My General Tag

I truly was happy. I had service and started texting my wife and some friends, and not least, my "second grandma."

Everyone loves shooting stuff in the morning, duh. But yeesh it just always feels like winning the lottery when it happens. I had plenty of time to soak it in, enjoy myself, eat some food, take some pictures, and the morning would remain cool for some time, there is no feeling of needing to rush.

It all just felt... good.

IMG-4389 (1).JPG
 
I ate some pizza and had some more water and got to work. Testing out my new cut resistant glove to prevent what seems like a yearly inevitable knife slip and annoying necessary pause to rummage through my first aid kid for bandages, tape, and a glove to cover up my cut.

I guess I don't know how well it works though, as I had no slips this time.

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Halfway through I took another break to have some water and enjoy the scenery. It was really starting to warm up.

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I got finished up. Unfortunate thing about a good shot sometimes is the heart was blown. Which sucks cause I love heart.

I hung a front, hind, goody bag, and head in the shade in a nearby tree. I figured doing all of that in the second trip wouldn't be so bad once I could ditch all the extraneous crap I currently had with me at the truck. So, only a front and a hind on the first trip out.

Holy crap it was starting to feel warm.
 
I was prepared, I brought sunscreen and sun glasses. All this snow and a clear day... it was bright. I've had some bad sun burns spring skiing before and will never forget the lesson learned from those mishaps.

The snow was getting very slushy very fast. The morning did not remain as cool as I had hoped. The conditions were turning slippery. Let's not blow a knee now.

I looked across the canyon I had to get a across and immediately picked out a straight shot route to it that looked to also be the gentlest way back out of it.

I really wasn't paying attention though. I hiked straight down into it, crossed the creek, and plowed headlong into a willow jungle. My god.

The slushy snow, almost two feet in some areas in here, the crawling through and under tangles and tunnels, the getting snagged, the countless times almost falling backwards from a branch snagging my rifle and the elk trying to pull one more defensive move on me, the one step forward two steps back. I thought about pulling a @MtnElk and pressing SOS at least twice. #*^@#* what was I thinking? In hindsight coming back for load 2 looking back at this hill I would realize I literally chose the worst spot in the entire canyon to try to climb back out.

🤦‍♂️

IMG-4355.jpg

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but i emerged, alive and well. not much left to gain the ridge and it was downhill from there.

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Last edited:
Just two trips and I was all done by 2:30. I sat on the tailgate and ate more pizza and had a celebratory chew of Mint Copenhagen. I can't resist it when I go hunting. Let's hope my wife doesn't find her way to this thread any time soon.

IMG-4385.jpg
 
TOGIE said:
I was prepared, I brought sunscreen and sun glasses. All this snow and a clear day... it was bright. I've had some bad sun burns spring skiing before and will never forget the lesson learned from those mishaps.

The snow was getting very slushy very fast. The morning did not remain as cool as I had hoped. The conditions were turning slippery. Let's not blow a knee now.

I looked across the canyon I had to get a across and immediately picked out a straight shot route to it that looked to also be the gentlest way back out of it.

I really wasn't paying attention though. I hiked straight down into it, crossed the creek, and plowed headlong into a willow jungle. My god.

The slushy snow, almost two feet in some areas in here, the crawling through and under tangles and tunnels, the getting snagged, the countless times almost falling backwards from a branch snagging my rifle and the elk trying to pull one more defensive move on me, the one step forward two steps back. I thought about pulling a @MtnElk and pressing SOS at least twice. #*^@#* what was I thinking? In hindsight coming back for load 2 looking back at this hill I would realize I literally chose the worst spot in the entire canyon to try to climb back out.

🤦‍♂️

View attachment 297844

View attachment 297840View attachment 297841


View attachment 297843

but i emerged, alive and well. not much left to gain the ridge and it was downhill from there.

View attachment 297845
Click to expand...
That SOS button is a tempting one… but I think I’ve incurred enough shit at this point that I may not even press it if I’m having a heart attack. I’ll just die like a real man 😂

Well done dude. That shit looks miserable. Nothing worse than getting snagged on a packout.
 
Congratulations! I’ve always liked the idea of hunting in snow like that, but I doubt I would like the reality of it! Good work listening to your gut, I’m glad you got it done.
 
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