Khunter
Well-known member
So now i am over 2 miles down in a hole that took hours to reach hiking down the mountain.
Dinkshooter needs to know if he should come my way the route I took or perhaps seek a route from the bottom so we can pack the bull downhill a few miles. Recall we both have no choice but to be home doing other things the next morning. Sure I could take a day or so again starting Tuesday but needed to achieve maximum bull extraction today to extent possible.
This is where it pays to have good, knowledgeable friends. @Oak, on my way to this hunt, had texted the contact info for a packer.
I asked Dink to hang loose while I try to contact the packer. I had 1-2 bars And while I could not get Dink on the phone I was, i think, able to leave a message (voice and text) for the packer. I am still kinda in shock and some awe of the bull at my feet and had not done much other than taking poor photos and pondering best way out with the bull.
15 minutes pass and I actually talk to the packer...he is in the area and says can be to me in 3-4 hours. This is gonna be money WELL SPENT. Added bonus is I get to turn Dink loose to head out, pack up camp and depart for home instead of riding him like a rented mule (with no rent) to help pack as much elk as we can till late at night. All Good Things!
Like I said, everything that could go right was going right and continued to do so.
After awhile Dink was back at camp packing us up. Thanks!!! We had our own trucks so he would not have to wait on me before going home but was cool enough to hang long enough to see the packer bringing his horse trailer by camp headed for the trailhead and double check if I needed anything before leaving. He noted “No horse for Kirby in the trailer! Haha”
As it turned out the packer was to me and the bull the couple miles down the trail in just about 3 hours. Amazing. In what alternate universe is it possible to cold call a packer and have him down the mountain ready to help that fast? Just adds to the euphoria of the whole thing. i had taken horrible hero shots and he asked if I minded if he took some photos of me and elk and his horses. Heck yeah you can do that. I was worried about slowing you down.
Then as we have the horses loaded the packer actually offers to walk and let me ride his horse if I have the experience, understand the risks, and promise not to come after him if/when the horse rolls me, bucks me or otherwise busts me up. Check, check and check. Unreal, he said as an outfitter he walks these hills daily, no biggie. He even noted they had spotted this bull during summer and had been looking, hard, for him for his current 4 clients...and good on us for having found him. Just an awesome dude and the whole way he told all sorts of stories of his family history running cattle in the area. One of the major geographic features nearby is even named after his family.
So halfway up the trail I inreach Dink who is by then on pavement driving home.
KHunter: “I AM on horseback”.
Dinkshooter (CSEH) exact response. “Total Bullshit! the packer is walking then?”
Khunter: “Yes and I am trying not to chastise him when he stops to catch his breath on the steep sections. Oh and my butt is getting sore, should I complain and ask for a pillow?”
Haha, always lots of laughs hunting with Dinkshooter.
Hero shots:
And these below photos are for Dinkshooter, perpetual well-deserved CSEH, who believes the hunter should hike out with the head on his back at a bare minimum.
Dinkshooter needs to know if he should come my way the route I took or perhaps seek a route from the bottom so we can pack the bull downhill a few miles. Recall we both have no choice but to be home doing other things the next morning. Sure I could take a day or so again starting Tuesday but needed to achieve maximum bull extraction today to extent possible.
This is where it pays to have good, knowledgeable friends. @Oak, on my way to this hunt, had texted the contact info for a packer.
I asked Dink to hang loose while I try to contact the packer. I had 1-2 bars And while I could not get Dink on the phone I was, i think, able to leave a message (voice and text) for the packer. I am still kinda in shock and some awe of the bull at my feet and had not done much other than taking poor photos and pondering best way out with the bull.
15 minutes pass and I actually talk to the packer...he is in the area and says can be to me in 3-4 hours. This is gonna be money WELL SPENT. Added bonus is I get to turn Dink loose to head out, pack up camp and depart for home instead of riding him like a rented mule (with no rent) to help pack as much elk as we can till late at night. All Good Things!
Like I said, everything that could go right was going right and continued to do so.
After awhile Dink was back at camp packing us up. Thanks!!! We had our own trucks so he would not have to wait on me before going home but was cool enough to hang long enough to see the packer bringing his horse trailer by camp headed for the trailhead and double check if I needed anything before leaving. He noted “No horse for Kirby in the trailer! Haha”
As it turned out the packer was to me and the bull the couple miles down the trail in just about 3 hours. Amazing. In what alternate universe is it possible to cold call a packer and have him down the mountain ready to help that fast? Just adds to the euphoria of the whole thing. i had taken horrible hero shots and he asked if I minded if he took some photos of me and elk and his horses. Heck yeah you can do that. I was worried about slowing you down.
Then as we have the horses loaded the packer actually offers to walk and let me ride his horse if I have the experience, understand the risks, and promise not to come after him if/when the horse rolls me, bucks me or otherwise busts me up. Check, check and check. Unreal, he said as an outfitter he walks these hills daily, no biggie. He even noted they had spotted this bull during summer and had been looking, hard, for him for his current 4 clients...and good on us for having found him. Just an awesome dude and the whole way he told all sorts of stories of his family history running cattle in the area. One of the major geographic features nearby is even named after his family.
So halfway up the trail I inreach Dink who is by then on pavement driving home.
KHunter: “I AM on horseback”.
Dinkshooter (CSEH) exact response. “Total Bullshit! the packer is walking then?”
Khunter: “Yes and I am trying not to chastise him when he stops to catch his breath on the steep sections. Oh and my butt is getting sore, should I complain and ask for a pillow?”
Haha, always lots of laughs hunting with Dinkshooter.
Hero shots:
And these below photos are for Dinkshooter, perpetual well-deserved CSEH, who believes the hunter should hike out with the head on his back at a bare minimum.
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