An Eventfull Weekend

Well as many of you may well know, or could have assumed, I went Elk hunting this weekend. It went a little something like this: (fade into flashback...... euwewewewe)


Friday night i ended up working a full shift until 11:00pm and afterward began to head home. I got home around 11:30 and Jamie was just leaving after spending an evening with Nikki trying, fruitlessly, to conquer Super Mario 3. As they were saying their goodbye's i was packing the car for this weekends hunting trip. When i finished i ate some diner and retired hoping to get some sleep before having to wake up. Before i knew it the alarm was trying it's best to let me know that it was 4:00 AM and thus time to get out of bed and go kill something. Half an hour later we were on our way. We arived at camp at about 5:30 just as everyone was getting up and dressed (perfect timing). We talked for a few minutes, then began to file outside and get the Horses ready (a very faint dark blue line was begining to apear on the Eastern horizon). Shortly we were on the trail and hunting was about to begin. We rode to the top a small knoll which overlooked the main valley, which is usually packed with hunters, but was remarkably empty in comparison. After looking around for a minute we decided to ride up the ridgeline in to a clearing where we wanted to be (i.e. the clearing we have caught Elk in several times before). As we cleared the tree's into that clearing we did indeed see an Elk, and while a bit too large for having a Spike tag was fairly promising. As we tied off the horses the thrill of the hunt sank in and we fanned out a bit, My dad taking the Left side of the clearing while Luke and I moved to the right and stayed in the tree line. We were moving slowly and watching all around when Luke mentioned to me that my dad was down on 1 knee. Before i could look in his direction i heard his first shot ring out, followed by 3 more. Luke and I moved quickly to the edge of the tree line in time to see a few Elk, one of which was a quite nice Bull, dart through the clearing. As i looked back at my dad he gave me the thumbs up indicating he had one down and was heading for it. After Luke and I had pranced around a bit looking for the rest of the Elk in hopes there would be another Spike in the group, we returned to the kill scene to help prepare the animal for transport. Soon, we had the animal cut in half and ready to put on Tiny to have him pack it down the mountain. We had Nikki hold his head while my dad weighed down one side of the panures while Luke and I placed the hind quarters of the Elk in the other side. As the weight began to settle on Tiny he became a little concerned and started to turn which caused Nikki to loose grip of the lead rope. As he turned Luke and i began to loose our grip. Upon seeing this i told Luke to help me pull it out and let it drop and we'll try it again. As Tiny mover forward we lost our grip and the legs of the Elk droped and dug into Tiny's Flanks. Anyone who has ever even heard of a horse usually knows that the flanks are very sensitive and when gouged will cause a horse to absolutly freak out. As this happened i watched in high speed slow motion as Tiny reached out with his back leg to kick at the Elk and, missing, hit Nikki right in the face full force. After landing from her short and unplanned 5 foot flight, Nikki paused for about half a second and then gave a scream which will probably haunt me for a long time to come. Having shot several animals i know this is the sound any animal will make when it has been issued a life threatening injury and is still awake enough to realize it. Before i could gather what had happened i was on top of Nikki trying to assess her injuries. The large laceration on her chin was fairly obviouse and i was doing my best to stop the bleeding. As I applied pressure to the cut i noticed that her Jaw had a little more give to it than it should have. I opened her lips and wasn't too surprised to see her lower jaw sitting about 1/4 inck to the left of where it belonged. The next few minutes were comprised of me explaining to her what had happened, a field dressing and checking her for signs of shock. Surprisingly, and very much to her credit, she was able to compose herself enough that she rode her own horse for an hour to get to my sisters waiting car. The Heber Valley Hospital was ready for us by the time we arrived, and within an hour had verified my observation with a CT scan of her head. After a Tetnis shot, a Demerol shot and some explanation about who to contact, we were on our way to the on call Oral Surgeon at Utah Valley Regional Hospital in Provo. The remainder of the night beheld her Jaw being wired shut and the large, not to mention unwelcome, gash on her chin being closed. Since then she has been resting comfortably at home with as much juice and liquid food items as she can handle. I ask only this of all who read this. If you get a spare moment, please call her and let her know you're thinking about her and wish her well soon. This has been a shocking wakeup call for me pertaining to the frailty of human life and how quickly things can happen. It just goes to show me that even if i am just 10 feet away, sometimes it is just too far. My best wishes to my beloved wife.