I have been following along with you on this thread, but haven't chimed in until now. You definitely made a hell of an effort. I have spent 25 plus nights in the woods this year and am yet to fill a tag. Montana is being stingy with the animals for me this year (though I cannot complain about no opportunities...just operator error)
I admire your efforts and determination. For me a long drive to hunt is 5 hours...your trip Is unfathomable!!
These cold snaps can be pretty brutal and just sticking around as long as you did is commendable. Frozen MT is a whole different world. I live, work, play, and raise my family here and none of us look forward to cold spells like this. And neither do our vehicles....and this one is 30ish degrees warmer than 3 we had last winter.
Good work man, I imagine MT will have you under its spell, so good luck the rest of this year and hopefully she will be more generous next time you visit.