Wednesday, January 21, 2015
2015 Outlook
As the new year rolls in the planning for the upcoming year has already begun. I had let my training slip after I got back from Colorado and gained some of the weight that I lost. The deserts were what were getting to me. I am looking forward into getting back into shape. With my younger son being 1.5 years old and my older son turning 11 it is time to get them out in the field more. I plan on hiking a lot more this year, with so many local trails with in an hour from my house I need to take advantage of them more. This will also help me in finding new areas to hunt for deer.
This year I plan on getting back out on the golf course. I have been playing here and there the past few years and my game has really slipped. To me golf and archery are very much the same due to the repetition. If one part of your form is off then who knows where the ball or arrow will go. So I plan on focusing on these more to better build my form.
I will also be heading over to Honolulu this year for my cousins wedding. I am thinking I might take the bow to see if I could find an Island hog or 2. That would be great but I'm not sure if time will allow it. With the whole family being over there it might just be to crazy. I will be taking the plunge into marriage this year as well. As of now we are planning some time in November to avoid most of the hunting seasons. I want to get back to Missouri to see my Grandpa and a few family members back there and possibly look for a good spot to hunt whitetail.
With the calendar already filling up, my hunting partner and I are already starting to plan where to hunt in 2015. With a few great choices local and a few a little farther away, I may opt to stay closer to home and hunt D-14 or D-11. I would love to do 2-3 trips for 3-4 days each. I just miss being out under the stars in my tent, listening to the sounds of the peaceful forest as I drift off to sleep. Colorado is still burning in my mind and I hope by 2016 I will be able to make the trip back for elk. My father told me when I was young the older you get the faster years fly by. As I type this it is already half way through January. Soon it will be opening day and we will all wonder were the time has gone. I hope 2015 is a great year for all of us.
Saturday, January 10, 2015
A Hiking We Shall Go Part 4
The plan for today was simple. We were going to hike past the 2nd outfitters camp and head into a few far meadows we had on the map. We made great time getting to the second camp. We crossed over the stream and into a meadow. Almost immediately we heard a yelp. Nocking my arrow as fast as I could so we could get into position. It seemed as soon as I nocked the arrow the coyotes started to howl like crazy. S%@t! After I took a second to catch up with my thoughts and emotions we kept heading in and up to the spot we had talked about the night before.
As we reached the second meadow and the spot we were hoping to find, we found a great looking area another .5 miles up the mountain. We both gave each other that look, but we knew we needed to push on. As we climbed and breaths got shorter I could only look to the tree line as my goal. We reached a great spot with a small peak surrounded by a huge meadow. Once again we sat and called for about 2 hours. We were in the shade and shitting in just my pants and shirt it was little chilly. A the sun got higher I could feel the temps start to climb almost instantly. I had a squirrel at 3 yards rummaging through the brush below me. I moved my boot about a 1/4 of an inch and he froze. He sat there looking at me trying to figure out what or who I was. I slowly reached for my trail mix to toss him a nut. He wanted no part of the a took off like a rocket. I think he is still running to this day.I heard Al coming through the bushes and we decided to head a little higher up the mountain to see if we could glass anything up on the surrounding hillsides. Once again nothing was to be seen or heard So we made our way back to camp.
On the way we stopped and set up at the only bear sign we have seen all week. Al had a bear tag and we figured this would be the best spot to set up. I found myself a nice dead fall and kicked backed while Al was in bear mode. No sign of any movement so we headed back to camp for lunch.
The evening we venture off in a new direction we had not gone yet. We were perched a few hundred yards above a pond. At one point we noticed movement in the water. Hoping to see a bull or a cow come from behind the trees we were surprise by 2 ducks going crazy and having a good ol' time splashing in the water. As the sun set we headed back to camp. We were going to pack down to lower elevation in the morning set up camp and hunt a few lower areas. As I drifted of to sleep I had not ideal I would be awaken at 2:00am.
I was awoken by something hitting my tent and myself in the head. We both screamed and yelled as we got out of our tents. Just picture its 2:00am, I am in only my boxers and I am barefoot. I have my flashlight and my .357, Al has his flash light and bear spray ready. At least he was in his base layers. I grabbed my jacket from my tent and we looked all around camp and could not see or hear anything. The only sign was a faint imprint in the dust on my tent. We chatted for a few and back in the tents we went. I fell asleep rather quickly for what had just happened.
