I just returned from spending a few more days in the forest searching for elk. On my first night out I was sitting quietly at a pass in a ridge, waiting for a few more minutes to tick by, when a coyote trotted by within 10 yards of me. It didn't realize I was there until it had passed me and got downwind, at which point he paused momentarily to glance back at me, then his pace quickened until he was out of sight.
Later that evening I was still-hunting further up the same ridge when I noticed a cow about 100 yards ahead of me, heading in the same direction. One cow soon turned in to three, and I was able to close the distance to about 60 yards. I followed them at this distance for a while, waiting for an opportunity to present itself for a shot through the thick pine trees. Eventually one of them saw me and the game was over.
A quick note on my tactics: the elk in this area were not bugling yet, so locating them via sound was out of the question, unless you already happen to be very close and hear them breaking branches as they walk. Dense forest covers about 100% of the area I was hunting, so spotting them from afar was out of the question, eliminating the common "spot-and-stalk" method. Given this situation, the only way I could find to locate the elk was to walk slowly and quietly through the forest until I saw one, hoping that I would see it before it saw me. I like to think of this as the "hope-and-stalk" method, but it is more commonly referred to as still-hunting.
The following evening, I hoped really well and my hope-and-stalking found me in the vicinity of two bull elk. Before I saw them, one of them barked, which is an undesirable sound as it means they've detected something suspicious. The bull that barked (we'll call him Barker) ran off, only to return a minute or two later when the other bull didn't follow. Barker continued to bark every few seconds for the next 20 minutes, all the while peering through the trees in my direction from about 60 yards away. I couldn't move with that much attention, so I hoped that by holding still he would forget about me and go back to feeding. He eventually did go back to feeding, but not without occasionally barking and regularly looking in my direction. At one point I drew my bow when Barker was headed for the one opening in the trees where I had a slight hope he would pause and present a shot, but he didn't and the shooting ally wasn't very good anyway. Eventually they fed out of sight, so I took my boots off, put on my extra pair of socks, and tried to sneak in for a shot. I got back to within about 60 yards when Barker's barking frequency escalated. I had been pegged. Eventually the other bull got on board with the looming threat that Barker had been barking about and they fled the scene.
The next morning I encountered a lone cow while hoping-and-stalking. This time I caught her completely unaware. I quickly pulled out my range finder, which read 42 yards. I then nocked an arrow, and with all my fidgeting the cow stopped walking and turned to look my way. Under normal circumstances, this would be a pretty easy shot. Yet once again, there were copious trees in the way. Where she stopped, I could see her vitals through a narrow, 3" gap in the trees, but I had to lean far to my left to take advantage of it. With the cow looking right at me, I was afraid to step to my left, so I came to full draw, leaned awkwardly out to my left, sighted for a 42-yard shot, and released. That cow will live to see another day, but the pine tree on the right is dead vegetarian meat.
I went back and forth emotionally between being upset at missing the shot (one I should have made), and thinking it was somewhat comical that I just shot a pine tree. I had visions of chopping down the pine tree, cutting it into small rounds, and stacking it in my chest freezer. Life goes on, for both me and the elk. Perhaps this shot error was a blessing in disguise. I've never hunted bulls during the rut before, and by the time I have another opportunity to hunt, the rut should have started. With the generous Montana archery season, I have confidence I'll be able to fill the freezer with something other than lodgepole pine.
September 11, 2015
September 08, 2015
Hunting Montana: Version 1.0
I just returned from my first stint of hunting in Montana. It began with three and a half days of scouting for sheep in the Tendoy Mountains. During this time, I saw exactly 0 rams, 0 ewes, and 0 lambs. The area was huge and the population of sheep was a diseased and dwindling 30 to 40. I did have a great time walking around in the mountains and spying on imaginary sheep through my binoculars and spotting scope.
On the first day, I saw 5 pronghorn, a coyote, and a couple rabbits. This was my most eventful day as far as seeing wildlife. It seems the hoard of hunters in the area quickly sent all fur-bearing animals into hiding.
Despite not seeing any sheep, I gave it a go on opening day. I woke up to cold temperatures and foggy skies. As I hiked up the hill to search for sheep, I assumed the fog would clear and I'd be alone up high with only the hard core hunters, giving me a better chance. Then it started raining. Then the rain turned to snow. By late morning, the skies cleared and I was able to glass a large area, once again turning up nothing.
