Prelude
I've been standing quietly in the woods for about an hour after it was light enough to see. I had been in this spot for about 15 minutes when you couldn't see but shadows. As prearranged with my hunting partners, my brother and my Dad, I would start to still hunt around them in order to move some deer, possibly their way. Still hunting is the act of moving so slowly in the woods that it seems that you're standing still. This takes lots of time, and practice, to move around so stealthily. I had plenty of time today to move around them.
Morning Stealth
The morning went rather fast considering that I didn't move over 400 or so yards in about 4+ hours time. I saw plenty of wildlife, including a rabbit, several grouse, many squirrels, and several deer. I was looking for a particular buck that I had seen several other times, but was still interested in slowly moving these deer towards my brother and my Dad. My Dad is 87 years old, and we want to move a deer within bow range so that he can possibly harvest his first deer with a bow and arrow.
At The Tree Stand
Several deer approach the double tree stand (ladder type) that my brother and my Dad are on. The stories of why they do not have a deer is theirs to tell and maybe you'll read that someone in their tales. However, this story is about one particular deer hunter; namely, me.
I arrive at the tree stand just a little before noon. They decide to climb down and we eat our lunches together. After about an hour, we've concluded that my next trek will consist of some more still hunting on the other side of a right-of-way and be back with them at dark. My Kawasaki mule is parked about 300 yards away from their tree stand and will provide our way back to camp after dark. It can also provide a means to carry any deer that might be harvested since we're at least a mile and a half from the road and another mile to our camp site.
The Afternoon Still Hunt
I make my way to the bottom of the hollow without making much noise. I see a couple of does that are heading in the wrong direction for my Dad to see. I'll make a large detour to get around them and see if I can head them Dad's way. The detour does not include still hunting since it would take too long and I would be in the right place at dark. So, I slowly walk around the area to get slightly above and beyond the sighted deer.
As I get around the spot, I resume the still hunting. As I get into a thicket, I can see movement ahead. There are a couple of deer walking in the undergrowth. I can't make out their entire bodies, just suffice it to say that they were deer. Bucks? Does? I don't know. They are moving towards my Dad's location. I just stop to let them continue on in a leisurely manner. After waiting awhile, I continue the afternoon trek.
The Ditch
I came upon the ditch, about 15' deep and about 8' wide, that I didn't even know existed. It was running parallel with a power line right-of-way. I am supposed to be at the power line around dark. The woods were deep, the underbrush thick, and the darkness had started to set in even before the sun had completely set for the evening. Then I found the ditch. I also found a deer trail going down into the precipice that looked like Mountain Goats had been there. The Mountain Goat in me said that I could go down one side and up the other.
I carefully made it to the bottom of this ditch that was lined with large rocks and a small trickle of water running around them. I was pretty proud of my accomplishment. I looked up and remembered the years that I used to jump an easy 8' with a running jump. I could jump almost 7' without a run. I'm not really up on jumping now, especially when jumping over a ditch lined with large rocks.
The climb up the other side was a little harder than the climb down. It wasn't any steeper, but gravity was not aiding me on the way up. I stopped on the deer trail where I could reach out about a foot and touch the level ground. If you like figuring angles, then my feet are touching the ground, I'm standing straight up with my hands out from my shoulders about 5' from my feet, and my shoulders were a little over 1' from the edge. If you can't or don't want to figure, that is steep. I think it was a 77° angle on my inclinometer in my rangefinder shooting on the other side.
Then my foot hold gave away. I tossed my bow onto the leaves on the top as I toppled over backwards like the tower of Babel. I grabbed for a small tree, leaving 4 of my 5 fingernails embedded in the tree as they didn't hold. My fanny pack softened that blow, slightly, but I started the descent faster than a rolling stone, and I was gathering no moss. After about a 10' slide completely upside down with my head coming closer to the rocks, my left leg caught a 3" sapling in the bend of my knee. I stopped abruptly, then looked down at the rocks that were about 12" from my head. I didn't have to turn my head to look down because I was literally hanging upside down by my leg.
While in this upside down position, I thanked God for that small sapling that saved my head from busting some rocks, or maybe it would have been the other way. The next prayer was asking how I get out of this position. A short struggle, which seemed like hours, and I had righted myself and climbed back up to the edge. This time I didn't admire the edge but climbed out of the ditch and picked up my bow.
