The Mountain Man ...

Marlene Terry

There are definite symptoms to watch for. That is if you’re worried about recent actions of someone you thought you knew, someone you’re very close to and heretofore was predictable and well … normal.

I should have guessed a thousand years ago or so when I was a new bride, that there was mischief afoot. I mean how many honeymoons do you know of that consist of just ONE night in a regular motel with electricity and indoor plumbing with the remaining time being spent out under the stars, camped out?

Of course being young and in love made me “pooh, pooh,” it all away. And I truly thought after we adjusted to one another and settled in, we’d become the couple next door. But that was before I knew … “egad” … he had Mountain Man tendencies.

Don’t laugh. It's an honest to goodness malady, with symptoms occurring almost anytime during the year but heightened in the fall.

That’s when the sound of a high pitched bugle … “ooh, ooh, and oohhhhhhhh” emanates not from hillsides and forests but embarrassingly, from your own backyard.

It’s also the time for growing beards (them not you), wearing camouflage pants, shirts, hats and shoes … except to church if you’re lucky, trying out the latest skunk scent (only Mountain Men know why), having a pair of binocs handy at all times, and pining away the hours prior to huntin’ season with the classic ‘puppy dog’ soulful expression.

Mountain men drive outfits … not trucks and must refer to them as such. And it’s a plus if the vehicle’s windshield has a crack in it … a long one … nothing that interferes with safely being able to navigate canyons, rocky roads and dark timber, but noticeable enough to make him (the Mountain Man) appear extra outdoors-ish. 

 

 
And when the days of huntin’, fishin’ and fillin’ up the freezer with packages of perch, crappie, sage grouse, elk burger, elk steak, elk roast, and miscellaneous stew meat to name a few, are at an end for the year, a true Mountain Man can only find solace in ... you guessed it ... HIBERNATION! 

... And No! That's much different than a couch potato sittin' on the sofa, surfin' with the remote in order to find the outdoor channel! ... REALLY!

♦ Hope you'll let me share your stories and photos here at my new residence "In a Nutshell." Email me at nutshellstories@gmail.com.