As promised, here is the anxiously awaited account of mule trip day 3.
The grand plan was to be on the road by noon because one of our compatriots had a few items at work that had to be complete. After a morning of checking and rechecking gear, we finally moved to hitching up the trailer that we would call home. Now I've seen a few horse trailer in my time and calling this a horse trailer just doesn't do it justice. This is a four horse trailer, with storage for saddles and all the accoutrements required for riding and caring for said animals (which is a lot of stuff apparently). The other end of the horse trailer is setup as living quarters. Said living quarters are far nicer than many motels I've staid at over the years complete with solid walnut cabinetry, full bath, dinette, kitchen, sofa and sleeping for at least four, and decorative tin and walnut wainscoting. I'm sure I'm missing somethings, but needless to say this was five star trailering at its best.
Said trailer gets hitched to the tow vehicle with only minor fanfare and me staying well clear of the operation so as to avoid being run over by this small replica of the Empire State Building that we intend to tow into the backcountry of Idaho. Of course I notice that the trailer's brake lights aren't working and now we are faced with an unscheduled trip to the trailer repair shop to correct the issue. Again, The Ballad of Gilligan's Island is going through my head but clearly this is not going to be a three hour tour.
As the noon hour approached, we receive word that the trailer is ready and en rote to pickup the mules and were given the go ahead to prep the mules for loading. It is at this point that I'm am first introduced to Moses, Ben, Annie, and Stuart (a lot of Mule Trip Days 4 and 5 will focus on Stuart so please make a mental note of this next part). We enter the corrals and begin the process of putting lead ropes on the mules. Moses and Ben go without an issue other than trying to stall on the way by the hay pile to swipe a few last mouthfuls. Annie and Stuart are now prancing somewhat wildly in their paddocks. We wrangle Annie with only slight fanfare after which Stuart goes nutso. He begins kicking and running from one end of his paddock to the other. A quick call to Bill confirms that Stuart is indeed going and we do actually have the correct stall. Of course by the time Bill arrives, Stuart is acting like nothing happened and peacefully allows Bill to put on his lead and walk him to the trailer. This experience with Stuart should have served as my warning.
Mules and gear loaded, we hit the road for the drive into Caribou-Teton National Forest......but not before a few stops. First we had to get gas, then we had to stop at the gun store, but it was taking too long so we went to lunch. Then we went back to the gun store and we're back on the road...until we had to stop at Cabela's. Please note this is the second trip to Cabela's is as many days. After a mad dash trip through Cabela's, we were finally off into the wild blue yonder. All is going well other than I failed to properly plan my beverage intake again and potty stops are a little sparse. After what felt like 3000 miles of driving on a one lane gravel fire road, we finally arrived at camp and proceeded to unload the mules and setup...in the dark...that's now freezing cold. Now I could bore you with stories about the night time experience but you probably don't want to know why a decided sleeping on the floor was my best option, or how I fought my sleeping bag sliding itself and me into the wall all night, or how I work up in the middle of the night ina near panic because I had slid too far down into my mummy bag and was now experiencing a claustrophobic nightmare where I was being squeezed to death in a well shaft and was initially unable to free myself.
I think this about wraps up day 3, but to help hold your attention I will tell you that days 4 and 5 include adventures such as "Scott Flies Off The Mule," "The Ride to Poacher's Canyon," and its sequel, "Hi, I'm a Fish and Game Warden Can You Tell Me About This Doe You've Killed," followed by the classic "I Swear This Isn't my Doe." And for you skeptics that say that's not enough, how about the tale "Everyone Gets Thrown Off Mules at The Same Time," or "lets Drive Barry to the ER in Jackson Wyoming." I'm not kidding folks, you'll need to watch for episodes 4 and 5. And don't forget, episodes 6 and 7 are still unfolding as the cast and scripts are finalized.
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