Well fellas, I am pretty heartbroken right now and pretty down in the dumps right now and stuck in a pretty awful mental space....see, back in 2018 I broke my back while working as a Garbage Collector (Deputy Sheriff😁). I had spine surgery which failed miserably leaving me in greater pain. Over the last few years I was able to geit through the pain and even fortunate enough to get an elk; which I am thankful my brother was able to haul out of the woods for me.
Fast-forward to this year....opened up the anticipated webpage were all very familiar with to find I had been selected for not one but two tags. The first I noticed and had to double read in disbelief was for Peaches Ridge Bull Tag for archery. The second tag was for a Cow in the Manastash unit also archery.
Now with very limited ability to walk, I have qualified for the disability hunter and have my hunter companion card.
So, seeing I drew Peaches Ridge and being able to have a companion hunter, I called a very special person to me who is a heck of an elk hunter and a sometimes decent person to have at camp (😁😁😁 just in case he reads this)!
He shared the same excitement as I did and maybe even a bit more. We shared phone calls back in forth game planning where to focus first, where to set up camp and what my limitations would be. A "soft" game plan was beginning to formalize.
Now for the bad part......I made two really tough and emotional phone calls; first on Sunday and the second on Tuesday.
The first call was to my "hunting companion" to break some bad news. Tearfully I explained there was just know way I could hunt this year (and deep down scared I'll never be able to hunt again). I advised him the pain has become unbearable and even the slightest bump traversing a paved road excaberates the level of pain; so traveling over washboard and pitted out forest service roads were just not optional. Another major factor was weakness in my legs and being bound to mobilize in a wheelchair (which is brand new to me and quite disheartening.
My "hunting companion" was a sincere and honest champ about the bad news. He was overwhelmingly supportive and completely understood. He did his best to have me look past this season and into future hunts. I am very grateful for his optimism and continued support! You know who you are when you read this, I love you man and thank you for EVERYTHING!
Second phone call was obviously to WDFW to get the information needed on how to return the two tags and at least get my points back.
So, whoever ends up with the tags I returned, I wish you a very sincere good luck, have a blast and enjoy every last minute up there. Whether it's deep in the woods, back at camp or just driving the dusty washboard roads.....soak it all in 'cause you never know when you'll get to enjoy it again!