There were 2 deer standing on the other side of the power line. I think they were laughing at the silly human that thought he was part Mountain Goat. Then they flagged me and ran in the woods. I had to laugh, too. Until I really realized that even though I was only about 200 yards from my brother and my Dad, they would have had a hard time finding me if I had hit the bottom. I'm sure it wouldn't have been that night. So, another whispered prayer of thankfulness.
It was time to wipe off the sweat, leaves, humus, and head for my hunting partners. What a story to tell them, or should I? I did, but made it sound less hazardous since my Dad can be worrisome.
The Meeting
I decided not to tell my Dad that I almost met my Maker a few minutes before dark. It might not have been that serious if I had hit my head, but I might not have immediately come around either. Even though I was only about 200 yards away, they would not have found me if they would have looked. And, we won't become victims when trying to be rescuers, but that's another story.
I met up with my brother and my Dad as they were coming down off the tree stand. Actually, I could barely see them moving in the woods since it was getting dark. I walked on to get my Mule so Dad wouldn't have to walk any further than he would have to. Did I mention that he was 87?
When I had retrieved the Mule and driven up the right-of-way, I picked up my partners and we did some exchanging stories of the way back to camp. I had not found what I was looking for, and the missed opportunities of my partners is another story.
Successful Hunting
Yes, I saw 11 deer that day, but I didn't shoot any. Most were too far away, some were just too little, and two were making jokes at me. It was a successful day in that I was able to go out in the beautiful wilds, and still survive.
Friday, December 14, 2007
Monday, December 10, 2007
Another day in the life of a deer hunter.
Prelude
Everything is ready; almost everything packed. The only things not packed when I get up at 3:30am are my lunch, water, and my rifle. The night has been cool enough to keep my lunch and water in the van, but I'm not trusting enough of other people to leave my rifle there. So, I shower, dress, and load the remaining stuff in my van. Then it's off to pick up my brother for the 2 hour drive.
Upon arrival at my brother's house, I back up to hitch the trailer containing his 4 wheeler to my van. He comes out as I'm backing up to help guide me. We talk about the day's weather forecast as we hitch the trailer; the forecast has called for rain during the morning, which it's now doing, and a couple of showers in the afternoon. The temperature has raised and most of the snow in our area has melted with the rains. We have our rain wear all ready, we finish hooking up and loading his stuff, and we're on our way.
About half way there, we stop at McDonald's to get a nourishing breakfast. Right! At least it is breakfast. We eat and talk about our plans. Another hour and we'll be at our club's 1000+ acres to hunt.
As we continue the drive north, we notice a considerable amount of snow still on the ground. We discuss the mountain that we'll be driving up, the last few nights of freezing and the last night's rain, and figure that the last mile of our ride may be slick. Then we get to the gravel road that we'll take to our club property. In some spots, the road is clear and just wet with the rain that has stayed with us the entire trip over. The we get to some snow covered parts that have an ice covering. When he get to the bottom of the large incline, we say a prayer, build up some speed, and start the ascent.
The van is only rear wheel drive and looses traction at several places. The speed we have built up is enough to keep it going without much difficulty. However, we're coming to a 90 degree turn in the road on a steeper incline. I maintain the speed and start the big left-hand turn. The rear end of the van starts to slide to the right with the trailer following. I ease off the gas just enough for it to grab and try to accelerate again. I now have the trailer straight behind us and we don't gain speed, but we do gain altitude. We move up to the top of this place.
There is one more place that is even more hazardous. It's a straight run, until you go over the top. Then there's a nice right turn to keep on the flat of the ridge. I build up even greater speed to overcome this obstacle. My brother reminds me of the turn at the top. As soon as the van goes over the top, I ease off the accelerator to let the trailer come over and the van straighten out with the turn. Now we're on the narrow ridge where everything is covered with snow and ice. Another mile drive and we'll be to the spot to unload the 4 wheeler.
We get to the spot to unload and realize that the old log landings on both sides are too slick for the van to back in, and too slick for the van to back out. So, we back up about 400 yards to where the road forks. It was a good decision, because we later found out that the road was worse on out. As we're unloading the 4 wheeler, we hear a large crack, the crack of dawn. Okay, so we didn't hear it, but it was upon us. We didn't mind that we would not be in before daylight since the roads had been so bad.
