A Week of Wilderness

Dad, Big J., and I went on an elk hunt  (with two friends) which lasted from Sat. the 22nd, until late in the night of Sat. the 29th when we arrived home.  While on the trip, I had and wrote in my travel journal.  The best and easiest way for me to tell you about the trip is to let you read it straight from my book.  I hope you enjoy the stories we lived during that week and the pictures I took.  I, for one, sure had a good time!
(E. and T. will be the "names" of the friends who went hunting with us.  J. & D. are the couple who opened their house for us.  And K. is E.'s wife.)

 

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October 22, 2016  Sat.
Dad, Big J., and I are on our way to hunt elk in CO.  The road is bumpy so I won't say much.  We did pass a field of pumpkins.  2:05 pm

10:54 pm
We're staying at a very kind couple's home.  They have 2 cute dogs, Sia and Tonto.  T. and E. finally got here and we've been visiting.  It's off to the wilderness tomorrow.

Oct. 23, Sun.
Good morning!  It's 6:30 am.  : )  I think some of the guys are out feeding the horses and mules.  I should go.

11:00 am
We're on the road.  The scenery is bleak...bland.  Not too many colors.  Just lots of trees and dead-looking brush.
In other news, I flew in and drove an airplane.  I'd never been in the sky before and actually, it [flying] was fun.  : )  J. took me up in his plane.  We saw an antelope, coyote, and hawk.  Also got to see 2 sheep skeletons in a cave sort of thing.  : )

Oct. 24, 8:06 am.  Mon.
I had a very good first night outside.  We rode in and didn't set up camp until 10 something; therefore, only now have I seen what the scape and area truly looks like.  And that is fading green grass on a flat opening.  Trees grow tall here and their leaves make a carpet, no, actually they're just scattered about on the floor.  There's a mountain a few yards to the east of our tent opening.
E. just came by after watering his horses.
It's pretty chilly, but not killing.  Last night my feet hurt something awful and now it's just my right hand as it holds my book page down.
I'm not sure what I need to do.  Dad and the others must still be watering and that's one of the many places I know not how to find.
The rush of the river is to my back and it never ceases its course.
Some of the trails have been steep, but I trust Paradise.  She has shoes and is doing wonderfully!

 

12:34 pm.
We're riding, thus the poorer penmanship.
Around us stand hundreds or thousands of trees.  There are lots of rocks and moss, and more trees.  : )
The sun is trying to poke out but over all, it's cloudy.
I see snow ahead and up high.
This morning, I ended up helping water the horses with the guys.  Got to go...to see where I'm riding.  TREE BRANCH!  (Just kidding.)

[I wrote this post while riding Paradise, as I said, so the words look funny in my journal.  We were around 11,000 feet elevation at the time.]

 

Oct. 25, 8:35 am.  Tue.
It rained on us last night and a little this morning.

 

Yesterday, we made it to a really pretty place up higher than camp.
We stopped and ate by a fallen tree and a couple of big rocks, which we sat on or used as back rests.
A couple of the guys napped.

Then we went riding again and found an old mine.  It wasn't very tall, but who knows how far it goes into the ground.  Water flowed from it and there was no exploring the inside without getting soaked.
T. decided it was a good place for a group picture and so we did.  He propped his phone on top of the mine's opening and set the 10 sec. timer.  In those few seconds, T. ran towards his horse, leaped a tad too soon from the ground, and landed on the saddle, but barely!  We all thought he was going to stand by his horse, so when he did that, we cracked up laughing.  In turn, the picture captured 5 super happy, smiling hunters and their 9 horses/mules.

We never saw an elk, but did see a few mountain goats and the dads [Dad and E.] saw a deer or two.  One was a really nice buck, they said.
It sleeted/snowed on us just a tad.
We were so far from camp that we left the mine before game started moving; however, we still had to ride in the dark.  That wasn't too bad, but a small part of the trail was sandy and not wide at all.  The slope beside it was terribly steep.  I didn't like that part.  We made it safe and sound, as you can see.
When we weren't far at all from camp, something spooked the horse and mule in front of me, which made a chain reaction and scared Paradise.  She ran off the trail into some trees and, with it being dark, I could not see a thing.  Three branches slapped and scraped me as I tried to calm Paradise.  Finally, she stopped and resumed back on the trail.  It missed my eye by a finger's width, but I have a nice cut.  And another speck of a cut right below my bottom eyelashes.  I'm fine.  : )
T., E., Dad, and Big J. made a fire so we could have hot chocolate.  I only had a few sips, but it was good.
The horses are grazing and the guys are talking about bread and bacon sandwiches.
Unlike yesterday, I'm the late one out of the tents.
I guess Dad and Big J. are going to water the horses.  Instead of coming and grabbing Paradise's lead, they're sweet talking her to follow.  : )
The birds are finally talking.  I've hardly heard any in the last couple of days.  We did hear some crows and my, do I like their noise!
I think I'm alone at camp while the guys water the 4 legged friends.  I might try to get around and see what's happening outside these green and gray walls.

