Bear meat and coffee

It funny how certain sights, smells or tastes can trigger your memory. One day in Cambodia I was standing on the balcony of my apartment , it was a relatively cool day, with a slight rain falling. I was munching on some crispy flat bread and drinking coffee. The combination of the Bread, coffee and rain, took me back about a million years to my cabin in the Garnet range of Montana. I have always liked cool rainy days, with a little fog thrown in. At the time, I had been working in Montana as  Guide and Mule packer for a couple of years and , It was never a great paying gig, but it was fun, adventurous, and the view from the office was spectacular.

I had just finished up the summer guide season. The outfit I worked for had been taking folks in and out of the Bob Marshall, and Scape Goat Wilderness areas around Seeley lake, and Lincoln, Montana. I Drew my pay, plus the “Boss” gave me 20 pounds of frozen bear meat then, dropped me off in Missoula. I stayed in town for a bit, and went to the Oxford bar and bought myself a “double Ox Burger” and hash browns, washed it down with a beer or 2, then Paid my bills, to include the mortgage and taxes on my little cabin and 20 acres.

After the bills were paid, I had very little money left to buy food, or any other type of supplies. As I recall, I was able to buy a Large jar of Nescafe instant coffee , some olive oil, and 2 packs of flour tortillas AND, I had the 20 lbs of bear meat.

I Hitch hiked the 40+ miles to the Garnet range, then walked the 5 miles to my cabin. I was raining slightly, the temperature was around 50 degrees Fahrenheit, nice and cool for a long hike. My plan was to spend the next month – Until the start of the fall Hunting Guide season – at my place and work on some of the projects I had in mind, like making a meat smoker from an old refrigerator, Building a lean to sleeping shelter, and repairing my gear. I always figured that if I ran out of grub I would hunt, fish and forage. I also had some dried food stuffs in my cabin , not much, but a few things like salt, sugar, lentils,beans, oats, etc.

It took me about 3 hours to hike the 5 miles to the cabin, I got there in the late afternoon. After opening up the cabin and sweeping out the mouse crap, I had a look around to see what kind of damage had occurred in my absence. It was getting a bit cool , so I build a fire in the Wood burning barrel stove, and set some water to boil in my battered old enamel coffee pot.

Realizing I was hungry and running low on energy, I got down my favorite frying pan “Old Come and get it” and set it on the stove to heat up, I sliced off 2 decent steaks from the bear meat, then cooked them in olive oil and sprinkled them with salt and pepper, I next fried some of the tortillas crisp in the oil. I was a memorable meal, I ate it sitting on the bunk bed I made, looking out the window at the gathering twilight.

I have been all over the world since then, and have eaten in many classy restaurants with some very beautiful companions, Ive eaten many expensive foods, gourmet dishes etc. But, That simple meal of coffee, tortillas and bear meat, eaten alone, combined with the location, the weather, and the fact it was cooked on the wood burning stove I made myself. Is the most memorable meal of my adult life.

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