On the first day, I saw 5 pronghorn, a coyote, and a couple rabbits. This was my most eventful day as far as seeing wildlife. It seems the hoard of hunters in the area quickly sent all fur-bearing animals into hiding.
Despite not seeing any sheep, I gave it a go on opening day. I woke up to cold temperatures and foggy skies. As I hiked up the hill to search for sheep, I assumed the fog would clear and I'd be alone up high with only the hard core hunters, giving me a better chance. Then it started raining. Then the rain turned to snow. By late morning, the skies cleared and I was able to glass a large area, once again turning up nothing.
The fact that I am more of a meat hunter than a trophy hunter became very apparent during these first 4 days of sheep scouting/hunting. What I really wanted to be doing was hunting elk, which yield a much higher meat reward upon success. So, after admitting this to myself, I decided to pursue a raghorn bull elk that two people I encountered reported seeing a few days prior. Both times he was seen it was in a relatively small patch of trees surrounded by open country, so I figured there was a good chance he was still in there.
I awoke the following morning, this time to clear skies, 20 degree temperatures, and thoroughly frozen ground. I made my way in about two miles to where the bull had been seen and was at his patch of trees at first light. I slowly and sneakily made my way through the trees, ultimately discovering that the bull had previously vacated this place he once called home.
Having had enough of not seeing animals, I gave up on sheep hunting and headed for more promising elk country, of which Montana has much. While driving I saw two buck mule deer and two pronghorn, the first fur I'd seen in quite a while, excluding squirrels. I pulled over in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, near the Idaho border in an area I'd heard held quite a few healthy elk herds. That night I still-hunted up a drainage, spooking two bucks and an elk at close range. Even though these encounters were far from presenting an opportunity to shoot an animal, it was much more excitement than I'd had for the last several days of hunting.
The next morning, I woke up early and made my way up the drainage to an area I knew had good feed and elk were more likely to be at that time of day. As I got close, I heard a bugle. I'd heard many bugles before, but this one was much more exciting because I actually had a tag to shoot the animal that made the sound. I quickly made my way toward the bugle, careful to keep the wind in my favor. After about 150 yards of moving quickly, I slowed my pace and soon saw elk through the trees about 100 yards off. I remained about this far away from the herd as I paralleled them up the drainage, which I was in and they were sidehilling just above. I decided to dog the herd (trail them at a distance), in hopes that an opportunity would present itself in the form of the herd bull or a satellite bull. After 15 minutes of this, the herd spooked but didn't go far. I was pretty sure I hadn't made myself visible, and the wind was still in the right direction, but you never know what 35 pairs of elk eyes can see. They didn't go far, so I continued to pursue them up the hill. When I was about 80 yards from the nearest cow, they spooked again, and again I thought I was being pretty conservative. Immediately after they spooked, I saw a mountain lion run across the hillside directly between the herd and myself, about 40 yards away.
This was the first mountain lion I'd ever seen in the wild, and it was impressive to see how quickly and stealthily it moved in rugged terrain. I only saw it for a couple of seconds as it streaked across my field of vision, after which it vanished back into the nothingness whence it came. I followed the herd up and down a mountain for the rest of the morning, but was never able to get close without being detected, and regularly kept an eye out behind me.
I'm headed back out for another stint in the woods soon, hunting elk in yet another new area. Hopefully this will result in more exciting stories like this, ideally yielding freezer fodder.
August 30, 2015
Shed Project
With the kitchen project finished, next on the list are remodeling the bathroom and building a shed in the backyard. Cabinets are ordered for the bathroom, but nothing substantial has happened yet. The shed foundation, however, is well underway.
The shed will be 14 ft long by 5 ft wide in order to maximize internal space while still fitting in our limited space. I also wanted to place the shed on the property line to best utilize yard space as well as act as part of the fence (forthcoming project). In order to not be subject to setback requirements, the shed must be no taller than 8.5 ft. To maximize vertical space, I'll be building a subgrade foundation consisting of railroad ties. Eventually, the framed walls will be nailed directly to the railroad ties, with the floor of the shed consisting of compacted gravel inside of the ties, at the level of the existing grade.
