It was to be my first hunt for game bigger than whitetail deer. I hadn't planned on it, really... but when my blushing bride, with whom I'd spent more than half my lifetime, proposed to send me hunting out west for my birthday, I could hardly say no, could I?
I was actually kinda stumped, though. I had no clear dreams of hunting big game in the western states, much less a driving urge to bring home one particular kind of critter. The USA is a big ol' country. Where would I go, and what would I hunt?
Then I remembered a friend of mine from the Denver, Colorado, area, so I fired off an email to him. Turns out, he knew a guide named Larry Osborn who owned Triple-O Outfitters, so after some investigation I decided to go with him - maybe.
Uncertainty
The "maybe" stemmed from the fact that I was too late to get into the regular permit drawings, and would have to wait to see if there would be any leftovers. That took a few months, during which I tentatively assumed that I would be going elk hunting, and started prepping things: obtaining some good ammo from Winchester, zeroing my rifles, borrowing some good quality Steiner binoculars (from Steiner), making sure I had some good warm clothes, and whatnot.
To ensure my best chance at success in a big way, I decided to go during the first bull elk season. This was looking like a one-time hunt, and I figured I might as well go for the gusto and try to bring home some big antlers to commemorate the occasion.
Who, me?
I had never seriously entertained big dreams of exotic hunting. Sure, I'd drooled and wished while reading Ruark's decades-old tales of hunting in Africa, but I knew that kind of hunting could never be mine, and my dreams had stopped there. Now here I was, being sent west to live out some dreams I hadn't yet had. Life is strange.
I made my plans with some trepidation - I'm not exactly well-traveled. The thought of winging my way across the country to an unfamiliar destination was intimidating. I considered renting a truck and driving from the nearest airport, but the thought of a Southern flatlander like me driving unfamiliar, possibly-icy roads wasn't exactly comforting.
I decided to put my trust in a fellow with whom I'd been emailing for years - that guy from the Denver area, name o' Wayne Long. He had offered to pick me up at the airport, put me up in his house overnight, and haul me and my gear across the state of Colorado - and then bring me back afterward! It sounded too good to be true, but I gambled that he was the real deal. In the end, he did turn out to be extremely good - and true blue as well.
Final Preparations
By the time my hunt finally rolled around, things had been happening fast. They say time flies when you're having fun, but in my case I was swamped with work while trying to prep for the hunt - and time sure was flying. I finally got all my gear packed (had to pack it three times, leaving out a few more items each time, before it would fit) and was ready to go.
Fortunately, my gadget-happy wife had convinced me that we needed a pair of iPod touch devices, and we received them not long before this trip. Mine was extremely handy on this trip, and I kept thorough notes in an app called WriteRoom.
While driving to Mom's house on the afternoon before my early morning Thursday departure, I noted the high Florida temperature: 95 humid degrees. The forecast high for Hamilton, CO the next day was 48. It appeared that whatever else happened, the temperature around me was going to be roughly halved. That was all right with me - I was tired of sweating while I hunted.
Thursday
With some well-wishes from friends and family, I set out early the next morning for Tampa International Airport. After getting there more than an hour early, I experienced the unpleasantness of being charged $50 because my suitcase was three pounds overweight. Checking my gun case went smoothly enough. Not long afterward, I was waiting to board the plane.
Flying with Guns
I think it's worth talking about flying with guns, so I'll touch on my experience briefly here. (Check out my "Flying with Guns" article for more information.) First and foremost, know the rules. They can be found online, and you want to familiarize yourself with TSA (Transportation Security Administration) regulations, as well as the rules of whatever airline you're using.
In my case, I had two rifles in one case, along with a little bit of gun-cleaning gear. When I checked the case, I declared (as required by law) that it contained firearms. The gal produced a tag, which I signed attesting that the guns were unloaded. She questioned me about ammunition, and I answered: Yes, the ammunition is in a separate bag, and that bag is being checked. Yes, the ammo is in the original factory packaging. No, I don't have more than eleven pounds of ammo.
When asked to, I unlocked and opened the case, its contents were examined (visual only - nothing was touched), and the tag I'd signed was placed inside. I closed, latched, and locked the case. I then walked with another American Airlines employee while he carried the case over to the TSA area, where I stood behind an imaginary line while my gun case was put through an X-ray machine. One of the bored-looking TSA folks finally waved to me that everything was okay, and I headed off to find my gate.
Dawn over the Gulf of Mexico
Soon enough, I was flying west above the Gulf of Mexico. About an hour later, dawn broke behind the plane. I wrote: It is spectacular. The dark horizon, then deep fiery red-orange, transforming into lighter orange and then blue. No yellow in between - just a merging of orange and blue, almost appearing finely pixellated.
Later, I greatly regretted not being able to use my camera during our descent through clouds into Dallas-Fort Worth airport. The clouds defied description - all I can say is that I felt I was in another world as I gazed upon their many varied shapes and forms. I was already seeing wonderful things I had never seen before. Not a bad way to start a trip.
