Post by Ron on Oct 4, 2009 18:47:59 GMT -6
I made my first trip up North for the 2009 Archery season. Left work a bit early and drove through the rain hoping it would stop by the time I reached my destination. No such luck. I dropped off some gear at my Parent's house and then headed to the woods to check the stands. I figured the rain would be good for scouting around. When I got to the farm I found the field road was flooded in many spots but I have a 4x4 Dodge ram that can go anywhere. ;D I didn't plan to hunt that evening because of the rains but by the time I finished checking the stands it had let up a bit and was now just a mist. I went back to my Parent's and changed into my hunting gear and headed back to the woods. Just as I pulled up my bow, the rain started again but I stayed out anyway. After two hours of seeing nothing, it got too dark to see so I headed back to the truck. As I drove along the field road, I reached the muddiest part and decided to hug the grassy edge which was a big mistake.
The Ram was buried and it was raining harder. Thank God for cell phones!! I placed a call to friend with a Super Duty truck with Duals and he came to laugh at me before attaching his chain. After several attempts, we were getting nowhere so another call was made to my friends Father who had the same truck as my friend. With the two trucks hooked together and a mighty jerk (that would be me for thinking I could drive though that mess) We began to move. They towed me out to the road and took turns laughing at me as we stood in the rain. I learned that Dodge Rams have towing hooks on their front just so that Chevys can pull them out when needed. I didn't know that but I'm glad they explained it to me over and over and over.
The next morning it was raining harder than ever so I returned to my warm bed wondering what would have happened if my friends owned Fords and if my hooks would have still worked. At 10:00 A.M. I had an appointment with members of the Stevens Point Isaac Walton League to discuss Earn-A-Buck alternatives and the long process that got us to the point we are now at. They were a great bunch with lots of questions and even more Bratwurst and Kraut. They feed me lunch and we solved all the worlds' ills. I even told them about the Chevy hooks that Dodge puts on all its trucks. After the meeting I headed back to my Parents place to get ready for another night of sitting in the rain but as soon as I reached their house my phone rang. It was my brother telling me to make ready the knives and to get prepared to butcher a black bear he had just shot up in the Clam Lake area.
When he arrived with my Father (they were hunting together) we unloaded his 3 legged sow. This was an old bear. Her teeth were worn flat and the missing left front leg didn't seem to prevent her from sending 3 hounds to the vet with some pretty serious injuries. One well placed shot ended the chase. The wound was something that must have taken place a long time ago because the hide was completely healed over and the meat around the missing leg was not the normal yellow and fibrous tissue that normally covers recent injuries. She must have been missing that leg for years.
After taking care of the bear I cleaned up but I'm sure I went to the woods smelling like an old wet sow (even more than I normally do) When I got back to where I was stuck the night before I stopped to take a picture and to reflect on the how lucky I was to have those Chevy hooks.
The evening was more of the same, light rain and wind. I took a few pictures of the cedar swamp from my stand.
While I was sitting on stand I could hear what sounded like engines revving up and a voice on a loud speaker. In 33 years of hunting these woods I have never heard such a thing and it went on all afternoon. The sounds were far enough not to cause me any grief. I sat through the afternoon and saw only one raccoon. When I finished hunting I headed back to my Parents and changed out of my gear and drove into town to see what all the noise and ruckus was about. It turns out that the Village was running a tractor and truck pull down main street. I hung out long enough to see a few guys pull in the misty drizzle and then head back to get some sleep.
Sunday morning found me in my tree at daybreak. I sat until 9:30 am and then packed up my gear and head back home. I was disappointed in the lack of deer sighting but even more so in the lack of tracks. It's clear that the deer are on the next property filling up on acorns and soybeans and the cedar swamp and river bottom I was hunting was of no interest to them at this time. None of the property I hunt has any oak trees so it will be tough sailing this fall. I'm not sure when I will head back to hunt again because next weekend is the statewide Youth gun hunt and the following is the T-zone Gun hunt. I may skip it until November. It was good to be back in the deer stand even if I didn't see any deer.
The Ram was buried and it was raining harder. Thank God for cell phones!! I placed a call to friend with a Super Duty truck with Duals and he came to laugh at me before attaching his chain. After several attempts, we were getting nowhere so another call was made to my friends Father who had the same truck as my friend. With the two trucks hooked together and a mighty jerk (that would be me for thinking I could drive though that mess) We began to move. They towed me out to the road and took turns laughing at me as we stood in the rain. I learned that Dodge Rams have towing hooks on their front just so that Chevys can pull them out when needed. I didn't know that but I'm glad they explained it to me over and over and over.
The next morning it was raining harder than ever so I returned to my warm bed wondering what would have happened if my friends owned Fords and if my hooks would have still worked. At 10:00 A.M. I had an appointment with members of the Stevens Point Isaac Walton League to discuss Earn-A-Buck alternatives and the long process that got us to the point we are now at. They were a great bunch with lots of questions and even more Bratwurst and Kraut. They feed me lunch and we solved all the worlds' ills. I even told them about the Chevy hooks that Dodge puts on all its trucks. After the meeting I headed back to my Parents place to get ready for another night of sitting in the rain but as soon as I reached their house my phone rang. It was my brother telling me to make ready the knives and to get prepared to butcher a black bear he had just shot up in the Clam Lake area.
When he arrived with my Father (they were hunting together) we unloaded his 3 legged sow. This was an old bear. Her teeth were worn flat and the missing left front leg didn't seem to prevent her from sending 3 hounds to the vet with some pretty serious injuries. One well placed shot ended the chase. The wound was something that must have taken place a long time ago because the hide was completely healed over and the meat around the missing leg was not the normal yellow and fibrous tissue that normally covers recent injuries. She must have been missing that leg for years.
After taking care of the bear I cleaned up but I'm sure I went to the woods smelling like an old wet sow (even more than I normally do) When I got back to where I was stuck the night before I stopped to take a picture and to reflect on the how lucky I was to have those Chevy hooks.
The evening was more of the same, light rain and wind. I took a few pictures of the cedar swamp from my stand.
While I was sitting on stand I could hear what sounded like engines revving up and a voice on a loud speaker. In 33 years of hunting these woods I have never heard such a thing and it went on all afternoon. The sounds were far enough not to cause me any grief. I sat through the afternoon and saw only one raccoon. When I finished hunting I headed back to my Parents and changed out of my gear and drove into town to see what all the noise and ruckus was about. It turns out that the Village was running a tractor and truck pull down main street. I hung out long enough to see a few guys pull in the misty drizzle and then head back to get some sleep.
Sunday morning found me in my tree at daybreak. I sat until 9:30 am and then packed up my gear and head back home. I was disappointed in the lack of deer sighting but even more so in the lack of tracks. It's clear that the deer are on the next property filling up on acorns and soybeans and the cedar swamp and river bottom I was hunting was of no interest to them at this time. None of the property I hunt has any oak trees so it will be tough sailing this fall. I'm not sure when I will head back to hunt again because next weekend is the statewide Youth gun hunt and the following is the T-zone Gun hunt. I may skip it until November. It was good to be back in the deer stand even if I didn't see any deer.