Now that I am all caught up with the things that needed doing I can tell my side of the story as it pertains to the weekend.
(other than the hunting aspect.)
Day 1 :
The ride to Everett (where the wilderness is located) took about 6 1/2 hours with a pretty steady clip and only one stop for gas and coffee.
The ride was very enjoyable with Spiker there to act as a wedge between the boys ;D
More than a few times I got the eye as to their behavior but in my defence....I am not a single parent and they are not just like me
We did manage to get lost for a total of 6 exits by heading north when we should have been going south
I think that perhaps I may be able to blame it on the snow storm that we encountered although Spiker assures me that he did see the sign which would have lead us in the correct direction had I seen it.
None the less....we needed gas and it was available on our turn around exit.
(everything was just working out for us....lemons to lemonade)
The boys were much better after the stop and although we moved forward with a degree of trepidation as to our course , we made good time and did arrive at our destination before our agreed time.
The restaurant was warm and we got seated then waited for the next of our crew to arrive.
It wasn't long at all before Lockmaster arrived and then soon after the westchester crew followed in.
After a short bite to eat we headed in the last 18 miles to the Lodge.
We were not there long before Alvie mentioned that if we wanted to , he might be able to get us in for a late afternoon hunt.
It seemed that Spiker was suited up before the last word left Alvie's lips ;D
We all took a few shots into the practice butt and it was then that redsoxboy found his bow to be hitting 5" low and 3" right
Thank God we had the good sense to check our equipment before we went out.
Lockmaster stayed behind to catch up on the much needed rest although I now wish he had at least walked out with us.
I didn't have nearly enough time for the rest of the weekend in which to spend time with this one friend who I had not seen for so long.
But we headed out with happy hearts and a great anticipation of seeing good hogs this day.
We had not gone into the area more than 100 yards when redsoxboy saw a large Barbado Ram standing 40 yards of the trail below us.
He turned to me and asked if a Ram was more expensive than a hog and if not , could he try and get this one.
I dont think you could ask for more than a son who values your position over his own
I assured him that I would be fine with that if that was what he would be satisfied with.
It was cool to watch my son put his first stalk on an animal with his bow in hand.
He moved awkwardly for a seasoned hunter but for a novice....he was like a cat
After the success of my sons stalk we headed down into a valley where we had heard the screams of a hog which our guide assured us was caused by fighting boars there.
Later we would find out that it was instead because of spiker's arrow
We saw some hogs in their beds which they had cut out on the slopes of the hills to gain sanctuary from the cold winds and we moved past them in an attempt to find hogs which were at least as able to move as were our selfs.
We found two between Skipmaster and Myself.
With an hour of light left remaining we had scored out 2/3rds of our party.
This was a feat that was provided for by mother nature in part and added to by our own skills as archers
We all did our best to help our guides load the buggy's that came to pick up our meat and I have to wonder how they would have done this without the aid
These men , our guides are rocks and as cheerful workers as you will ever meet I dare say.
I hope that those who follow us will be as quick to lend them a hand and offer them a bit more than their pay at the end of each hunt because they truly do earn and deserve it
Back at the lodge the guides hung and cleaned our quarry as we collected our coffee and food and toasted our good fortune among one another.
I was really happy to see that my companions here seemed to be enjoying this hog hunting as much as I have myself , each and every time I go.
That night we had Spiker's Chili and Lockmasters macaroni and cheese with potato salad and deer salami and more.
My stew went sour on the ride down and had to be tossed
I dont even remember much of what went on that night other than that there were many tellings and retelling of the events of that afternoon and it seemed to be enough to keep the smiles on everyones faces.
I never got to the pool table but the boys and others did while we all took turns watching the video of each one of us who had gotten some action that day.
The only sour note that I was very down about was that Spiker's film had not come out.
I felt so bad that I offered to have him hunt another hog with me but he bailed out
I wish that he hadn't turned me down because that film needed to be created for the benefit of his friends and self as the next 11 months go by.
Heck!....I would have been happy to pay for another hog just to see him take it in the same manner that he took the first! ;D
Perhaps the story of his encounter will always shine brighter than the film just because it had to be played through the minds cinema
where editing is done to fit ones own perceptions of what went on there.
I am seeing this one as a great comedy
We stayed awake far past a reasonable hour IMO but it was hard to get serious and sleep for the sake of the following day when I was having such a good time being awake.
None the less...off to bed I went.
Day 2 :
;D
" Then I saw the squeeller!!!!! ;D