Continuation of the same
Do not be fooled that since there have been little recent entries that I haven't been in the woods! I'll tell you what, it's just getting to be a repeat of other times. But I shall have to keep this relatively short, due to a time issue; thought I'd update real quick though.
The other day I went up Highway 12 again and checked out where my Dad had been hunting. This was a morning I couldn't ignore because it was the middle of the week and it had just snowed the night before. I could still do some hunting and come home to work...really, it actually worked out. Well, I went up this steep trail and topped out on the top of the hill...I cut many fresh tracks in the new snow, but that whole east face was extremely thick. I figured the deer were hanging out in the valley at night, then moving to the top of the ridge during the day...so that's where I was headed. But, I got to the top and didn't see nearly as many tracks as I'd thought. From the looks of it though, the deer had these thick areas between the open park-like Douglas-fir that they'd use to move from one finger ridge to another. I walked along until I cut some fresh tracks, they were little tracks but I still considered following them; the bucks are actively following the girls right now. But as I'm standing there, back in the trees on the trail ahead of me jumps this buck..just flying up the hill! Rather than follow a spooked deer, I decide to do some exploring...and hoping he'd cross to a close ridge on the other side of a small hollow. Maybe I'd get a shot. Well, I made my way over there and was poking along for awhile (not seeing anything) when I cut a NICE buck track. Here we go again! I followed this deer here, there, over there, back here, near there...wandering son of a gun...and guess where he ended up? YEP, it was the SAME DEER I HAD SPOOKED EARLIER. I found his tracks wander over the trail I was on, hide behind a tree where he was obviously listening to me..watching?...and then bolting up the hill. Well, it was about an hour later by this time so I figured he'd be calmed down a little, so I continued my tracking. He only ran a little ways, but then started taking to some heavy cover and...sure enough...crossed over to that other ridge, just quite a bit further down than I had been. This went on for awhile and I got out into a clearcut, where he had cut some doe tracks...which he followed readily. Which I followed readily. Okay, so this led down to a road that looped around the hill to where the truck was parked, so I decided to keep on trailing them...the closer he got to the truck the better...I smiled thinking about how easy this might be! Judging by their tracks, the buck was kinda chasing or playing with the does...their tracks were all over, running, walking, wandering...it was weird. But after awhile of walking on the road, they all took off into that thick stuff that I had been in earlier while walking to the top of the ridge from the truck. Where they turned off the road was 400 yards from where the truck was parked. Who knows, do you think if I hadn't spooked him, they wouldn't have come around the road? Or do you think if I had just walked up the road they would have walked into me? Funny.
The other day I went up Highway 12 again and checked out where my Dad had been hunting. This was a morning I couldn't ignore because it was the middle of the week and it had just snowed the night before. I could still do some hunting and come home to work...really, it actually worked out. Well, I went up this steep trail and topped out on the top of the hill...I cut many fresh tracks in the new snow, but that whole east face was extremely thick. I figured the deer were hanging out in the valley at night, then moving to the top of the ridge during the day...so that's where I was headed. But, I got to the top and didn't see nearly as many tracks as I'd thought. From the looks of it though, the deer had these thick areas between the open park-like Douglas-fir that they'd use to move from one finger ridge to another. I walked along until I cut some fresh tracks, they were little tracks but I still considered following them; the bucks are actively following the girls right now. But as I'm standing there, back in the trees on the trail ahead of me jumps this buck..just flying up the hill! Rather than follow a spooked deer, I decide to do some exploring...and hoping he'd cross to a close ridge on the other side of a small hollow. Maybe I'd get a shot. Well, I made my way over there and was poking along for awhile (not seeing anything) when I cut a NICE buck track. Here we go again! I followed this deer here, there, over there, back here, near there...wandering son of a gun...and guess where he ended up? YEP, it was the SAME DEER I HAD SPOOKED EARLIER. I found his tracks wander over the trail I was on, hide behind a tree where he was obviously listening to me..watching?...and then bolting up the hill. Well, it was about an hour later by this time so I figured he'd be calmed down a little, so I continued my tracking. He only ran a little ways, but then started taking to some heavy cover and...sure enough...crossed over to that other ridge, just quite a bit further down than I had been. This went on for awhile and I got out into a clearcut, where he had cut some doe tracks...which he followed readily. Which I followed readily. Okay, so this led down to a road that looped around the hill to where the truck was parked, so I decided to keep on trailing them...the closer he got to the truck the better...I smiled thinking about how easy this might be! Judging by their tracks, the buck was kinda chasing or playing with the does...their tracks were all over, running, walking, wandering...it was weird. But after awhile of walking on the road, they all took off into that thick stuff that I had been in earlier while walking to the top of the ridge from the truck. Where they turned off the road was 400 yards from where the truck was parked. Who knows, do you think if I hadn't spooked him, they wouldn't have come around the road? Or do you think if I had just walked up the road they would have walked into me? Funny.
posted by geotracker12 at 6:41 AM
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