With fall coming on, this meant getting ready to go on our annual hunting trip. Many plans had to be made and a lot of gear had to be rounded up. We usually clean everything up before putting it away the year before, so all was ready to go. We can also find where it has been stored for a year. This year the trip would be by Harry Marlatt, Bud Garvin, LeRoy, Uncle Lewie, and myself. This would be Bud’s first year of hunting with us, Uncle Charlie asked us if we would take him along. We had no problems with having someone new to go. We decided to go up to the head of Clear Creek then up to Colter Summit to where some corrals were constructed for loading and unloading sheep. The corrals could be used for the donkeys, rather than tying them up all the time. There will be four of them this year. Near the corrals were some flat spots where tents had been set up over the years by the Basque sheep herders. We put up a large wall tent with straw on the ground for the floor. A small sheep herder stove was brought along to warm up the tent in the evenings. Uncle Lewie brought along his small trailer house to stay in. Everything was set up close together so we could have community meals cooked outside under a tarp lean-to. We did not want to mess up the trailer, but doing a lot of cooking in it making coffee was okay though.
The first day was spent setting up camp, there was much work to do to make the camp comfortable. We were going to be there a week or more and wanted everything in its Place. Everyone pitches in to get the camp up before anyone goes hunting. We were camped on a high ridge, but nearby was a spring running out of the hillside. In past years the sheep herders had installed a wooden box in the ground as a catch basin for the small stream of water. It was good for drinking and there was enough to water the donkeys also. We were not worried about the water being bad with bugs. LeRoy brought along three donkeys, two females and a neutered male. The male was almost an albino. He was white in color but had a very thin coat of hair. He was cold most of the time even when it was not very cold. He was strong and could pack a good load, if need be. Harry brought along his donkey, named Sweet Pea. The donkey was much larger than the others, and very strong, but she had some stubbornness at times. After camp was set up and made comfortable for a tent, we had to have a couple of games of Pinochle to start out the vacation. Bud knew how to play Pinochle and played a good game. Since this was his first trip with us, we really did not know what to expect from him. He always does his share of camp work and gets along great with everyone. He will always be welcome on our hunting trips. He also was a skilled hunter, safe and dependable. For the first supper, I c○○cooked some steak and fried potatoes with a can of vegetable on the side. We stuffed ourselves then turned in early. Hunting season was to start the next morning, we wanted to be up early, anxious to get out on the mountain at first light. A fire was kept burning in the stove most of the evening to take the chill off the night air. The tent had lots of air holes in it, but it was better than sleeping under the stars. The night air was really chilly, and the straw helped a great deal in keeping it warmer.
Morning dawned upon us, cold and clear. Harry started up the fire then got back to bed until the tent warmed up a little bit. We finally forced ourselves up. A hot cup of coffee was waiting for us in Uncle Lewie’s trailer sure tasted good on a cold morning. Breakfast was made of bacon and eggs with toast. Amazing how good a simple breakfast can taste in the mountains. We do not bother making any dishes in the mornings, we want to get out hunting at first light as planned.
Everyone spread out around the mountain right from camp, hitting the timber pockets as we went. There was a lot of open area for the elk to feed on the grass and bushes. They usually go into the deepest darkest timber before midday, to bed down. We have to find which patch of timber they are using each day. We covered a lot of mountains the first day, but we just could not find a thing to shoot at. Sooner or later, we will find them, there were plenty of tracks. Each evening was spent enjoying the camp and the company. We fixed good meals to keep everyone healthy. Pinochle was always the high point of camping and a good way to relax after hunting hard all day. Some evenings, instead of cards, we would just sit around shooting the breeze. About the third day, Bud wandered over into Elk Creek, which was a few miles from camp. He went down to the bottom land where he spotted a yearling deer standing beside some thick brush. He killed it on the first shot with no trouble at all. When he examined it, he found it was a small buck in prime condition. After dressing him out, he was hung in a tree with a piece of rope. Bud tried to hang the deer as high as possible because the camp was quite a piece away. He would have to hang there all night and hope a bear did not find him. Darkness was setting in by the time we were all back to camp.
Bud told us about shooting a deer and where it was hanging in a tree. It was too late to take the donkeys out that far this late in the day. We would go after him in the morning first thing. We could hunt along the way with a chance to find another deer or maybe an elk. When breakfast was over, Harry and LeRoy saddled up a couple of donkeys to use for the packing job. They took all four donkeys along just to give them exercise. They did not have to follow the road but could cut across county in a straight line, to Elk Creek. Bud and I would take Uncle Lewie’s truck around the road to the ridge, above Elk Creek so the donkeys would not have to pack the deer all the way back to camp. Uncle Lewie stayed at camp because he wasn’t feeling t○○ good that morning, but we didn’t mind. We were young and full of energy. Bud and I were the first to the place to park and started on down the trail to the deer. Nothing had bothered him over night, he was still hanging where he was left. We had just taken him out of the tree, when the guys showed up with the donkeys. The buck was small and not much of a load for the donkeys. The mountain was pretty steep up out of Elk Creek, even with a good trail to follow. The donkeys walked right up it faster than we could. The buck was loaded in the truck to take it back to camp. The road was old and slow going following the ridge tops. Harry and LeRoy took the shortcut around the hill in a straight line to camp.
