SLAM OUTDOORS: Impromptu Powell Trip

Mission Statement

With the expanded use of social media today, it is easy to look at others' lives and wish you were them. There are a handful of fortunate individuals who get to hunt and fish for a living. There are others who's circumstances allow them to spend more time in the outdoors than most. The truth is.. the majority of us are average people. Average men and women who do the best we can with what we have. For us, every hunt is public land. Every hunt is DIY. We will most likely never own a Yeti, our Igloos will have to do. Never look down range through the lens of a Swarovski or wear anything adorned with the Sitka logo. We will never have a hunting magazine, never be the stars of our own hunting show, become prostaff members, or receive free gear. We have a limited number of days off each year, and limited funds to spend. This does not however crush our spirit or curb our enthusiasm for the great outdoors. We will take every opportunity we get to enjoy the Streams, Lakes and Mountains.

We do not criticize those more fortunate than us. Our hope is to appeal to hunters just like us. Those with limited time, limited assets, limited resources, marginal gear, yet, 100% passion.

Friday, November 4, 2011

Impromptu Powell Trip

So..... on Tuesday, Nick had the day off and Matt was in between work so the only logical thing for me to do of course was to also take the day off. I did some maneuvering and was able to switch. We were all ready to head to Sand Hollow for a nice little fall morning of fishing. The boat was hitched and we were about to head out when another idea was presented to us. What if we were to buzz on over to powell and bring home a van to take to Loa next weekend. Easy enough right? Think again. It started off great. We met our pilot at the SLAM Outdoors hangar and we were off. It was a quick little 30 min flight over and before we knew it, we were at the houseboat. It was a a perfect day!

We were feeling a little guilty that we were there without Doug and that we weren't fishing. We went over to work on the houseboat so that it will be all ready for us in the spring. We did a few things on the dock (this was also where my onside kick practice on the dock came in handy when I saved a part from falling in the lake). Then after working, we took the boat over to be dumped so it can be winterized. Everything was going fine until all of the sudden, a storm kicked up out of nowhere! We didn't dare try to get back in the slip in that wind so we decided to wait it out. So we waited, and waited and waited. Finally Ron made the call for a pilot to take us back in and that's when things got ugly. There were white capped waves but he went for it anyway even thought he said he wouldn't in that wind. So, he decided to gun it just before we got to the slip and promptly Slammed into the dock and another boat crunching in the side of that boat and the top corner of ours. Then an onslaught of profanities ensued as he tried to get the boat to straighten out and go into the slip. That was about the time when Ron went to the top, and we convened on the back to laugh as the pilot continued his expletive laced rant. It was there that we watched and listened to him put at least 10 years on the motor going back and forth at full throttle over and over again. Finally, he was able to get the boat in and tied on and promptly enjoyed a smoke. We surveyed the damage, took pictures and then left. We then took our pilot back to the plane but it was too windy for him to take off. So... we went to gas the van and check the tire pressure, went through the taco bell drive thru (where we witnessed some indian urinate in public) and then back to the houseboat we went so he could stay the night. We were finally headed for home. Of course, we had to stop in Kanab for a quick bite and it was at that point when we looked at each other and said "what in the hell are we doing?, let's get home!" So, we finally pulled into St. George at 11 p.m. when we had planned on being home at 4. The day definitely had its moments but mostly frustrating. But we do have a vehicle for Loa now which is nice. Moral of the story?? That's for you to decide and comment......