Westbound and Down

August 29th, heading west to seek new adventures in my hunting passion. The first few states are all too familiar. My great state of Pennsylvania was a short 5 hours across, followed by the Buckeye state, and the majority of Indiana. A bit over 700 miles were rolled onto the odometer by the time I stopped in Elkhart, IN. Since I was making this all possible by strict budgeting, my truck would become my bedroom for the evening and many to follow.

Day two started early, with the sun just creeping above the horizon. Since I was coupling my hunting trip with work related travel, gas would mostly get covered under expenses (Pretty much equaling the cost of a plane ticket to Washington state). Today would warrant new landscapes that I haven't seen previously. So Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, honestly it didn't feel like I had been missing much. With that being said though, not all beautiful parts of a state can simply been seen from a highway. So I won't discredit those states too severely but from my window view I wasn't too amused. South Dakota sparked interest though. Sioux Falls to Rapid City was quite the haul. The Mount Rushmore State provided wildlife, western aspects, and remnants of the past. Where the Antelope play, almost too close to the highway sometimes. I managed to get within 30 miles of Mount Rushmore before some 1000 odd miles later I turned off my motor and the truck's.

I woke early again, even before daybreak this time. My goal was to see Mount Rushmore on a fine Sunday morning. To my disgust though, it would be an hour off the path of my travel....I had hit road warrior status and couldn't give in to the time lost on my trip. I figured it would still be there on my return or another all together. The goal today was to finish South Dakota and try, try to get through Montana. The landscape continued to amaze me the further west I pushed. The day's journey even included a small glimpse of Wyoming. Incredible. Every song and saying about the western states were humble in their descriptions. Its just one of those things you should see for yourself.

The third day ended in Idaho. A bit further than I had expected but a worthy achievement. I opened up my cot in the bed of the truck for the evening while staying at the base of the mountain where my future hunt would occur. To my dismay, the squirrels worked the night shift and continually dropped branches and acorns onto my truck. So my sleep wasn't the best thus far and a lurking tiredness was setting in from three very hard days for travel.

The morning came all too quickly with lack of sleep. Goal today, scout the mountain for camping spot and then hit the road to meet a coworker for an audit in the Idaho panhandle the next day. The ascent was exactly that, just when you though you couldn't go up anymore, you just did. The road/trail twisted and turned while my truck hugged the inside lane. Before I knew it, I was up, some 6,000 feet. The Snow Peak Wildlife Management Area. Densely populated with thick forestry and wildlife, not to mention the dam squirrels. Using the map I purchased from national forest folks, I was looking for a small campground area.

After driving atop the area, I stopped to interact with a gentleman that seemed to be roughing it too. The link or should I say instant connection that hunters have is amazing. This guy, who would be named Lt. Dan for all intensive purposes, was on the same mission as me. Solo hunting, in a remote area, and doing with a bow. Two star crossed idiots, I mean hunters. We shot the breeze for about 15 minutes when I proposed the plan. I would be returning in a few days, and that we would do this adventure co-cooperatively. Because sometimes two stupid ideas put into on effort can be the safer thing to do.

So downward the truck went and onto my first hotel stay. It was well deserved as my truck and I stank like a locker room from 4 days of trucker ass. My adventure continues after my work is completed in a few days.