Last hunt with Dad

The_Wraith · May 13, 2003

LAST EDITED ON May-13-03 AT 10:00PM (MST)[p] Was this truly to be my last hunt with him? I just couldn't bring myself to believe it. When I looked in his eyes I knew that he believed it but I just couldn't accept it. When I looked at his body it looked so frail, so gaunt and shriveled that he could hardly be recognized as Pete, my dad. The doctor had said to not expect him to make it past fall, that the cancer had gone to far and that nothing could be done and just to make the best of the time left.

All he could talk about was making it hunting again, just one more time, to see the deer and the elk slink through his beloved hills just one more time. He wanted to see the sun slide over the rugged Sawtooths one last time, he had to see the rocky crags bathed in a sureal glow of vermillion, purple and red for one final sunset, to hear the wind whisper through the pines and sage and to fill his soul one last time with the warm glow of a campfire surrounded by friends and family. He brought with him to this final hunting camp a lifetime of stories and memories, stories of deer that made it over the ridge before he could kill it and elk that didn't quite make it, stories of blizzards that came swooping in and buried them under feet of snow and the only way to get out of the hills was to winch the trucks 100 ft at a time because they sunk to their doors in drifts.

We were to be here for 7 days, 7 glorious days that I wished would never end, I prayed that I had more time to spend with him, feeling somewhat guilty that I had not spent more time with him when I had the chance, wishing that I had been a better kid and not put him and mom through so much grief. I wished he had more time to see his grandkids grow, to see them graduate high school, to see them get married and have families of their own.

I knew that these were not to be but I hoped that this last hunt would be a grand one, one that I could remember till the end of my days and one more thing I hoped for, I hoped he got one last buck for the road...

kingfish · May 14, 2003

Im feelin it...More, please!!

Hankenstein · May 14, 2003

This is gonna make me cry isn't it...

Cowboy · May 16, 2003

Hey....wake up! We're waitin on the story bud!

kingfish · May 17, 2003

Hello????....D, Where are you????

Bugler · May 18, 2003

Wraith, this is the kinda stuff I need for my book, If yours is a true story please contact me. I would like to talk.

The_Wraith · May 18, 2003

...A couple days into the hunt some shots had been fired, deer had been killed but not by Pete. He was having trouble getting around and just to walk down the road a little bit was a major chore for him. I had been his shadow for the whole hunt, not letting him out of my sight at all just in case something happened and he needed help. He kept telling me to go hunt, leave him be, that he'd be all right but I wouldn't listen so we'd walk down an old logging road together and I'd pray a buck would appear and stand around long enough for him to get off a shot. But up till now it had not materialized but even so he was having a grand time of it and was just soaking up all he could and so was I.

Each night back at camp we'd all sit around the fire and Pete was right there with a big smile on his face, enjoying the elk steaks and the camp life in general. When I could get him to tell a story everyone would just sit there in silence while he told it, each knowing that this would be the last time they heard this story from his own mouth and each just trying to soak up every word of it. He never did enjoy being the center of attention and he liked it even less now since he was the only one doing the talking. He told stories that we all had heard a thousand times before but never got tired of, some we hadn't heard in quite awhile and there was even a few that I hadn't heard and I thought I had heard them all.

As the time left hunting grew shorter I could see by Dad's physical appearance that his time was growing shorter to. I remembered the words from the doctor "not past fall" and I was attemping to brace myself for the worst to no avail. Each evening he looked more tired, more gaunt, more...

The_Wraith · May 18, 2003

Thankfully Bugler this is just a made up story, not one I've ever had to deal with. What kind of a book is it?

Sorry it took so long. I've had writers block but a good case of off roading and breaking things on my truck has cleared it up.

Hunt4

kingfish · May 18, 2003

D, With few differences you are dicribing my father to the "T". I asked you to use "Pete" because it's my fathers name..He has parkinsons and is into the advanced stages.. I knew you would do him proud with your words....Keep it coming I am anxiously waiting...Keith 46.

The_Wraith · May 20, 2003

...drained but his eyes still had that sparkle that he'd always had, even through all the pain that he'd been in. Days 4, 5 and 6 passed without a whole lot happening. The evening of the 6the day of our hunt is one that I will never EVER forget because it was the last one I ever spent with my dad.

On this evening he was most reluctant to come back to camp, instead choosing to sit with his back against a tree until the last light had faded from the sky and nothing but stars shown above. This final evening all he could talk about was the sunset, how it lit up the sky in the most vibrant colors imagineable, how the wind moaned through the pines and how the quakies rustled in the breeze. He never once said anything about not getting a deer, I really don't think it was all that important to him, more important to him was just being there, just being able to see a deer, an elk again. Finally I was able to get him back to camp and into his bag, without any dinner since he had no appetite at all.

