Hey - That's a Big Jet Boat

Gates of the Mountains Tour Boat June 28, 2011

Hum Where are the Fish?

Fishing Great Mark Little - Holter Lake June 28, 2011 First Walleye for both of us.

Walleye Where Are You?

Haven't written for a day or two.  Went to Bozeman and took Mark fishing on Holter Lake Tuesday and tried to fish in a small lake in the Paradise valley on Wednesday but the wind was to strong.  On Holter we both caught Walleye - bot of our first time.  Mark caught five and I caught two - used the excuse that I was running the boat which is probably valid since I was further from shore along the edge where we were using bottom walkers and a walleye set up with a little float and an leech on a single hook.  The walker had to be bouncing along the bottom to do much.  Mark also caught a nice rainbow.  We took a cruise up the lake to the Gates of the Mountains and went through passing the sight seeing boat a large boat that looked like a 2 story 10 times as long boat like mine, there were a lot of people on the tout.  Mark and Tyson Tracy joined us at 5 pm Tuesday - had a good time.

More from the mountain adventure:

Day 21 Friday May 13^th

Hum Friday the 13^th – do you suppose that is why all I found today were ticks and lots of them even one embedded in the front of my shoulder?  No antlers, good walk north of Boulder Creek, but I think that is where most of the ticks came from, later shorter walk on Little Boulder , a couple ridges over from where I found the first eight antlers, have pretty well walked all possibilities in this drainage, only one antler was found away from the others in Royal Basin.  Guess I will go back there and search out some more sights on the southern end of the basin.  My days kinda have about the same schedule, get up simple breakfast 2 ½ to 3 hour walk, ½ to hour travel time, read in yard as nibble of peanuts, diet pop, trail mix etc.  Charge my computer, cell phone, ipod, dinner (tonight I actually heated water and had a cup of noodles (two of them actually) sunflower seed and sparkling water.  Wrote on my book an hour or so, studied for a hour or so, it is now 11:10 pm and I am finally writing on this.  Weather next several days mixed, looks like Thursday may be the worst.  May have to try and make it over Wyman pass (at least that’s what I call it – over top of Wyman Creek across a couple of ridges and down into Philipsburg, I am running out of propane for my light and that is necessary for my typing.  I don’t know if I can possibly make it over, today I walked along a ridge and walked between some trees where snow didn’t get deep, I was looking up at 8’ drifts a couple feet over my head, I had to go the other way, pretty cool that I was standing there on dry (well a little wet ground and looking up at 8’ drifts on 3 sides of the tree I walke under.  Windy today and the forecast is that it will be very windy tomorrow and Sunday.  Well best go put things away and brush my teeth, if there are no clouds out the moon was shinning pretty good about a hour ago when I went out to get something, a few days will be a full moon, guess if there were no clouds I could go look for antlers then.  When it is clear the stars are bright in and of themselves,  The big dipper is almost straight above me slightly to the left pointing just about like it does at the lake when you walk out on the top deck at night, my tent must be positioned almost at the same angle and direction.  North is nearly out the front door of my tent.   Well, about that time, it has cooled down and I don’t want to build the fire up.

