Kurt was not injured but his new pack was trashed. The violent tumble and broken several straps and bent the frame.
We were still a good hour+ from camp so we decided to leave the meat by the creek and get back to camp to get Kurt some warm clothes.
It was now dark and we soon realized that assuming that we would be back to camp well before sunset was a bad assumption. We were standing by the creek, under a large tree with no flashlight to see the limbs to lash a rope to. So, getting the packs up out of the reach of a bear was out of the question.
Did I mention that we were standing in an abandoned sheep camp that a grizzer had destroyed the year earlier?!?!
Jimmie found the camp on his sheep hunt the year earlier when it was still fresh. The cooking pot with large bite marks in it sent chills down my spine.
Kurt was cold and we started our journey back to camp in the dark. It was a moonless night and...as a guide in Canada once told me....it was darker that the inside of a cow!!! We were so mad at ourselves for failing to be more prepared.....especially in bear country.
We followed a pack trail back in the direction of camp singing the entire way. We figured that would scare any hungry bear away
To be honest, I think I was more nervous about not finding camp and having to spend the night in the bush....in the dark.
As we got close to where we thought camp was (remember, camp was in a bowl hidden by a ridge) we strained our eyes trying to make out the outline of the ridge.
After about 2 hours of walking, Jimmie said "there it is". Wowza, we found our ridge!!!!! We got into camp and quickly made a fire while Kurt change his clothes.
We ate enough Mountain House to feed an army and it sure hit the spot. We then washed up the best we could to get the moose smell off of us and went to bed.
We were so tired but I don't think any of us slept a wink. We were convinced a bear would pay us a visit. We tossed and turned all night and were back out of the tent shortly after the sun peaked over the distant mountain.
cont'd................