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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Saturday, 10/12 0530 - It's going to be another foreshortened weekend, I'm afraid. We're having a birthday dinner for my friend Charlie on Sunday afternoon, so I'll have to cut out fairly early on Sunday. Oh well, I'll make the best of the weekend time I have. I'm going to start the morning on My Hill, then pick up when it gets hot and go to the creek. I've been thinking about backpacking up the creek to the big rock pile, and camping on that clearing. I brought all the gear this time, including waders. It's turned downright chilly. 0600 - I'm up on My Hill, dug in under the oak tree. I won't be stuck out in the open when the sun comes up this time. Hopefully, a nice buck has moved in with that herd that I saw last weekend (and probably the same one I saw the weekend before last, too). Sure would be nice to tag out this weekend. 0645 - Shoot time, and I'm super-ready. I don't know why I'm so sure I'll get a shot today. I'm glassing everywhere, but so far nothing is moving. To my great delight, I've only heard one truck on the road above this morning too. The crowds seem to have finally dwindled. 0730 - Still no movement. I have to try to be patient, but it's kind of tough. 0800 - Nothing. I'm kind of surprised not to have seen that little herd up in the thicket above me. I didn't hear anything spook when I came in this morning, and it's been dead still. 0830 - OK, I have to move. Nothing is happening in here this morning and I'm just getting antsy. I glass the thicket carefully one more time, then shoulder my rifle and step quietly out from under the trees. I look up again, and catch the silhouette of two hunters on the road above me. So, that's what happened. Road hunters moving around must have spooked the deer in the thicket. At least that's my rationale. I hike out, around the backside of My Hill, and still hunt down into the apple orchard. There is still alot of sign here, but it's hard to tell what's fresh. The grass is so thick on the ground, it's hard to find scat, and what I do find is mostly dried up. I work my way down into the long meadow, hoping to catch something browsing up under the oaks along the creek. No go, though, and I eventually circle all the way around and come back up to camp. 1000 - I break the little bit of camp I pitched and hop in the truck to head to the creek. 1130 - After the drive and a short rest (an aborted nap), I load up the backpack and head up the creek. The waders are absolutely not made for this kind of terrain, and I'm immediately stumbling and slipping on the rocks. The heavy pack isn't helping matters, and for a moment I'm afraid I'm going over. I find myself wishing I'd brought the bow instead of this heavy rifle. On top of everything else, despite how cold it got last night, it's now blazing hot. These neoprene waders were made for East Coast winter waterfowling, not hiking a backcountry creek in Indian Summer. I'm soon drenched in sweat, and still a long ways from my intended campsite. 1300 - I'll skip the details of the hike. When I check the GPS, I see it's only a little over a mile and some change, but I'm whipped! The pack straps are cutting into my shoulders, my back is spasming, and I'm soaked through from sweat. At least I doubt my hunt will be crashed by other hunters back here! I finally climb up into the clearing and drop the pack. I partly unroll my tent, and stretch out on the plastic to avoid star thistle. I no more get comfortable with my head propped on my sleeping bag than the flies show up. Hordes and hordes of them, swarming and landing on every piece of exposed skin. At least they don't bite, but they aggravate me nonetheless and I surrender any hope of a nap. To escape them I go down to the creek, strip down, and head for a deep pool. DANG! That water is COLD! So much for a relaxing, cooling swim. I stand in the shallows and splash the frigid water over my sweaty head and upper body. The sun dries it quickly, but after only a couple of minutes I'm already getting the pins and needles in my feet. I find a bare rock and kick back in the sun. At last, comfort! The flies don't seem to be as bad down here. 1430 - After loafing around, eating a little lunch, and considering options, I decide to go up the hill and find a good spot to sit for the evening. There are a half-dozen approaches to the creek, and I hope that by sitting up higher I will be able to cover them all with the rifle. I can't believe the number of trails that converge in the clearing as well, leading from the dense chapparal that lines most of the hillsides around me. 1600 - I move from one spot to another trying to find a relief from the blazing sun and a decent field of view on the trails. At last I settle on a little "cove" along the edge of the chapparal. There is partial shade, and I have a reasonably clear shot on several good trails. 1730 - It's getting dim now, and things are looking promising. The sun is behind the ridges, and the temperature is dropping pretty quickly. 