BackCountry1
Sorry to hear about Steven’s knee. The good news is he promptly notified you 9 months in advance of the hunt in a straight forward business like manner, so that you are not damaged and have significant time to redirect your resources. Good luck in your quest. In response to some points you raised earlier….
Your connection to Steven came on the heels of a thread I started in which we (Steven included) were discussing (cursing) the difficulty in finding capable and dedicated hunting partners who would “walk the walk” as well as “talk the talk”, ones who don’t leave you hanging “right at the finish line” [like the night before it is time to leave for the hunt], and one’s who are not more trouble to take than to just go alone without them. Such discussions may not come across as PC to many who hasn’t been there before…. May not espouse the “universal suitability” of all hunters, and may not come off as all lovey dovey…. You are free to label it as “cynical” if you wish; however, it is a reflection of real world experience of many of us who have “been there, done that” when the “soldiers” that were so “gung ho” in the spring for that fall elk hunt evaporate like the Iraqi police force when it comes “showtime”. After not seeing Steven for a few months, he jumped in participated in that thread (must have hit a nerve) and then made his “open offer” for elk partners for 2005 [hope springs eternal].
If one is at the theorizing stage of putting together his unguided first elk hunt, then one can create a world in which all is artificially perfect and everyone involved is ah, er, ahem, argh, …. of “similar competence and dedication.” Alas, cross over into “doing it” and get into a two week, time compressed, bring it all with you/take it all with you (quick), remote/away from home “do it yourself” big game hunt (not just independent mini-groups arriving and departing a camp zone while hunting in proximity to each other and perhaps sharing an evening campfire) and you’ll likely encounter the benefits of being ah, er, ahem, argh….. “selective.” If you’d be so kind, please drop us a line after your 2005 Elk hunt and bring us up to speed as to what actually happened (harvest-wise and people-wise)versus your expectations. Hopefully you won’t become “cynical” like myself and some others (below); however, it WAS just such a discussion that pre-staged your connection with Steven….
For your reference:
*** Partners [8-15-04]: page 2, post 2….
http://forum.hunting.net/asppg/tm.as...5&mpage=2&key=
*** Hunting Trip Offer [8-28-04]: page 1, post 1
http://forum.hunting.net/asppg/tm.as...&mpage=1&key=?
Good Luck and Good Hunting,
EKM