Day 22 Saturday May 14^th

After a light breakfast I got out of camp at a reasonable time this morning, about 9:20 am or so, and knew that if I didn’t make a mountain trek over  Wyman Pass as I have come to call it, anyway the top of Wyman Creek, and down the other side into Philipsburg, I would run out of propane fore the lantern by Tue or Wed and then my typing days would be over.  As soon as the sun goes down in this canyon it is to cool to sit out and even though it is light now till 8:30 or so, it is to cool to sit out and the skeeters are as big as they were on our trip on the ferry to northern BC, they are a little slow here though probably just has been a little cool for them as well.  Anyway I made the trip, a little hairy since the snow and ice up high has been melting, so where the snow it is soft and drifts are still fairly deep had to work my way through some of them, but I got there and then ont the way back, took advantage of being in places I haven’t walked so I walked out two south-southwest facing ridges my usual 2 ½  hour trek and there should have been antlers, the lower ridge someone may have walked coming up from the P-burg side, but the upper one was to far up and no one had crossed the snow field down onto the ridge, but no antlers, I guess the elk didn’t like those ridges as well as I did.  It was a snowy, muddy trip, but fun.  I got back and did some reading, I have been doing a lot of thinking about how to earn a little money and still have our freedom.  Saundra seems to think that if we could clear sat $1000/month with my social security, we may be able to just squeak by keeping the lake, no don’t anyone get to excited, we are just looking at all the possibilities and what ifs.  The fact remains we may not be able to sell the lake for what we think we should get out of it and so that leaves us in a bind anyway, therefore I have been pondering, praying and mulling things over as I walk.  I don’t want to get so tied up that we can’t take care of our parents, and so that we can’t go places when we want.  So think, think, think.  Wood Carvings – possible if promoted right, Book who knows I can tell a good story, at least I can in my own mind, and then I kept feeling like I should call Kent Carpenter back, he really wants me to try this new version of Rhealth (not their name ours, that we were going to use with CardioRisk, Kent and a fellow named Eric have a spin off they think id better, with more resource, I had a number of products lined up to sell, but that would have been a lot of travel and I didn’t want that and to spend 30000 to make 40000, so I gave up most of that idea.  However as I have been contemplating about Kents idea, I felt I should call him back and so this afternoon I did.  He seems to think I could make this go and still have time to do what I want, my territory would be unlimited so if it were to work, I could call on people on the way to Portland and in Portland for that matter and write off the trip, likewise to Utah, Bozeman etc.  He really wants me to try it, there is Endopat, IMT, Echo’s and other things they are working with they have a Cardiologist in Houston as their Medical Director and they have been making it work in Texas and Phoenix.  I would be my own boss it would be Rhealth LLC which we have already created  and which Saundra is a partner so maybe we could figure the financing out depending on how it goes, so I could still go on social security and earn my 14,100 that I can earn without giving it up, and if it earned more that part could go to Saundra.  So again without getting hopes up we are still working on possibilities.  I told him I would make a list of 10 or so Docs and Eric and I could go see them in a week’s period and see what we could do, I still have an expense account with some money in it that would pay for the travel , so I told him I would and will try to come up with a time and given it a week.  One of these things will work, I am to young and stupid to just give up.  I have thoroughly enjoyed my walks and the antlers etc I have found, I have also enjoyed the time to study, write on my book, and think.  I miss Saundra and puppy and the family, but this has been good for contemplation .  Everyone thought I would get bored, certainly no boredom here, I miss Saundra as I said, but there is no boredom, in fact if I could talk her and puppy into coming with I would like to make this an annual trek, good luck with that huh!  Well, usually I write on the book first and then my day tonight I did it backward so I am going to go write about Jep the undercover drug rep, laugh if you will – most of the story is coming along good, I need to print it and evaluate where things fit so I can see it all in one place to put it together right, I suspect that if I keep it up I could finish this thing before the year is over, that is my goal.  I figure if I would work on it a hour or so a day, excluding Sundays, I could get er done.  It has been easy to do that here, the challenge will be at home.  If however I would set a time and do it, and I am going to, that and the same amount of studying I have been doing here and I would get a lot done.  If I kept the walks up, I would get in shape.  Hum!  If I did all that I would not have time for anything else.  Must figure out a way!!!

Two closing thoughts:   First, I wonder if the mold that has been growing on my cheese as of late will do anything  to protect me from rocky mountain spotted tick fever since they have been enjoying me?  Second, I wonder if the bottle of pears I just ate 1/3 rd of will ferment before I finish it?   Colder weather did have it’s benefits.

Mountain Longings

A few warm days and I miss the snow!

Patio Rocks

A lot of work, but sometimes it appears that there is little accomplishment - even though we did accomplish a lot.

