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).
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