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This was the month of the Nathen/AJ deer hunt. For me, the hunt started off with a flat tire on Barbara's MB. I had previously taken the tire to a shop in San Manuel where they patched a slit through the tread. The second time it went flat, I figured there was no point in messing with it any longer. Given that the wear bars were not showing, I hated to do it, but... I took an extra day of vacation, and $399.09 later I was ready to think about hunting. As a post script to my last letter where I expressed a desire to find the local airplane crash--I looked on the NSTB website and found, "...Examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration Inspector revealed that the forward portion of the airframe and wings were mostly consumed by fire. The wreckage was recovered to a secure location for further examination." I think that pretty well answers the question about where not to look for the wreckage... I would still like to visit the actual impact site, but at this point, finding it becomes even more problematic. |
| There is what appears to be permanent road construction in the town of San Carlos. The bridge crossing the San Carlos River is being widened, and they have a stoplight that wastes a lot of time in the name of safety. I haven't been able to detect any change in the actual construction between the times I crossed the bridge going to our gathering on Mt. Graham and going hunting. Maybe they are getting paid by the hour... |
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I had never traversed the road along which Nathen decided to go hunting. This sign suggests that it intersects Juan Miller Road and one could drive on to The Coronado Trail (highway 191 [which used to be highway 666]). We looked on a map posted nearby (and also on Google), but were unable to find any connection. The road was both rough and steep, but it might be fun at some point to return on a 4-wheeler, and see if it is possible to connect the dots on the ground. |
| AJ, Nathen, and Eathen camped Thursday night, and I joined them Friday afternoon. Contrary to my expectations, I had little trouble finding them, even though they were no where near where I thought they would be. Not that I was disappointed, but I anticipated driving off the pavement for 11.7 miles, and found them closer to mile 4 (North 33° 08.180', West 109° 05.938'). |
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I didn't know Ethen was going on this hunt, and was surprised to see him there. He spent some time reading, and when the conversation turned to his choice of printed materials, I suggested the Animorph series of books. Nathen had never heard of them, AJ liked them, and I thought Ethen might enjoy them too. I thought that we had given Nathen a good suggestion, until Ethen announced that he was already on book four of the series. |
| I was not involved in meal planning, and to be truthful, I'm not sure who was. I think it may have been AJ, but in any case, we ate very well. At least all of us except Ethan, and he ate very sporadically. I can hardly wait to see what transpires when the passage of time and the percolation of events finally casts Ethen into the role of he who makes and executes the menu. |
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Ethen didn't like having to remain silent during the time of the actual hunt. As a result, he hung around camp with me some of the time. |
| We took a couple of short hikes looking for deer, but found none. The weather was warmer than most deer hunts I have experienced. It was a bit cool in the mornings, but warmed up quickly after sunrise. |
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I can't be sure, but I suspect that these two may have been the only hunters in the area who were on foot. There were many 4-wheelers, and even a few horses. |
| I was a bit surprised that the hunters wore camouflage. Back in the day, we wore red--and I almost remember that as being a requirement (but maybe that was in Utah...). Camouflage was strictly for bow hunting. Speaking of camouflage, don't you think this little guy does a pretty good job? |
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As a group, we saw only two deer, both does. They wandered through our camp one morning just after the hunters returned. Judging from the paucity of gunshots we heard, and the fact that we saw no deer hanging, I suspect there were few successful hunters in this area. |
| We speculated that the late arrival of snow and cold had not yet brought the deer down from the "high country," though it wasn't obvious to me exactly where this "high country" was. |
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I have developed some ambivalence towards hunting. It is very enjoyable right up to the point that you have a dead animal to deal with, and then it becomes messy work. While in Mongolia, I learned a Russian proverb: Work is not a bear--it will not disappear into the woods. |
| Though no one would admit it, I suspect neither hunter was completely devastated at not bring home a gamey carcass, and then having to spend the next six months proclaiming how good it tasted. Given her background, Terra may have been disappointed, but I'm pretty sure Brittney wasn't. |
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As for me, I've become jaded towards the whole Game and Fish bureaucracy, and prefer to spend my hunting budget at Sam's club. Sometimes you take home more meat, and sometimes you take home less, but in either case it tastes a lot better.
So, given those "facts," it was a highly successful hunt. And next year promises to be even better... |
| There are certain constants in my life, and one of them is that the first storm of winter brings car problems. This year was no exception. I can't say that I lacked ample warning. For several months pushing in the clutch on my Geo has been difficult. After discussing the problem with several people, I narrowed the cause down to friction in the cable system, or problems internal to the transmission. The former is a relatively simple (note the loose use that word) repair, but the latter sounds the death knoll of the car. |
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| Friday, on the way to work, the clutch cable snapped. Trying to beat the forecasted nasty weather, I spent a couple of hours of vacation time and attempted a repair. O'Reilly Auto Parts (formerly Checker) had the part at their "hub" in Tucson, but on the way home from there, Barbara's MB picked up a bolt (see insert) in the middle of a tire tread (the third flat in three weeks after going for more than two years without one). Getting a tire repaired in Tucson is a multi-day proposition, but the friendly folks at the garage in San Manuel were willing to fix the flat (for what used to be the cost of a new tire) while I waited. I only lost about 100 minutes of daylight before I was able to returned to the clutch cable replacement. The attachment point lay up, and over, and around behind, and was difficult to access, but we (I pressed Barbara into service) were able to complete the installation just as darkness descended--only to find that the sheath was too long, making the cable too short... The next morning I was back at O'Reilly's, hollering ineffectually at a somewhat bewildered clerk. Unfortunately, burning down their parts depot is illegal, so my only real option (short of driving to Phoenix) was reimbursement. After squandering some more daylight hours, I finally found the proper length cable at Auto Zone (for about ten dollars less). The O'Reilly part came with a lifetime guarantee, while the Auto Zone part was covered for only 90 days, but there is some probability that in my application the two warranties may be identical. Fortunately, the installation of the correct part went somewhat smoother, even if it was done lying in the mud. In retrospect, I suppose I shouldn't complain. Winter really can't start any other way, and I wouldn't want to be the cause of any dis-equilibrium in the symmetry of the world that might be blamed on global warming... |