peace be the journey

Score one for Mother Nature!

My brother has turned into a hunter. He loves it. Just like I love fighting. He thinks about it all day, he has all kinds of hunting gear lying around the house and his friends are hunters. He wears camo like I wear 8 limb apparel. For his stag party, he went hunting with some of his buddies. And I was invited! Thursday morning we were up before the sun. We were in the truck around 6am and picked up his buddy Darren before heading to the farm to pick up the trailer and Darren’s Rhino. Then it was time for breakfast. Darren had just got off the night shift and I love my sleep so we napped and caught up on some sleep on the seven hour roadtrip south! When we were awake, we talked about life in Alberta and the Hudderites. I’ve got a decent beard going, I might have to visit one of their colonies and make some friends!

We stopped at Bass Pro Shops along the way. This is heaven on earth for hunters. There are antlers on every wall and boats and stuffed animals and camo gear and camping gear and rifles and bows and fishing gear! My brother and Darren were like kids in a candy shop. I even found myself a new hat! We continued south, past Calgary and headed for Pincher Creek/Lynx Creek. I finished the zombie survival guide. It was a little intense but definitely an interesting read. The sun was shining and the wind was intense as we left Pincher and headed west for the mountains. We abandonned civilization and headed deep into the woods to find adventure and animals!

In total, there were ten trucks and five travel trailers. Herb’s future father and brothers in law were there. I met all his hunting buddies and the three amazing dogs they brought along! There were also two rhinos and ten quads to take us on trails and deeper into the woods. We went for a ride and a walk up a mountain Thursday evening before the sun went down. The view was amazing. There was ugly weather coming over the mountains to the west. The wind was cold and the sun began to set so we returned to camp for supper before sitting around the fire.

Friday morning we were up before 6am again and it wasn’t warm! We got some coffee and went for a drive with with Mike and went for a good walk, searching and calling for whitetail deer and elk. We saw one mule deer on the walk and three cow elk before we went back to camp for breakfast. After breakfast, we heading into the mountains. Mike, who has an amazing eye, saw a group of sheep on a mountain many miles away. Upon closer inspection, we spotted eleven sheep, mostly rams, near the summet of a mountain just outside BC. The wind was howling and cold rain was coming down sideways. My brave brother headed up the mountain with Mike to get a better look at the rams. They didn’t want to shoot anything that wasn’t legal. The rest of us went on another trail up the other side of the mountain. It got cold and the boys came down the mountain so we headed back to camp. On the way back, we spotted another mule deer. I wanted to run with it through the trees but thats just me. Myself and Darren went for a walk before it got dark. We followed some tracks and saw some evidence of a local bear but in the end we just went back to camp and sat around the fire when everyone else showed up.

The boys stayed up late Friday night so most of the group slept in Saturday morning. Even though I went to bed hours before everyone else, it was a great excuse to sleep in. When we did get up and have a huge breakfast, we decided to pursue the rams on the mountain once again! This time, the sun was out and the sky was blue. There were no clouds in the sky. It was beautiful. This time, Mike and Mark decided to head up the mountain side while we watched from below with binoculars. I got a really good view of the action just a little up the trail. While we watched the sheep, a huge bull moose came up behind us. No one had a moose tag but once again, I wanted to make friends. The moose got away from me so we went further up the mountain. In the end, no one got a shot off so we went looking for animals elsewhere. Mark did get some good footage of the sheep though.

After more exploring and calling, we didn’t see any animals so we headed back to camp again. Phone service is not great in the mountains. I had to go a few kilometers outside camp every morning and stay still in one spot just to send my good morning messages. As soon as we got back to camp, a small white tail deer leaped from the woods and crossed the road. I jumped into the freezing creek to wash the dust and dirt off myself while everyone else thought I was insane and got a shower in this amazing invention. Water from the creek was pumped through a hose and a heater attached to a quad into a sheltered shower. Too high tech for me while in the woods. The creek was refreshing and reminded me of my days in Holyrood. Mike cooked up some elk steak and I had to try it. It was the most amazing piece of meat I have ever tasted. So while I will still limit my red meat and pork intake whenever possible, I won’t turn down any elk. Frank also cooked up perrogies and I ate enough for three. We sat around the fire and told stories. I went to bed early again.

This morning we got up and packed. We got on the road about two hours earlier than expected after saying thank you and saying our goodbyes to everyone. We took a detour and went looking for some animals in the fields. There were some buffalo and some wind turbines. Then we hit the highway. I started reading I hope they serve beer in hell. It is well written. It flows very easily. We stopped for Subway and drove through a rainstorm before making it back to Bruderheim for supper.

Nikki proved to be amazing once again. Supper was waiting on the table. There was a chicken breast for me with mashed potatoes and corn and an amazing dessert. She didn’t enjoy it because of the texture but it was a delicious slop! Everyone is gone to bed. Work in the morning. Real life, who needs it? Tomorrow I hope to explore and make friends with some cows. Maybe a hunting expedition or fishing tomorrow evening. Once again, goodnight. I’m smiling. I hope you are too. Peace be the journey!