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GRAYBEARD'S COLORADO MISADVENTURES


Yes, misadventure is an apt description of what resulted from the call on June 1, 1998 by hunting partner Chris Williams. Chris had made contact with a local restaurant owner who arranges mule deer and elk hunts in Colorado. Dale Brown used to live in Colorado near Meeker and at that time owned a small 160-acre ranch there. He worked for Bryce Purky who owns the packinghouse in Meeker both at the packinghouse and as a cowboy working Purky's ranches where Dale now arranges hunts.

After several conversations between us with Chris trying each time to convince me to go on the hunt with him, I finally met with Dale at his café on June 24. I wanted to see the photos of past hunts and discuss the terrain and get a feel for what we might expect. I was told that shot opportunities on mule deer had been 100% in the past, but than elk were taken only infrequently. Dale said that generally from one to three elk would be killed by the approximately 20 hunters in his camps. On June 27, after more discussions we committed to the hunt and gave Dale our deposit checks.

We did this in spite of the fact that neither of us felt our trucks were up to the trip (1600+ miles one way) and the fact that my blood pressure was going through the roof and I had to begin taking medication for it during June. We both began trying to get our trucks ready for the trip. I put new tires on my Bronco and had the front end aligned. I hoped this was enough but knew it was running a bit rough with over 110,000 miles on it. We decided to take my Bronco.

Preparations were under way and lots of shooting and reloading were done prior to the trip. I planned to use my TC Contender in 7-30 Waters but since elk were a remote possibility, I decided that more firepower was needed. I sent my .35 Remington barrel to JD Jones at SSK to be rechambered to .358 JDJ. Loads were developed for it and for Chris' .300 Weatherby Magnum that he would use. My back up gun was my 7-30 and Chris' was his Rem 700 30-06. I was to be the first handgun hunter on the ranch to Dale's best knowledge.

Our date of departure was decided to be October 7 and we would travel in tandem with Steve Price and his son Daniel who were in Steve's new Dodge 4x4 extended cab pickup. On the afternoon of October 6 while gassing up the Bronco I detected a coolant leak. I couldn't tell where it was coming from but it was too late to get it fixed before our planned meeting with Steve at 3:00 AM the next morning. Chris picked up a bottle of Bar's Leak that evening and we put it in the next morning. That seemed to cure the problem for now.

Chris was at my house at 2:00 AM on October 7 to load his things into the Bronco and hook up the trailer towing Chris' four wheeler. We met Steve and Daniel at a service station just down the road from my house at 3:00 AM and the adventure began. Steve was towing a dual axle trailer loaded with 5 four wheelers and lots of assorted gear and had the bed of his truck mostly full.

Things went fairly well for us the first day. Steve was hauling to stop about every 200 miles to get gas due to the load he was hauling and the speed we were traveling. Chris did most of the driving after sun up and he doesn't know what speed limits are. We hoped to stop the first night in Hays, Kansas but had to stop short due to the frequent gas stops and long delays at meal stops. Steve was doing all the driving for his truck while Chris and I swapped up the driving chores for my Bronco. Somewhere between Topeka and Salina I noticed Steve was swaying and that he ran off the road a couple of times. We raised him on the Motorola 7x radios we were using and he sounded more asleep than awake. We convinced him to take the next exit and we got rooms for the night. All was still well and we were a long way from home.

We were up early on October 8 and on the road again. Again we were making good time except for the frequent gas stops and long meal breaks. The first real sign of what was to come was at the first serious mountain pass that was 9507 feet high. My Bronco bogged down and we barely made it over with my foot to the floor and us going about 5 mph. Steve actually passed us on that steep grade pulling his heavy load. I knew that wasn't a good sign. We stopped at a service station to check the Bronco but could find nothing obviously wrong. Onward we went. The next pass was 11,500 and I was sure the Bronco wasn't going over it. The climb was more gradual this time even thought higher. I managed to clear in but had to put the transmission in low gear and hold the gas pedal to the floor. We topped it at about 20 mph and I hoped things were fine as no higher passes were ahead of us but some were close.

