The members of Red Rock Hounds are a determined group of fox/coyote hunters. Red Rock Hounds go out 140 or more times each season and while many of those hunts are in perfect weather with superb scenting conditions, the rugged Nevada climate of Red Rock territory can offer up some pretty harsh weather. But it takes more than a little cold, sleet, rain or snow to stop the indomitable spirit of MFH Lynn Lloyd from bringing her hounds out.
This spirit was firmly in evidence on December 10th when we set out to make the trip to Belmont, NV for the traditional December trip to this delightful fixture set in an authentic ghost town that boasts a current population of 7. A recent frigid winter storm left Ross Creek Ranch, home base of Red Rock Hounds, covered in several inches of snow that didn’t even come close to melting as the thermometer shivered in the single digits and below zero for several days.
The storm had started on the previous Sunday while we were out enjoying a hunt at Campbell Springs. That hunt was called in after just a couple of hours due to the blinding snowstorm. It left us snowbound in Reno and on Monday morning as the snow continued Preston and I needed to get home for work. Thanks to Angela’s generosity in offering us the use of her 4-wheel drive we left the truck, trailer (with our living quarters) and the horses at Ross Creek. We came back up on Wednesday afternoon to dig out the truck and trailer in preparation for an early Thursday morning departure to Belmont. In spite of every heating device we could turn on in the trailer I don’t think it got above 55 all night long but we stayed warm under an electric blanket.
Underneath the blanket I hammered away on my laptop in an effort to squeeze in as much work as possible before becoming electronically disconnected in the no-cell/no-broad-band territory of Belmont.
Our 2 trailer caravan consisted of Preston and I with Devon and Baxter and Lynn, Angela, Audrey and Mary hauling 44 hounds and 7 horses. At 10 am we were packed and ready for departure – or so we thought.
Preston and I led the 2-truck and trailer parade out the driveway. Well almost. We started spinning halfway up the driveway and, in spite of Preston’s valiant efforts of just “flooring it” we came to a spinning halt almost at the crest of the driveway. He turned to me and said….”ummm, I think if I take my foot off the brake we’ll be sliding backwards fast.” It wasn’t looking pretty.
After a failed attempt to pull the truck and trailer up the driveway with a 4-wheel drive truck (and a lot of nail-biting moments) the tractor was brought into service. That did the trick.
At this point I did mention to Preston that I said I thought we should’ve chained up before heading out. But what do I know?
In the meantime, Lynn figured she had it made with the 4 wheel truck she was hauling -remember, 44 hounds and 7 horses - but to give herself every advantage she backed as far away as she could and took a serious running start. We were all cheering her on as she started losing steam at the same place we did. But by now, the tractor was on standby.
After some chaining up on our part, we were now officially on our way. The temperature just for the record? Minus 1. I just couldn’t wait to get to Belmont and start riding. Yeah, right. I was now starting to plan my weekend centered around reading some good books, doing some writing and keeping wood on the fire.
Fortunately, after we got out of the Red Rock Valley and on the interstate the roads were clear and started making up for lost time since we wanted to get the horses settled into the pasture at the pack station before dark.
So, how fast can a truck hauling 7 horses and 44 hounds go? Several hours later we were cruising down a 2-lane highway with Master Lynn Lloyd leading the way about 10 miles from our turnoff to Belmont. No other cars on the road. Except for that car that just flew by us going the opposite direction with lights twirling on his rooftop. A quick glance in the rearview confirmed it. Yep. Busted!
87 and 83 respectively. Despite some cajoling by Lynn and Angela we weren’t able to talk our way out of this one although Mr. NHP did write us up for a bit less than we were actually going.
We finally made it to the Timberline Pack Station at dusk, giving us just enough time to make sure the horses were snug in their blankets and settled in for the night. Nick, the owner, had everything ready for us including his brand new bunk house which was toasty warm. Several of our group were staying there and we could keep our tack out of the freezing cold. We were delighted to see that is was about 20 degrees warmer in Belmont. That made the temperature a relatively balmy 20.