I haven't yet mentioned, but I have two side goals related to this project. One is to complete as much of it as I can using a minimal amount of power tools (hence digging the entire foundation by hand using a shovel). The other is to obtain as much of the building supplies as possible from reused sources. Not only is this a greener way to build something, but it's also less expensive!
Barely visible in the above photograph is a while PVC pipe exiting the house and popping up inside the foundation perimeter. I excavated and installed this conduit to possibly bring utilities to the shed in the future. The stump barely visible on the far right of the above photo is going be removed by the same people bringing in the gravel (and repairing the sewer line between the house and the stump), so we'll see how soon we can get this all scheduled.j
The project schedules for both the bathroom and shed projects will likely be delayed due to hunting season. I have plans in September to archery hunt for bighorn sheep, elk, and deer in Montana, so hopefully some worthy blogposts come of that as well.
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| Space where shed will be located, squeezed into the corner of the property |
The shed will be 14 ft long by 5 ft wide in order to maximize internal space while still fitting in our limited space. I also wanted to place the shed on the property line to best utilize yard space as well as act as part of the fence (forthcoming project). In order to not be subject to setback requirements, the shed must be no taller than 8.5 ft. To maximize vertical space, I'll be building a subgrade foundation consisting of railroad ties. Eventually, the framed walls will be nailed directly to the railroad ties, with the floor of the shed consisting of compacted gravel inside of the ties, at the level of the existing grade.
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| After one pretty full day of digging, I had most of the foundation excavated |
I haven't yet mentioned, but I have two side goals related to this project. One is to complete as much of it as I can using a minimal amount of power tools (hence digging the entire foundation by hand using a shovel). The other is to obtain as much of the building supplies as possible from reused sources. Not only is this a greener way to build something, but it's also less expensive!
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| Fabric placed, ready for gravel |
Barely visible in the above photograph is a while PVC pipe exiting the house and popping up inside the foundation perimeter. I excavated and installed this conduit to possibly bring utilities to the shed in the future. The stump barely visible on the far right of the above photo is going be removed by the same people bringing in the gravel (and repairing the sewer line between the house and the stump), so we'll see how soon we can get this all scheduled.j
The project schedules for both the bathroom and shed projects will likely be delayed due to hunting season. I have plans in September to archery hunt for bighorn sheep, elk, and deer in Montana, so hopefully some worthy blogposts come of that as well.
August 23, 2015
US State Highpoints (the ones that matter)
The other day I realized that I've reached the summit of many of the state high points in the west. I'm not sure how serious my attempt will be, but I'll try to tick off the rest when the opportunity arises.
The day after Matt and I climbed Shoshone Spire, we hiked Borah Peak, Idaho's tallest peak. We hiked a trail that gained a little over 5,000 ft in 3-1/2 miles. The hike involved about 150 yards of Class 3 scrambling but was otherwise just a steep hike. We started hiking at 4:15 am and reached the summit 3-1/2 hours later. As this was a Saturday, and apparently this is a popular thing to do on the weekend, we encountered about 200 hikers (all going up) on our way down, most of which were freaking out at the Class 3 section. Matt wrote a more detailed post on his blog.
With Idaho ticked off the list, this is where I stand:
State High Points Completed:
The day after Matt and I climbed Shoshone Spire, we hiked Borah Peak, Idaho's tallest peak. We hiked a trail that gained a little over 5,000 ft in 3-1/2 miles. The hike involved about 150 yards of Class 3 scrambling but was otherwise just a steep hike. We started hiking at 4:15 am and reached the summit 3-1/2 hours later. As this was a Saturday, and apparently this is a popular thing to do on the weekend, we encountered about 200 hikers (all going up) on our way down, most of which were freaking out at the Class 3 section. Matt wrote a more detailed post on his blog.
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| Matt approaching the summit shortly after sunrise |
With Idaho ticked off the list, this is where I stand:
State High Points Completed:
- Oregon: Mount Hood - 11,249 ft
- Colorado: Mount Elbert - 14,440 ft
- Alaska: Denali - 20,237 ft
- Washington: Mount Rainier - 14,411 ft
- Wyoming: Gannett Peak - 13,809 ft
- Idaho: Borah Peak - 12,668 ft
Still on the list:
- Montana: Granite Peak - 12,807 ft
- California: Mount Whitney - 14,505 ft
- Nevada: Boundary Peak - 13,147 ft
- Utah: Kings Peak - 13,534 ft
- Arizona: Humphreys Peak - 12,637 ft
- New Mexico: Wheeler Peak - 13,167 ft
While this is only half, most of the mountains climbed are the most technical/challanging. We'll see how things go, but now that I have a list it'll probably happen.
