Mr Murphy Wins Again

I had planned continuously. I had pored over maps, checked my backpack, I even bought a new tent. What was I planning? Nothing less than an epic backpacking hunt in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of Kalifornia. 8,000 plus feet of elevation in a wilderness area loaded with trophy Mule Deer, provided of course, that you were willing to earn them with sore muscles, alot a sweat, salty tears and perhaps even a bit of blood.
The 2010/11 hunting regs were released last week and I called Fish and Game to clarify some issues about my Non-resident status. The bitch professional young lady that answered the phone (Seriously, she did not want to even deal with me. Keep refering me to the new regulation booklet, like that was any clearer. Hello? I called the 'help line' number.), explained to me that if I did not get drawn, they would not be issuing refunds for the tag fees. I knew that getting drawn would be difficult, there was only 400 tags for this zone, but was I willing to give them $250 of my money on a gamble? Probably to only get a preference point in return? The answer, loyal reader, is a resounding 'NO'. For $80 more dollars and less fuel I can drive to Colorado and have a higher chance of success.
Now all I need to do is find a beautiful area of Colorado where I can backpack in and hunt Mule Deer.