At the Belmont Inn we got a warm welcome from Henry and Bertie Berg. Also joining us were John Auborn who had driven up from Southern CA with his horses and Jim McNutt, a veterinarian from Moingona Hunt in Iowa whom Red Rock had visited with in October. Jim had been attending the American Association of Equine Practitioners Annual Convention in Las Vegas and was topping off his week by joining us in our Belmont adventure.
Henry and Bertie Berg were prepared for the annual invasion of the Red Rockers by having the fireplaces in the Inn all stoked and cozy, the bar well stocked and a hearty dinner on the stove.
The next morning, Friday, after an equally hearty breakfast, we headed ¼ mile down the road to the pack station. After rounding up our ponies for the day we quickly tacked up, bundled up in our warmest gear, gathered up the hounds and began the day’s adventure. The ground was covered with a few inches of snow that had fallen earlier in the week and the overcast skies suggested that more was on the way. The hounds hit on several lines that day but never seemed to settle on a really hot one but we had superb time keeping up with them as they worked to flush out a good line. The grey skies kept their promise and the snow started to fall but not heavy enough to send us back for several hours.
On Saturday we started by going through town and while the hounds did their work we took our annual historical tour of the captivating ruins of buildings from 150 years ago when Belmont was a booming, bustling silver mining town. The hounds took us out onto the flats at the base of the mountains just out of town. Angela, whipping-in south of us, yelled a Tally-ho times 3! A pack of 3 coyotes was just off in the distance and the hounds were on it in no time. The run looped around the flats and back towards the rocky mountaintops and lasted for several miles. It would’ve gone on longer but suddenly to our right we saw a herd of probably 100 pronghorn antelope (thanks Jim, for the correction!) running parallel to us and then in front of the hounds, fouling the line.
After we, the hounds and the horses caught our breath we climbed through the rocky outcropping in search of the lost line. But it began to snow again and very heavily with dark, dark skies in distance. We decided to call it a day, packed up the hounds and headed back to the pack station. By the time we tucked the horses in and got back to the Inn the snow was coming down in earnest. The fires seemed especially cozy that night.
After another hungry hunter dinner we indulged in the annual Red Rock Belmont Yankee Swap gift exchange and we followed that by a hilarious game of charades in the saloon. This is the stuff great memories are made of.
Sunday dawned bright and clear with a fabulous new snowfall of about 8 inches. We had a tiny group that set out; Preston, Mary and Audrey opted to “car follow”. But they missed out. The coyotes were screaming that day and the hounds were running hot lines all over the place. After about 2 hours I hacked back in because Devon, having hunted for 3 days, was getting tired. I joined the car crew and we tried to pinpoint where everyone was. The hounds had split just before I came in and we knew Angela had gone south. We did catch up with her about 4 miles south of town when she radioed that she had about 5 or 6 hounds with a coyote bayed up in a tree! Oh, now I was sorry that I’d hacked back in! Shortly afterwards she radioed again that the coyote had jumped from the tree, ran off and the few hounds lost him after a short chase. But now she was being joined by about 25 more hounds and she needed help getting them packed up. We headed back into towards Belmont where we found Lynn, Jim and John. They all hacked down to Angela to gather hounds.
By that time daylight was getting short and horses and hound were tired so Preston took the truck and trailer to pick them up. Getting back was one last adventure on the snow-covered roads. Even with 4-wheel drive they lost traction about a ¼ mile from the pack station and back slid into a snow bank. The horses were unloaded and walked back to the pack station while they creatively tried to get the truck back onto firm footing. It eventually took one of the Belmont 7 to bring his backhoe down and pull the truck out of the snow bank and up the hill to where the road was cleared. But at least this time the temperate was in the low 30’s. Practically a heat wave.
The next morning we sadly packed up the gear, tired hounds and horses and gave our hosts a warm thank you hug. After chaining up for the 30 minute trip back to civilization, the ride home was deliciously boring. No snowstorms, slippery roads, blowouts (that was last year’s adventure), speeding tickets and god-forbid, no horse mishaps!
I just can’t wait until next year!
See pictures at http://fieldhaven.phanfare.com/4485268#imageID=88671394
