DAY FIVE: “Retribution…finally!”

So much had already happened on this short, 5-day hunt that could be classified as “unique,” “once in a lifetime,” or, at least, a “memory that will last forever!” On this, the final day of the hunt, I should have been expecting nothing less.

Last night, the only bowhunter in camp took a bear with his bow, making it the second kill for the week. There was still the bear that had been hit last night, and two of the hunters and guides had left right after breakfast to ride up Fish Creek trail and put on a grid search for it. That left two hunters to go in by horseback for their final hunt, while Walker and I would hike into our evening hunt right after lunch. Our guides, Del and Travis, set Walker up first, and then took me to the Mile Marker 150 site. Once I had climbed up into position on the steep hillside, they dropped to the bottom and climbed up the other side of the canyon to set the bait. This time it included “Del’s secret bait,” which turned out to be a large wad of paper towels soaked with bacon grease. Once lit, the smoke from the pine boughs that covered it would take the scent up the canyon in hopes of luring in a bear.

It was early afternoon when they had dropped me off and I sat on the hillside writing notes about the hunt and watching all sorts of critters. First was the chipmunk, then a pair of tree squirrels, followed by a small light blue butterfly landing on my hand as I wrote, and then a hummingbird perched just 4 feet away on a tree branch. I reasoned that all this activity was a good sign, but the lack of sleep the night before got to me and my eyes slowly closed. It was just after 4 o’clock when I slowly opened my eyes and glanced toward the bait site. There, at the base of a large pine tree stood a bear! It was quite surprising to see one so early in the day, but even more surprising was the fact that it was totally a light brown in color – rather the shade of chocolate milk! Idaho is known for its various color phases of black bears, and my greatest hope was the chance at getting one, but this was unbelievable!

This was truly an opportunity of a lifetime, and I did not want to delay the shot and miss my chance. I quickly settled the crosshairs behind its shoulders and touched off the shot. Instantly, it bolted to the right, cut uphill and quickly stopped, then rolled backwards until it reached the streamside below. After checking to make sure the bear was truly dead, I hiked out to the main road and sat at the roadside, waiting for my pickup, which wouldn’t occur for another 4 hours. Fortunately, a welcomed family from Montana was passing by in their pickup and offered to give me a ride back to camp. The camp cook and her husband were the only ones there when I arrived, and they quickly gathered up some rope and headed back with me to retrieve the bear.

That night, as the hunters and guides sat around the campfire, there was much to reflect upon. We had all truly enjoyed the wonderful experiences that week and felt very fortunate to have been able to spend time in this unique Wilderness Area. With the bowhunter taking the only other bear, I felt extremely fortunate to have taken two bears, especially with one being a prized color phase of chocolate.

There were some extreme lows that happened throughout those 5 days, but there were some extreme highs as well. In all, the positives way outweighed the negatives, and I wouldn’t want to have traded away any of either the highs or the lows. Would I ever go back? Would I ever want to do it again? Sure, but you probably won’t find me on a horse. They were amazing, but I just don’t belong on one! I’ll hike in on my hunts and I’ll enjoy the camaraderie of the camp life.

At times it truly felt like “a Trip from Hell,” but often I was very thankful to have spent time in this amazing “Slice of Heaven!”

One last thing – I remain friends and stay in touch with the guide, Travis, who almost died out on the trail that night. He recovered completely from the wound and is back at camp guiding bear hunters. When I told him I was writing about the trip, he said the following, “If it’s not too much to ask, can you put in that on my ride in to camp that night I said my goodbyes and made peace with God. I owe my life to Him.”