Elk Scouting, Ebay, and Scooby Doo

[WapitiTalk1]

My weekend elk scouting trip was just too “unique” to not share. Mrs. Phantom, Scooby Doo (the yellow lab formerly known as Gus), and I headed out Friday evening to get in my last scout of my WA special permit area. The 2 ½ hour drive was uneventful (err, with the exception of the Starbucks stop just south of Chehalis for an icy frapa-machi-carmel something drink Mrs. P had to have) and we ultimately made our way to the camp site. With camp set up, we had enough time to drive up the road so I could show my scouting crew the upper portion of the unit and perhaps, glass some of the indigenous population. “Elk”! Yep, there were 15+ wapiti feeding their way up a steep side hill, across from our glassing point. And, I heard a bull way, way down in the draw doing some early vocalization! Well that was cool; back to camp to grill up some succulent, all beef weenies to slap on some fresh dog buns. Although Mrs. P is from NW Montana, the same place as I am, she’s umm more than acclimated to the comforts of living in a more populated, more commercial area of the world and scoffed at the mere thought of me bringing Mountain House meals on our two night scouting adventure. So, with weenies grilled and ingested, we settled in for a pretty comfortable night in the tent (the people in their comfy cots and Scooby Doo in his dog bed). Saturday morning was an early rising event and we rumbled up the road to our first real scouting hike spot. Packs on, hiking poles (one each, I had to share) at the ready, and collar/tag on Scooby Doo, we hiked along the steep side hill perhaps ½ a mile to the pre-determined glassing point. Scooby had a great time, casting back and forth along the old road, immersing himself in some major sniffing operations. After a successful glassing session (saw a lone, small bull and a handful of cows across the way), it was back down the road to spot #2.

Spot #2, mid Saturday, was the location where the events occurred that perhaps forever changed the yellow dog’s name, and, found me LOL’ing while clinging to a tree, 5-6 feet off the ground. After a bit less than ½ mile up the old, overgrown logging road, I finally hit “the saddle” I was in search of. This is the spot I’ll drop a few mineral blocks, sprinkle some water softener pellets, and hang a game camera up in the tree! Mrs. Phantom was completely interested in everything I was doing which tickled me to death (she’s really not much of an outdoors/hunting gal but does enjoy it to a point). Right before we started working in on the saddle, the dog formerly known as Gus stopped just off the old road/trail… froze, sniffed, and with the hackles on his back raised and his tail dropped…. he slunk backwards as if there was a bigfoot crouched down in the brush staring at him. Kim asked “what the heck is wrong with him?” I wasn’t sure so I stuck my snout into the area Gus had just been and didn’t smell or see anything. Guessing he got his first whiff of a real predator (bear or cougar) and it turned his legs to jelly. He wasn’t the same the rest of the trip! Three tree screws got me to the desired height over the salt site and I screwed in the camera mount. “Kim, could you hand me the camera sitting at the base of the tree please?” I was met with the response that had me chuckling in the tree for the next few minutes. “OMG, I’VE GOT A SIGNAL”! What (I asked)? “I’VE GOT A SIGNAL” she again exclaimed as she whipped out her cell phone faster than a wild west gunfighter. OK, I had to ask “why do you have your cell phone with you dear”? “Umm, you have yours she replied”. Yes, but I’m using the Game Planner map on mine. “Can you hand me the game camera please”? “Just a second, I’ve almost got it…….. THERE, I’ve got my bid in”! Bid in, “you’re on Ebay”? “Yah, I just got a bid in on a really nice old (can’t remember what it was; some super cute small antique thingamajig she’d had her eye on)”. After a few minutes, a successful Ebay bid in the elk woods, and a quick text returned to our dog sitter (a gal watching our little dogs) back in Rainier, Mrs. P finally came to the base of the tree I was clinging to and just before she handed me the game cam, she yelled “Gus…..NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO”! Yep, the previous scary sniff had rattled the yellow dog and he was dropping a deuce pretty close to where I was gonna place the salt offerings. “Umm, that has to be cleaned up Kim”. After she informed me that we did not have a shovel, and, I solved that lack of shovel situation with the information that I had a plastic sack in my pack we could pluck the offending poop up with, the mission continued. Mineral blocks placed, water softener pellets sprinkled and lightly covered with dirt and sticks, Scooby Doo’s droppings picked up, and tree cam angled just right….. out came the tree steps, packs back on and back down the trail we went. “Crap, I forgot to turn the camera on”! Off came my pack, out came the tree steps, and up the tree I went to turn the camera on. The whole time, Scooby was wanting to head back in the direction of the truck to escape the scary scent he had encountered. Once back at camp, Scooby either wanted to sit in the back seat of the truck, or, lay on his dog bed in the tent for the rest of the time we were at the camp. Something spooked the city lab to the point that he was not interested in anything else besides heading back to the land of his kiddie pool and little dog friends. Moral of the story? Gus, err, Scooby Doo is a city dog the elk woods is no place for cell service 

[pd]

That is hilarious.  I can only imagine your frustration, way high in a tree, seeing Scooby Dog laying an Oscar Meyer flavored colon bomb on your new salt lick.  Wunderbar. 

Lessons learned.  Don't take city dog and city girl elk scouting, unless said city dog and city girl's attendance is a pre-condition to your scouting trip.   

[kentrek]

.....that's land of the big bear....

[lamrith]

squatch.