Shoshone Spire - South Face
I met up with a past student, Matt, about a week ago for some outdoor adventuring. We had originally planned to backpack and maybe climb something in Glacier National Park. After arriving there and paying the $25 park entrance fee, we discovered the fire/smoke activity to be unbearable. Opting to cut our losses, we bailed back to Missoula to regroup and come up with an alternative plan.
I'd heard through various channels that the South Face of Shoshone Spire in Blodgett Canyon is a must-climb. After thoroughly stalking this route on the internet, we concluded that we had no idea where in Blodgett Canyon to find this spire. Other route beta was also limited, so I'll write this up in hopes that people looking for similar information will find it here.
As we had no idea where to find this spire, we chose to backpack up the canyon, looking for a feature matching the photos we had seen. About a mile up the trail from the main Blodgett Canyon parking area, I saw what I thought was the peak.
After hiking 2.0 miles along the trail, we were standing directly across the canyon from Shoshone Spire, which is on the north side of Blodgett Canyon.
Finding the route much sooner than anticipated, we hunkered in the shade near the creek for the remainder of the day in 95 degree weather. After about an hour, we saw smoke from a forest fire up high on the ridge to the southwest. As we were pondering trying to call it in on Matt's cell phone, we saw a plane fly overhead, aiming directly for the smoke plume. We spent the next few hours observing an aerial strike on the smoke plume, which seemed to mostly abate around sunset.
The next day, it took us about 30 minutes to travel from the creek to the base of the climb. There is a good climber's trail going up around the lowest cliff band just east of the peak, which continues west to the base of the climb once you gain the main ledge. I estimate the total car to base approach time at about 1.5 hours. With many route variations reported and debated, I'll focus on what we did.
We started the first pitch in a left-facing corner near the far west side of the face. This pitch can be characterized by good crack climbing with a handful of 5.8 moves. We belayed at a tree with rap tat off to the climber's right after about 180 ft.
The second pitch was much mellower, consisting of 4th, easy 5th, and possibly some moderate 5th class moves depending on the exact route. The second pitch brought us to the main ledge separating the blockier looking lower band with the cleaner looking upper face after a full 200 ft.
The third pitch began with the "railroad tracks", two parallel vertical cracks marked by a fixed pin and an old, fixed cam (5.8+), both of which are visible before leaving the ledge. After about 25 ft, you negotiate a small roof and exit onto easier, choose-your-own-adventure terrain. We ended the third pitch after about 150 ft at a mostly hanging belay as there didn't seem to be any belay-worthy ledges in this vicinity.
The fourth pitch is characterized by a multitude of flaring cracks with frequent loose blocks. Although one of the easiest pitches of the climb technically (5.6 - 5.7), I found this pitch the most scary due to difficulty protecting it and the frequent loose blocks. However, you must endure it to get to the final "money" pitch. We ended the fourth pitch in an alcove on the left arete after about 180 ft.
The fifth and final pitch was totally rad. We went more or less straight up, about 10 ft east of the left skyline. There are several small roof features to negotiate on this line, none of which are harder than 5.8 and the pro is great. We belayed about 25 ft below the summit on the left skyline in an alcove with lots of loose blocks of various sizes after about 195 ft. I believe this is the standard finish as it is easy to walk north and around to the true summit, avoiding the big, nasty roof protecting the true summit from a 5.8-ish direct ascent.
The descent was pretty straight forward and can be done easily with a 60 m rope. From the summit, head north and find a climber's trail that descends north and east through Class 3 terrain. This trial leads all the way down to the main ledge separating the clean upper face from the blocky lower cliff band. The trail ends at a large pine tree with lots of tat (we found four lines of tat attached to two rap rings). We rappelled 25 meters to an intermediate rap station (solid horn slung with two pieces of webbing). A 10-15m rappel from here gets you to the ground. Note: seems a 70m rope would get you real close to the ground in a single rappel. Most people report bringing an extra rope and do one double-rope rappel, but this seems unnecessary unless you're planning to use two two ropes for the ascent.