2:30 pm.
Dad and I hiked the mountain close to camp and that's where we are.  There's a creek to my right and down a steep slope.
We were just watching some little birds in the nearby trees.  They were very quick and hopped effortlessly from branches.  Some were even "climbing" the trees like squirrels or chipmunks.  : )  I'd never seen them do that before.
We've heard a hawk and another crow.  And, even though it's cold, the bugs are bothersome.
It rained on us as we climbed up here.
We have seen some elk, but they're on the other side of the river.
It's starting to sprinkle.

5:28 pm.
Mule duty...again.  It seems to be my job out here.
Dad and I got back from hiking a little while ago.  We saw a lot of neat country and got to watch the Durango and Silverton train come and go.
It rained off and on while we descended.
We've eaten and drank a touch and Dad's starting a fire as I write and watch Al, Dina, Hudson, and Paradise.  Bullseye is with Big J. as he rides with E. and T. 
Dina's alert...got to go.

7:19 pm.
Big J. came back sooner than E. and T.  They just got back and are gone again to water their horses.
There's a fire burning now and we do need it tonight.  It's on the colder side tonight, and damp.
No one shot an elk today, at least not any of us.  But we did see some and that's encouraging.
I'm taking lots of pictures and am enjoying this trip.

P.S.  We just rescued E. and T. from the dark.  They got lost by the creek when they were watering.  E. yelled 3 times before we found them and gave them a flash light.
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They (E. and T.) got a couple pieces of coal and we're burning them now.

Oct. 26, 8:21 am.  Wed.
Dad, Big J., and I are sitting on this real sandy part of the trail that none of the 5 of us like.  There are 2 other hunters in the spot Dad had planned on sitting, so we kept climbing.
The sun is up, but not high enough to shine on us.  It looks to be a clear day.  I don't see a single cloud.
Last night we ate some of the beans K. sent along.  We also had hot choc. again.  Since none of us brought bowls, we used peach and pear cans.  You sure need gloves when eating hot stuff out of them!
I think last night was the coldest it got, or at least it felt it.  I wasn't too excited to get out of bed this morning because it was cold.  The hike up here helped though.
So, I guess now we just sit and wait.  The river below us is quite loud and cold.
There are two planes flying in the eastern sky.
We're moving.

10:02 am.
Dad and I are resting on the sandy part again.  We 3 went higher up, but didn't see or hear anything.
Big J. went off the trail to do some hunting by himself while we 2 go back down to camp. 
The sun is finally shining on us and it feels good.
Dad juggled some rocks and I'm writing.
I guess when we get to camp, we'll water the horses.  Girl, I'm so thirsty, too!

1:08 pm.
We 3 are snacking on Chex mix and mountain spring water.  Oh, and chocolate chip cookies.
E. and T. are still out somewhere.
Because of the nice weather, I took off my boots (Mucks) and socks.  Oh, do my feet like the fresh air!  I'm still barefoot and plan on keeping it that way for a while.
Yes, we're back at camp.

P.S.  Big J. made it back just fine.  He had come back to the trail and caught us a ways before camp.  All's well that I know of.

P.P.S.  I've walked 6.2 miles, today, so says my phone, Lindsay.  : )

  2.5 mi. Oct. 25

14.8 mi. Oct. 24

11.1  mi. Oct. 23

  2    mi. Oct. 22

We heard/saw the train this late morn.  I guess I'll go for now.

Post, post, post script.  : )  This morning was cold enough the rain drops on leaves froze.  I picked some drops off and could literally hold water between my fingers.  : )

1:55 pm.
Just finished eating ham sandwiches and pears.  Dad's napping, Big J. is sawing fire wood, and the horses are standing tied and content after having their grain, grass, and water.

4:15 pm.
E. and T. are still not back, and we don't know where for sure they went to hunt.
The train came by a little while ago and we 3 went to watch it.  While there, we looked at an old wood box car and talked to 8 other hunters.  There were quite a few people on the train, so we got to wave to them.

Earlier, Dad's gun sling snapped in two and sent his gun falling to the ground.  Thankfully, it wasn't on one of those steep trails.  He and Big J. already have a new one made up for the time being.
The sky seems a darker blue than what I'm use to seeing.  It's pretty.
The temps feel to be dropping--getting colder.
As far as I know, no one knows what the plan is.