As we donned our packs, got out our rifles, the rain ceased. A good sign! My brother has about a mile and a half cold ride to get down in the bottom of the hollow that we're going to hunt. I have about a 500 yard walk to get to where I will begin my still hunting towards him.
The Day
My brother drives off as I begin my walk. As I walk, I notice that the fog is increasing and making it hard to see more than 40 or 50 yards in front of me. I get to a high spot on the ridge, and wait to begin my still hunting trek down into the hollow. I need to wait to give my brother time to get to his spot. I move to where I can normally see quite a ways, but the fog has made it so I can just see my immediate surroundings.
After a half hour wait, I start my barely-moving still hunting down the ridge. I plan to arrive in the area around 10:30am where my brother is. When I come to an area where the trail splits and I start a hazardous descent in the hollow, I stop to just watch the bench below me. There's no signs of active life down there, but you can see that the deer had been moving since the snow. The trails had very little snow on them, probably due mostly to the rain, but also due to the use they get.
Then I notice a small bobcat making his way through the woods, probably seeking today's meal even though he is not sneaking along. It will be an opportunity meal if he gets one at that speed. I watch for another 10 minutes and see movement out of the corner of my eye, off to my right. Here come 3 deer on the upper trail. They move silently, and they are moving steadily; no browsing, they have somewhere to go. I start to turn to bring my rifle into play. The safety goes off noiselessly as I bring the stock to my shoulder. As they keep getting closer and closer, I notice that the lead deer is a large doe. Following her are 2 more does, one is this year's offspring and still has the spots of a fawn. To kill momma would be to bring certain death to the fawn from other predators, like the coyotes, since the yearling would not take care of her like the momma. The momma is on the alert as she moves even closer to me. Ears up, eyes forward, and nose smelling, momma is on the alert for predators for her and her family.
Within just seconds of their continuing movement, they have moved within 30 yards of my position. I watch as momma soon realizes that she is walking towards a predator. She stops within 20 yards of me; her children are oblivious of my presence, but she has sighted me. One quick breath to confirm what her eyes have seen and she's bounding away back down the trail with her children in pursuit. Though they may never realize it, she has done her motherly duties in protecting her children.
It's time to move, so I start to move down the trail that they were on. Another couple of hundred yards still hunting and I see movement right off the side of the trail. As I watch, a large gray squirrel darts from the right side of the trail, across the trail and into a pine tree. He makes snow and water fall from the trees as he springs from limb to limb. I notice that the movement I had seen prior to him is now watching him. The 2 grouse bob there heads as the move onto the trail. One scratches in the snow, while the other moves ahead to jump on a log that lays across the trail. After a couple of moments watching this wildlife, I move stealthily towards their place on the trail. I get within 10 yards of them when one of them, looks like a male, has spotted me. I hear his little clicks as he warns his mate about the impending danger. I continue to move until they finally think I'm too close and they take to the air with their beating, noisy wings. They only fly off about 50 yards and I know that I will jump them again in just a little bit.
Moving further, I see the back end of a single deer making its way through the thicket. Then I see the front end, then only some movement, then legs, then parts here and there, as I watch, vaguely seeing that it's moving around. The pines and undergrowth are so thick here that I can't see the entire deer. It's about 40 yards away, but that's a safe distance in all the brush.
I continue on the trail and I find where the momma doe took her 2 offspring over the left side and into the thick pines and brush. I move on past that area, jump the 2 grouse, and continue on down the side of the ridge into the hollow. I come to the slide, which I'll relate that story sometime later, and I move down to the next bench. This bench is still in the pines and really thick stuff. There is a well defined deer trail in this thicket. I have to duck under stuff, climb over other stuff, to move down this trail. I elect to move down one more bench to be in the open woods. There is also a well defined trail on this bench. As I follow the trail, I come to a place where there are lots of trees that were broke down several years ago by an ice storm. I'm looking for the best route to converse all the fallen trees, when a basket-racked buck jumps out from beside a tree and gets the "heck out of Dodge!" He is running so fast that he has to lean to one side to keep from loosing balance. A little 6 pointer, by Eastern count, has just "left the building." I notice that he ran about 60 yards along the trail that goes right under my brother's tree stand. Even without his speed, he's safe this time, since this is the antlerless season. This season is for deer that have no antlers, or whose antlers are less than 3 inches long from the hairline. Though he has a small rack, it's much larger than the allowed 3 inches.
