Opening Day, Hunt 1, Sighting

Cut to the chase.

We were not alone!  We saw a bull but he saw us all!

We marveled at the amazing fall colors, enjoyed an afternoon lunch on a warm fall blue sky day.

We worked the stock hard, up steep hills.

No pictures, but this, an essay on The Darkness. 

Darkness

The alarm clock begins its annoying reveille at 3:30am.  We groan in unison, having been wakened at 2:44 am by a misguided Dispatcher thinking I was still on duty.   We give Tme five more minutes, warm and snug in our bed, separated by a line of sleeping dogs; one stretched out longways, her nose at our armpits, the other, an anchor at the end of the bed. 

Mike gets up.  I follow and we get dressed for the hunt.  The thermometer reads a balmy 35 degrees.  

Each of us has our things to do.  Breakfast burritos warmed, lunches packed, gloves, binoculars, sunglasses, water – the items set out and readied the night before.  Mike dons a headlamp and walks down to the corral to catch and saddle mules.  The generator starts, lights illuminate the tack shed. 

We reach the trailhead, a sixteen mile drive, and find we are not alone, this opening day of elk season.  There are four parked horse trailers and three horsemen leaving as we tighten cinches, load guns, wriggle on bridles, and get ready for the ride up the canyon.

This canyon runs east/west.  The moon is a sliver in the sky.  Headlamps are turned off and even in the open parking lot, our eyes adjust to the pitch black darkness.  I determine to find some sort of glow in the dark ornament for the next morning ride.  In the open, I can barely make out the spotted ass of the Mike’s mule ahead.  It is so dark.  I close my eyes to find equal darkness.  My mule makes his way through the rocky trail, picking where to put his feet.  He does not stumble. 

This experience is terrifying.  I work hard to relax and follow the movement of my mule; suddenly going uphill, around a tree, and then downhill.  Sparks jolt the darkness in front of me as metal shoes click off rocks.  My foot hits a boulder next to the trail I cannot see.  The creek roars next to us, sounding much bigger than it actually is. 

Silver moonlight hits the opposite side of the canyon.  We ride out of the dark timber and into this lovely light.  Morning light comes turning the silver light into a brightening blue.  I relax now, actually seeing the trail in front of us. 

Soon, darkness disappears and we watch morning unveil our surroundings.  The ride to the Secret Trail is 1 hour 45 minutes. 

And at that trail, there is a camp, four horses tied to a picket line, an empty tent, and horse tracks fresh in the trail in front of us. So much for the secret!

In the morning’s first light, we are certainly not alone, this opening day of elk season.