Brothers Take Dad's 1977 Chevy Into Snowies To Spread His Ashes On Elk Hunt

As far as his sons are concerned, there couldn’t have been a more fitting farewell for Ken Wohl than to take the 1977 Chevrolet Scottsdale pickup he bought brand new to spread his ashes in the Snowy Range Mountains -- then go elk hunting.

“That was the truck we had growing up. We took it to the mountains every year. It was iconic for us, hunting in that truck,” Rick Wohl of Casper told Cowboy State Daily.

“He bought that truck brand new from Cooper Chevrolet in Medicine Bow, Wyoming,” Doug Wohl, also of Casper, told Cowboy State Daily.

In 2022, the summer before he died at age 80, Ken passed the pickup down to Doug, who said it still runs like a top.

The family has gone to Elk Hunt Area 12 in the Snowy Range every fall since the late 1960s, Rick said. And this year was no exception. The family went up toward the end of September and the first few days of October.

Along with a third brother, Jerry of Medicine Bow, and other family members, they spread Ken’s ashes and placed a memorial plaque in his favorite spot in the Snowies.

Then, “as the crow flies, a couple of miles away,” Rick filled his cow elk tag.

And they used the pickup to haul out the elk.

“It was like one last hunt with Pop,” he said.

‘He Did Everything Himself’

Along with the yearly elk hunting trips, Ken loved camping and fishing. The family had other vehicles for daily use, but the ’77 Scottsdale was the go-to rig for outdoor adventure, Rick said.

“He was always a mechanic. He did everything himself,” he said.

“He kept things,” Doug said.

Another prized vehicle, a 1954 Ford F-100 pickup that had been in the family for decades, went to Rick after Ken and his wife, Sally, passed away.

Ken put in a 350-cubic-inch small-block engine in the Scottsdale in 1997, when the truck had about 84,000 miles on it, Doug said.

He figures the truck probably has about 142,400 miles on it.

It still runs great and doesn’t burn any oil, Doug said. They used to pull the family camper into the Snowies for this year’s trip.

And it still has their dad’s old CB radio in it, in full working order.

In the days before cell phones, CB radios were hugely popular, and everybody had a “handle” or a name they went by over the radio waves.

“Dad’s handle was ‘Little Green,’” Doug said.

“It’s because he was little, 5-foot-5, maybe 5-foot-6, and his truck is green,” he added.

Both brothers remembered their father fondly. He was extremely hard-working, dedicated to his family, and passionate about Wyoming’s outdoors, they said.

"Ken was tough but fair," Rick said. “He had a father’s temper. But he had a mild demeanor, and it took a lot to make him angry.” 

Road Engineering

After spreading Ken’s ashes according to his wishes, the family spent the afternoon hanging out around camp and reminiscing.

Things started to cool off toward evening, meaning the elk would soon be active.

Rick headed out hunting and set up on the fringes of a valley where they figured the elk would be.

“The elk were bugling constantly. There must have been a dozen bulls down in that valley, screaming their heads off,” he said.

“Then, right before dark, a cow elk came out of the trees. Everything came together just perfectly, and I took the shot,” Rick added.

A two-track road led into the spot, but it was terribly rough.

“My brother, he was hesitant about taking the truck down to where we wanted to go,” Doug said. “I told him, if you want to go get your elk, this is how it’s going to happen.” 

“We had to do some road engineering on the way in,” Rick said.

Doug said at one creek crossing, the far back was too high and steep, and “the truck’s cross member was dragging on the bank.”

“I told my brother, if Dad was here, he’d be saying, ‘What the hell are you doing with my truck, and why are you taking it in there?’ Except, not that subtle. There would have been some more choice words,” Doug said.

After they shoveled the bank down a bit, the truck crossed it “without missing a beat,” he added.

Many Good Years Left

There’s a huge demand for square-body ‘70s and ‘80s pickups, and they can sell for many times their original price.

The green ’77 Scottsdale isn’t going up for sale, however, Doug and Rick said.

It’s going to stay in the family, pulling the camper into the mountains for elk hunts for many years to come.

“For us, it’s always been Area 12, in the Medicine Bow National Forest, in the Snowy Range Mountains. It’s our heaven on earth,” Doug said.

Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.