I ease on down the trail to where my brother is standing on a power line right-of-way (right-away as some would call it). He had a vantage point where he can see about 500 yards on one side up the right-of-way, and 700 yards up the other side. Plus, he can see about 70 to a hundred yards into the open woods. When I get to him, he relates that he hasn't seen a deer. It's around 10:30am, the time I was supposed to be here.
I sit down on the 4 wheeler that is hidden in some small pines and we decide to have lunch. It's unload the packs and time to eat. After a short prayer of thanks for the food, the safety, and being able to be out in the wilds, we eat and discuss what the next few hours will hold. Of course, I mention that harvesting a large doe would be nice in those plans, and my brother agrees.
After Lunch
I've decided to walk down to the very bottom of the hollow, move down the creek about 300 yards, and go up the other side into another pine thicket. If any deer are resting there, they might want to take a walk out onto the power line for exiting the area.
The walk down the creek is easy, but getting the 40 yards up to the bench and the pine thicket is not so easy. I start to sweat as I get into the pines, which has several trails, none of which would let anyone over 4 feet tall walk through in an upright position. I pull out my hand pruners, and clip small limbs, briars, and branches of undergrowth out of the way so I can steadily move toward the right-of-way on the opposite side of the hollow from my brother. An hour and a half later, I come out on the power line, even in altitude with my brother, but on the other side of the hollow. I can see the faint glow of his hunter orange. I move across the right-away and into the open woods on the other side. I take a rest leaning on a large oak tree when I hear the shot from my brother's .30-06. I wait to here him say on the radio that he has a deer. After my 5 minute break, I still don't hear anything across the radio. It's time for me to continue this portion of my trek, and I guess that he either has not found the deer, or he missed. I hear a deer snort behind me. It could be from the shot, or from seeing or smelling me. More than likely, the deer has somehow spotted me while I was resting.
As I move up another hollow, munching on my trail mix from time to time, I start to realize that I'm getting very tired. It's only about 1am and I have been hunting like this all this season without feeling like I am now. I continue on, but even slower. I cross another hollow that goes back to the main hollow and the power line. While in the bottom, I find some raccoon tracks from the creak up to a fallen log. Then I find where he has climbed up another large tree that has a big hole in the side about 30 feet in the air. Ah, someone is staying warm and getting a rest.
I hear a deer blowing in front of me, but I never see it. It's between my brother and I, so it will be moving in the right direction if it takes the easier route; the direction that could lead to its demise. However, after sometime, I don't hear any more shots and I guess the deer was never discovered.
I ease up a point that will bring me to my brother's location. It's an easy slope to climb, but I'm very sweaty by this time. I have some great wicking long underwear on that keeps me from being cold. It also has a silver filling that keeps the human smell neutralized; no bacteria growing here! Around 2:15pm, I'm back to my brother. We discuss the rest of the day, about 2 1/2 hours, and decide that I will sit on the right-of-way and he'll go up to his tree stand. He moves off, and I take a seat. We also discuss the shot I heard. He took a 400+ yard shot at a doe that was standing with another doe on the right-away. After a walk and looking around, plus seeing that the does continue to feed and act normal, it was obvious that he had missed. A sad tale of hunters, but so true for many. My brother was trying to come close to my previous successful shot on the same right-away which was 457 yards measured by my laser range-finder. I also have a range-finder in my scope, with all the stadia lines to make the adjustments for long range shooting.
I watch over the area for about an hour when I realize that I'm getting really cold, stiff, and starting to hurt. Since I may be past the prime of my life, and I have some metal joints, I'm hurting. I pull some more gear out of my pack and get enough on to keep me warmer while I'm not moving and building up heat by moving. When I really start feeling bad, aches, pains, and now a build up in my stomach and intestines that seems to make me want to hurl everything that I had for lunch, I realize that I'm getting sick. I continue to watch, but must now stand in order to alleviate some of the pain and stiffness from sitting. I pack up my stuff so that I will be ready when my brother comes back off the stand. It's 4:30pm when I realize that it's now becoming a test of endurance. At about 4:45pm, I noticed that my brother was dismounting the tree stand and working his way down to my area. He had seen my discomfort, and probably sensed it, and was coming in a little earlier than dark.
