I drove another half hour down the road and found a camping site. It was a quarter mile from an RV park, so I figured I was good to go. Set up my tent and fell asleep wondering if the noise I was hearing was an elk in the distance.
Around midnight I wake to repeated Elk noises followed by some high pitched howls. Lots of them. It sounded like 40 or 50 dog-like animals were howling. It was oddly high pitched. Almost hyena like. It went on for a minute and the elk noise stopped.
I lay in my tent really quite nervous. A few minutes later, I begin to hear very soft foot steps (the didn't sound like a human). I loudly turned on my light, get dressed, make noise and get to the motorcycle and turn it on. Rev it up, look around. Nothing. I decide I'd had enough adventure (that's what i asked for right?) for the night. I packed up up and headed out.
Here's the crazy thing: My great grandfather was 7 when he and a Navajo friend would go out, for weeks at a time, tending sheep in the desert.
I read the history of some of the pioneers from the 1880s and found this:
"One morning, way out on the desert, the boys were greasing the rear wagon, we girls, at the other washing dishes, found ourselves completely surrounded by large prairie wolves. We lost no time climbing into our wagon and the boys killed wolves as long as their ammunition lasted. It was a thrilling sight to see about fifty large wolves lined up like soldiers. At the sound of the gun they would jump back a few paces still facing us, then they would step forward again. The howling of the wounded, and the firing of guns finally frightened them away."
This is an amazing wilderness. I'm grateful to see it and get an early reminder to play it safe.
Troy "from Motel 6" Stein
Sunday, September 13, 2015
Careful what you wish for...
I took a great detour this evening to check out Little Green Valley, AZ. Gorgeous. I spent an hour meeting and hanging out with a group of good folks who were looking Elk. I learned quite a bit about Elk hunting and gained some respect for the methods of these bow hunters.
I drove another half hour down the road and found a camping site. It was a quarter mile from an RV park, so I figured I was good to go. Set up my tent and fell asleep wondering if the noise I was hearing was an elk in the distance.
Around midnight I wake to repeated Elk noises followed by some high pitched howls. Lots of them. It sounded like 40 or 50 dog-like animals were howling. It was oddly high pitched. Almost hyena like. It went on for a minute and the elk noise stopped.
I lay in my tent really quite nervous. A few minutes later, I begin to hear very soft foot steps (the didn't sound like a human). I loudly turned on my light, get dressed, make noise and get to the motorcycle and turn it on. Rev it up, look around. Nothing. I decide I'd had enough adventure (that's what i asked for right?) for the night. I packed up up and headed out.
Here's the crazy thing: My great grandfather was 7 when he and a Navajo friend would go out, for weeks at a time, tending sheep in the desert.
I read the history of some of the pioneers from the 1880s and found this:
"One morning, way out on the desert, the boys were greasing the rear wagon, we girls, at the other washing dishes, found ourselves completely surrounded by large prairie wolves. We lost no time climbing into our wagon and the boys killed wolves as long as their ammunition lasted. It was a thrilling sight to see about fifty large wolves lined up like soldiers. At the sound of the gun they would jump back a few paces still facing us, then they would step forward again. The howling of the wounded, and the firing of guns finally frightened them away."
This is an amazing wilderness. I'm grateful to see it and get an early reminder to play it safe.
Troy "from Motel 6" Stein
I drove another half hour down the road and found a camping site. It was a quarter mile from an RV park, so I figured I was good to go. Set up my tent and fell asleep wondering if the noise I was hearing was an elk in the distance.
Around midnight I wake to repeated Elk noises followed by some high pitched howls. Lots of them. It sounded like 40 or 50 dog-like animals were howling. It was oddly high pitched. Almost hyena like. It went on for a minute and the elk noise stopped.
I lay in my tent really quite nervous. A few minutes later, I begin to hear very soft foot steps (the didn't sound like a human). I loudly turned on my light, get dressed, make noise and get to the motorcycle and turn it on. Rev it up, look around. Nothing. I decide I'd had enough adventure (that's what i asked for right?) for the night. I packed up up and headed out.
Here's the crazy thing: My great grandfather was 7 when he and a Navajo friend would go out, for weeks at a time, tending sheep in the desert.
I read the history of some of the pioneers from the 1880s and found this:
"One morning, way out on the desert, the boys were greasing the rear wagon, we girls, at the other washing dishes, found ourselves completely surrounded by large prairie wolves. We lost no time climbing into our wagon and the boys killed wolves as long as their ammunition lasted. It was a thrilling sight to see about fifty large wolves lined up like soldiers. At the sound of the gun they would jump back a few paces still facing us, then they would step forward again. The howling of the wounded, and the firing of guns finally frightened them away."
This is an amazing wilderness. I'm grateful to see it and get an early reminder to play it safe.
Troy "from Motel 6" Stein
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Awesome story Troy! Keep 'em coming and stay safe out there.
ReplyDeleteWoe! That would freak me out. I always forget that is part of the territory of camping until you are actually out doing it and you start hearing noises. I gotta remember the strategy of being really loud. Thanks for the tip. And yes, keep the stories coming Troy! I'm excited to follow along. Cheers!
ReplyDelete