The big adventure off the map

[bumpus]

a couple weeks back

a dog took me on
he had no idea the nature of such an undertaking

the long days spent together
the hours in transit

the weather and extremes we would endure


we left work early on thursday
we were overstaffed at the phone co

i volunteered to leave
i am no good at pretending to be busy


we took a long walk along the bottoms along the river and threw bumpers
worked on blind retrieves
walked together there right after we were sprung for early release

i asked,
" hey boy, you want to go on a really big adventure?"

"yes!"
his immediate and instinctive response


we drove home and loaded the sleeping bags and a cooler and about 5 boxes of shells.
my old side by side 20 ga and some extra clothes

i called anya and said i'd be back in a few days

i told her not to worry


we left the west side of the cascades in a terrible driving rain


we drove and drove
and drove


up over mountain passes
and past places where the basques still work hundreds of sheep
with a solid dog and
& a whistle from their lips

little towns in places shut down about an hour after supper time


the wind and shoveling had left a foot or so of snow along the sidewalks

i pulled over and let the boy water the snow

we'd picked up supplies
& gas back a ways in the town where my grandfather is buried

where my mother was raised
until she met and married my father in in 1957

although i never lived there in that little town
i have always been drawn to it

it felt good to be there again


after the boy stretched his legs and made water
we continued on into the night

past canyons and turnoffs
warning signs indicating that there was no road crew
or any gas or supplies etc

the pavement ended and the climb began

i slipped it into 4wd
although tired
i knew i'd sleep better once we were in the place i had in the back of my mind
from a trip a time long ago

finally
after about 11 hrs of driving
i bedded down in the back with kaden
we snoozed until the morning

the wind howled and the rain and sleet came in waves off and on


in the morning
there was a break and we set loose

steep hills and canyons
scree sloped with cactus and a dog that trips on his tongue


we tried to pin down the wind so that i could get the boy to quarter into it
it kept changing directions

then i lost my mitten
"damn it!"
i said

just for the heck of it
i gave kaden my other mitten to smell and said
"go find it, where is it?"

about 10 minutes later i gave up

then kaden came up as i was resting




"i'll be damned kaden
you found that mitten!"

i was pretty glad
gave kaden a treat
we rested there for a few minutes


we worked a couple of draws from stem to stern
no birds but tons of coyote poop

i wondered if there might be a correlation

every 25 yards
coyote poop

in all directions for ever ad infinitum

i figured that lack of bird poop and lots of coyote sign
meant that we were in a spot that had been hammered

so we walked back to the truck and had some grub
i let kaden relax and play with his ball


he rolled on it and made growls and snorts
really seemed to enjoy it


fed and watered the boy

i was never really into tennis


i took a photo to prove i didn't just make up the entire story


he was recharged and ready to go
i told him to rest up for a few minutes


so he laid down on the box and enjoyed a bit of sun


i watched him happy
in the sun
young and strong and ready to go
he shined and glowed with power
the unstoppable energy of being young

i remembered how i used to run ol' alex over the creases and folds
high up over the impossible hills out where we were

i pulled out his box
and decided that since this was a place that i spent so many great days with the old black dog

i should set what is left of his physical being
free in this place with his spirit
& years of happy memories


i put in 2 rounds in the old side by side
pulled the plug on the fancy box
filled with ashes


the inscription says:

"always remembered
alex
forever cherished"

i opened up the box and grabbed a couple of handfuls
the ashes of him

the sky was big and wild and free

the mountains carved deep by an ancient river
i knew he was right there with me

i threw the ashes up
and watched them flitter away

against the hills and canyons
where we learned it all

launched another handful

in a gesture of great respect

i took the shotgun to my shoulder
fired off a couple of rounds
and shouted

"good boy alex"

i walked back to the truck
kaden was there to greet me
wondering about the commotion


he said,
"are you ok man?"

i said
"yeah, i am a better man with you to back me up"

"well, then we should get going"
he replied



we hiked canyons and coves
kaden kicked up a set

i wasn't ready and felt pretty deflated


i decided to use the chukar call after 5 minutes or so
to see if they would sound off across the canyons.