Knowing what I know now, and considering that we moved well but not fast, a sound car-to-car estimate would be about 9 hours. While there is no need to camp near the base as we did, it might be useful to know that there are a couple of good sites for small tents near the creek, shortly after leaving the trail and heading due north toward the peak. My overall impression is that this route goes at 5.8+ with the added element of alpine-style route finding. As it's my only climb in Blodgett Canyon to date, I can't comment on how it compares to other climbs in the area, but I'd definitely recommend it!
I'd heard through various channels that the South Face of Shoshone Spire in Blodgett Canyon is a must-climb. After thoroughly stalking this route on the internet, we concluded that we had no idea where in Blodgett Canyon to find this spire. Other route beta was also limited, so I'll write this up in hopes that people looking for similar information will find it here.
As we had no idea where to find this spire, we chose to backpack up the canyon, looking for a feature matching the photos we had seen. About a mile up the trail from the main Blodgett Canyon parking area, I saw what I thought was the peak.
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| Shoshone Spire is the smaller pyramidal feature between the two large faces |
After hiking 2.0 miles along the trail, we were standing directly across the canyon from Shoshone Spire, which is on the north side of Blodgett Canyon.
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| Shoshone Spire as viewed from the south - the South Face route follows near, but not on, the left skyline |
Finding the route much sooner than anticipated, we hunkered in the shade near the creek for the remainder of the day in 95 degree weather. After about an hour, we saw smoke from a forest fire up high on the ridge to the southwest. As we were pondering trying to call it in on Matt's cell phone, we saw a plane fly overhead, aiming directly for the smoke plume. We spent the next few hours observing an aerial strike on the smoke plume, which seemed to mostly abate around sunset.
The next day, it took us about 30 minutes to travel from the creek to the base of the climb. There is a good climber's trail going up around the lowest cliff band just east of the peak, which continues west to the base of the climb once you gain the main ledge. I estimate the total car to base approach time at about 1.5 hours. With many route variations reported and debated, I'll focus on what we did.
We started the first pitch in a left-facing corner near the far west side of the face. This pitch can be characterized by good crack climbing with a handful of 5.8 moves. We belayed at a tree with rap tat off to the climber's right after about 180 ft.
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| Matt leading up the first pitch |
The second pitch was much mellower, consisting of 4th, easy 5th, and possibly some moderate 5th class moves depending on the exact route. The second pitch brought us to the main ledge separating the blockier looking lower band with the cleaner looking upper face after a full 200 ft.
The third pitch began with the "railroad tracks", two parallel vertical cracks marked by a fixed pin and an old, fixed cam (5.8+), both of which are visible before leaving the ledge. After about 25 ft, you negotiate a small roof and exit onto easier, choose-your-own-adventure terrain. We ended the third pitch after about 150 ft at a mostly hanging belay as there didn't seem to be any belay-worthy ledges in this vicinity.
The fourth pitch is characterized by a multitude of flaring cracks with frequent loose blocks. Although one of the easiest pitches of the climb technically (5.6 - 5.7), I found this pitch the most scary due to difficulty protecting it and the frequent loose blocks. However, you must endure it to get to the final "money" pitch. We ended the fourth pitch in an alcove on the left arete after about 180 ft.
The fifth and final pitch was totally rad. We went more or less straight up, about 10 ft east of the left skyline. There are several small roof features to negotiate on this line, none of which are harder than 5.8 and the pro is great. We belayed about 25 ft below the summit on the left skyline in an alcove with lots of loose blocks of various sizes after about 195 ft. I believe this is the standard finish as it is easy to walk north and around to the true summit, avoiding the big, nasty roof protecting the true summit from a 5.8-ish direct ascent.
The descent was pretty straight forward and can be done easily with a 60 m rope. From the summit, head north and find a climber's trail that descends north and east through Class 3 terrain. This trial leads all the way down to the main ledge separating the clean upper face from the blocky lower cliff band. The trail ends at a large pine tree with lots of tat (we found four lines of tat attached to two rap rings). We rappelled 25 meters to an intermediate rap station (solid horn slung with two pieces of webbing). A 10-15m rappel from here gets you to the ground. Note: seems a 70m rope would get you real close to the ground in a single rappel. Most people report bringing an extra rope and do one double-rope rappel, but this seems unnecessary unless you're planning to use two two ropes for the ascent.
