If your husband is anything like mine, I would highly suggest that you invest in life insurance and bubble wrap! My husband is normally the accident prone member of the family, but this time it was my turn! I sometimes look back at some of the things that I have had to do in this crazy love for hunting and being outdoors. It makes me wonder, do the guys equally test each other for durability and nerve, or do they only do it to us to see how serious and willing we are?

For years I have been a deer hunter. I would go out on the occasional bird hunt but for me it was all about the big game. Not long after starting the guide business, my husband, Aaron informed me that I would need to learn about Mountain Lion hunting. That meant that I had to learn how to ride a snowmobile! I have always been a horse woman and have done what I can to stay on four legs in the mountains and off of four wheels, not to mention tracks!

We head out for the snow-covered hills with the kids, hounds, and firearms/bows in tote. After unloading the sleds, he points me to our Phazer – about 15 years old but still running well. He shows me where the throttle is, the hand warmer button (which in my opinion is more important then the throttle!) and the brakes. As he points to the brake handle he tells me, "There’s your brake, it’s not great, but you won’t need to use it." After 12 years of marriage, I don’t know why I trusted him and didn’t get back in the truck right then, but I pressed the throttle and off into the wilderness we went. Our daughter (Madi) was riding with me, no helmets, but who needs helmets when you are riding on old mine roads and not exceeding 20 miles an hour? For any of you who don’t know snowmobiles, 20 miles an hour is not fast enough to keep an air cooled engine from over heating – let alone keep up with the others! Madi and I were tickled pink to be out on this glorious day, with nothing but the sound of all these obnoxious snowmobiles running through the canyons and ours putting at granny speed! After the third or fourth time being on our own to get unstuck from trying to take a tight turn in granny gear on the old sled with a turning radius of a Sherman tank, I managed to push the throttle a little deeper. WooHoo! We made it to 30 miles per hour! As I was starting to get more confident with this foreign mode of transportation, my hubby and his buddy (Rich) stop on a ridgeline. I started to get nervous when I saw them pointing down hill as they were talking to each other. When I pulled up next to them, he informed me that we were going to go cross country and down into this canyon we were overlooking, to get to the road at the bottom. Now I was really nervous, as I looked down, what appeared to be a really steep hill – approximately 400-500 yards down. I asked my husband, "What about the brakes, you said I didn’t have brakes?" He responds, "You’ll be okay." After several minutes of asking myself why I am out here, he and Rich make it to the bottom. Again, I looked down this hill, turned to Madi and said, "Say a prayer." Not far down the hill, but too far to turn back, I was maintaining my granny gear and as I squeezed the brake, I felt a little tightening, but within 10 yards, they went to mush. AUGH!!!

I had so many thoughts running through my head at once. "I have Madi with me, if I turn sideways we will stop – but probably roll. My husband is such a jerk! We are not wearing helmets. My husband is such a jerk! Maybe if I keep it straight… My husband is such a jerk! I’m sure we are going to die!" Before we made it a ¼ of the way down, we had already hit speeds making my earlier accelerations look even meeker then the obvious. We hit a lip and caught air, about 10-15 feet. Just as another thought came of "How did I manage to land that upright?" we hit another lip and caught wind! According to the spectators below, we must have been suspended in the air at 30+ feet and made about a 100 foot jump! They say that as Madi and I were coming down, they were scared, but laughing inside at the movie playing before them. Me, hanging on for dear life, trying to keep this beast straight and upright while not smashing my face on the windshield or my knees on the leg guards (which I failed miserably at), and Madi hanging on around my waist and just her face popping out from behind me – white as a ghost. We finally came to the bottom, but this thing was still not slowing down. My only choice was to start heading up the opposite side of the canyon and let gravity take hold. It started to slow and I turned it in the direction of my hubby and Rich and finally came to a complete stop about 40 yards away from them, thank God for that 8 foot sagebrush. We both just rolled off of it. Madi got up running towards them like the snowmobile was going to eat her for lunch. And as I stood up to confirm all my parts were still intact, I looked below and saw these guys (Madi not included) literally rolling on the ground laughing. Even Rich was laughing hysterically and he is one of the most serious, quiet men I know. Boy did I let the words fly! It is not very often that I curse, but man did I make up for lost time there. After he managed to get up and catch his breath from laughing so hard, my hubby tells me to bring it the rest of the way down. Needless to say, I refused and told him, "THERE ARE NO BRAKES *%&*&#, YOU come get it!" Rich walked up and took it down confirming that the sled has NO brakes. This is the worst part; my hubby pulls out his leatherman, opens the hood, and tightens the brakes. WHAT JUST HAPPENED? While my knees and chin were really wishing I had wrapped up in some of his bubble wrap, I was sure that he had just missed an opportunity to collect some life insurance! Wow, what a ride! I can laugh at it now, and I can only imagine how funny it was to watch, but now I set the course!