Hunting Trip Day 3

Today was an uproductive day. We got up early and headed out. We were on the mountain by 545 AM or so. I don't really remember though. I was really tired. We headed to Battle Ridge and decided to sit in the truck on a ridgetop, in hopes that an elk would come along. It was snowing, and had snowed another few inches overnight. We decided to not head to the mountaintop, as it was snowing too hard, with visibility only 1/2 or 1 mile. We didn't see much, but did see a bull elk sitting about 1000 yards away. We pondered if he was wounded, as it seemed weird for him to just be sitting there. Nevertheless, Ron didn't have a bull tag, and we would have had to hiked down into the valley, and back up the next hill. With the ongoing snowstorm, we decided to not attempt it.

We drove around to several other spots throughout the day. At least another dozen or so snowy trails, driving, parking, scanning the hillsides with binoculars, but not much to see. We headed back into town so Ron could pay for the motel. Because of our late arrival last night, he wanted to make sure that the motel owner wasn't getting worried.

On our way back to the mountain, we picked up a hitchiker. He was heading home to Laramie, after spending the summer and fall in California. He was a drifter, but seemed to be a good kid. He was cold, and hungry. We gave him a juice and snack, and wished him well.

We headed back to the hunt, to try to find something for sunset. However, we didn't see a thing, and decided to head back into town for dinner. So, a wasted day. I am getting a cold. I think the exhertion from yesterday led to a period of sweating, and then I got chilled. Hopefully, it won't be that bad, but I really don't want to go out tomorrow. I may ask Ron if I can hold back. I'm not sure I should be up on the mountain with my cold as it is. It will only get worse if I go. I'm sure I'll give in though. Afterall, what if he gets an elk. He'll need my help to get it out. That's why I'm here.

I can say, I'm really not enjoying hunting that much. I've discovered that the men really like to tell their stories, to outdo one another. But, I can also see how it makes them feel good. And, I think some of the guys really need to hunt to be able to feed their families. It seems it's a time for men to get in touch with nature, to relive times gone past, but also to just enjoy nature, and get away from the hustle and bustle for awhile. Still, it's not something that I think I'd enjoy, and doubt if I'll ever go again. Actually, it's kind of boring too. It's a lot of sitting, and talking, and looking, and waiting.