Lazy Day and Somewhat of a Bad Attitude

Worked on talk for University Ward - didn't realize I had one there until this afternoon, they have changed the schedule and I still don't have the latest.  Didn't do a lot else.  Have little energy am bummed out about not being able to take Kimber walking and I haven't been since last Monday - this will never do.

The Mountains continued:

Day 19 Wednesday May 11^th

 Had a hard time getting to sleep last night and was a little tired this morning, I think yesterday’s walk was what caused the problem it was a slippery tough one.  Ate breakfast and decided to try a little easier walk at least that was the plan, drove Betsy to the top of Royal Basin, through the snow, much of it had melted since I tried this logging road about 10 days ago.  Left the 4 wheeler and walked down hill zig zagging in and out of the trees for a half hour or so until I came to a road I could see from the bottom, it led to several mines and had not been travelled on for a long time.  I came to the mines and looked in them several caved in, timbers still visible and metal etc.  I crossed over the canyon and wanted to get to a park across the way.  I knew it had been walked by the PAH’s, but I thought I would walk in the trees up along the south edge to a place that looked like it had either been logged or burned from a distance.  It ended up it had been logged several years ago, mostly for poles, there were not many big stumps.   This was to the south of the park I had walked along, it was a bowl at the head of a big canyon (Royal Basin I would guess).  I crossed a rock slide that ran for a quarter mile up the the hill it was only 50 yards across,  I could hear something loud as I got near it, and as I crossed it I realized there was a good sized stream underneath the rocks, you could not see it anywhere, but it was big and loud.  When I got to the south side of the canyon the trees thinned a bit and then it opened up into some small parks .  I started zig zagging from where I hit the first one and worked my way up the hill, on the second turn I looked back behind me up hill, I had not seen it from below until I went by.  Antler, yahoo, yippee skipee, and all those good things, I climb back over to where it is, record it on film, and pick it up, a nice five point with a small start of a sixth point.  No chew marks, it is a year or two old, but I’ll say it every time as much as I would like a new drop, I’ll take these all day.  So score one for the ole foggies, the has been’s, the retired by chance or choice, the limping, gimping old guys- score, score, score ones not a lot but we’ll take it;  I had crossed a real tough snow field on a very steep, mossy slope, under thick trees, this was early in the walk and it about did me in, I also found a nearly new cabing back up in the one canyon, they must get to it on one of the many mine roads I had walked along.  Beautiful place, obviously a summer only home.  The shed had a metal cutout of a bow hunter, so the guy must bow hunt, the immediate setting was neat, as was the country to the north and east, but what I had crossed and what was above it a ¼ mile or so wasn’t so pretty.  It doid face down into the canyo n and from where it sat it had a nice view, and the tall mountains of the top of Finley Basin far off in the distance, also beautiful.  Anyway after crossing the snow field and the thick steep canyons to get to that point, wore me out, so by the time I had climbed along the park and up across the logged are and back into these small parks where I found the antler I was shot,  I decided to walk only part of it and come back later, byt the time I got to the 4 wheeler I had walked 3 hard hours.  When I go up there next I will start on top and cross the snow high up so I am right into the area where I found the antler with in the first half hour or so.  Then I will walk the rest of it, these are small parks and not open very wide like some I had been walking, but I have run out of the big ones.  When I found this antler, I became more interested in walking some of these other areas, probably fewer  chances of antlers, but then one like I found today is pretty nice, and I have had several days with none, in nicer looking country than this was, but the elk are where they are when they lose them, just like they are where they are when you hunt them.   So I have more hope.  Again score one more for the gray and grumpy.  Rest of the day, I read and studied, wrote on my book and I think I will take an Aleve tonight or Advil, see if I can’t get this knee to quit aching quite so much, my back aches on and off depending how tense I keep it while climbing on steep and snowy side hills, or if I slip etc,   This stupid left heel, hurts sometimes more when I am walking and sometimes more when I am sitting without even any pressure on it.  Sitting here I realizes that even thought I did not walk as far as some of the days – I did walk my but off today, oh wait, hold on, don’t get in a hurry, just a minute, I looking – hum seems I guess I didn’t walk my biut off it’s still there.   Gutten Abend (spelling) for now.

