![\"Dad](\"http:\/\/bbryson.com\/bill\/files\/2007\/08\/dad_muffler.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nWe were back on the road a little after 11:45 P.M.\u00a0 with merely an hour between us and our destination.\u00a0 The rest of the drive was uneventful landing us at the “trail head” a little after 1:00 A.M.\u00a0 We promptly reclined the seats pulled a blanket out of the back seat and fell fast asleep.<\/p>\n
The next morning we were awaken by four 4-wheelers buzzing up to the truck.\u00a0 One of the gentlemen stepped over to my window which I promptly rolled down.\u00a0 The four men were appropriately dressed all in camo and wearing helmets.\u00a0 Once he removed his helmet he informed us that he and his comrades were part of the US Military and were out to check on their seismograph equipment located in the area.\u00a0 Now I’m not positive about this, but I believe the equipment is used to listen for possible Russian underground nuclear tests.\u00a0 Their hops is to pick up the vibrations of the blasts.\u00a0 The gentlemen asked us to please not shoot them when we headed back on our hunt.\u00a0 You see there happen to be a few people out there that when hunting will shoot at any movement in the brush or noise that they hear without checking to see what it is first.\u00a0 I assured him that we always make sure what we are shooting at is indeed a moose since that is all we really had a license to hunt anyway.\u00a0 He’s just lucky that the season for men in camo hasn’t opened up yet.\u00a0 \ud83d\ude09\u00a0 j\/k.<\/p>\n
Well that got us up and moving for the day.\u00a0 We unloaded our two rigs off the trailer and loaded up all of our gear.\u00a0 Dad had his 6-wheeler and I was borrowing Dan Eide’s 4-wheeler.\u00a0 Once loaded up we were ready to hit the trail.<\/p>\n
The trail was good at first.\u00a0 We were working our way up a hill.\u00a0 As we crested the top of the hill we knew we had some tough trail ahead of us.<\/p>\n There is an area that had some very large boulders embedded into the trail making the precise maneuvering of our machines a must.\u00a0 I did take a second to snap this photo of the valley off to one side of the trail.<\/p>\n So on our way we went, through the rocks and down the other side of the mountain. \u00a0 On our decent into the valley we were to be hunting in I looked up and saw the lakes we were to be glassing over (looking at through binoculars) for the next few days.\u00a0 In the edge of one of the lakes was….\u00a0 You guessed it a moose!!\u00a0 I hopped up on top of the 4-wheeler with my binoculars and took a closer look.\u00a0 Well after further review it turned out to be a cow moose, which in case you didn’t know is not legal to hunt.\u00a0 Bulls only in Alaska, but they are always good to have around because just like humans there are usually a few boys chasing the girls around.\u00a0 So we continued on down into the valley.\u00a0 We were about 8 miles back into the woods and a mere mile from camp when my 4-wheeler decided it didn’t want to run anymore.\u00a0 After futile attempts to bring it back to life we decided we had better get it back out to the trailer.\u00a0 We weren’t sure how easy it would be to get it back over those pesky rocks and back up over the mountain top.\u00a0 So we hooked up some tow ropes and back we went.<\/p>\n The return trip went quite well and after we made it back safely to the truck agreed that we probably should have stayed in and continued the hunt.\u00a0 Odds are though that if we had stayed in for the hunt we would have had a terrible time getting the machine out.\u00a0 So we headed into Northway to refuel the 6-wheeler.\u00a0 Our new plan was to head over to another easier trail known locally as “The Paradise Trail”.\u00a0 This trail is about 20 miles from the Canadian border.\u00a0 We loaded up all of our gear onto the 6-wheeler and with me on top of the load we headed back on attempt number two.\u00a0 We weren’t 300 feet into the trail when we looked up and saw a beautiful rainbow ahead of us.<\/p>\n Dad snapped this photo of me on top of the 6-wheeler with the rainbow in the background.<\/p>\n So if you know what makes rainbows then you know what lied ahead of us.\u00a0 We came upon the steady downpour only a short time later.\u00a0 It was a good thing we had rain gear on and all of our gear either in dry bags or waterproof boxes cause it really came down.