Hunting Trip Day 1

Today was a long day. We left home around 300 AM in the midst of a rainstorm, but after about 30 minutes of driving, it quickly changed to snow. The winds also increased to 30 to 40 mph. It didn't take long to drive out of the inclement weather though, as we were driving on dry pavement in about another hour after that.

The trip was rather uneventful. I took a nap. I read the newspaper. Soon enough, we were driving through the mountains between Cheyenne and Laramie, and then ventured off the interstate to go up and over the pass between Laramie and Walden. We arrived in Walden around 200 PM, and had enough time to do some scouting to find a good hunting spot the next day.

My father in law has hunted here for at least a dozen years, so knows the area very well. Snow was plentiful, about 6" to 10" at the lower elevations, but 12" to 20" up on the mountaintops. I also experienced my first 4 wheeling experience. Ron turned off the road, and was heading up the mountain on a small trail, with about 15" of snow. We bounced around, slid sideways, and eventually made it OK. It was kind of scary, but after I realized what the truck could do, it wasn't so bad.

We drove to another very remote spot, and stopped the truck. Ron wanted to take a quick nap, and I was playing with the GPS receiver attached to my laptop computer. After about 20 minutes, Ron woke up and tried to start the truck. It wouldn't start. There was plenty of juice, but nothing was cranking. Ugh. It was about 330 PM at this point. We flagged down a passerby, and he offered a jump start. It didn't work. It seemed that the starter had given out. My cell phone didn't have a signal. The guy in the other truck had a satellite phone, so we called a tow truck.

The tow truck driver said he didn't think he could make it out this far. We assured him the road was OK, and he would be able to make it with no trouble. He assured us he'd be there in 45 minutes. Well, 2 hours went by, and he still hadn't shown. We thought he stood us up, and were actually quite mad. Thankfully, another vehicle eventually came by, and offered us a ride into tow. Unfortunately, our hunt was getting off to a bad start. On the way into town, we met the tow truck driving out. He came upon another car in the ditch before getting to us, so had to take of them first. So, Ron headed back with the tow truck driver to get the truck and I headed into town to the Motel.

Wow, I almost thought we'd be spending the night up on the mountain. I didn't think we were going to find a ride back into town. I'm so thankful we did. So, we'll have to get the truck fixed in the morning. It's been a long day. So many adventures, and the hunt hasn't even begun.