Well, we went and set up our elk camp on Saturday October 30th in great anticipation of a most excellent 2 weeks in the woods and elk for all.
The following pictures are from Sunday morning October 31st.
http://www.piscatorialpursuits.com/uploads/UP6678.jpg http://www.piscatorialpursuits.com/uploads/UP6681.jpg http://www.piscatorialpursuits.com/uploads/UP6680.jpg Yep, camp burnt down. All that we had left was what we were wearing and our rifles (including a treasured Marlin in .35 Remington!)& pistols which were in my truck.
If you look closely at the last picture, you can see what was left of a 29” Stihl chainsaw.
The cause of the fire is not known & will never be known. I know, I know, you all are thinking woodstove, campfire, cigarette, cigar, etc. Nope, nothing like that was going on. Only a propane lantern on low fire hanging from the metal ridge pole by a metal clip from the metal lantern handle like we’ve done a hundred times before. The fire was observed to have started on the ground where there were NO, I repeat, NO ignition sources. Believe me folks, we’ve been over this a zillion & 1 times.
We lost our entire camp set up.
Knives, lanterns, propane tanks, compasses, radios, clothes, 2 weeks food, peach schnapps, brand new Cabella cots, sleeping bags, boots, beer, gloves, shoes, pack gear, tent gear, our canvas wall tent, Cabella orange vests, 2 chain saws, coolers, cooking gear, about 50 pounds of bear meat, venison, elk, ammunition, chairs, elk calls, deer calls, .50 cal ammo boxes, rope, bungee cords, tarps, etc, etc, etc………..
Just think about what goes with you on a 2 week hunting trip. You really do not know everything that you have with you. I went to open a can of sardines when I got home and had no can opener. It burned also! I had to go buy new skivs and socks as the rest of them burned up!
My brother and I, after sitting in the tent with the lantern going for 2 hours, decided to run 20 miles down the road to see a friend and have dinner. As we returned to camp, we could see a fire burning and thought that maybe some buddies camped nearby had built a campfire. No such luck. This was about 10:15 pm.
Ammo was still cooking off, and one propane bottle was still venting. A 2.5 gallon chain saw gas can had bulged and was venting fuel form the vent in the cap. It sounded like a jet engine. I could hear the roar from 100 feet away. It was spewing a white cone of flame that was freaking unreal.
A heavy duty aluminum pot had melted from the heat of the fire. If I remember high school metal shop, aluminum melts at 1200 degrees.
We ran out of water real fast, pissed ourselves dry and were using what was left of the beer and pop to quench the flames. I knocked down flames running up a tree with a can of beer and a can of pop all shook up.
We finally got all the flames extinguished by about midnight.
Spent the night in the front of my pickup, got up in the morning and proceeded to clean up the mess. Our elk camp was reduced to 900 lbs of burnt stuff that we hauled to the landfill on Monday.
I lost my lucky hat with the turkey feather. I lost my Western belt knife that I’ve had since High School in 1973 or 1974. I’ve cleaned a boatload of salmon, trout, catfish, crappie, deer, elk and 1 bear with that knife & now it’s gone. No knife to pass on to my grandson, man am I bummed over that one.
My homeowner’s insurance will cover my losses. I expect lots of dickering (bickering?) over values of items for which I have no receipts. My brother’s policy will not cover his losses. I plan on splitting what I get with him. He’s my best buddy & hunting partner. Please check your coverage. If you don’t have away from home loss coverage, get it!!
Well, no one got hurt, that’s the main thing.
Take care
Hog KIng
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