On the morning of the 7th day of our hunt I could barely stand to look at him, he looked so frail, like a strong breeze would break him in half but still he was rarin' to go. We hunted the morning to no avail but instead of returning to camp we went to a place that held special meaning to him, it was where he shot his first ever buck nearly 60 yrs before. It was a little meadow that was just off the road that no one ever hunted because it was so close to the road. Sixty years before it was wilderness, no road within 5 miles and he'd been 15 and full of life and energy, the little forky came in just before sunset and Pete was sitting there. One shot, one kill.

This evening was a little different, I had to help him from the truck, I carried his rifle with one hand while I helped him stay afoot with the other hand, I placed him in the spot of his choosing and for the first time this whole hunt, I left him alone, in his meadow...

kingfish · May 21, 2003

more....Please.

cowboye · May 21, 2003

kingfish, my heart felt emotions go out to you knowing a little about you situation and your father and the hunting partner he is to ya.....That will definitely be one of the TOUGHEST days of my life I will eventually have to go thru...God bless you and your father..Dwayne Elam

kingfish · May 22, 2003

Dwayne, I really appreciate the kind words..I know that day is coming soon. My father has been my best friend since I was a young man. I was definatly a momma's boy when I was little but as I grew up through high school my dad became a huge unfluence in my life...He was my best man in my wedding 18 years ago and was my hunting partner for most of my life up until he couldn't go anymore. I totally trust in God to decide when the time will be right for us to pass. I know my father is growing weary of the everyday battle with parkinsons...If and when he decides to surrender to this desease I will be right there with him....God bless. Keith 46.

The_Wraith · May 22, 2003

...As I left the meadow to my father I had a feeling of what was about to happen, it sent a shiver along my spine and made my hair stand on end but still I went, as much for him as myself. As I walked along the road, lost in my thoughts, I remembered past times that his influence had weighed heavily on me, times where I honestly don't know how I would have made it through without his guidance and advice. I remembered the first buck I got when I was only 15, how he made such a big deal of it even though it was just a little fork. I could see him at my graduation from high school, so proud, so happy that I had actually made it. I saw him in my minds' eye standing next to me at my wedding, my best man, my best friend in the whole world. I could see him there when my first son was born...

Suddenly a shot woke me from my haze that I was in and brought me back to planet earth. It came from the diection of the meadow so it had to be dad, I hoped it was and I prayed that he'd shot straight. As I slowly made my way into the meadow I at first didn't see him, then I could make out his blaze orange through the grass and as I worked my way up to him I could see he was leaning with his back to the deer just staring up at the sunset and as I got closer I could see that this was his final sunset and with tear filled eyes I knew that this was my Last Hunt with Dad.

Wraith

Hunt4lyf · May 22, 2003

Keith, I hope I did good with this story. I knew that it was about your dad when you requested Pete to be used. I truly am sorry for what you and your family are going through and I keep you in my prayers. Take care,
Dennis

TheKnack · May 22, 2003

I have to say that you drew a tear from me on this one.
My prayers to you and your family.
Best,
Jerry Knack

kingfish · May 23, 2003

Hunt, Thank you!!!!. I love your stories. This one was very vivid in my mind and thats what good writers will do for thier readers. You and cowboy have a gift and I personally want to thank both of you guys for sharing it with all of us..I see from the responses mine isn't the only heart your words tugged at. We had my parents over for dinner the other night and I had my dad read what you had wriiten to that point..."HE WAS TOUCHED" and I thank you for that. Hunters, What a great breed!!!!. Again, thank you for your compassion and your friendship. Keith.

cowboye · May 23, 2003

could not have said it better....kingfish, I had the same type of enjoyment when I show dad all the threads of my buck trying to win the POPULAR vote of kings outdoor world for him,.....We may agree to disagree on some topics......but the bond is always there......You guys have a VERY SPECIAL GIFT that touched the hearts of many with this story...Dwayne

Coach Hunt · May 23, 2003

Howdy,

Oh Wraithe, how close you have come to what is truly reality in my own world. Super story.

Keith, God bless.

Coach

VROCK · May 26, 2003

One great story! I lost my dad before we had that last hunt, he died two weeks before leaving for Colorado in 1987.He was getting an old Chevy rigged out,to use as a retirement truck. He had retired september 31, died oct 20, Still miss in to this day.
Thanks for the memories.