Hijack:
Here's a little vent....
I got a call while on the water today. My buddy Clark called to say my buddy Gary broke his leg two days ago while helping Clark and his boy on a goat hunt. They were 14 miles from camp. Thank jeebus we have horses. We hunt some rough wilderness in ID.
I guess Gary is enroute to Silver City,NM where he lives and the buddy I'm taking next week for elk will be driving Gary's rig back to Seattleland. If Gary was hurt bad enough not to come back to camp from town and hang out (he usually stays for 6 wks) and glass he must be hurt bad.
I feel bad for Gary. He lives for this hunt and it was his 22'nd year there.
I feel bad for the guy I'm bringing as it's his first year in camp. I now need to become Gary. Gary took me under his wing 7 years ago and has directly put me on two elk and one deer. I've gotten into the rest of them by myself but always had Gary on the radio to bounce ideas off or tell me about animals near me. Gary is also the dude who never sits still in camp...always teaching this city boy (yeah Stam I said it) how to properly fell trees,shoe a horse, use a winch and snatch block etc. I am absolutely bummed for the guy and a bit for the rest of us because his presence in camp will be missed.
Time to spread my wings and use what he taught me out there.
Camp will be different this year.