Keeping Winky Happy

Winky is the descendant of mountain goat. Her heart was set on hiking deep into a mountain valley on the edge of New Mexico. When you hike down your mind keeps focusing on the hike up. Nothing is worse than a long hike with a mountain climb at the end, but that was yesterday. The hike out was a chore. Kadizzle kept looking at the GPS. Kadizzle attacked the mountain a quarter mile at a time. Walk, find shade, walk again.  On the way out a couple of young guys came up the train on horses. They were hunting. The horsemen showed us some video of giant elk they had spotted. The normally empty mountains were teaming with elk hunters. One of the horses lost a shoe and the rider had to walk. He explained to us this was not horse country. Indeed, it was not. The trail was a steep rocky mess. When we finally reached the summit, it was about a half mile downhill to the cold ice tea in the car. Kadizzle kept himself alive by thinking about that ice tea. He drank the full quart.  At the trail head hunters were gathered packing more mules to head into the wilderness. Early in the hike we encountered two young guys hunting. They said they had shot an elk the day before. They were headed out to find the wounded or dead animal. What a shame to not find all that wasted meat. Kadizzle would not want to hunt elk.  If you get one you have to pack out the carcass. Hauling something that big up a mountain slope would be taxing and take many trips. Of course you have to cut it up first. What a game of hide and seek the hunters play. Forgot to mention this is just bow season. That means you have to get pretty close. Seems impossible.