About Oct,15.2016 or around then you will meet a man at this LAT: AND LOG: you will follow him and protect him if needed he is not a lawman of any sort, but you will do what he says to do because he will teach you how to stay alive out there. With these words from my boss, I was sent out on my first solo trip to the mountains.
Ah youth and inexperience I arrived the day before I was to meet this man, I made camp and waited. The horse I had was not one I expected the damn thing was like a Clydesdale big ferry feet two and a half foot wide and big for little woman the saddle that went with it was odd too, it had rings on it for hanging stuff that I did not have anything to hang from them. The next morning, I kept looking around I felt like I was being watched it was like an itch between my shoulders it was there, but I did not see or hear anything. I was bent over the fire tending it when I looked up there stood a horse bigger the mine a short man and the biggest white wolf, I had ever seen I fell off the log I was sitting on trying to pull my gun when I felt its paws pinning my arms down and looking me in the eye when it opened its mouth and gently licked my mouth I heard what was either a grunt or snort and he said you must be Jill you may call me James I will be your instructor for this last phase of your survival training. When I pulled myself together, I said where the hell did you come from all he said was I've been here since before light. That will be one of the things I will teach you.
That afternoon he introduced me to the horse and showed me why she was so big and the tricks that animal could do, and most of all how to bond with it so that she learned to trust and love me. He said in this way people and horses are a lot alike first come trust then come the love. Example. most horses will rear and bolt at the smell of blood or the sound of gunfire not these horses they stand still at the sound and just raise their head at the smell it will not run if you fall off it will stand over you, it will even lay down on command to let you mount if you are hurt and that was just that afternoon, he showed me over the rest of our first eight weeks of the journey he showed me so many things, things I never knew I needed to learn. He saved my life at least 3 times. It was the first time he did I learned that he was not a nice man he was or could be a very bad man he gunned down three men who got the drop on me. they were what I suspected they were drug runners. He then carefully explained what I did wrong and explained what to do in the future if I wanted to take them alive next time. He showed no regret for taking their lives he simply explained this is what happens to people who try to hurt someone under his protection. He did not even burry them just gave the location of where the drugs were to be picked up. The funny thing was the sheriff did not even question him about it. I said to him aren't you worried about the bodies he just said no if there is anything left of them by the time the sheriff came by it will just look like an animal got them from nature to nature all is returned.
I did ask him once why he was teaching me. Two reasons first because my boss asked him to. When I asked for the other reason, he looked at me and said later you're not ready for that yet. He left me that winter in New Mexico for the winter. When I asked my boss about him, he just said he just showed up on the trail a few years ago doing what he does suppling the guys out there and got them to help us with the drug problem, so we got to be friends. They help us and we ignore them and pretend they are not breaking the law about staying on federal land. Or try to get them "help" they don't want.
Jill