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| Descent beta photo |
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| Route Beta - The way we did it, anyway |
Knowing what I know now, and considering that we moved well but not fast, a sound car-to-car estimate would be about 9 hours. While there is no need to camp near the base as we did, it might be useful to know that there are a couple of good sites for small tents near the creek, shortly after leaving the trail and heading due north toward the peak. My overall impression is that this route goes at 5.8+ with the added element of alpine-style route finding. As it's my only climb in Blodgett Canyon to date, I can't comment on how it compares to other climbs in the area, but I'd definitely recommend it!
July 21, 2015
Teachin' and Learnin'
I've spent about 4 of the last 5 months working in the field. First it was a 3-month semester that included a 10-day Wilderness First Responder Course, 2 weeks of snow camping and skiing in the Wyoming Range, 2 weeks of white water canoeing (which I skipped out on), 4 weeks of backpacking and canyoneering in Southern Utah. and 2 weeks of rock climbing. After the semester I had almost a month off, then I went back out on a mountaineering course in the Wind River Range. I've attached a few select pictures to tell the story of remote weirdness and adventure.
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Nearly the entire semester course on top of the wind-swept Horse Mountain in the Wyoming Range
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| Two days after climbing Gannett, I took four students to climb the slightly lower but more techincal Mt. Woodrow Wilson |
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| Max and Lincoln on top of Woodrow Wilson - Gannett Peak in the background |
March 28, 2015
Remodel Update 2
Despite a month off to work for NOLS, the kitchen remodel is coming along nicely. In the last two weeks since returning, we've had the counter tops installed and completed the following things ourselves:
- Plumbed a new drain line for the kitchen sink
- Plumbed new hot and cold water lines (PEX) for the kitchen sink
- Installed a dishwasher
- Installed flooring in the kitchen and dining room
- Installed about 75 percent of the base molding in the kitchen and dining room
- Painted the walls and ceiling in the kitchen and dining room
- Probably some other things that I forgot to include here
There are still a few things to do, but we're getting close! The next post may be the official 'after' pictures, but that will be a while as work is calling once more.
February 07, 2015
Remodel Update 1
Since my last posting, we've:
We feel we've hit rock bottom in terms of kitchen usability when we removed the old kitchen sink, and things will only improve from there. I continue to enjoy every minute I spend demolishing and rebuilding things. The race is on to see how much we can complete before I head out to work a 3-month NOLS course. Perhaps we should think about ordering flooring?
- Obliterated the previously mentioned closet
- Drywalled one kitchen entry closed and opened up the dining room entry
- Textured and primed new walls
- Installed a bathroom fan
- Installed 6 cellular shades
- Completely redid electrical in kitchen and bathroom, including recessed lighting (subcontracted)
- Removed two layers of linoleum from kitchen/dining room floor
- Removed old kitchen sink and plumbing
- Removed all old kitchen cabinets
- Initiated cabinet installation (subcontracted)
- Began plans to replace entire galvanized water system with PEX
We feel we've hit rock bottom in terms of kitchen usability when we removed the old kitchen sink, and things will only improve from there. I continue to enjoy every minute I spend demolishing and rebuilding things. The race is on to see how much we can complete before I head out to work a 3-month NOLS course. Perhaps we should think about ordering flooring?
January 16, 2015
Remodel Initiated
After about four months on the road, Ava and I finally landed in Missoula, MT in early January. Since then, we've been busy starting a complete kitchen remodel project along with a few other "adjustments". The existing kitchen is sub-beautiful and has three small, ugly doors through which access can be obtained. We are changing this to one ugly door and one 6-ft wide opening (technically through the dining room). The before pictures are below.
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| 1978 vintage kitchen sans range |
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| Closet/pantry on the right is getting obliterated |
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| At least the doors match the cabinets |
My biggest project to date has been taking out a wall and the aforementioned closet to create a 6-ft wide opening from the living room to the dining room, complete with robust 2x8 header.
After a fair bit of work and steady acquisition of tools, I decided I needed a workbench. Using mostly 2x4's donated by the previous wall and closet, I constructed one in the basement. Future projects should prove much less awkward, and tools much easier to find.
