2002 Deer Hunting Journal-I enjoyed keeping a journal of last year's deer hunting. I haven't really put in much useful information (like weather, moon phase, etc.), but in the B-zones, the weather is fairly constant... HOT, DRY, and sunny. Also, I know this section could really use some pictures. Some technical complications have separated my working computer from the one with my camera software, so I'm sort of at a loss right now. Hopefully, I'll square this away soon. I'm also taking some shots with the 35mm, and will scan any that have relevance. Of course, if I get lucky this year, I'll have pictures one way or the other. |
I drew B-zone and G-1 tags for this season. Since I am also hunting archery for the first time this year, I'll be able to hunt from 08/17 through 11/03. As you can see, the end of the B-zone and the beginning of G-1 will overlap. I'll straighten this out as the time comes closer, and I decide where I'll be hunting. |
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Friday, 8/23 1530 - This headache has been plaguing me all day today at work. Sitting in front of a computer is tough, and my poor posture is making it worse. I need to get back over to my chiropractor, and see about some re-alignment. The bright side is, it's a good reason to head out of work early. I figure it'll take about three hours to reach Kokopelli Valley. That leaves me with about two hours to hunt. 1900- Well, it was close to three hours. Traffic was kinda tough getting out of Fairfield, as always, but it cleared right up once I got through the I-80 interchange. The sun is heading west pretty quickly, though. I decide to grab my boots and the glasses, and go have a look down into the deep end of the canyon. There's a hilltop right beside camp where I can glass a huge area. I want to see if I can find out where the deer are moving in the evening. I string the bow, sling a couple of field points at a stump to make sure everything is good, and walk over to my lookout. 1930 - Before the fire, I noticed that the deer were using a densely covered ridge to get into the long meadow. From here, I can see that ridge, which is just starting to re-vegetate. As I glass this area now, I see movement coming up out of the gorge. Two deer are poking up onto the ridgetop. They're about three hundred yards away, and I'm trying to keep myself against a good backdrop of treestumps and rocks, but the doe still stops dead and stares right toward me. I can't tell if it's me she's looking at, or something in the draw beneath me. Whatever it is, it makes her nervous. She and her youngster slip stealthily, but quickly, over the ridge and into the forest of burnt branches and poison oak. I can see their progress as they put some distance between themselves and the ridge, then they slow and begin to browse. At least they weren't completely spooked. I'm always amazed at how deer are such creatures of habit. It's like they don't even realize that the cover they lived in for so long is no longer there. What used to be impenetrable chemise, scrub oak, manzanita, and poison oak is now mainly bare sticks and tiny sprouts of new growth. Yet the deer move through as if they were still completely hidden. It's almost funny, except I realize what this will mean for road hunters this fall. The deer will be easy pickings in here, at least until they catch on and move to more sheltered areas. 2000 - I want to spot one more area before dark. The trailhead opens into a meadow with two big finger ridges sticking out. There are several good, active trails along the tops of these ridges. I'd like to see if anything moves there at dusk. I walk up the road, and notice a fresh trail crossing the road. Curious, but I move on to the spot I want to glass. 2015 - It's nearly dark, too dark to shoot even though there are still 15 minutes of legal time left. Did I mention that it gets dark early here? I turn to walk down the road, and as I near that trail I spotted earlier, I see the shadow of a deer frozen on the roadside. Suddenly it bolts across the road and up the mountain. It must have crossed right under my feet. Some hunter I am, huh? I get back to camp, fix up a drink and a snack, and watch the stars for a while. Then it's time for bed. Tomorrow I want to be in the orchard way before first light. Saturday, 8/24 04:15- The alarm goes off, and at first I think I've overslept. Bright light is glaring in through the windows of my camper shell. I bounce up, and check the clock. Then I realize that the moon is completely full, and almost directly overhead. This doesn't bode well. I clamber out, take care of morning ablutions, grab the bow and head into the valley. 