they did

when a covey flushes out evenly at 20 yards straight up and over the spine of the hill
the deflation of pulling the trigger twice and not hearing a "bang bang"
but a "click click" instead
is a bad deal


feels just like sitting in something cold and wet

kaden looked back in shock and amazement
his birds were not knocked down

i really messed up


i decided to use the chukar call after 5 minutes or so
to see if they would sound off across the canyons.

it worked


so we set out after them and uphill of where we heard their calls

they always flush downhill
they will outrun a mustang or a man, and most dogs
upslope

so you have to come at them from their elevation or from above them
or push them over the crest of the hill
to flush just on the other side of its pinnacle

as you and your hound stand there exhausted
sweating
and dizzy from the climb


the birds sail off into the canyons below
so far that you can only hear their calls

you can not even see where they landed


kaden knows
although
he is not allowed to go out over the edges

i try to convince him that he can not fly
the cliffs and talus would grind him up
into bits

he looks at it differently
because he hasn't got human eyes


he is hopeful to get at them
i am hopeful for him


we follow a contour across the breaks of the big river

kaden lights up
it is "for real"

his tail like a flag in a gale wind
ripping the fabric from the structure of it all
nose down
he snorts and sniffs
blows the dirt out of his muzzle
just as fast as he can take it in

the hillside erupts with wing beats

all is in slow motion for a moment
the dog is hard wired for this

it is so deep within him
i do not need to wonder about what he will do

i mount the side by side and fire into a bird that is carving off of the edge
it tumbles and somersaults

kaden is on it

it flaps and flips and rolls
down a steep ravine
kaden follows his nose and the flapping sounds

he knew what to do
no thanks to me

through his blood and his instinct
it was in him to be this way
no obstacles have kept him away from it

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[bumpus]

i am loaded down with a big camera
a shotgun
a box of shells
water
food
rope to repel 20 ft or so

and heavy boots and trousers

i was lucky to get any shot at all of kaden's first red legged bird

more fell to the old 20 ga

kaden brought them up and out of those canyons and into my hand

it is good to be there for a dogs first big fetch


better to take a photo of it all
if you have the gear
the legs to carry it up and down canyons all day

i did


we got our birds and some tired legs

we took a rest for a spell


we walked under the grey sky together
found some bighorn sheep remains




"get it kaden"
i said

he did


some folks are able to endure crowds and chaos
the kind you could cross in a big city

i was glad to say that in two days
out along the big black river
i saw no one
i heard no one


except for the rip roaring growl of a big jet boat


it was a beautiful boat though
and it had a big roar like a lion

me and kaden waved to the captain
he did a 360* to acknowledge our stance upon the faraway hills


perhaps he was in disbelief that someone would wait for him to roll on by
1200 feet up above the waters edge

i do not know
his boat was a thunder through the canyons
we watched it rip upriver


we cooked up the birds and some soup too
kaden was a good boy and made sure all of the dishes were spotless


we bedded down

i tended to the boys feet


listened to the am radio signal

you can not hear it in the canyon
until after the sun is well down

something about the ionosphere

late night radio
in a place that is on no map

hit the sack for the night


the next day we hunted a while in sleet and slippery slopes
figured it was time to call it

someone else had other plans


so i made a deal
to move the stone

i worked about an hour on it




cleared it
went on my way unharmed.


in the end the weather really got nasty

i lived some and tried some new places too
my dog became a hunter

i learned about how darkness can creep in
and kill the spirit

how it can take a beloved companion
or ruin the light for a good photo too

i was able to cast away my old boy's ashes
and solidify a new relationship

i urge you all to get out seek the light of higher ground
explore new territory

make connection with a dog or another person
share the joy in coming home with some memories in your game
bag
regardless of any game in the bag



Sorry the pictures show up so small on here... They are much better on the substack
https://toddduncantennyson.substack.com/

 

[joshkk]

Great post, thanks for sharing.