 

Day 20 Thursday May 12^th

Today was partly cloudy and was not to bad.  Ate breakfast and traveled back to Royal Basin to hike around where I had found yesterday’s antler.  Had 3 hour walk, starting about where I had found the antler and walking through and below the area, I never found the match or any other antlers.  Lots of snow above had to work my way around, and sometimes through, some drifts were a good 5 or 6’ deep, it didn’t take long to back out and go the other way when I found this.  Took a bath this afternoon behind the tent, didn’t heat the water , pretty chilly but felt good.  Was going to wash clothes , but it clouded up and I didn’t want laundry on the line until a better day, read some, got carried away with a thought on my book that I had to quit on, but will follow up later. Two questions, 1^st When your towel stays out in the rain is it washed?  2^nd How in the world can it go from so cold to so hot and back to so cold in this tent so fast?  Had to open the doors to let the heat out in a rain storm and then had to build the fire back up to stay warm 10 minutes later, someone needs to adjust the thermostat.  Has rained pretty hard on and off this evening.  Am contemplating where am going to walk next few days, I am running out of reasonable places to walk, there is a lot more like I walked in today, very few parks, quite a few trees and lots of snow.  When I first found yesterdays antler in that type of area I got excited that it may be worth it to walk more of it, after today’s three hours, it is easy to think there has got to be something better.  I will probably cross Boulder Creek tomorrow and try the north side again I have walked two days on that side to no avail, it looks great but either has been done in by PAH’s or the darn elk don’t know what looks good and have avoided it.  I know that is not true cause there is elk sign there, so far just no antlers.  Then again I have gathered antlers for years, sometimes with great success and sometimes with little or no results.  I have found more elk antlers on this trip than ever before, but no deer antlers, then again I have been walking between 5500 and 6500 feet and the deer drop antlers whitetail 1^st in mid January to mid February, then mulies into the end of March, Elk generally mid to late April.  The truth is they drop them where and when they want that is pretty darn obvious.  This next week Mark Tracy is going on the Smith River trip, I would have really liked to have gone, he invited me, it is by drawn permit only and you don’t ge the chance very often.  I first told him I would go then things bunched up and I could see that was not possible.  I would like to have Saundra go, they have a fall permit as well, maybe someday, supposed to be beautiful.  I have thought about Saundra and my hikes here, she would not have liked them at all, cross country wherever , back and forth through trees, brush, open parks and across rock slides, over creeks and springs, not exactly a walk in the park, ior a well used trail, at the most an occasional so so game trail.  No I couldn’t get Saundra to enjoy this I don’t think.  I also thought if I could train puppy to look for antlers it would make my walks easier, then I even thought as I was walking about inventing and antler magnet, ha ha well puppy or the magnet would take all the exercise and fun out of it.  I look back over the years and I have walked a lot of miles looking for antlers, certainly more than I have animals in hunting season and I have walked quite a few doing that.  I have thought about pulling up camp and moving to Upper Willow Creek, there are some places over there I would like to walk, I would do it, but it seems too much trouble, it would take me a day to get out of here and a day to get set up there, plus the weather shows more rain and I have a fair supply of wood in the tent and under the tarp around the back, I would either have to pack that along or find decent dry stuff there and start over that would probably be another day – so I think willow creek will be a different time, besides the PAH’s from Pburg have probably hit it already, they have to know about it as I do since anyone who has hunted any of these areas gets a fair idea where potential antler drops might be.  Well I still have a little scripture reading to do tonight, I have been faithful with my schedule of things I intended to do study wise so I don’t want to blow that now.  I also need to go out in the dark, put the computer up and brush my teeth.  It is now 10:56 pm.    

West of Wyman Creek

Mountains beautiful Mountains - so much variety and so many places to See!