Western Hunting Journal, Premiere Issue whj001_premiere | Page 90

TRAIL’S END
The Big Finish
I
E. Donnall Thomas Jr.
88
didn’t need a thermometer to tell me it was cold. Stars twinkled busily through the
rarified air overhead, and my boots don’t make dry snow squeak beneath them un-
less the temperature has fallen below zero. By the time we reached the spring-fed
slough, condensation from my breath had left my beard caked in ice beneath my
woolen ski mask, and Rosy’s frozen whiskers formed a silver ring around her muzzle
in the early morning light. Lori, my wife and regular hunting companion, had grown
quiet, which is her stoical way of letting me know she’s freezing. The time was early
January and we were at Montana’s Central Flyway finish line, ready to go out in style.
WESTERN HUNTING JOURNAL
Most good stories share a sim-
ple structure: a beginning, a
middle, and an end. The same
can be said of good waterfowl
seasons. The anticipation of
opening day infuses the begin-
ning with a life of its own. Ex-
citement and glorious autumn
weather can make up for a lot
of birds that have yet to arrive
from the north. By the middle
of the season, the dogs are on
their game and whatever rust-
iness your shooting suffered
from earlier should be resolved.
Continued on page 87