We've got about a month left before I leave on a 3-month NOLS course, so we'll see how much progress we can make before then. I'll try to post periodic updates as milestones are reached during the process.
January 06, 2015
Vegetarian Deer Hunt
The day after Christmas, which we spent in Oregon with my family, Ava and I drove to Whidbey Island for the last few days of the blacktail deer season in Washington. I successfully harvested a deer from the island during both of the past two years. The same is true for Kris, who also managed to shoot one earlier this year to make it 3 for 3. Together we were 5 for 5, and the pressure was on for me to make it 6 for 6.
In the past, we'd typically been able to close the deal in two days or less. This year, the deer were noticeably more scarce. After four days of waiting in tree stands for a deer to show itself during daylight hours, I'd yet to see a deer walk into the field. I also spent a bit of time still hunting the adjacent forest, where I managed to jump the same buck on two consecutive days, but it presented no shot.
The next evening and the day before the last day of the season, I finally had an opportunity to shoot a good sized doe and I took it. I shot a bit far forward, hitting the front shoulder blade that protected the heart and lungs. However, at close range and with 70 lbs of force behind a relatively heavy arrow, it blew through the front shoulder and into the vitals.
Not knowing how good the arrow penetration was, I decided to wait a couple hours before searching for the doe. It was well after dark when I started searching for sign with a headlamp. There was no blood in the vicinity of the shot, indicative of the lack of an exit wound. With no blood to follow and hoof prints essentially non-existent due to the frozen ground, tracking was not an option. I proceeded to scour the forest in likely places using a grid-like search pattern. After a couple hours of doing this in the dark, the needle-in-the-haystack feeling grew overwhelming and I decided to return at first light to continue my search.
The following morning I repeated my steps from the previous night, hoping that my improved ability to see would turn something up. Nothing. I extended my search deeper into the woods and still found nothing. Nearly out of options, I returned to the spot of the shot to consider any and all remaining options. At this point, I decided to walk downhill from the location of the shot, which is what wounded animals tend to do. I did this for about 70 yards until I exited the yard and entered the forest. I proceeded to wander in a downhill direction, pretending I was a wounded deer and taking the path of least resistance. When I hit a road I paralleled it until I could continue in a downward direction. About 30 yards into the forest (100 yards from where I shot) I noticed a small spot of blood on a fern leaf. The needle in the haystack was found!
I was able to follow the blood trail down, over, down, over, and down again until I entered a small creek bed. The trail then led me down the creek bed to a patch of fur, at which point I switched from micro-vision (focusing on the ground and low plants for trace amounts of blood) to macro-vision (looking further ahead and surveying my surroundings). In addition to the fur, I found a few entrails, two lower jaw bones, and a rib cage. At this point, I was about 300 yards from where I shot.
I was only about 90 percent convinced this was the deer I shot because I couldn't believe it could be so completely devoured in such a short period of time (I found it at about 10:30 am the day after I shot it). The only predators on the island are coyotes, so I surmised a good-sized pack found it right away and feasted most of the night (coyote tracks were abundant near the creek where I first noticed patches of fur). I soon found the fletched part of my arrow lying nearby, removing all doubt that this was the deer I shot the previous evening.
Like a detective at a crime scene, I pieced together the events of the previous night. The mortally wounded doe trotted downhill until it could no longer walk, dying shortly thereafter. This likely took it about 300 yards in about 2 or 3 minutes to where I found first sign of it in the creek bed. We stopped looking for it the previous night at about 9:30 and heard no coyotes up to that point. Between 9:30 pm and 7:00 am, coyotes discovered and devoured the doe, leaving me a grand total of . . . zero pounds of meat to take home.
Perhaps the only comical part of this whole episode is that while I was playing detective, I saw a neighbor dog trot down the hill. The dog had obviously scented the crime scene and was sniffing his way in to pick up any remaining scraps. He soon found the one remaining leg (the others had probably been carried off by the coyotes), which consisted of bone from hip joint to hoof, and carried the entire thing back up the hill as content as could be.
Coming full circle to where this story started, can I say we went 6 for 6? I'm not sure, and since I can't make up my mind, I'll call it 5.5. While I won't get to enjoy any of the meat, at least I know I made a pack of coyotes and a neighbor dog very happy.