Oct. 27, 7:34 am.  Thur.
Well, the other 2 guys returned to camp and it wasn't even dark yet!
We built a fire and E. made fried potatoes and onions and some leftover beans.  Hot chocolate was also a hit.  We used either fruit cans or bowls made from foil to eat off and only after we were done, did E. find some paper plates in his pack.  : )
We all gathered around the fire and poked fun of the wood.  It looked good, but was almost fire-proof.  When it came time to put on a new log, someone would say, "Go get another piece of fire-proof wood."
When we all headed to bed, the fire was burning the biggest and brightest I think on the whole trip.  Go figure.
It was a fun, relaxing evening last night.
This morning, Dad, Big J., and I are on a hill thing, overlooking a river and meadow.

4:50 pm.
Today was fun!  (Not that the others weren't.)  But this morning after we 3 got in from hunting, and when we finished eating breakfast, we all went and met the train at the bridge.  From there, we rode the old fashioned train up to Silverton, CO.

That little town has very colorful buildings and is so quaint.  : )  We 5 were hungry after finally being able to call/text family and friends, so we ate at a really nice place called Mattie & Maud's.  Dad and I split a burger, but instead of regular bread, we had fried bread.  It was good, but hard to eat.  The lady there said that you just had to man up and eat it.  : )

By the time we finished eating, we had to get back on the train.  On the way back, we sat in the open car and Dad talked to one of the hunters we saw the other day.  It was good to get back with people for a while.
E. and T. just left to hunt and we're about to as well.
 
9:27 pm.
We were all watching the dying fire when all of the sudden, E. said, "I don't know how they have forest fires if the dead trees don't even burn.  How do the live trees?"  Poor Dad and his "fire-proof" wood.  : )
[This evening] We 5 went hunting in two directions and returned empty handed again.
 
Oct. 28, 7:40 am.  Fri.
Dad and I are on the same rock/hill overlooking the meadow that we sat on yesterday.
We've only been here a few minutes and still no action.
Side note: the other night, we all heard a tree crash as it fell.  I'd always wanted to hear that.  : )
Well, we've been in here a while now and we're all in need of a nice shower and fresh clothes.

 
7:38 pm.
We're jamming to the Beatles singing "Two of Us."  Yeah!  : )
We saw nothing while hunting this morning, but still enjoyed it.
We broke camp and we're riding out at 12 something.  We heard the train one last time, walked the trails we've gotten to know, and said good bye for now to the wilderness.
My, some of those trails going out today were tough!  Very steep, like straight down, rocky, and up and down around the mountains.
Paradise makes me proud!  She seemed to enjoy herself up here.  She was frolicking and bucking whenever we turned her loose.  When we rode out, she was trooping along, watching the scenery and desperately wanting to hop into the rushing river, I think just to see what it was.  She's a beauty and I'm glad I have her.  I'm glad she was the horse I got to ride on this trip.  : )
We reached the pickups around 5 pm.  So, it was a 5 hour ride out and about 15 miles long.  : )
We're hungry and tired, having only eaten breakfast and been up since 6 something.  We stopped to get gas and to air up E.'s pickup tire.  Now we're driving under the dark sky and I don't know what we're going to do.  Food would be good.
 
Oct. 29, 1:16 am.  Sat.
We ate at Hog's Breath Saloon this last evening.  Oh, girl, was it good!  Dad and I split a surf and turf.  The meat was perfect and the shrimp was good. 
Stopping at J. and D.'s house again, we left the horses to graze, rest, and drink.  We didn't want to bother J. and D., it being so late and all, so we came into town and are staying at Best Western Movie Manor.
I just showered for the first time in a long time and am finishing a cup of hot chocolate provided by the hotel.  : )
I'm getting tired and am looking forward to sleeping in a bed.
 
10:54 am.
We had a great night's rest...
Now, Big J. and T. are in the sky.  J. and another pilot took them in their yellow, and red and white planes.
 
4:44 pm.
After flying today, we, plus J. and the other pilot, ate at Three Barrel Brewery in Del Norte.  The pizza there is made in an oven with wood.  The 10 inches of pizza were so good!
We headed back to J.'s to get the horses, and visited just a little.  We stopped at the Co-op before hitting the road again.
 

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We turned the horses and mules loose in our pasture here at home at midnight, Oct. 30th.  They went to trotting and whinnying, excited to finally be out of the trailer.  And all of our other animals greeted us with happy meows, wagging tails, and loud chirps when we pulled into the driveway and came inside late that night.