0515 - It's so light out, I didn't even need the flashlight to hike in. I find a spot in the lush green weeds where the star thistle isn't too bad, and make myself comfortable. This stuff makes a wonderful ground blind. When I sit up, the weeds are just at my eye level. It's also pretty quiet, which is a welcome change from the snap and crackle of the dried grasses everywhere else. 0730 - Nothing doing here, and my legs are going to sleep. I'll have to move soon. 0800 - I have to get up and move. I stand slowly, and sweep a glance around Kokopelli Valley. I see sudden movement several hundred yards away on my hill. A small deer bounds into sight, then trots over into a thicket beside the road. I watch for a while, but he doesn't come out. I'm guessing it's bedded down in there. I watch for a while longer, then scope out the rest of the area. Nothing moving. I decide to stalk back as far as I can into the draw. It looks like the fire lost some intensity back in there, but it still cleared a lot of underbrush so I can move. I have never been this far back before. The draw becomes a gorge, with steep sides leading up to ridges on the east and west. The creek runs through the bottom, but it is pretty thick, especially with poison oak. Having no desire right now to challenge the wicked weed, I sidehill the western ridge, glassing into the bottoms. I see nothing now, but this area ought to become a hot spot later in the season, especially when the gun hunters move the deer out of the accessible areas. If I haven't scored with the bow by gun season, I'll probably spend the last part of the season in this stuff with the .44. It's textbook big buck country. Maybe have Kat set up on the west hillside to cover any escape routes. 1000 - Somehow I have climbed my way all the way to the top of the western ridge. I'm WAY up here, and the ground is covered with fresh tracks and sign. One set of tracks is particularly fresh, and I start to follow. 1030 - The trail is moving down the ridge toward the point. The west slope of this ridge is awful steep (I scouted up here a little last season.). I'd hate to shoot a deer here, because if it went over I'd kill myself getting it out. Best bet would be to follow the creek down below, but that route is pretty tough in itself... and then I'd still have to get back up the road to my truck. The thing is, this looks like perfect habitat. The fire didn't go down this side of the ridge, and the oaks, pines, and manzanitas are healthy as can be. Far below, the creek is running strong and clear green. Very inviting in this heat, but I'd need a helicopter to get back up if I went down. I glass around, and see movement down the ridge about 150 yards. A single doe is moving down the trail away from me. I'm betting these are the tracks I was following. I watch as she drops over the edge of the ridge and disappears in a small thicket under a pine tree. After a moment or two, I realize she's bedded down. Time to put on the stalk. It'll be good practice, and maybe she has another deer in there with her. 1100 - I was right, this doe was making the tracks I was following. I reach the point where she dropped over the edge, and move to the rim and look down. The pine tree is about 30 yards below me. I see the flick of a nervous ear, then she pops out of the thicket and trots off a few yards before stopping to look back at me. I slowly backpedal out of her sight, then move south to get below her. I come back over the ridge and she is still nearly in the same spot, looking back where I had just been. She's still a little out of bow range, but I don't want to get closer and spook her. I'm pretty sure I could, though. She has no idea I'm here. I drop back and move off a little further down the ridge. 1130 - I'm way up above the long meadow now, and looking down I spot three deer moving from the ridge across the open. I glass them, and see that the lead deer has antlers. It's too far to see how many points, but the antlers protrude way past his ears. Not massive, but very likely a good forky. I think back to last weekend's forky, and wonder if I've found him again. As I watch, the three feed into the shade and bed down beside a patch of brush. There's no way I can work straight down the slope to get in position, since there is not enough cover to hide my approach. I decide to move back to the north, then get down through a draw where I can reach the valley unnoticed. I slip and slide my way back across the slope, and make my plan work. It drops me out at the back edge of the orchard. I move cautiously but fairly quickly until I'm about 200 yards from where they bedded. Then I begin a slow, relatively quiet stalk. The wind is in my face, and a small rise hides me as I slip to within 30 yards of where the deer are bedded. The gurgling of the creek and the chatter of a couple of squirrels covers some of the noise of my approach, but as I peek over the rise, I see that the doe is up and looking around suspiciously. Another deer stands beside her, a small spike. I crouch and wait. They are alert, but not overly. They walk a couple of steps, and begin to browse. I creep to the very top of the rise, trying to be small as possible in the dry grass. Movement to my left alerts me to the third deer, and he slowly steps out of his bedding area. He doesn't seem to be alert at all, but just following the other two deer. I'm still a little out of optimal range, but prepare to draw the bow anyway. It's wide open here, and when he comes out from behind that bush, he will be dead broadside to me. He steps out at last, and as I take a deep breath I catch it... he's only a spike! A large spike, with long beams, but a spike nonetheless! I can't believe the stalk I just put on, only to get into position on a deer I can't shoot. Oh well, it worked well. I watch as he and the other two deer browse slowly back to the the slope, then move on up and into a thick area. When they are well out of sight, I quietly slip out of the area and head for camp. I'm sweating like a horse and my water is almost gone. I'm also hungry enough to eat a whole deer raw. I forgot to pack lunch. 