OUTDOOR

Tales and Trails

I’m on my way home from Colorado but I wanted to make sure that you didn’t miss out on your weekly dose of Dave so I am submitting this before I leave._You know, just in case I stumble into a bull elk at the last minute.

About 20 years ago I started elk hunting. That first year I was green in every way._I had no concept of how mean the terrain could be, or how quickly the weather could turn and all those things that make elk hunting hard and fun, but still hard.

The first year we (my dad and younger brothers Whammer and Garret) stayed in an old Korean War tent with a wood stove that was almost as old._ Turns out, both the tent and the wood stove were too small for all of us to be comfortable but no one complained because we were chasing elk and just glad to be there no matter how cold it got at night._We actually used that tent for many years, but eventually upgraded the miniature woodstove to an actual barrel stove.

That old tent was a part of so many hunts._Even though it was 70-some years old, it was as good the last time we used it as it was the first time._ It may seem a little odd that I am taking up valuable outdoor time and space on this topic but that tent had a long and remarkable life span. I mean, think about it, it was part of the Korean War._Fast forward 50 years and it plays a part in my brothers and me bringing home 10 bull elk or so._ In addition to housing us during all of those hunts, it was also the scene for countless pranks and high jinks. The most memorable one, probably because it was the first one that comes to mind, was one night when I was the first one back in camp and I hid the cherry pie._I spread some of the crumbs out on a different pie plate, making it look like I polished off the entire pie. Oh, my dad is still salty about that one, making it that much funnier.

That tent was also a part of the best shed hunt I ever had. While hunting near camp one afternoon, Whammer and I stumbled onto an obvious late winter staging area and picked up eight sheds. I thought packing out an elk was a challenge, turns out packing out elk sheds is no picnic either.

So why am I spending so much time on a silly tent?_Because the War tent is no more and it went out in remarkable fashion._A few years ago, we left the tent and wood stove in Colorado with our friend Rob._ He stored it and also used it to set it up a spike camp for us._Last year he had it set up in the Colorado wilderness for summer camping when the fires hit._ They burned hot, far, and wide and that old tent and wood stove were directly in the path of the flames. When the smoke cleared and the dust settled, the only things standing were the burned-out trees and that old barrel stove.

That old tent will go down as the best $35 I ever spent in my life.

BY DAVE BECK