Here's a little story of a winter's night spent by Osborne Russell in the Wind River country. Winters in the mountain were often brutal, but comfort could change in as little as a day.

From Osborne Russell:
Novr. 7th We arose and found ourselves much refreshed by our nights rest. We travelled nearly E all day ascending
a gradual smooth slope of country which lies between Wind and Powder Rivers and
stopped at night on the divide where we found the snow about 2 inches deep and hard and the
weather cold and windy whilst not a stick of wood or a drop of water were to be found within 10
Mls of us. We found a placed washed out by the water in the Spring of the year as the only shelter
we could find from the wind and digging down the dry earth scattered some branches of Sage
upon it to lie upon. I then went in search of rock in order to heat it and melt snow in my hat but I
could not find so much as a pebble so we kindled a little fire of sage and sat down with a piece of
Mutton in one hand and a piece of snow in the other eating meat and snow in this manner mad
out our suppers and laid down to shake tremble and suffer with the cold till day light when we
started and travelled as fast as our wearied limbs would permit in the same direction we had
travelled the day before descending a gradual slope towards the head of powder river until near
night when finding some water standing in a puddle with large quantities of dry sage about it we
killed a Bull near by taking his skin for a bed and some of the best meat for supper passed the
night very comfortable We were now in sight of the red Butes on the river Platte which appeared
about 40 ms distant SE

Stewart's Camp Wind River Range, by Alfred Jacob Miller

double tough don't begin to describe those guys

wiry and tough as sinew

"Killed a bull"

Bison, elk or moose?

Tough men.

Most likely a bison, especially as they took the hide for a "bed."

They did a lot of things we would be put off by today, such as drinking snow melt from the well worn hat of another man. Also, sleeping curled up with other men to keep warm was common. The didn't have the homophobic attitudes of today, or if they did, it took second place to avoiding freezing to death.

Don't forget that we have Osborne Russell's fine journal. A lot just dissapeared without a trace. His later life adventures were many, including losing an eye to a rock blasting accident. He even went into politics. Buried in an unmarked grave in California. If you haven't read his book, it's pretty cheap on Amazon.
Thanks, Kyle for these weekly reminders.

The rock blasting incident happened on the river I mainly trap for beaver. It's always fun to see how many of the mountain man stories can connect to you in some way.

good read thanks