1230 - As I approach the thicket where the little deer ran this morning, I see a flash of brown and hear him jump up and run into the open. He stops 50 or 60 yards out in the open. I can see the little spikes, still in velvet, protruding from his head. I'm sure I've never seen this many spike bucks in the area at one time. Sure wish I could see a couple of mature boys, though. 1245 - I'm walking upright, cruising along as I near the trailhead. Suddenly a ruckus breaks out of the "quail bush". A doe pops out and trots off a few yards, followed by another, then another, and finally one more. They are all does. A couple trot away, but two stand and watch me. I stare back for a moment, then move slowly along the road toward camp. As I get up the hill a ways, I see that the first two have returned. I'd lay odds that if I came back in an hour, they'd all be back under the quail bush. 1300 - In camp, I slug water and think of a plan for the evening hunt. I have tramped all over Kokopelli Valley this morning, and I think it would be wise to give the area a break. Too much pressure will start to make the deer nervous, and I'm not ready to deal with that yet. I decide to head back down to the creek, and see what's up at the rock jam. I'd really intended to bring the backpacking gear for this, and possible to camp up the creek. Laziness set in, or maybe just the realization that I'd have to leave early on Sunday, but at any rate, I decide just to hike out after shooting light. 1400 - I'm parked at the creek. It's probably 15 or 20 degrees cooler down here. I splash around in the deep pool beside the road, and wash my clothes (I don't use any soap when I do this, by the way. Never use detergents or soap in the streams, as the phosphates are hard on the environment.). After cooling off and drying off, I'm actually a bit chilly. I kick back in my camp chair and try to nap. 1445 - No rest for the wicked. Each time I start to drift off, the flies come buzzing around my face. I decide to gear up and go on in. 1600 - I'm at the rock jam. There are several fresh sets of tracks in the gravel along the creek, but no deer to be seen. I find a good spot in the shade, covering several approaches, and make myself comfortable. 2000 - I had to force myself to stay put until now. There was nothing, at all, moving. It's getting dark quickly, though, and I think I should get through the worst parts of the hike out before it gets any darker. I also want to peek in around the oak grove to see if there's anything browsing there. With the full moon coming again tonight, I have my doubts as to what I'll see. My doubts hold true, as I see and hear nothing on my hike out. In the darkness I slip and stumble several times on slick rocks and unseen deep spots. My enthusiasm for hunting this area is waning. Maybe later in the gun season it will be worth slipping in and seeing if anything has changed. I stumble back into camp, chilled, wet, and tired. The shower has already gone cool, but I force myself to wash down before I fix my sundowner and begin cooking dinner. I hang my wet clothes, and stand close to the lantern for a little warmth. The tequila and warm sweats soon returns me to normal, and I whip up some sauteed chicken and a can of corn. No gourmet dinner tonight. After dinner and washing up, I dim the lantern and sit on the gravel bar to watch the stars. I feel very satisfied, in spite of not having a shot at deer (or even seeing a legal deer at which to shoot). 2200 - I extinguish the lantern, sip the rest of my drink, and crawl into bed. My motivation for hunting tomorrow is slack, and I set the alarm up to 0600. I will break camp at first light, and drive up to glass Kokopelli Valley. I'm pretty well convinced that I won't actually hunt unless I see something to stalk. Sunday, 8/25 0600 - The alarm sounds. The bright light of the nearly full moon shines in the windows. I turn off the alarm, turn my back on the moonlight, and go back to sleep. 0630 - OK, so much for sleeping in. Or maybe this IS sleeping in. At any rate, I roll out, grab a Red Bull, toss the camp gear into the truck and pull out. I begin glassing the meadows and creek bottoms along the way. Eventually I drive all the way up past Kokopelli Valley. I see a flash of grey as a jackrabbit bolts from the roadside into the brush. I decide, what the heck, and grab a field point and the bow. The rabbit is hunkered down in a tiny opening about 15 yards from the road. I draw, anchor, release... and the arrow looks like it's dead on. A last second twig deflects the arrow into the gravel right in front of the rabbit's nose. He jumps straight up and bolts. As I start to walk to recover my arrow, I hear a scuffle of stones in the draw below me. I look down in time to see a small doe scrambling along a trail. She stops and sees me, then turns and takes several steps into a thicket of burnt branches. Convinced she is alone, and she has no antlers, I go up to recover my arrow. When I get back to the truck, she is gone. 0745 - I see no more deer this morning. I turn the truck around and head for the freeway. I can make it to Denny's for breakfast and should be home before lunch. Not sure what next weekend will bring. Mim has been at her grandma's in South Carolina all summer, and will be returning home tonight. Since next weekend is a holiday, I may need to stay close to home. For right now, though, I've had enough hunting to satisfy me. I'm sure that'll change by midweek, though. |
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