I stiffly climbed on board the 4 wheeler, after tying on my brother's pack and seat, so we could begin the 40 minute ride back to the van with the trailer. We weaved our way down the right-of-way into the hollow bottom. Then it was weaving through the woods, across the creek several times, until we finally reached an old logging trail which made the way easier.
It's dark when we arrive back at the van. We stabilize the 4 wheeler in the trailer and put our gear in the van. It's time to move on; take the 2 hour trip back to the house.
A Successful Hunt
Some measure success in what game they bring home, and well they should. That was the reason for the hunt. But, I've changed over the years now, and I no longer count coming home with no game as being a failure. The success is being about being able to go out in the wonderful wilds of "Almost Heaven" and enjoy the day, the fellowship, the camaraderie. All in all, we measure our success as having a great time in the woods. The topping of that would be to harvest a deer, but it is not the only success! So this day, we have been successful!
Everything is ready; almost everything packed. The only things not packed when I get up at 3:30am are my lunch, water, and my rifle. The night has been cool enough to keep my lunch and water in the van, but I'm not trusting enough of other people to leave my rifle there. So, I shower, dress, and load the remaining stuff in my van. Then it's off to pick up my brother for the 2 hour drive.
Upon arrival at my brother's house, I back up to hitch the trailer containing his 4 wheeler to my van. He comes out as I'm backing up to help guide me. We talk about the day's weather forecast as we hitch the trailer; the forecast has called for rain during the morning, which it's now doing, and a couple of showers in the afternoon. The temperature has raised and most of the snow in our area has melted with the rains. We have our rain wear all ready, we finish hooking up and loading his stuff, and we're on our way.
About half way there, we stop at McDonald's to get a nourishing breakfast. Right! At least it is breakfast. We eat and talk about our plans. Another hour and we'll be at our club's 1000+ acres to hunt.
As we continue the drive north, we notice a considerable amount of snow still on the ground. We discuss the mountain that we'll be driving up, the last few nights of freezing and the last night's rain, and figure that the last mile of our ride may be slick. Then we get to the gravel road that we'll take to our club property. In some spots, the road is clear and just wet with the rain that has stayed with us the entire trip over. The we get to some snow covered parts that have an ice covering. When he get to the bottom of the large incline, we say a prayer, build up some speed, and start the ascent.
The van is only rear wheel drive and looses traction at several places. The speed we have built up is enough to keep it going without much difficulty. However, we're coming to a 90 degree turn in the road on a steeper incline. I maintain the speed and start the big left-hand turn. The rear end of the van starts to slide to the right with the trailer following. I ease off the gas just enough for it to grab and try to accelerate again. I now have the trailer straight behind us and we don't gain speed, but we do gain altitude. We move up to the top of this place.
There is one more place that is even more hazardous. It's a straight run, until you go over the top. Then there's a nice right turn to keep on the flat of the ridge. I build up even greater speed to overcome this obstacle. My brother reminds me of the turn at the top. As soon as the van goes over the top, I ease off the accelerator to let the trailer come over and the van straighten out with the turn. Now we're on the narrow ridge where everything is covered with snow and ice. Another mile drive and we'll be to the spot to unload the 4 wheeler.
We get to the spot to unload and realize that the old log landings on both sides are too slick for the van to back in, and too slick for the van to back out. So, we back up about 400 yards to where the road forks. It was a good decision, because we later found out that the road was worse on out. As we're unloading the 4 wheeler, we hear a large crack, the crack of dawn. Okay, so we didn't hear it, but it was upon us. We didn't mind that we would not be in before daylight since the roads had been so bad.
As we donned our packs, got out our rifles, the rain ceased. A good sign! My brother has about a mile and a half cold ride to get down in the bottom of the hollow that we're going to hunt. I have about a 500 yard walk to get to where I will begin my still hunting towards him.
The Day
My brother drives off as I begin my walk. As I walk, I notice that the fog is increasing and making it hard to see more than 40 or 50 yards in front of me. I get to a high spot on the ridge, and wait to begin my still hunting trek down into the hollow. I need to wait to give my brother time to get to his spot. I move to where I can normally see quite a ways, but the fog has made it so I can just see my immediate surroundings.
After a half hour wait, I start my barely-moving still hunting down the ridge. I plan to arrive in the area around 10:30am where my brother is. When I come to an area where the trail splits and I start a hazardous descent in the hollow, I stop to just watch the bench below me. There's no signs of active life down there, but you can see that the deer had been moving since the snow. The trails had very little snow on them, probably due mostly to the rain, but also due to the use they get.
