animals. so i got up the mountain and found a pretty good, level spot. i decided not to eat supper and not to get my bivy sack/sleeping bag out. i did not want to create any extra scent or noise, being in the elk's territory. i was worried with the thermals going downhill in the evening, any weird or strong smells might make it to the elk. unfortunately, i was not able to sleep all night without the sleeping bag. i got a little cold around 10pm and had to get it out. anyway, around dark the bulls were bugling, coming down the mountain, 2 of them. where i had set up, was right in the middle of them. one of them had to walk across the path i had used to get up the mountain that afternoon. the bulls came down the mountain, one to the south and one to the north and met up in the bottoms (private land) well after dark and bugled for a long time that night.

come back tomorrow (as long as i do not have too many late night calls) for day 7, it only gets more exciting.

lessons of the day: if you have a chance, even though it seems like a long shot, at least it is a shot, give it a try. you can still call elk in, despite what lots of people say (if i can do it anyone can, for sure). elk hunting can go from extreme lows to extreme highs in a very short period. elk hunting is crazy fun!

Montana Hunting: Day 5 (Finally, Some Elk)

i woke up and got ready, i did not hear the bull i had heard the day before. so, i started going up the road that lead to the elk sign i saw the day before. i started to get on a ridge and still hunt through the timber going south (that is the way the local said i should go). however, the wind was exactly wrong for hunting in that direction, and playing the wind is the biggest part of getting close to an elk. i decided to go towards the north. as i was heading up the road and heading towards some timber. i came into an open spot where i could see other hills and fields in the distance. i decided to glass those hills and was thinking to myself, non-elk seeing self, what i would give to just see an elk. it is day 5 and i haven't seen any, i will never see any, i should just go home. as i was thinking that, i saw a bull through my binoculars (go figure, just something else to keep me out here one more day :)). i looked at the map and figured the bull was about 1 mile away, as the raven flies (there are no crows out there). so i decided to keep on the same track i was on (i was planning on spending the night at the truck) and maybe try to get on that bull in the evening. however, by looking at the map it appeared this bull was right on the edge of private land. so i headed into the timber and found lots of fresh rubs and poop, but no elk. i tried calling a little and got no response. because i was stalking through the timber i was not going very fast. by 10am i had gone no more than 1.5 miles from the truck. i went out on a point and got a spectacular view (if you want to see the view you will have to go there because i forgot to take pictures). i ate a little and got hydrated, just rested a bit, and thoroughly went over my map to see what the topo was around me and to see if i might be able to get on that bull in the evening. with no action there i decided to head to the truck, eat lunch and see if i could find a trail that looked like (on the map) it went right to where i had seen the bull. i got back to the truck and drove around a little in and out of private land (that had public access roads cutting through) and came to a small opening by a creek where i decided to eat lunch and really study my maps, some more. after figuring out a plan i decided to look for that trail again. i never found that trail but i did find a road that i thought lead up the the hill i wanted to be on. unfortunately there was a camp there and another truck further up the road. so i got in my truck and drove a little more. i came to a hill that i thought i could climb and get the spot where i wanted to be. it looked steep. i thought to myself, lazy self, just maybe this is far enough away from those other hunters that they aren't hunting here. then i thought, that hill looks steep. then (too many thens?) i said to myself, inspirational self, if i came all the way out here, away from emily for 2 weeks, i did all that training, i better climb that hill for emily, if i think i might get into some elk. i turned around and the hill did not look as big. so, i got packed up, and with my busted hiking pole and overweight pack, headed up the hill. 1 hour and 5,000,000 hitch-hikers later i was at the top, heart about to bust, legs like jello. i looked around ad decided i was one hill over from where i had seen the elk and the wind was wrong. the good thing was the road with the camp did not come up the valley between me and that elk's hill, so it had to be one hill over, opposite the side of the hill where the elk were, if it even went up that far. i was pretty sure those hunters weren't hunting this far up. it was getting a little late and the thermals were changing and i had a great view of lots of little meadows, especially meadows where i had seen all the fresh sign that morning. i decided to sit, glass the meadows, pull hitch-hikers off and listen. around 6:45pm it was starting to get a little dark so i decided to eat and set up camp. about 7pm i heard the bulls start bugling. there were 2 on my side (about 2-300 yards away) and one where i had been that morning. i called emily (she was probably upset i kept interrupting her to say "one just bugled"). they bugled all night. at 12:41 am (ok, this gets into day 6) i heard one bugle (and wake me up) about 100 yards away and i thought to myself, sleepy self, you might have camped a little too close. about 15 minutes later i heard one give an alarm sound about 30 yards away and run off. i thought to myself, busted self, you camped too close.

tune in next time for the rest of day 6 (when it really gets exciting, i promise, no just keep reading, it does get more exciting).

lessons of the day: the bread that comes in mres was made to protect our troops not eat, it has to be bullet proof. don't be lazy, if you need to climb a hill to reach your goals, climb it. wherever you are, whatever you are doing, you did not come this far to not push yourself. lastly, you are only insane if you talk back to your talking self.