About 9:00 PM we pulled off the interstate at Glenwood Springs to get something to eat before making the last 90 miles or so to the ranch. I had to stop at a red light and when I mashed the accelerator the Bronco limped across the intersection at about 5-mph while the engine revved to 40 mph. We pulled into the parking lot at Denny's and found nowhere to park the trailers. I tried to get out and back onto the street. We were moving at a snail's pace and the engine was revving to near redline. I KNEW we were in trouble then. We ate and let it cool down but no change. I got permission from the restaurant manager to leave it in his parking lot over night and we packed the essentials into Steve's truck and loaded Chris' 4 wheeler onto the trailer with the other five.

We made it to the cabin on the ranch where we would stay for the hunt sometime in the wee hours of the morning of October 9. The hunt was to begin October 10. Steve took me to Glenwood Springs and we tried the Bronco again but the transmission clearly needed work. I managed to get it to a nearby service station with a wrecker and made arrangements to get it towed to the Ford dealership in town. I spoke with the folks at the Ford place and they assured me they would have it fixed and ready before our planned departure date of October 14. I made several calls and decided that wasn't going to happen. More on that later. On to the hunt.

We all bought our licenses and went back to the ranch. I decided to opt out on elk due to the slim chances of getting one and to save money to fix the Bronco. I was now without transportation on the ranch as this was a do-it-yourself hunt and not a guided hunt. I bummed a ride the first morning with another old codger like myself who had a rented Jeep Cherokee and no hunting partner. He is a chiropractor from California and soon I found that his hunting style and mine didn't match very well. I wanted to be on a high spot ready to glass at daylight. Doc didn't want to leave the cabin until after daylight. Doc had the wheels so we waited on daylight. He walked with me to a good spot for glassing and walked on telling me to me him back at the Jeep whenever I was ready to quit. About an hour later he walked back up and was ready to go look elsewhere. We did and the same scenario was played out again. By this time he was ready to ride the roads and "road hunt".

Now I don't road hunt. Not knocking it for those that do and where legal but it just isn't the way I do it. He asked if I wanted to be the shooter and I told him no that I had no intention of shooting from the vehicle. He was pleased with that and jumped in the passenger seat and handed me the keys. I drove him around on the ranch roads looking for deer. We stopped at a particularly good-looking spot and I located some but we couldn't see any antlers. By now it was too hot to hunt anyway and the deer were holed up the thick cover in the shade. We went back to camp for lunch.

He told me of a water hole he knew of that he thought I should sit for the afternoon hunt. I had sort of planned to hunt one within walking distance of the cabin but let him convince me the one he knew about was better. He dropped me off and went away to do his afternoon hunting. I sat there in the hot sun and waited. About 2 hours before sundown a small forkhorn came to water. It would have been an easy 150 yard shot with the .358 JDJ sighted in at 200 yards but he wasn't what I had come 1600 miles to shoot so I passed. About 15 minutes later my "ride" pulls up and is ready to head to the cabin to cook supper. Yup, with almost 2 hours of shooting light left he is ready to quit and I'm way too far from the cabin to walk back and so I end my first day of mule deer hunting in Colorado. Seems my new found "friend" is always in bed by 8:00 PM and had to give himself time to cook supper before bedtime. GREAT!!!

Steve's son Daniel shot a small forkhorn on the first morning hunt at an area they call "the front". Chris shot a small 4x4 about 12" wide with forks about 4" deep the first afternoon. No one else at the cabin shot anything but a couple of guys over at the trailers who were also a part of our group did kill deer.

Next morning Dale convinced Doc that we should ride with him and some of the others in "Big Red", the 3/4-ton Ford diesel 4 door pickup that Purky lets Dale use for these hunts. I told him "no way" was I going to get in that noisy and smelly old junker and road hunt. Doc climbed in with the others. They had two chairs in the bed with armed "hunter" and another at each window and off they went to do their style of hunting. At this point I'm wonder what kind of crowd I'm mixed up with. This is not the way Dale pictured it to me at the café so long ago. At least Doc is generous and tosses me the keys and asks me to try not to wreck it and to NOT get blood on the carpets.

Another late start but at least no one is going to determine where I go or what I do this morning. I drive up the main ranch road until I spot some deer on the right side. I glass them and all are does but I take this as a good sign since I'm seeing deer moving. I take the first side road off this main road and drive until I see a spot that looks good. I set up on a hillside overlooking a valley below me and there are hills in front of me and on my right that I can glass. The hillsides are covered in oak brush and sedge with some buck brush mixed in for good measure. This is more to my liking. Soon after I get set up I see movement on the hill to my right. Mule deer...four of them but all are does. I watch them until I tired of it and take a few photos of them and the area around me. I spot more movement on the hill to my front...a coyote running along the ridgeline.

