Funny Critters

Mules are funny critters..
I have always loved to hear mules talking.. Complaining. Braying. Whatever.

There’s nothing quite like lying in a leaking wall tent cozy outfitters tent at Four am, sleeping soundly when the boss mule wanders up to the tent and brays at the top of his lungs. It’s guaranteed to wake you suddenly and make you reach for the rifle next to your bed roll.

In Cowboy Heaven, Montana, I used to do some fall packing with LeroyTheBald
Outfitter. Because his camps were so far back in the Bob Marshall wilderness, he had a tough time finding suckers to cook for him. When he first approached me about cooking, I laughed and said no.
He called, he begged, his wife Char called, she begged, they came to the ranch and begged, they sent mail and begged.
All I had to do was come to elk camp and hang out, and well cook three meals and a few snacks a day for himself and ten mighty elk hunters, from around the world.

Actually LeroyTheBald would start begging about the first of May.
I enjoyed this game, and I perfected not giving LeroyTheBald an answer until the middle of September.
This would make him crazy, and make me laugh.
It was altogether a fun game.

Cooking at elk camp took some skill, because the hunters would moan and complain if you served them raw or burned food, Bunch of crybabies.

Anyway Leroy used mules to pack the gazillion tons of stuff needed to keep the crybaby hunters from whining too much.

I always swore on the ride out of elk camp, perched atop a horse walking on a ten inch trail on the side of a mountain with fifty inches of new snow, I was NEVER going to do this again.

I sure got to know some of those mules pretty well.
All in all mules are funny critters.
But not at four am.