Montana Hunting: Day 4

This is where i really started missing Emily. I wasn't seeing any elk, having bad weather, all by myself.

so this morning i was going to try the spot the local had told me about. i got to the spot (after driving 1.5 hours) pretty early, after missing my turn twice. after i found the turn i got to a point where i thought i was driving the wrong way and turned around, realized there was no other way to go, turned back around, finally found the signs i was looking for, passed the spot i was supposed to park at, turned around, got parked, and got going. the good thing was, i allowed an extra hour to get to my spot. i was there in plenty of time.

when i got out of the truck i heard coyotes and then a bugle, i started getting closer to the bugle and ran into a fence. knowing there was a lot of private property i stopped and tried calling the bull to me. no luck. i tried to go around the fence by making a big circle, ran into another fence. the map i really needed, to tell where the private land was, was in my truck. i walked 1/2 a mile back to the truck and got the map and realized the fence was not separating private/public land, it was just an old fence on public land. by now the bull had quit bugling. i headed in the direction he had been bugling and found a couple of piles of fresh elk poop. i kept heading in the same direction very slowly. after walking about 1/2 a mile i was trying to decide which direction to go and heard a bugle back in the direction i came from. i headed back that way and he quit bugling. this was the point where i realized my 40 yard through 60 yard sight pins had been moved, must have happened while hiking with my bow strapped to my pack. i was headed back towards the truck so i decided to resight my bow in and get a nap then try to get on this bull in the afternoon. i went back out that evening in the area of the fresh poop and several elk rubs. i got there and set up fr about 2 hours. my boots were soaking wet and i was getting very cold. i decided to get back to the truck a little early, eat supper, build a fire and dry my socks and boots. i built a fire, ate an mre, and put my boots and socks by the fire to dry out. after finishing the meal i realized 2 of my wool socks had dark brown lines on them. i pulled on the socks and they tore in two. luckily i had an extra pair. i also noticed that both pairs of my polypropylene socks had melted. luckily i was still able to wear one pair comfortably. while sorting all this out, i heard a bull bugle near the private land 3-4 times. i was a little upset by now. at this point i had broken one of my hiking poles, one of the sight pins on my bow, and burned three pairs of socks. i was all alone, not seeing any elk, much less getting close to any, in a place i had never been before. i slept in the truck that night, wishing i was back home in tennessee. funny, when i am here all i can think about is hunting in montana. while i was there, all i could think about was Emily, funny how that works. when i would talk to her on the phone she had so much faith that i was going to kill an elk, i really wanted to do it just as much for her now, to make her proud of me. i was really debating coming home early. i know, this is all probably a big surprise to everyone, before the trip i was acting so tough, now so weak. the mountains were giving me a swift kick in the pants, a real wake-up call. humbling. i was doubting i would ever go elk hunting ever again (i know, it's true).

lesson today: do not put your socks too close to the fire, no matter how wet they are, and don't leave them there too long.

Montana Hunting: Day 3 (Finally)