Then I notice a small bobcat making his way through the woods, probably seeking today's meal even though he is not sneaking along. It will be an opportunity meal if he gets one at that speed. I watch for another 10 minutes and see movement out of the corner of my eye, off to my right. Here come 3 deer on the upper trail. They move silently, and they are moving steadily; no browsing, they have somewhere to go. I start to turn to bring my rifle into play. The safety goes off noiselessly as I bring the stock to my shoulder. As they keep getting closer and closer, I notice that the lead deer is a large doe. Following her are 2 more does, one is this year's offspring and still has the spots of a fawn. To kill momma would be to bring certain death to the fawn from other predators, like the coyotes, since the yearling would not take care of her like the momma. The momma is on the alert as she moves even closer to me. Ears up, eyes forward, and nose smelling, momma is on the alert for predators for her and her family.
Within just seconds of their continuing movement, they have moved within 30 yards of my position. I watch as momma soon realizes that she is walking towards a predator. She stops within 20 yards of me; her children are oblivious of my presence, but she has sighted me. One quick breath to confirm what her eyes have seen and she's bounding away back down the trail with her children in pursuit. Though they may never realize it, she has done her motherly duties in protecting her children.
It's time to move, so I start to move down the trail that they were on. Another couple of hundred yards still hunting and I see movement right off the side of the trail. As I watch, a large gray squirrel darts from the right side of the trail, across the trail and into a pine tree. He makes snow and water fall from the trees as he springs from limb to limb. I notice that the movement I had seen prior to him is now watching him. The 2 grouse bob there heads as the move onto the trail. One scratches in the snow, while the other moves ahead to jump on a log that lays across the trail. After a couple of moments watching this wildlife, I move stealthily towards their place on the trail. I get within 10 yards of them when one of them, looks like a male, has spotted me. I hear his little clicks as he warns his mate about the impending danger. I continue to move until they finally think I'm too close and they take to the air with their beating, noisy wings. They only fly off about 50 yards and I know that I will jump them again in just a little bit.
Moving further, I see the back end of a single deer making its way through the thicket. Then I see the front end, then only some movement, then legs, then parts here and there, as I watch, vaguely seeing that it's moving around. The pines and undergrowth are so thick here that I can't see the entire deer. It's about 40 yards away, but that's a safe distance in all the brush.
I continue on the trail and I find where the momma doe took her 2 offspring over the left side and into the thick pines and brush. I move on past that area, jump the 2 grouse, and continue on down the side of the ridge into the hollow. I come to the slide, which I'll relate that story sometime later, and I move down to the next bench. This bench is still in the pines and really thick stuff. There is a well defined deer trail in this thicket. I have to duck under stuff, climb over other stuff, to move down this trail. I elect to move down one more bench to be in the open woods. There is also a well defined trail on this bench. As I follow the trail, I come to a place where there are lots of trees that were broke down several years ago by an ice storm. I'm looking for the best route to converse all the fallen trees, when a basket-racked buck jumps out from beside a tree and gets the "heck out of Dodge!" He is running so fast that he has to lean to one side to keep from loosing balance. A little 6 pointer, by Eastern count, has just "left the building." I notice that he ran about 60 yards along the trail that goes right under my brother's tree stand. Even without his speed, he's safe this time, since this is the antlerless season. This season is for deer that have no antlers, or whose antlers are less than 3 inches long from the hairline. Though he has a small rack, it's much larger than the allowed 3 inches.
I ease on down the trail to where my brother is standing on a power line right-of-way (right-away as some would call it). He had a vantage point where he can see about 500 yards on one side up the right-of-way, and 700 yards up the other side. Plus, he can see about 70 to a hundred yards into the open woods. When I get to him, he relates that he hasn't seen a deer. It's around 10:30am, the time I was supposed to be here.
I sit down on the 4 wheeler that is hidden in some small pines and we decide to have lunch. It's unload the packs and time to eat. After a short prayer of thanks for the food, the safety, and being able to be out in the wilds, we eat and discuss what the next few hours will hold. Of course, I mention that harvesting a large doe would be nice in those plans, and my brother agrees.