The morning wears on with no further sightings and I am getting bored. The sun is shining brightly on me from the rear. I hear noise...clearly a deer moving my way from behind me. I turn to look but am blinded by the sun. A doe walks by within mere feet of me and on down the hill and out into the valley and crosses a dry streambed. She walks up the far hillside and disappears into the oak brush. I sit until about noon when the temp has climbed into the high 70s and deer movement has stopped. I go back to the Jeep and ride to the end of the road to where there is a gate leading to BLM land. A sigh says no vehicles allowed. I mark this in memory and think it will be good to try if I have the vehicle to get back to it tomorrow or even later this afternoon. I ride around looking the ranch over and trying to decide where to spend the afternoon and next morning. On my way back to the lodge for something for lunch I meet Dale and some of the others in Big Red. They are heading into town for a night out on the town. I decline the invitation and head onto the cabin.

Doc is at the cabin and wants to use the Jeep for the afternoon. He asks me if I want to go with him. I decline. I hunt that afternoon within walking distance of the cabin...mostly just exploring and looking for a good place to hunt tomorrow. I see no deer that afternoon.

No one at the cabin killed deer the second day but again one or two were taken by the folks at the trailers where deer activity seem greater than on our end of the ranch.

The next morning I am up early and walk away from the cabin in darkness. Chris and Doc decide to tag along with me. I climb a hill overlooking a water hole that gives me a good panoramic view of several hollows and ridges. The area is mixed oak brush and sedge with some tall timber way out in front of me. I can see for maybe 500-600 yards to my front but all views are in range of my .358 JDJ to the other sides of me. Some does walk slowly along the hill in front of me and come to drink at the water hole. They then walk up the hollow to my left and disappear in the brush behind me. I sit and wait until about 12:30 PM and then go back to the cabin for lunch. I'm back at the water hole by 4:00 PM and wait until too dark to shoot. The only thing I see today other than the does were the small ground squirrels, which entertained me and a few magpies.

One of the hunters at the trailers killed an elk today and Dale's son killed a nice buck with spread in the high 20s and deep forks. That is what I was hoping for on this hunt.

By now I have determined that my Bronco isn't going to be fixed in time to drive home. I have to decide whether to stay until they fix it or find another way home. I talk with Steve and make arrangements to ride home with him.

Tuesday, October 13 is the last day we are to hunt as Steve wants to return the next day early. I make a morning hunt walking out from the cabin and again see no legal deer. I give it up as I'm tired and having trouble breathing. The problem is a combination of my allergies and the altitude and the fact I'm too fat and out of shape. My feet are and ankles are swelling to double normal size each day and not really going down at night. I surrender and call it over.

Chris and Steve ride over to the trailers to make arrangements to get all the 4 wheelers loaded onto his trailer for the return trip. Steve spots a 4x5 elk on the side of the ranch road and shoots it with his .270 Win from about 200 yards. He takes 4 shots to make the kill. The guys at the trailer help to drag it to where they can load it on Steve's truck and off to the packinghouse they go. Late that night they come in and me and Doc hear the tale.

We pull out the next day way late because of Steve and Chris being so late getting back the night before. We get all of our stuff and that of Steve and Daniel (who had flown home to get back in school) into and onto Steve's truck and trailer and get home without further incident.

Three weeks to the day (Friday) after the Ford dealership in Glenwood Springs got my Bronco they still hadn't touched it. I made arrangements to have it towed to the AMMCO transmission shop in Denver for repair. My feet and ankles were still swelling badly and I knew I couldn't make another trip to get the Bronco. I made arrangements with a friend's son to fly out and drive it home for me. On Sunday November 8, one month after it broke in Glenwood Springs, Colorado my Bronco was back home to me. The costs for the repairs, towing and for Blake to fly out and return it to me added up to $3506.77. And that wasn't the end. I still spent another $1070 at the local Ford dealership to have the lost of power problem and the coolant leak fixed and had to get a new alternator also.

Will I ever go back? Probably but not in the old tired Bronco. And definitely not until I get some weight off and get in better shape for walking in the high country.

Bill aka the Graybeard.