1800 - My favorite time of the evening, and I'm glassing the breaks in the chapparal for any sign of Mr. Big. For some reason, I look down into the clearing near camp. There's something moving right there! I have to lean out around an oak tree to see. I'm hoping it's a deer. Don't know what deer would be dumb enough to walk right into my campsite, but I don't have any IQ requirements. I'll take a dumb one. But as I get a clear view, my heart bumps deep in my chest. It's not a deer, but it's a very dark, low-slung, stocky animal. A bear! My camp is about to get raided by a bear, less than 200 yards away, and I don't even have a bear tag! I stand up to get out in the open and hopefully scare it off, when I realize it's not a bear, but a rottweiler. Now that's odd! What is a rottweiler doing way the hell out here? He looks too good to be a stray, and any thought of shooting him fades. But I can't have him trashing my camp AND my hunt at the same time, so I start down the hill to chase him off. If he growls or menaces me, though, the .44 will make him into coyote food... double-quick. Just as I start down the hill, I see a grey cowboy hat moving along the edge of the creek. So the dog isn't a stray. But what is some fool doing way back here!?! I sit down on a rock and watch as the dog and owner continue down the creek, back toward the road where I came in. Where did he come from? I glass for a while longer, but my optimism is pretty well crushed. The dog is running along the creek edges and its master is splashing along in the creek. There won't be any deer tonight. I give up and go to set up the tent. 1930 - After a dinner of Chef Boyardee mini-ravioli and a couple of drinks of Wild Turkey and water, I'm done for the day. I climb into the sleeping bag and drift away fairly quickly into sleepy-land. 2100 - I wake up shivering madly. Who turned off the heat? I realize my sleeping bag is unzipped, so I zip it back up and wrap my coat around my head. That helps, and with a little thrashing to soften the rocks, I manage to drift off again. The night is punctuated by strange dreams, chilly drafts, and rocks grinding at my bones through the sleeping bag. But somehow, I get enough sleep. Sunday, 10/13 0600- At least I get to "sleep in". I figure there's no point in jumping up at 0430 since I'll be hunting as soon as I crawl through the tent flaps. Of course, it's even easier to convince myself to stay in bed because I'm still freezing! 0630 - It will be shoot time in 15 minutes, and I need to take care of morning "ablutions". I force myself to climb out of the sleeping bag and slip into my chilled pants. It's not as bad as I'd expected, and once I have taken care of business, I actually feel pretty good. I munch a granola bar and grab the rifle. I'll go back up the hill and see what the morning light brings. 0730 - The morning light brings nothing! A couple of quail flit through the scrub oak behind me, one of them passing so close that I considered grabbing him and wringing his neck. But quail season doesn't open until next weekend, and I don't want to create too much ruckus anyway. I want Mr. Big to stroll out onto the knoll I've been watching for the past 30 minutes. It's about 150 yards, and if I hit him right he'll tumble right off the cliff into the creek.. on the other side of the rock pile, so I won't even have to drag him over. Unfortunately, Mr. Big doesn't step out. I don't see so much as a coyote as the morning winds on. 0900 - If I start now, I can break camp and be back at the truck by around 1030 or 1100. That will put me at Denny's for a hot cup of coffee and some breakfast around noon, and back in the Bay Area by 1430 or 1500. I'll have time for a shower and even a short nap before our dinner outing. After a final, thorough glassing of the area, I slip down the hill, break camp, and start the tortuous hike out of here. On the way out, the only fresh sign I see are the huge tracks of the rottweiler and the boot prints of his master. Only old deer tracks mark the gravel bars and crossings. This is very disappointing, especially considering what it takes to get in here with a full pack. After my second splashing stumble, I give up on trying to stalk my way out. There's just no way to get through here quietly with waders and a backpack working against me. While progress is still slow, I am able to get back to the truck by 1130, soaked in sweat and with an aching back and shoulders. I throw everything into the back of the truck, change into street clothes, and hit the road. The coffee at Denny's is nice and hot, but the service sucks. I'm in a bit of a funk anyway, thinking about how my deer season is panning out. I need to expand my horizons next year, I'm afraid. Time to start reviewing the topo maps and see where else I can go. I may get an Archery Only tag, so I can bowhunt A-zone, B-zone, and most of the D-zones. Maybe that's the way to go. Apply for limited draw areas on my first tag, and just buy AO for my second. Oh well, it's still a long time until next season. I still have three more weekends of B-zone, and a weekend in G-1. All is not lost, but I don't hold out high hopes at this point. |
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