That's right. In less than 10 hours I will be off on a new adventure. I've been waiting for this day since I was fourteen years old. For years Rob and I have talked about a Mule Deer hunt in Colorado and we finally put it all together. I have spent the last few weeks packing, repacking, making lists, recycling aluminum cans, sighting in my rifle for the long shot and buying more ammo. I think I was ready a week ago and each day has been pure agony. I have a hard time falling to sleep with all those big bucks stopping at the top of the ridge, silhouetted in the setting sun for that last look, before vanishing into the high desert. I've spent countless hours on Google Earth flying through the draws and coolies looking for that perfect spot in Axial Basin to bag that trophy of a lifetime. The technology we have now is amazing. Google Earth in combination with my GPS has allowed me to mark the canyons and ridges that really look good and then I have created routes to allow us to find those spots in the dark without spending time scouting. I’ve saved copies on my laptop so I can compare Google Earth images to the real thing. I can't help thinking that a vision of a real trophy is just a pipe dream and I should just come down to earth and be happy with a decent forked horn.
One might question all the money and energy I have spent in preparation for the chance to kill poor little Bambi. It isn't the kill that get my juices flowing. It's the whole package, and believe me, the obsession of this whole package is what exemplifies the experience. I am taking more electronic gadgets on this hunt than one would think necessary, but that is part of the fun. You should buy stock in the bunny with all the batteries I have weighing my pack down. Tom and I will be looking at the saved images on my laptop and planning the hunts while lead foot Rob navigates I-80 across the salt flats.
Rob and I are leaving Chico about noon tomorrow and we will spend the first night at Tommy’s house in Pollock Pines. Poor Tom has to work Wednesday, so we will get started very early Thursday morning. The next stop is Nikki and Jeff’s cabin in Midway, Ut. We plan to leave Midway early for the five hour trip to Meeker, but we may take the long route to scout Axial Basin for a few hours.
With luck, the Meeker Hotel will have WIFI so I can keep everyone updated on the hunt. I will post a few photos but the video will have to wait until I get back home.
I’ve posted a few images of the area we will be hunting. Axial Basin is located between two mountain ranges and if we get some weather the deer should be migrating into the basin. The weather forecast shows a change of snow on Monday and again on Wednesday. Daytime highs will be in the mid 50’s and lows in the 20’s.
I’ll try to keep everyone posted.
Time for bed. Pops
One might question all the money and energy I have spent in preparation for the chance to kill poor little Bambi. It isn't the kill that get my juices flowing. It's the whole package, and believe me, the obsession of this whole package is what exemplifies the experience. I am taking more electronic gadgets on this hunt than one would think necessary, but that is part of the fun. You should buy stock in the bunny with all the batteries I have weighing my pack down. Tom and I will be looking at the saved images on my laptop and planning the hunts while lead foot Rob navigates I-80 across the salt flats.
Rob and I are leaving Chico about noon tomorrow and we will spend the first night at Tommy’s house in Pollock Pines. Poor Tom has to work Wednesday, so we will get started very early Thursday morning. The next stop is Nikki and Jeff’s cabin in Midway, Ut. We plan to leave Midway early for the five hour trip to Meeker, but we may take the long route to scout Axial Basin for a few hours.
With luck, the Meeker Hotel will have WIFI so I can keep everyone updated on the hunt. I will post a few photos but the video will have to wait until I get back home.
I’ve posted a few images of the area we will be hunting. Axial Basin is located between two mountain ranges and if we get some weather the deer should be migrating into the basin. The weather forecast shows a change of snow on Monday and again on Wednesday. Daytime highs will be in the mid 50’s and lows in the 20’s.
I’ll try to keep everyone posted.
Time for bed. Pops
The red lines with the dots are tracks I have entered with my GPS and the straight red lines mark the edge of the BLM lands.
No comments:
Post a Comment