PRDATR

What an ordeal today was. I left camp at 6:30 this morning with an Outdoorsmans Optics Pack fairly loaded down with 10X EL's on a Manfretto Carbon tripod in my hand. My destination was just over a mile into the Wilderness are to locate the two pigs I saw last weekend. I was about 400 yards in when I stepped on a baseball sized rock on my right foot and lost my footing. Next thing I knew I was laying flat out and my ankle hurt. I looked over and saw my foot bent at 90 degrees to my ankle and thought god don't tell me I just broke my ankle! I laid there for a minute to regain some composure and then sat up, grabbed my foot by the ankle and bent it straight. After a couple of more minutes of cussing myself I thought, I hope I have cell service. I did and texted my son. A few minutes goes by and I call him but it went to voicemail so I called his mother and told her what just happened. She was out making her rounds on the Salt River Res when they farm cotton and went and woke up my son. The left Mesa about 8:45 and headed my way. I used my tripod as a hiking stick and started back toward the road. About an hour and 100 yards later I found a large flat rock and sat down to rest. My ankle was really uncomfortable and felt like it had pressure on it. After 30 minutes I got up and lost my balance and came down on the ankle. I then figured that it might be best to wait there and took my pack off and drank a little water. I was concerned that if I ate anything and had to poop I might not be able to. They text me when they were leaving Wickenburg and then a while later when the left the pavement. When they got to my camp my ex stayed there and packed it op including a 10x14 Kodiak. When My son got to me it was about 11. He gave me some crutches they borrowed from a friend and he took my pack and out we went. It took 90 minutes to cover about 300 yards not having a clue on how to use crutches. The last 50 feet was downhill and my son went ahead to get his truck and move it closer. I was about 20 feet from the fence and one crutch slipped on the loose gravel and I crumbled like a house of cards landing on my side and sliding about six feet. It took me a few minutes to get up but at least I didn't do any more damage to my foot. I finally made it to Banner Desert about 4:30 and after about a 30 minute wait go in to see a doctor. They managed to get the Under Armour boot off but cut the Smart Wool sock. My ankle was pretty swollen and there was a black and blue streak in the arch but I could move my toes. They took a few xrays and then gave me an IV so naturally since they were doing an IV i thought I was getting admitted they also took some blood. They were going to give me morphine but I said no as the pain was bearable. They did give me saline and Toridol for the swelling. 90 minutes after the xray the doctor came over and said the foot was fractured on both sides and was either dislocated or broken on the top, I don't remember the actual term. He also said I would need to have surgery and gave me the name of an orthopedic surgeon to call o Monday. I finally got home at about 10. My son stopped and bought a LIttle Caesers Pie and helped me get settled in. The pizza was the first thing I had to eat since last night. Glad to be home and my niece is flying down in the morning to nurse me for a couple of days then my sister will come down for the rest of the week. Definately stinks but on the upside I didn't make it all the way back to where I wanted to go and get hurt because there isn't cell service there. Thanks to Big Browns, Del, Flatlander and One Ugly Dude for reaching out.

Made it to camp. 300 yards on crutches only slipped and fell once. Took an hour and a half. Next stop is Banner Desert. I can move my foot so I am hoping it is just a bad sprain

Last year there were quite a few donkeys. I did not see, or hear any last weekend but I did see some poop where I usually camp and some tracks about a mile in. I'm headed back up about mid morning for a couple of days. Maybe there was an outbreak of parvo.

I wish it didn't taken them two weeks to run the applications from the App deadline. One of these years I hope the system can run the Apps the next day then there will be no need to update CC Info.

10x14?

Sending a heap of prayers his way.

Back in the early 90's when I shot a lot of High Power Silhouette I went to compete in the Nationals at the Whittington Center just outside of Raton (pronounced Rat-Tone) and during one of the matches a bear showed up on the range out by either the Pigs or Rams and they had to stop the match until it scooted off.

Woodland Caribou?

Do you use a Rib Rack so they cook upright? I would always forget to flip them once in a while and burn one side. I used one like this. https://www.walmart.com/ip/Brinkmann-812-9236-S-Non-stick-Rib-Rack/30579681?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=9260&adid=22222222227022624458&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=42535492472&wl4=pla-81197526992&wl5=9030029&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=115780143&wl11=online&wl12=30579681&veh=sem&gclid=Cj0KCQiAm4TyBRDgARIsAOU75soIw3YfV9_9nRdm7ljnQB5zdadr7WF3AnGk6LVSmDYnr71neCYFdLgaApfkEALw_wcB

The one caught last year was a foot long and over a pound. Big for AZ.

8' is deep for pupfish but they are cool fish to keep and have lots of personality. There are a few different kinds in the hobby. I bough a pair, don't remember which subspecies, about four years ago but the female got caught in the siphon when I was cleaning the gravel before I had a chance to breed them.

Congrats on a double. My usual spots came up nill but I did get a chance to meet some new people and watched some Big Horns on Friday. Saw a pair yesterday morning at about half a mile but these old legs don't move as fast as they used to and they weren't anywhere to be found when i got there. This front gave me second thoughts on staying through tomorrow so I bugged out this afternoon with plans to go back Friday. This area has been getting tougher the last few years. I don't know if it is parvo or just over hunting. I hunt a wilderness area and walk in but on Thursday at dusk I could see headlights coming out of it. They drove past my camp on the only road out so I walked out to meet them. Turns out they were locals. I asked them if they drove the road into the area dan the first guy said yes. I asked him if he knew it was Wilderness Area and was closed to vehicles, mountain bikes etc and he said he has been going in there since he was in High School. I guessed him to be late 40's. He had 4 or 5 buddies each with an ATV. He said he didn't know it was a Wilderness Area. Guess the signs just weren't big enough. When I called it into BLM on Friday the guy I spoke to was pretty complacent and said they would eventually get around to posting new signs and locking it back down.

I've had walleye. It's a lot like blowfish, same texture. Speckled Trout is sweeter tasting. Perch, like all other freshwater fish taste like the water they swim in. At least in my experience. Pollack is a very sweet tasting and firm fleshed fish ans also used as imitation crab.

I'll have to see if I can talk my son into going this spring since he has a boat. Neither of us have ever been to Alamo or much less caught a Crappie.

AZ has some that big too.

That is so freaking cool. He could have been my sons twin when he was that age.

https://www.coueswhitetail.com/top-5-typical-coues-deer-in-the-boone-and-crockett-recordbook/

Did you text him?

Good lessons right there. I bought a GPS back in the late 80's and a buddy and I were bow hunting in 6A. At the end of the day we started heading back to the truck. It was getting dark and it was overcast when I pulled out the GPS. He was sure it was taking us in the wrong direction but after about 20 minutes things started looking more familiar and we soon saw the truck. I have since always also kept a compass in the case with the GPS and I also keep a business card in the case I loose it. Back in the early 70's we lived in Northern Maine near the border and went out hunting in the forest. We got turned around and soon had no idea in which direction the car was. We could hear the faint sounds of B-52's taking off from the base so we headed in that direction as we lived in the trailer park next to it. That was a long walk.

Where did you get the pork belly?

do it

I use an ultralight setup with 4# or 6# PLine Floroclear line.

Those hills are travel routes and you will see deer going across them at all elevations on well traveled trails during different times of the day. They have a good view of predators when they are in the open.

Isn't it an option for each person added?

And punctuation.