Bud and I were almost camping with the truck when a very large bull elk came up the road, from the corrals. He was in the middle of the road, when we first saw him. He probably was down eating hay or maybe curious about the donkeys at the corral. What happened next must have looked like a Chinese fire drill. I got the truck stopped and shut off, but I could not get the door open. I jerked, pulled, kicked, and done everything but unlock it. Bud was having the same problems. We finally got out with our rifles, but they were unloaded as we always carry them. The elk started running by this time from all the noise we were making. I never had a chance to load up and shoot. Bud managed to get some shells in his rifle but didn’t put one in the barrel. His first’ shot was only a click. He quickly bolted in a shell and took a quick shot but missed. Bud took off after him on the run and got off a few more shots but he was too far away to hit. I didn’t think we had a ghost of a chance to catch him, so I took the truck on into camp. Harry and LeRoy had just come into sight when all this was taking place. They were cracked up at the chaos taking place. Uncle Lewie came out of the camper wondering what in the world was going on. He was always quick to laugh at a funny situation.
The buck was hung in a tree by the corrals, so we could skin him out. The weather was cold enough to keep down the flies, but we bagged him up anyway in case there were some still around.
We would have liver and onions that night. Cooking liver and onions is more of a tradition than just something to eat. We had had quite a hard day so far, no one seemed to want to go out again that day.
The next day we would take LeRoy’s old truck on a drive over towards Wilson’s Peak. This sounded like a good idea; therefore, we went to bed that night with that in our minds. We were tired, sleep came quickly. The next morning, we loaded it into the truck for a little drive. Harry, Bud and I rode in the back, while LeRoy drove with Uncle Lewie in the front with him. The road was not a very good one, some places were washed out badly. We had to go around the hillside to get around them. Everyone would set on the uphill side to keep the truck upright. We arrived at where we wanted to hunt with no more problems. Uncle Lewie thought he should just sit on the hillside, near the truck, while the rest of us would take a hike out around the hill in different directions.
We had been gone for a couple of hours when a shot echoed across the valley. There were other hunters in the area. While I was out hunting, I came across a guy from the Mountain Home Air Base with a nice four point buck he had just shot. He didn’t have the foggiest idea of how to begin cleaning him out. I was on my way back to the truck anyway, so I took the time to help him. He was amazed that someone would show him what to do. L told him how to do the job and he done it very well. I’m sure he will remember that forever.
Our group met back at the truck and looked around for Uncle Lewie. Here he was sitting beside a large buck a short distance from us. He had been sitting in a place to watch the area around him when the buck came up the hill in front of him. He had shot it, cleaned it out, and was waiting for us to get back to help load it in the truck. Many game animals are shot by someone hanging around the truck instead of walking all over the country. The buck was a large one, it took all of us to load him. Again, we piled into the truck for the trip back to Camp. We couldn’t find any more deer along the way, but we did have a fine animal to take care of. After he was skinned and sacked up, we would hang him in the tree with the other deer. By now it was late in the afternoon, about time to fix supper. Tonight, we would have some steaks, off the young deer. I fried them up nice and brown, then fixed fried potatoes and all the trimmings. The rest of the evening was spent playing Pinochle and visiting, better known as shooting the bull. After cookies and milk, we turned in. It had been a long day, and everyone was tired.
The next morning as soon as breakfast was over, we headed out on foot at first light. There seemed to be more elk tracks over toward Elk Creek therefore we went out in that direction. We weren’t too far from camp, when a large buck broke out of a timber pocket. It was too dark yet to take a good shot, but it would not have made any difference the way he went downhill. He paused for a split second but that was all. A doe was seen in the same area, but no one could get a shot at her either. For the rest of the day, we walked and walked, finding nothing more in the way of the game. The mountains weren’t very steep, so we could walk along pretty easily, without getting too tired. Back on a far ridge, Harry, LeRoy and I were hunting close together, Bud was wandering off somewhere by himself, when we came upon an old rotting log. I could see some yellow jackets flying around it so there must be a bee nest in it somewhere. I threw a large rock at the log and when it hit, the air exploded with a million bees and all of them mad. I started running uphill, to get away from them. I was running as hard as I could looking back to see if I was being chased, when I ran head long into a large pine tree. L hit so hard that I broke a knuckle on my left hand from the way that l hit the tree. That was as far as I got and if the bees were after me, they would have caught me right there on the ground. LeRoy and Harry were watching as I was running into the tree and never said a thing. They thought it was really funny, but they received a good cussing when I finally came to my senses. My hand hurt for months before healing up. In the late afternoon we were all back at camp with nothing to show for it but tired feet and a busted hand. There were lots of things to do to keep busy around camp, firewood had to be cut and the donkeys needed cared for. The evening was spent the same as most evenings in our camp, fix supper, and play cards to unwind after a hard day of hunting. We still had a few more days of hunting left, we would enjoy the time we still had. Each day we spread out in different directions trying to find an elk or another deer. Harry and LeRoy took the donkeys on long walks with them to give them exercise to keep them fit.
Time ran out of us, we had to pack up our great little camp and head for home. Everything was cleaned up to be ready for the next trip. Later on, we would get together to plan our trip for next year.