Hunting Trip Day 2

Well, we almost got stuck up on the mountain again. I have to admit, this hunting trip has stressed me out beyond belief. Let me explain.

Today, we arrived at the repair shop at 700 AM to get the starter fixed. At first, I thought the guy was really going to take us for a ride, as he wasn't saying much, and just seemed to be intent on screwing us. Then, he opened up a little, and realized that we weren't that bad afterall, and realized that it was just a frayed wire that shorted out the starter. So, after a couple of hours, we were ready for the hunt.

We arrived up on the mountain about 1000 AM, and learned that a herd of 250 elk had come out of the valley, ascended into the mountains, and then scattered as hunters descended upon them. We tried to drive up the mountain along a very steep, narrow trail. The snow was 20" to 30" deep here, with only about 12" of clearance on either side, with a steep dropoff on the driver's side. Again, Ron thought nothing of trying to climb the trail, but I was on the edge of my seat. In fact, we actually got stuck half way up, which literally scared the daylights out of me. Even the 4-low option couldn't get us out. The only choice was to back the truck down the mountain, and that was dicey at best. Probably one of the scariest times in my life. Finally, we got to a point where we could turn around, and made it back down safely. Thankfully, there was another trail up, which we drove without any trouble.

Once we got to the mountaintop, we drove back into the woods to see what we could find. We found hundreds of elk tracks, fresh ones at that. Sure enough, it seemed that the elk had scattered on the mountaintop, and were now back in the dark forest. It was a good spot. We drove around for another couple of hours. We did stop to put chains on the front tires. Ron assured me it would only take a few minutes. Well, 30 minutes later, the chains were on, and we were 4-wheeling even moreso than before. Damn, it's still scary.

Eventually, we found a trail that Ron wanted to follow. It was a ATV trail that went down the mountain. He wanted to hike it to see if we could stumble upon a few elk who were resting within the woods. I hiked along for the company, but regretted doing so. Ron walked down, down, down. I kept asking how far he wanted to go down, and he kept saying just a little further. He did comment though that we'd better stop soon, because we'd have to climb back up the hill. After about 45 minutes going down, it took us almost 1 and 1/2 hours to come back up. Wow, that was a hard hike. It really challenged my ability, especially after hiking through 10" of snow. We both vowed that we'd never do that again.

After arriving back at the truck, we had some juice and a snack and decided to find a good spot for sunset which was quickly approaching. We drove down and around, as we thought the elk might be down in the valley. We finally found a couple of trails, with a fork in the road. Ron decided to take the left fork up, but it was a tight squeeze. The trees were scraping the sides of the truck. When we got to the top, Ron asked if we should take the other trail down. I looked at the trail, and did see tire tracks, so thought it was a safe trail. I said go for it.

However, upon entering the trail, we quickly realized it was a huge mistake. Before we knew it, the snow gave way, and we were heading for a set of deep ruts, at least 4 feet deep. There was no way to stop, and in another few seconds, we were high centered with nothing but air underneath of the tires. Damn.

The sun was setting. We got out of the truck, and realized how dire the situation was. There was nothing to do. Ron said that we had to start getting trees to put into the ruts. It was our only hope. However, he didn't have a chain saw, and didn't have the special type of jack that he needed. It was hopeless. We tried everything. We gathered as many downed trees as we could. We broke smaller branches, trying to build up support for the tires to grip. We used a winch attached to a tree to try and pry the truck out.

Thankfully, we did pass a camp about a mile down the road, so I offered to hike down to the camp to ask for help. After hiking down, I realized that no one was home. They were likely still hunting. I waited for 1/2 hour, and still, no one showed. I hiked back up to the truck, and we both conceded that our best option was to ride the night out in the truck. We had plenty of food, and were going to start a fire. It wasn't cold, and the wind wasn't blowing, but a storm was brewing. We could tell that it was going to snow later that night. I knew we'd survive, but it could be a long, cold night.

We both decided to hike back down to the camp, to see if the tents were open. If another snow storm was brewing, we thought about seeking shelter there. One of the tents had a wood stove, so at least we would be warm. However, the hunters were back, after getting a huge cow elk. They offered their help, and we went to work. He got his chain saw, and special jack, and we hiked back up to the truck. We cut down a few more trees, and used the jack to get the best leverage. Finally, the tires were able to get a grip, and we got the truck out. There were still 4' deep ruts down the rest of the trail, so Ron had to straddle the ruts as best he could, then make a cut across for the last leg. Upon doing so, he tilted the truck up on two wheels, to an alarming 45 degrees, and one point, I thought he was going to roll it. But, by some miracle, we made it out alive, with no damage to the truck. It was almost 1100 PM. The clouds were moving in, and snow was beginning.

We drove off the mountain rejoicing in the fact that we were able to get out, period. We were thankful that we found the camp, and that indeed they had come back. We were happy, but tired. So, the second day was exhausting, and exhilerating. I'm so glad that we got off the mountain. In fact, I'm not very excited about going back. I really don't want to jeopardize getting stuck yet again. I feel as if our luck is running out. We've been stranded on the mountain two nights in a row, but have gotten out OK each time. But, I don't want to push it. Tomorrow is another day though, and I know we're getting up at 430 AM to be on the road by 500 AM.