Well, day 3 might have been the worst and best day i had in montana. i started by driving to the mountains from walker's and seeing lots of other trucks. i decided to hike in for a while, going east, then head south on a trail that connected to another trail that went southeast. don't forget yesterday it was 95 degrees, record highs, then there were thunderstorms all night. when i got to the mountains, it started raining, the rain was supposed to have stopped by now. i got on my rain gear and headed out. saw several mule deer and whitetails in the bottoms. i finally got to the southbound trail that connected the 2 main trails and stood 10 yards from a 4 point whitetail for about 20 minutes. it had stopped raining so i took my rain gear off and put on a dry shirt. i headed down the trail and saw some more whitetails. then it stared raining again, i put my rain gear back on and walked for a while. i never got to the other trail and new i was heading in the wrong direction. i decided to head back and look for the other trail. i still never found it, so i got back on the first trail and headed east (when i looked on another map walker had at home the connecting trail only went west, my map had it connecting to another trail that went east). i took off my rain gear again and changed into my last dry shirt. i walked for about 30 more minutes and (now about 3 miles from the truck) turned around to see a very black cloud coming at me. i took cover under a pine tree just about the time it started hailing. i waited that storm out for about 10 minutes and started walking again. i stopped to build a fire and get dry. when i was getting the fire going, the bottom dropped out and it started hailing BAD! needless to say, the fire went out. after waiting the hail, thunder, and lightening out under a tree for about 30-45 minutes, i decided if i survived this storm i was going to head back to the house (i was cold, wet, and just found out the waterproofness on my boots had completely stopped working, completely). the storm stopped and i saw a guy coming bye on a motor bike. i stopped him and we talked (as my teeth chattered). when he drove off, i got my stuff together and walked to the truck. at the truck i got stopped by a game warden and of course had all my licenses and tags. (at the truck it was 34 degrees) i got to the truck and drove back to walker's (i had walked 8 miles by 2:30). on my way i stopped at arby's to eat lunch. while there this older gentleman came in and we talked for a little while as i was getting a refill on my drink. he told me he was a wildlife artist. on my way out the door he gave me a sketch of elk in the mountains that he had sketched on a napkin. then i went to the store to get a few supplies and actually talked to a man there who had hunted the highwoods quite a bit and somehow i got him to give me a few hints. when i got to walker's i washed and dried my clothes and got a little nap. so, it was a very tough day but i got some great info and a great sketch from a couple of very nice locals.

my lesson for the day: while on a do-it-yourself hunt, ask everyone for advice, sift through it carefully, and work hard (but occasionally you will need to take the easy way out so you do not die from hypothermia).

Montana Hunting: Day 3 (Postponed)

Sorry guys, i have put in a very long day and i am really tired. Day 3 will actually be posted tomorrow or saturday (i am on call tomorrow night). hope everyone has a great friday.

Montana Hunting: Day 2 (Friday)

so, i made it through the thunderstorms the first night and everything (equipment) was already dry the next morning when i got up. i got up, ate a little (bagel with peanut butter and honey), packed up and headed out. i hiked for a while, saw several mule deer does and finally came to a fork in the trail. it was either go one way that would take me back towards the truck or go the other way that would take me a good ways from the truck. i decided to set up and call for a few minutes (it was still pretty early in the morning). i did that, with no luck, and then decided to continue on the trail. while on the trail i saw some good looking timber on the other side of the creek that i might try later. i devised a plan to go back to the truck, get some more gatorade and get on another trail that would take me in another direction, where maybe i would have more luck.

on this day, it was around 85 degrees, again. as i was getting close to the truck i rounded a corner on one of the national forest roads that was closed to traffic. i was surprised to see a truck coming at me. when i got closer, i realized it was a park ranger. i talked to him for a few minutes, he told me that the forecast was calling for some pretty bad thunderstorms with lots of lightening on saturday and sunday. i decided to head back to my friend Walker's house and let the storms go bye. i'd had enough of thunderstorms. he also told me that the only elk he had ever seen in that national forest were in the southern part (i was hunting the northern part) (do remember this for further reference). i got to the truck, drove to Walker's, cleaned up, etc. and the rest will come tomorrow.

About the Montana Trip

Glad to see everyone back, glad to be back.

well, before i left i talked about a quote about getting from the mountain what i couldn't get from the world below. the first few days of my trip i thought the only thing i was getting was a butt whoopin'.

Here on the blog i will give a day by day account of what went on (mainly the hunting days but some of the rest days as well).

by the way, i was supposed to get up and run this morning to get back on schedule but i have not been feeling well the last couple of days so i decided to sleep in.

so, to get on with the hunting story...

day one: i got out of the truck around 1pm and it was around 85 degrees, not usually considered good elk hunting weather. i hiked in for a ways and then came to an area that looked pretty good so i decided to set up camp for the night. i found a somewhat level spot and set out my sleeping bag and bivy, ate an mre, then stashed my food for the night. as i was starting to get ready for bed and starting to really miss emily, i heard thunder in the distance. i rushed to get all of my equipment covered up and get in my bivy sack for the night. just as i did, the thunder, lightning and rain hit, not bad, but bad enough. if you have never weathered a thunderstorm in the mountains all by yourself, i would recommend, try not to. i was not enjoying my first night in the mountains. after the storm passed i decided it was safe to call emily on the satellite phone. it rained, thundered, and lightened (?) on and off all night long.

that is it for day one, come back tomorrow for day 2.

lesson of day one: appreciate the things you have at home, when you are all alone in a bad storm in the mountains, you will wish you were home!