\u00a0 On a brighter note on the ride we noticed fresh moose tracks in the mud headed in the same direction as us.\u00a0 So we had high hopes of still achieving our goal.\u00a0 We drove back in about two miles and set up camp on a side hill overlooking a valley with a few lakes interspersed throughout.<\/p>\n We set up camp, changed into some dry clothes, heated up some water for tea and apple cider and began glassing the flats.\u00a0 We spent the afternoon hunkering under a tarp to avoid the occasional short bursts of rain and kept a weary eye out for the illustrious big game we were so hoping to find.\u00a0 For dinner that evening we dined on freeze dried “Chilly Mac with Beef”, pilot bread crackers, and more tea and apple cider.\u00a0 When it was no longer safe to be shooting a gun due to the lac of light we snuggled down into our sleeping bags resisting the urge to roll down hill.\u00a0 You see our tent wasn’t exactly on a flat spot.\u00a0 We were scouting from a side hill so thats where our tent ended up being set up at.<\/p>\n Now when moose hunting it is necessary to wake up wicked early to catch those moose our getting a drink or moving around.\u00a0 They seem to like to do most of their moving in the morning or evening times.\u00a0 Well the next morning (Saturday) we were NOT good moose hunters being that we drug ourselves out of bed at 9:00 AM.\u00a0 We spent the next day glassing the flats and shooting the breeze.\u00a0 Unfortunately that was the only shooting we’d be doing on this trip. \u00a0 At about 2:00 in the afternoon I placed my binoculars in front of my eyes for yet another look across the flats.\u00a0 I had scanned about half way across when at the very far end of the valley I catch a flash. \u00a0 I look closer inspecting what caught my eye.\u00a0 Something white.\u00a0 Not just something white two somethings white side by side.\u00a0 YES!!! It has to be the rack of a ginormous bull moose.\u00a0 I say “Dad I see a moose”\u00a0 he grabs his binoculars and after some telling him where in relation to some landmarks this huge moose is he locks onto the sight.\u00a0 We continue to watch intently hoping to get a better idea of what we are looking at.\u00a0 At this point all we can see is the huge rack.\u00a0 Usually you can see the dark siloutte of the moose’s body along with the antlers.\u00a0 All of a sudden the two white somethings separate.\u00a0 Wait a minute…..\u00a0 No moose can do that.\u00a0 So now we are a bit confused.\u00a0 Could it be two other hunters loading up their rig or cleaning a kill?\u00a0 What is it.\u00a0 We continue to watch for about a half an hour until I realize what we have been watching for such a long time.\u00a0 What I thought was the white flash of the bone antlers of a moose was actually two swans swimming next to each other on a body of water obstructed from our view by the overgrowth of bushes at the waters edge.\u00a0 Deflated we sink back into our chairs and go on shooting the breeze.\u00a0 For lunch we had MRE’s (Meals Ready to Eat) used prodominatly by the US military during times of war.\u00a0 These are full meals in a pouch.\u00a0 Everything from the main course down to desert and a few sides.\u00a0 Well Dad was eating an older version.\u00a0 Believe it or not they have come a long way over the years.\u00a0 I had Beef teriyaki with rice and dad had a re hydrated pork patty.\u00a0 Mine came with a little bottle of Tobasco and since dad’s didn’t look very appetizing I offered to flavor up his dinner a bit for him.\u00a0 Well after removing the top and attempting to apply a couple of drops to a bit on his fork I wasn’t having any luck.\u00a0 So I poked into the hole at the top of the bottle with my knife hopping to dislodge whatever was blocking the hole.\u00a0 I tried to shake some on again without any luck.\u00a0 So\u00a0 I shook a bit harder and all of a sudden the dam broke loose and not one, not two, not three, but about 15 drops of Tobasco found its way onto the grayish piece of meat.\u00a0 Here is what ensued after that.<\/p>\n [QUICKTIME http:\/\/bbryson.com\/bill\/files\/2007\/08\/tobasco.mov 320 260]<\/p>\n Before we headed to bed this evening I snapped this picture of dusk over the flats.<\/p>\n And then this picture of a tree silhouetted against the skyline.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n