Everyone has a story to tell.
When I am through with this journey I could write a book just on the stories I have learned on the road. Something I discovered very early on is that everyone has a story to tell, you just have to ask. If there is one thing I LOVE doing in this here life, it is learning new stories. Some of which are hard to forget…
In West Texas I met a vet who in the 1980’s was hired by a rich man to transport a live mountain lion down a harry cordillera. The only transport that could make such a trip was obviously a strong mule. But how does one pack a live mountain lion a top a mule? Easy – You tranquillize the beast, then wrap it in chicken wire, tranquillize the mule to the point where he can’t smell the predator on his back and head down the mountain. Simple right? Not so much. Turns out tranquilizers don’t last as long as a cordillera… Halfway down the mountain the cat woke up and started freaking out setting the mule off like a rocket and almost knocking the vet and his riding horse off of a cliff. They discovered the poor thing on the bottom of the mountain standing with its legs locked, shaking uncontrollably as the mountain lion roared.
Speaking of mountain lions, in Montana Brian Anderson, the manager of Copper Spring Ranch, told me about how he almost died to the sharp claws of a cat. An avid horseman and hunter, Anderson used to lead hunters on pack-trips. On one of those excursions, he was walking on the edge of a ridge looking for Elk tracks when all of the sudden he saw a shadow coming straight for his head. With cat-like-reflexes, Anderson put his arm out to protect his face. That is when he realized he was being attacked by a mountain lion and in seconds the two were rolling down the side of the steep mountain. After what seemed like a lifetime his body came to a halt right next to the cat. He reached down grabbed a stone and wiped it at the roaring mountain lion. The cat ran off and left him in complete shock at what had just happened. “That cat was coming straight for my neck,” he told me. Anderson is a living legend. On another pack-trip he watched a bear eat his breakfast from atop a tree… Crazy.
In Marfa, Texas I learned about how many illegal immigrants cross the desert everyday in search of the American Dream. All of the ranchers I met had stories of Mexican’s walking up to their homes asking for water or food. But one had a story I will never forget. One day while Brent was crossing the desert horseback looking for missing cattle he came across a scene straight out of a movie – A skeleton under a small blanket holding a cellphone in hand. Brent stepped off his horse and inspected the scene with disbelief. “I couldn’t believe what I was seeing… I felt so bad,” he told me. According to him, many of the Mexicans venturing to the US through the desert get lost and die due to its extremely cold nights and lack of food or water. Brent took the phone from the skeleton’s hand and turned it on. It actually worked! He said the Coyotes (Mexican men who smuggle people) give them a pay-as-you-go phone so they can notify their contact in the US when they are far enough from the border.
My trek through Mexico has been plagued with ridiculous stories. Some sad, some hilarious and many x-rated. Yesterday I heard a very interesting story that brings this post back to the almighty Mule. Mexican Cartels are using these hardy animals to transport Marijuana from their fields to their distribution houses. They pack the mules with the product and let them loose. Having shown them where there is water, a three day trek over mountain peeks, the mule treks alone to the distribution house for a much needed drink and to deliver the marijuana. Mules are extremely skittish so they manage to stay far away from the many soldiers who scout the area. And even if it is seen by the Mexican army, how do you catch a mule loose in the wild? You don’t! A drug mule is a drug mule….
My all time favorite story from Mexico thus far is about the revolutionary, Pancho Villa. Legend has it that he once he shod his horses’ backwards to confuse the Gringos who were on his trail. That just makes my imagination explode with images… A troop of Americans on horseback follow hoof prints that lead the opposite way. Genius!
I love stories for the power they hold.
