It’s a mystery to me and many of my friends (and former employers) “what exactly goes on inside that head I carry around on my shoulders..”(and many have said as much over the years)?!
At last post it was midnight Ennis time, and I was whooped! …I said I was gonna ‘hit it hard this morning’ and well; I did except for whatever reason I cannot explain; I drove out of the motel and went 5 miles toward where I hunted yesterday, then turned-around abruptly and headed toward a destination-unknown..?
“Wait what..?”
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There’s at least three reasons why I did it; take your pick…
I’m “an idiot” is the easiest, but lets skip that one and explain that while I’d said “the Utah guys’ report wasn’t discouraging” – in fact it was, once I slept on it.
…That they’d said they’d ‘been there all week and hadn’t seen a black bear (but two griz)’; ..this made me think this was not the place to revisit?
With the exception of one small bear track I came across yesterday, I really didn’t see much sign otherwise; and when they said “they hadn’t either” - again, my ‘dreams of killing a bear’ were interupted by common-sense telling me to go elsewhere?
…The problem with ‘my version of common sense’ is its’ often without using the proper map, nor any reamaining brain cells I have left.
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Not only was the Utah guys’ poor report of bear-sightings a factor, but as I was leaving last night and heading toward Ennis, no less than a dozen campers with ATV’s on the backs of them were pulling into the area I’d just left; so this too played a key role in my spontaneous decision to try elsewhere.
…And finally, it was one of the Utah guys themselves who asked me:”You know where the tobacco range is; ‘we heard that was good’..?” and my hesitance at what the hell he was talking about, that stuck in my head and didn’t appear until much later…
However, after a sleepless night of tossing and turning and awaking to more pain in my lower body than I’ve felt since elk-season; I grabbed a map and took it to the shitter. Once there I thought “you know that’s not very far from here actually, but in the other direction..?” - As on my map at least it, was in big bold letters: “Tobacco Range”; how the other guys missed it is beyong me?
So before I knew what was happening I was cruising thru Virginia City and looking for the Granite Creek turnoff (ended up being just past Nevada City actually)..and turned down a one-way road without a clue where it lead, or if it even went all the way to the big green glob that indicated a National Forest’ was somewhere north of there? It didn’t help I was using the very basic of BLM maps and roads seemed to almost vanish into themselves for whatever reason..?
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And this is where things turned bad. The roads actually vanished into themselves.
“Shit”!
Finally I came to a handdrawn sign indicating ‘forest this way..’ and that I wasn’t the only dumbshit to have gone down the wrong road apparently?!
Well I put her in 4x4, having made that mistake before, and fore long I was on top of the world and looking down on what I said to myslef was “pure bear country”, but instead didn’t see butkus for over 3 hours.
“Shit”!?
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It seemed I’d somehow gotten myself into a desert, rather than a mountain-range with forested trees or streams like before. I recognized the area for great elk hunting and amybe mule deer up there, but not so great anything else...?
So not seeing any 'spring bears' as I was hunting them; I just did what came natural and went in even further up the slippery slope…(idiot).
...Ten more miles by the odometer, "road-hunting" at a snails pace, and I found myself at a complete deadend of muddy snow-pack, up to my bumper, and nowhere else to go but back...?!
“Shit”! (…was not what I said)
...So I did, at a snails pace again, as the incline I’d traversed up was making my bad brakes squeal their last breath; …all the way down.
“…Total bust!”
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Next on my list of stupid things to do, I instead of turning back toward Ennis, and toward the way I knew home; I took a right and drove blindly toward that “Ruby River” the biologist had confused me about..? And before I knew it I was passing thru Alder (had never been there before or even heard of it) and headed toward “the Ruby Dam” where I didn’t see a dam thing, but was quite pretty none the less..?
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Backtracking thru Alder I surmised “there must be more National Forest accesses somewhere up this way…”; so turned and headed north. Since even parts of my state BLM map had vanished, I went to my State Farm Altas, but this only told me I was taking ‘a really long way home’ if I decided to, at the end of this bloody day..?
I don’t know why I passed the first three exits into the forest, but maybe it was just the names that didn’t sit well – hell they were so forgettable I don’t even know them now? Still when I saw “Wisconsin Creek” I just turned not having a clue where it lead, but did seem like thick-woods might be in my future, judging by the snow capped horizon…
I drove first by some amazing homes and the kind of cabins I’ve always dreamed of, and tried not to grow bitter at seeing them, but as is my nature I quit waving to their lederly owners’ after the first few. Within 5 miles I was in a National Forest and one not to shabby looking either..?
Except for one thing. Unless you had an ATV you weren’t going any further than I did without hiking and since my balls…well lets forget about my balls for a second, but my calves were not doing much better; …I maybe hoofed it a few hundred yards before returning to my truck and vowing to get a job as soon as possible; then get a god damned ATV as soon after that..?!
“Fuck it”!
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“If ya cant beat em join em I always say..?” (…actually I haven’t in the past, but do now..)
Yup, this is my new motto and I aim to live by it, same goes for shooting hundred pound bears; first one I see next time out is dead meat!
If there were one plus-side to this adventure, besides the best day I ever had in Montana, it was a further appreciation for what this great state has to offer…as apposed to others I’ve lived or visited before. In the lower forty-eight there simply is no other comparison as far as places you can just 'go on a whim' or enter if you can reach them...and I’m really happy I moved to Montana, and cant wait to go after spring bear again next week…
….Stay tuned...
Moe
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