After Lunch
I've decided to walk down to the very bottom of the hollow, move down the creek about 300 yards, and go up the other side into another pine thicket. If any deer are resting there, they might want to take a walk out onto the power line for exiting the area.
The walk down the creek is easy, but getting the 40 yards up to the bench and the pine thicket is not so easy. I start to sweat as I get into the pines, which has several trails, none of which would let anyone over 4 feet tall walk through in an upright position. I pull out my hand pruners, and clip small limbs, briars, and branches of undergrowth out of the way so I can steadily move toward the right-of-way on the opposite side of the hollow from my brother. An hour and a half later, I come out on the power line, even in altitude with my brother, but on the other side of the hollow. I can see the faint glow of his hunter orange. I move across the right-away and into the open woods on the other side. I take a rest leaning on a large oak tree when I hear the shot from my brother's .30-06. I wait to here him say on the radio that he has a deer. After my 5 minute break, I still don't hear anything across the radio. It's time for me to continue this portion of my trek, and I guess that he either has not found the deer, or he missed. I hear a deer snort behind me. It could be from the shot, or from seeing or smelling me. More than likely, the deer has somehow spotted me while I was resting.
As I move up another hollow, munching on my trail mix from time to time, I start to realize that I'm getting very tired. It's only about 1am and I have been hunting like this all this season without feeling like I am now. I continue on, but even slower. I cross another hollow that goes back to the main hollow and the power line. While in the bottom, I find some raccoon tracks from the creak up to a fallen log. Then I find where he has climbed up another large tree that has a big hole in the side about 30 feet in the air. Ah, someone is staying warm and getting a rest.
I hear a deer blowing in front of me, but I never see it. It's between my brother and I, so it will be moving in the right direction if it takes the easier route; the direction that could lead to its demise. However, after sometime, I don't hear any more shots and I guess the deer was never discovered.
I ease up a point that will bring me to my brother's location. It's an easy slope to climb, but I'm very sweaty by this time. I have some great wicking long underwear on that keeps me from being cold. It also has a silver filling that keeps the human smell neutralized; no bacteria growing here! Around 2:15pm, I'm back to my brother. We discuss the rest of the day, about 2 1/2 hours, and decide that I will sit on the right-of-way and he'll go up to his tree stand. He moves off, and I take a seat. We also discuss the shot I heard. He took a 400+ yard shot at a doe that was standing with another doe on the right-away. After a walk and looking around, plus seeing that the does continue to feed and act normal, it was obvious that he had missed. A sad tale of hunters, but so true for many. My brother was trying to come close to my previous successful shot on the same right-away which was 457 yards measured by my laser range-finder. I also have a range-finder in my scope, with all the stadia lines to make the adjustments for long range shooting.
I watch over the area for about an hour when I realize that I'm getting really cold, stiff, and starting to hurt. Since I may be past the prime of my life, and I have some metal joints, I'm hurting. I pull some more gear out of my pack and get enough on to keep me warmer while I'm not moving and building up heat by moving. When I really start feeling bad, aches, pains, and now a build up in my stomach and intestines that seems to make me want to hurl everything that I had for lunch, I realize that I'm getting sick. I continue to watch, but must now stand in order to alleviate some of the pain and stiffness from sitting. I pack up my stuff so that I will be ready when my brother comes back off the stand. It's 4:30pm when I realize that it's now becoming a test of endurance. At about 4:45pm, I noticed that my brother was dismounting the tree stand and working his way down to my area. He had seen my discomfort, and probably sensed it, and was coming in a little earlier than dark.
I stiffly climbed on board the 4 wheeler, after tying on my brother's pack and seat, so we could begin the 40 minute ride back to the van with the trailer. We weaved our way down the right-of-way into the hollow bottom. Then it was weaving through the woods, across the creek several times, until we finally reached an old logging trail which made the way easier.
It's dark when we arrive back at the van. We stabilize the 4 wheeler in the trailer and put our gear in the van. It's time to move on; take the 2 hour trip back to the house.
A Successful Hunt
Some measure success in what game they bring home, and well they should. That was the reason for the hunt. But, I've changed over the years now, and I no longer count coming home with no game as being a failure. The success is being about being able to go out in the wonderful wilds of "Almost Heaven" and enjoy the day, the fellowship, the camaraderie. All in all, we measure our success as having a great time in the woods. The topping of that would be to harvest a deer, but it is not the only success! So this day, we have been successful!
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