We woke up, packed up camp per our plan to move to a lower elevation and headed down the mountain. W found a new camp site close to a river and set up camp. We filtered water, had some snacks and checked out the lay of the land. We knew we only had 2 hunts left so we would make the best of it. That evening we headed to the beaver ponds and sat over a pond with great sign and tracks all around the pond. Unfortunately we did not see anything around the pond. We made the hike out and decided we would not side hill back to the area we had just hunted. We had dinner and a Pats Back Country Brew by the stream then headed into a meadow to look at the stars. There were thousands of stars to look at. We did spot a mule deer buck feeding in the meadow in the dark. Finally a game animal. We watched him feed for a while then we headed to bed.
Then next morning we took off in a different direction hope to seal the deal. It pretty much followed suit with the other hunts. The only thing we heard was each other calling. We headed back to camp to load up and hike back to the truck. Once we made it to the truck we had a beer and a cigar to end the trip. All in all I had a blast and can not wait to get back to elk country. We stayed the night in Cortez took showers and hit the town for a good dinner.
We hit the road first thing in the morning back to California
As we reached the second meadow and the spot we were hoping to find, we found a great looking area another .5 miles up the mountain. We both gave each other that look, but we knew we needed to push on. As we climbed and breaths got shorter I could only look to the tree line as my goal. We reached a great spot with a small peak surrounded by a huge meadow. Once again we sat and called for about 2 hours. We were in the shade and shitting in just my pants and shirt it was little chilly. A the sun got higher I could feel the temps start to climb almost instantly. I had a squirrel at 3 yards rummaging through the brush below me. I moved my boot about a 1/4 of an inch and he froze. He sat there looking at me trying to figure out what or who I was. I slowly reached for my trail mix to toss him a nut. He wanted no part of the a took off like a rocket. I think he is still running to this day.I heard Al coming through the bushes and we decided to head a little higher up the mountain to see if we could glass anything up on the surrounding hillsides. Once again nothing was to be seen or heard So we made our way back to camp.
On the way we stopped and set up at the only bear sign we have seen all week. Al had a bear tag and we figured this would be the best spot to set up. I found myself a nice dead fall and kicked backed while Al was in bear mode. No sign of any movement so we headed back to camp for lunch.
The evening we venture off in a new direction we had not gone yet. We were perched a few hundred yards above a pond. At one point we noticed movement in the water. Hoping to see a bull or a cow come from behind the trees we were surprise by 2 ducks going crazy and having a good ol' time splashing in the water. As the sun set we headed back to camp. We were going to pack down to lower elevation in the morning set up camp and hunt a few lower areas. As I drifted of to sleep I had not ideal I would be awaken at 2:00am.
I was awoken by something hitting my tent and myself in the head. We both screamed and yelled as we got out of our tents. Just picture its 2:00am, I am in only my boxers and I am barefoot. I have my flashlight and my .357, Al has his flash light and bear spray ready. At least he was in his base layers. I grabbed my jacket from my tent and we looked all around camp and could not see or hear anything. The only sign was a faint imprint in the dust on my tent. We chatted for a few and back in the tents we went. I fell asleep rather quickly for what had just happened.
We woke up, packed up camp per our plan to move to a lower elevation and headed down the mountain. W found a new camp site close to a river and set up camp. We filtered water, had some snacks and checked out the lay of the land. We knew we only had 2 hunts left so we would make the best of it. That evening we headed to the beaver ponds and sat over a pond with great sign and tracks all around the pond. Unfortunately we did not see anything around the pond. We made the hike out and decided we would not side hill back to the area we had just hunted. We had dinner and a Pats Back Country Brew by the stream then headed into a meadow to look at the stars. There were thousands of stars to look at. We did spot a mule deer buck feeding in the meadow in the dark. Finally a game animal. We watched him feed for a while then we headed to bed.
Then next morning we took off in a different direction hope to seal the deal. It pretty much followed suit with the other hunts. The only thing we heard was each other calling. We headed back to camp to load up and hike back to the truck. Once we made it to the truck we had a beer and a cigar to end the trip. All in all I had a blast and can not wait to get back to elk country. We stayed the night in Cortez took showers and hit the town for a good dinner.
We hit the road first thing in the morning back to California
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