Thumper and I decided to go scouting for elk and deer before I even bought my tag. It was bow season, but I couldn't make up my mind whether I should go bow or rifle hunting this year. For eight years I had driven by this abandoned mining road with access to an abandoned mine; however, I could never explore the area because the road was not maintained and there were wash outs and rock slides so a full-sized vehicle could not maneuver. After lots of missed hunting opportunities, I finally talked myself into buying a Polaris Sportsman 500 6 wheeler with a dump bed to take me where no man had gone before. To break it in, we loaded up and headed out with the intention of exploring the old mine area.
Thumper's tail was wagging. She knew she was going with me to have fun. She jumped into the truck and we were off.
We arrived at the turn off for the old mining road and unloaded the ATV. Thumper immediately jumped into the dump bed where I had placed her favorite pillow to cushion her ride on this rutted road. After driving about two miles down the road, we came upon a giant wash out. I found myself talking to Thumper while lighting my pipe; I was hoping she could help me figure out how to tackle this obstacle. She bayed a couple of times with her tail wagging as if to say, "Go for it." Thumper held on like a trooper, ears flapping in the wind. Down the deep gorge we went gaining momentum. I was afraid to look down at the speedometer because I had to keep my eyes on the road, such as it was, to prevent a disaster. We must have been going 60 miles per hour. Once we hit bottom, we had to gear down to climb out. All six tires were flying, spewing rocks and dust everywhere. Thumper was loving this like it was her first roller coaster ride. She was leaning forward to compensate for the grade. My thumb was on full throttle. My eyes were bugging out and the adrenaline was pumping. Wahoo!! What a ride! As we crested the peak all six tires were two feet off the ground, but the Polaris suspension reacted nicely to give us a smooth landing. What a machine! As we started looking around, I realized that this area had not been visited by anyone in years; there were no tire tracks anywhere. It truly was abandoned.
Thumper started baying expressing her excitement; she was ready for more. I decided to relax, have lunch and then explore one of the mine shafts. The mine looked like a classic ghost town with old log buildings. It was very picturesque. You expected Lee Marvin or Clint Eastwood to ride up any second. Okay, that was pretty neat, but on with our real quest, finding deer and elk.
We discovered a game trail that resembled a freeway going from a water hole below the mine to a beautiful meadow with tall grass just above the mine. The sun shone on it making it look like a field of gold surrounded by gorgeous, thick timber. Thumper took off running. She was ready to play and reached the meadow before me. Thumper started leaping and tossing shed antlers like a juggler. We had discovered a bone yard. There were shed antlers everywhere, elk and mule deer. What a pot of gold! As Thumper played I started gathering the antlers and loading them into the dump bed. It was obvious it would take several trips to haul them out. After the bed was full and mounded two feet high, I decided to make a run for the truck, any more on there would have made for a dicey ride down the mountain. We made six trips up and down with Thumper riding on her treasure, filling the dump bed each time, until the bed of the truck was full. Luckily I had the flatbed trailer for the six wheeler.
On my last trip down the hill with the last load, it was dusk. My sixth sense told me to look back over my shoulder. Holy Hannah! A giant elk bugled. He strode into the empty meadow with his harem of cows. What a monster! His main beams went past his rear. His sword points had to be close to 30 inches and his brow tines went past his nose and curled up. He had mass beyond belief with palmation like a moose. Say no more. I made up my mind. Here's where I'm hunting this year.
What a day! A truckload of treasure which turned out to be enough to pay for my ATV and a premier hunting spot. Please don't ask. It will remain our secret. Thumper will never tell.