A Jake Story
Mountain Goat
I just read a thread where some people were lamenting that we had not had any Jake stories on here for awhile. For the record, I did not get clearance from Jake to tell this one, but what the hell, I am going to tell it any way. Jake was closing in on completing the SS and needed a mountain goat. He had booked a hunt with Dennis Zadra out of Cordova and asked me to go along. On the hike in, I partially tore my Achilles tendon. With help from Dennis, Jake and my guide they got me to the alpine and the next day I watched Jake arrow his goat. I managed to get several arrows in a goat a few days later, but we were unable to recover it. After a painful hike down to sea level, we were picked up in a float plane and taken back to Cordova. It was late in the evening when we got into town. We were both hungry and tired. There was an old hotel in town that was still open and had a bar. We both could use a drink and maybe we could order some food. I hobbled through the door first with Jake following. I walked through a smoke filled room where several guys were playing pool. I made may way to the bar and sat down. Jake soon sat down beside me. As he sat down, he said in a low voice, "We may have some trouble brewing." I said no way. I had found a menu and the bar was still serving food! He said that as he walked past the pool tables, one of the guys purposefully hit him in the ribs with a pool cue. I said well maybe we should just go. I told him that I would not be much help with my bad leg. He looked at my in a matter of fact way and said, "We are not going anywhere. We are hungry and we are going to eat. I don't need your help. There are only six of them." We ordered hamburgers and enjoyed a few drinks, paid our bill and walked out past the pool players with no incident.
Great story!! I do miss his stories!!
I remember you telling me that one in Quebec.
Jake does have that “commanding presence appeal”that could help wart off trouble. I would want home on my side in a bar room fight !!
Awesome story, Tom! I came to Bowsite when Jake was closing in on the SS and instantly felt like I found my people. The hunts that the likes of you, Jake, Tom Foss, bigpizzaman, and a number of others shared are legendary and helped push me to stop dreaming and start doing! Thanks for sharing the memory!
For sure! When I started hanging here those boys were throwing down and posting some incredible tales. Super inspiring stuff!
Tom.... moral support is very important in a bar fight......
Hard to imagine Jake in a fight.... would have to be in self defense. Never seen the man without a grin, happy and enjoying life to the fullest. Have to be a total moron to push it so far. He's a big dude and in top shape. Be like picking fights with NFL linebackers. But.... alcohol does do strange things...... so I'm told....
Scoot you must have been drinking when you posted???
When I first joined Bowsite Jake was the first and only to reach out to me with calenders and good wishes... my busy schedule at the time got in the way of me getting to know a fine man, he would send calenders and letters inviting me to dinner at his home... yea he deserves his own thread. scentman
I’ve got Jake stories too but they are not appropriate for a public audience.
Did he aggravate those pool players with a spiel on investing?
To tell the truth, when Jake reached out to me I knew I was not in his league... how was I to know what a good hearted, humble, individual he is? Damn, good bowsite memories.
I’m having a hard time believing Jake got poked in the ribs by that pool cue……a little lower, maybe.
Those pool players had some balls!! :)
Bar in a town on the frontier... guy with a bad leg... potential trouble between some brigands and a tall guy who’s well thought of...
Was it in black and white?
Sounds like an episode of that old TV show... Gunsmoke?
I don’t even know you Tom and now I want to call you... (Had to look it up)... Festus!
Good fun. Good story. Always good to know someone has your back... especially with a bad leg. You wouldn’t want it to be a grizzly joke.
And Pat, it’s the off season for a lot of us.
Perhaps you could see fit, with careful selection, to choose some appropriate Jakeisms and anecdotes that you could share and toss in links to his hunt recaps on his way to his super slam.
It involves an inflatable so I’ll save it for our new private forum
Zodiac, kayak, pack raft?
Float trip for moose? Caribou? Grizzly?
Or... uh. Like an inflatable decoy?
Or...
Oh.............. um. Nevermind.
I still have Jake's many years old calendar hanging at my desk.... I like the pictures. Just use a different year/month/day format over it. =D
I’d fight Jake any time. So long as I was armed with a spiked baseball bat and shot him in the calf first with a .22 before we started. He’d likely still destroy me, but I’ll wager we’d still be friends after. He is truly a good dude. Wish I could hang with him more often.
Jake lives in THE most forgotten corner of New York State. It’s actually more like western Ohio than NY….no one else lives there but him
ki-ke..... I'd give him a run for his money.....
I'd throw a wad of money at him and then run.....
Have you guys seen Jake run lately? You would have no problem ;-)
Haha. Great one! And I've been to that bar even!
"...so I’ll save it for our new private forum."
Wait. What?
So That’s the forum where the bowhunting talk will take place right
Years ago JakO was getting ready for a polar bear hunt. We all know how meticulous his planning was, storing his batteries in a pizza warming blanket, probably mugged one of BigPizzaMan's delivery guys to shooting outside in the cold. Well my son was going to college in California and playing field lacrosse. They had a swing out to New York. It was well below freezing and the Canadian players were used to the weather, others not so much. JakO told me he was going to go see Cam play and I gave him a heads up. My son asked me, "how will I recognize him, dad?" I said "He will be the only guy dressed in shorts and a tshirt"
Yes in preparation for his polar bear hunt, Jake would lock himself in a walk in cooler and read hunting magazines. He was prepared for everything. I can still hear it "Hello Bowsite" I always added ....this is the Jakenator reporting from the north pole.
Yup, one of the best, the kindest, the most sharing......and most hope they never have to find out.....the toughest.
