ELK CAMP - Fall is here!

Montana life is usually measured in "seasons." Not the 'big four' that most people think of - summers, spring, winter and fall. Montana seasons are: fishing season, hunting season (bow and rifle), ski season, and for some "river season" (kayakers and boaters).

Well, the day fishing season ended, Peter and I found time to get married and the day we got back, it was straight into hunting season.

Peter works for a terrific man, Storrs Bishop. Isn't that the greatest name? Storrs is actually the IV Storrs Bishop in the line. Storrs has been running a hunting outfitting camp / business in Ennis, MT for over 30 years. His lease is spectacular. At the south end of the Gallatin Range, his camp is 5 miles up Sentinel Creek and along Cougar Creek. Now you can ask Peter or Storrs the name of each peak, hillside and tree and they could tell you - but I am lucky that I remember the town we were nearest.

The hunters arrive on Saturday, so there is much work to be done to get the camp set back up for the season! It is in the Lee Metcalf Wilderness area, so when season is over it has too look like no one was ever there- which means every pole, log, tent, chair, stove, and piece of equipment is packed in and out every fall.

At 8,500 feet and in the Lee Metcalf there is already about 1ft of snow in many parts. It is still warming during the day and freezing many nights, so there is alot of MUD!

Peter and I, our friends Jeannette and Laurie, and Storrs loaded up 9 horses on Saturday morning and went up to camp. Saturday was a very cloudy day - no cold- but not sunny and cheery. We set up the cooks and guides tents, the groover (pooper tent), stoves, cots and chairs.

We slept in the tent that we erected, on the dirt covered ground which we cleared 6 inches of snow off of, and had a delicious chili dinner and oatmeal / banana bread breakfast. We were completely wiped out. Riding horses when you are not used to riding every day will make your body ache and moan in ways you never knew possible.

Suprisingly, we all slept very well. There was lots of talk of grizzlies in the area and we say a few tracks on the way in and heard some "tall tale" stories from the hunters we passed coming in on Saturday. I have been recovering from some ailment that was caught during wedding week and was so doped up on Nyquil a bear could have slept in my sleeping bag with me and I would not have known the difference. Nyquil or not, there is something so great about sleeping in 35 degree high mountain air, and not hearing a sound but the crunch of snow, an occasional rustle of a horse, adn the snoring and breathing of your friends sleeping 6 inches from your face. The dark is so dark.... you can see more stars than anywhere and actually see the milky way galaxy.

Sunday morning we slept in and awoke to the bluest skies and cleanest, freshest air. The moutains looked gold from the morning sun and there were high peaks, pines and beauty
everywhere you looked.

Laurie, Jeannette and I were getting a total kick out of the whole experience. It was very "old time romantic" to ride in on horseback, work with your hands, and set up camp. We really felt like mountain women and did not want it to end - no matter how achy and tired we got!

Sunday the gals actually fell (chopped down) 3 standing trees, cut them in quarters, then lasooed them to Peter who drug them down the hill to camp by horseback. Once they were there we sawed the logs while Peter split the wood. It was great!

We took a scenic ride to the top of the ridges around camp where we saw breathtaking views of nearly every range and peak in the area ... including the Tetons in the distance. The air was so clear and hardly a cloud in the sky.

It was extremely muddy! This made for some really risky and "adventurous" horseback riding. While these horses were the sweetest, most well behaved and solid horses you could wish for, it was quite scary still to be on a horse that was completey SLIDING 20 feet at a time on a very steep slope. My horse 'Nick' took a small spill which I miraculously did not end up under! For many parts of the ride down, we opted to walk the huge beasts. That was risky too, as we led them, they were at risk of sliding right into us. Peter, Mr. Horseman, got a kick out of watching us giggle, fall, and talk the entire ride. I think he was used to the hunters and men in camp who hardly speak and stay quiet in hopes of seeing bears and elk. Not the girls! We made about as much noice as we could - not deliberately - we're just giggly girls having fun. But, surprise surprise, no wildlife was to be seen - not even a nice bunny or squirrel. I see now why hunting is typically a "man's sport."

As you can see in the pics below, we had tons of laughs and fun. I am sure our bums will feel the 12 miles on a horse and all the wood cutting, but it sure made for a terrific way to get out in Montana and enjoy the fall. Weekends liek this are what makes living in Montana all worth it. To be with dear friends, miles from any form of civilization, to experience true wildness, feel the fear of bears and wildlife encounters, work in the snow and cold with your hands, and be home in a warm bed 2 days later.... Nothing like it in the world. I am so grateful.

Peter and I find it ironic that 1 week ago we were saying "I Do" on a BEACH in the sun, swimming in the ocean and getting tans. We celebrated our 1 week anniversary in multiple layers, snow, and on top of horses in the mountains. We LOVE our life!