Thanks a ton to Ann, Ron, and everyone else who helped out. This was likely my last year of deer hunting on Whidbey Island as I no longer live in Washington. The good times at Whidbey Deer Camp will be cherished forever.
In the past, we'd typically been able to close the deal in two days or less. This year, the deer were noticeably more scarce. After four days of waiting in tree stands for a deer to show itself during daylight hours, I'd yet to see a deer walk into the field. I also spent a bit of time still hunting the adjacent forest, where I managed to jump the same buck on two consecutive days, but it presented no shot.
The next evening and the day before the last day of the season, I finally had an opportunity to shoot a good sized doe and I took it. I shot a bit far forward, hitting the front shoulder blade that protected the heart and lungs. However, at close range and with 70 lbs of force behind a relatively heavy arrow, it blew through the front shoulder and into the vitals.
Not knowing how good the arrow penetration was, I decided to wait a couple hours before searching for the doe. It was well after dark when I started searching for sign with a headlamp. There was no blood in the vicinity of the shot, indicative of the lack of an exit wound. With no blood to follow and hoof prints essentially non-existent due to the frozen ground, tracking was not an option. I proceeded to scour the forest in likely places using a grid-like search pattern. After a couple hours of doing this in the dark, the needle-in-the-haystack feeling grew overwhelming and I decided to return at first light to continue my search.
The following morning I repeated my steps from the previous night, hoping that my improved ability to see would turn something up. Nothing. I extended my search deeper into the woods and still found nothing. Nearly out of options, I returned to the spot of the shot to consider any and all remaining options. At this point, I decided to walk downhill from the location of the shot, which is what wounded animals tend to do. I did this for about 70 yards until I exited the yard and entered the forest. I proceeded to wander in a downhill direction, pretending I was a wounded deer and taking the path of least resistance. When I hit a road I paralleled it until I could continue in a downward direction. About 30 yards into the forest (100 yards from where I shot) I noticed a small spot of blood on a fern leaf. The needle in the haystack was found!
I was able to follow the blood trail down, over, down, over, and down again until I entered a small creek bed. The trail then led me down the creek bed to a patch of fur, at which point I switched from micro-vision (focusing on the ground and low plants for trace amounts of blood) to macro-vision (looking further ahead and surveying my surroundings). In addition to the fur, I found a few entrails, two lower jaw bones, and a rib cage. At this point, I was about 300 yards from where I shot.
 |
| Majority of what was left of my deer when I found it |
I was only about 90 percent convinced this was the deer I shot because I couldn't believe it could be so completely devoured in such a short period of time (I found it at about 10:30 am the day after I shot it). The only predators on the island are coyotes, so I surmised a good-sized pack found it right away and feasted most of the night (coyote tracks were abundant near the creek where I first noticed patches of fur). I soon found the fletched part of my arrow lying nearby, removing all doubt that this was the deer I shot the previous evening.
 |
| Part of my arrow, confirming this was the deer I shot |
Like a detective at a crime scene, I pieced together the events of the previous night. The mortally wounded doe trotted downhill until it could no longer walk, dying shortly thereafter. This likely took it about 300 yards in about 2 or 3 minutes to where I found first sign of it in the creek bed. We stopped looking for it the previous night at about 9:30 and heard no coyotes up to that point. Between 9:30 pm and 7:00 am, coyotes discovered and devoured the doe, leaving me a grand total of . . . zero pounds of meat to take home.
Perhaps the only comical part of this whole episode is that while I was playing detective, I saw a neighbor dog trot down the hill. The dog had obviously scented the crime scene and was sniffing his way in to pick up any remaining scraps. He soon found the one remaining leg (the others had probably been carried off by the coyotes), which consisted of bone from hip joint to hoof, and carried the entire thing back up the hill as content as could be.
Coming full circle to where this story started, can I say we went 6 for 6? I'm not sure, and since I can't make up my mind, I'll call it 5.5. While I won't get to enjoy any of the meat, at least I know I made a pack of coyotes and a neighbor dog very happy.
Thanks a ton to Ann, Ron, and everyone else who helped out. This was likely my last year of deer hunting on Whidbey Island as I no longer live in Washington. The good times at Whidbey Deer Camp will be cherished forever.
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