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.
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