I’ve had my fair share of rotten luck over the years in the outdoors, some of it quite recently.
Consider the time just a few weeks ago when I came within a gnat’s hair of stepping on a “locked and loaded” copperhead. I was at my “sprawling” 5-acre hunting hunting camp during turkey season. Of course I could hunt more acreage than the five acres. In fact, as a member of the Kiamichi Wilderness Association, I could legally hunt nearly 10,000 acres.
The Kiamichi Mountains of southeastern Oklahoma, at least where I was, is a good hour away from the nearest medical facilities, and if the viper had managed to sink its fangs into my ankle, I’d have been, shall we say, in deep “manure.” Fortunately, that didn’t happen.
Then later during the same hunt, I was headed to town to pick up supplies when my pickup developed a loud clank in the front end. Turned out to be a busted axle that had something to do with the 4-wheel drive. I was only a mile or so away from camp, so me and my truck limped on back. There’s no doubt I’d never even made it to town, let alone back to Mississippi without stout towing and repair bills.
And there was the time many, many moons ago that I and several friends were surf fishing for specks at Grande Isle, Louisiana. The fish were biting like crazy, and I’m not even sure if my stringer, which was attached to a belt loop of my jeans, didn’t already hold more fish than the legal limit. Who pays attention to such trivial stuff anyway when you’re young and having fun? Answer: Game Wardens!
Maybe I had more fish than the limit, maybe not. But it wasn’t a game warden that bothered me, it was the 6-foot-plus shark that had latched onto my stringer. The shark had my stringer gripped tight between its razor-sharp teeth and was towing me out to sea, literally. probably to share me with some of his waiting friends! That’s the truth, folks, and I couldn’t swear the water around my jeans didn’t turn a bit “murky.”
I can’t forget the time, either, in the mountains of Colorado while bow hunting elk with my daughter, Heather, and BJ Bailey. We were high (no, not that kind of high) up the mountain on a steep, rocky road up from Pagosa Springs. We’d only seen one other hunter in two days, and he was on horseback.
Nonetheless, one morning we were headed to Pagosa for more supplies when BJ’s truck simply decided not to crank. The battery was deader’n a doorknob, possibly from charging our cell phones. Why we attempted to charge them, I don’t know; we had no cell service way up there. Still, what were the odds some good Samaritan would soon come along and give us a jump start? (You can bet we take a jump starter or cables every time we go these days).
I could go on and on about my outdoor misfortunes over the years but, as always, that would only serve bore you more. Even at that, I consider myself lucky, extremely lucky.
Well, let’s start with the copperhead encounter. It just so happened that I was putting up the shovel behind camp at the time. So, I didn’t even have to look for something with which to dispatch the poisonous critter.
As for the time when my truck broke down, a short 4-wheeler ride to a friend’s camp solved that problem. Young friends from Mississippi were there, and they are much more mechanically inclined than I. They patched up the old truck enough for me to drive home safely. Again, how lucky can you get?
Obviously, the shark incident ended well, too. After being towed out to sea a short distance, the shark either bit my stringer in two, or I finally managed to undo it from my belt loop; I can’t remember! Either way, I was quite fortunate.
About that time we when were stranded on Nipple Mountain near Pagosa, it was actually only about 30 minutes before we heard an old Jeep bouncin’ up the rocky mountain road. Chances were slim that the driver had a set of jumper cables, but we at least figured he might find someone who did.
But the driver did have jumper cables. How lucky was that? Oh, and you can bet we didn’t charge our cell phones anymore unless the truck was running...
I guess the feeble point I’m trying to make here is that you’ll always have ups and downs in life, often in your outdoor endeavors. But don’t sweat the small things, the bad things like those mentioned here. They will pass. Instead, concentrate on the good things, and be thankful for the things you have … while you still have them.
Remember, it’s not so much about the game you harvest, or the fish you catch. It’s more about making memories – fond memories. So don’t dwell too much on the turmoil in our country today, for it, too, shall pass. Get out and enjoy what the great outdoors has to offer. And when you go, don’t forget to take a kid with you … every time you can.
