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, 10/26 0430 - Dave went to the G1 zone on Wednesday and got a good campsite. He's after me to come up there and hunt this weekend for the G1 opener, but the stupid, sentimental part of me won't let me abandon B-zone just yet. After an awful lot of internal discussion and debate, I find myself camped at the trailhead to Kokopelli Valley this morning. But even as I'm waking, I know I want to get up there and hunt that Wilderness Area again. I toss my gear back into the truck and drive up the hill. There is a tent at the trailhead, but I go by quietly so as not to wake the sleepyheads. You snooze, you lose... right? 0530 - At the top of the ridge I have some choices. I can go south, back along the ridge and hunt over Kokopelli Valley, or I can go north and head deeper into the Wilderness Area. I choose north, and start walking. About a mile in, I hit some oak trees and a ton of acorns on the road. I slow down and tune up the senses. 0600 - I decide to keep going, and look for a good vantage point to watch these oaks. I round a bend and suddenly the brush comes alive with the crash of deer bodies! There must be a whole herd feeding in these thickets. I drop back about 100 yards up the trail and find a place to wait for daylight. 0615 - It should be getting light, but it's not. I realize that the time change has me all confused, and it won't be light for another hour! I shouldn't have reset my watch. I can still hear some movement from where I hit the deer a little while ago. I'm hoping they didn't completely leave the area. I sit tight, then realize I hear something coming down the trail behind me. As the movement comes closer, I recognize human footsteps. A little later I hear voices, whispering in an asian language. Two hunters come up on me in the trail, and I tell them there are deer in the thickets ahead. I don't want them to go through and spook the deer out of the county, but I don't know what I expected them to do... maybe sit down and wait for sunrise with me? They discuss it among themselves, then go on past. As they go, I hear the scrabble of hooves on the talus above them and I know the last of the herd has gone. Now what do I do? I don't know where they went, and don't want to hunt their backtrail. The herd I was waiting for is dispersed. 0645 - The sky is lightening a little now, and I really need to make a decision. As I sit, stuck, I hear more footsteps coming down the trail. Another hunter approaches. I'm feeling pretty grouchy, but I greet him and tell him, "welcome to the parade." We chat for a moment or two, and he tells me he'll be heading across the canyon to the peaks over there. That's an awfully aggressive plan, but he says he prefers to log some miles. One thing's for sure, he'll have the place to himself! He moves on and I am still at a loss as to where I need to go. 0700 - I decide, as the sun starts to paint the morning sky. I'll go up this talus slope and try to get above the oak groves. I can work my way up to the ridge above me, and maybe find where that herd ran off to. I'm about to learn just how deceptive some of these slopes can be. I begin the climb, and already it's getting tricky. The slope is all broken shale talus, and every step unleashes a small landslide. I have to be careful, because I know if I dislodge the wrong rock the whole hillside will come down. I manage to locate a deer trail that sidehills the slope, and with carefully placed steps I can keep enough traction and momentum to move myself painfully upward. 0800 - I realize that what I was aiming for is a false ridgeline. Every step closer shows me that the ridge is actually quite a bit further up than I'd thought! Fresh tracks motivate me to keep going. At least it's not 100 degrees this morning. I could never do this in the early season. 0830 - I am nearing the top, and now I've switched from "skiing" on the talus to rock climbing. In many places I can only go on by finding little toe and fingerholds in the rock face. More than once I am hanging by my fingertips, while my feet search for something solid to perch on. This is kind of exciting, but probably kind of stupid too, since I'm up here by myself. There's no one to help me if I fall and break something. I decide not to fall... that's probably my best strategy at this point. 0930 - Finally... I am at a point where the slope is gentle enough to rest. Oak trees cover the hill here, and I can't think of a better spot for deer. Fresh tracks and trails are everywhere. I sit on a low branch, peel off my jacket, and dig out a bottle of water. As I take the first sip, the bushes about 30 yards away erupt and I hear the sound of several sets of hooves thumping down the hill! Dangit! I grab the rifle and try to get into a clear spot, but I never even catch a glimpse of the deer. I glass the thickets hard, trying to pick out a sign of hair or antler, but nothing... I go back to where I'd been sitting. I have a pretty good vantage point there where I can see the oaks where I started, as well as a nice spring pool about a half mile away. I glass for a while, always hopeful but losing my motivation. 0945 - As I return to the water bottle, I hear a shot from uphill... it's close, and I realize that the deer I just pushed were headed that direction. Looks like I just gave some hunter a buck. Oh well, if he's way up there, he worked for it. 1000 - I'm whipped. I've spooked two herds of deer. I climbed a little over 3000 feet of near-vertical landslide. I'll hunt more in a while, but this will be my basecamp for the morning. I munch a sandwich, then dig out my hammock and stretch it between a couple of oaks. I unholster my pistol and with it I clamber into the hammock. I can lay here and "hunt" until I get rested. It's as good a spot as any. 1030 - The ravens have already started gathering at the kill site up the mountain from me. Their calls will form the soundtrack for the rest of the day. 1130 - I can't sleep, but stretching out in the hammock has me feeling well-rested. My knees are starting to stiffen up, though, so I ought to get moving. I break down my camp, munch another sandwich, and start working along some of the deer trails. There is still a significant climb to reach the ridge. I realize I'm climbing one of the peaks that I could see from down in Kokopelli Valley. Oh well, may as well explore. And the amount of sign up here is incredible. 1230 - Finally nearing the peak. The trails are still hot and plentiful, but the cover is thick. Most openings are less than 25 yards. I'll have to shoot quick if I jump anything. Better to find a spot and sit tight, in hopes of something moving along. This will be great bowhunting, but I can't imagine coming up here in the summer heat. 1300 - I have found a good spot, and take a stand. I'll sit here for a while, then start working my way over the peak and down toward the trailhead. I know I can get back this way, and I sure don't want to go back down the way I came up. 1500 - Nothing is moving up here. I need to start looking for the trail down, so I begin a still hunt in the general direction that I'll need to go. I am constantly amazed at the amount of deer sign I'm seeing up here. And no wonder. I've only seen one other set of footprints. This is a tough spot to get to. 1600 - I can see the trail I need to use to get out of here now, but it's steep. Not as bad as the landslide I came up, but it won't be a simple walk back to the truck. I'll hunt until sunset, and use the last part of shooting light to get back to the truck. 1830 - After some serious downhill slipping and sliding, I'm back at the truck. I've got a slightly sprained knee, I'm afraid. That doesn't bode well. If nothing else, it means I won't be hunting up on the peak tomorrow. I drive back down the Kokopelli Valley trailhead and make dinner. I have a choice to make. I can pack up and head over to Dave's camp in G1, or I can close out the season in Kokopelli Valley. I'm tired and sore, and don't relish the thought of driving two more hours to G1, and the decision is made. I seal the deal with a strong drink after dinner, and climb into the sleeping bag. I am able to read about two pages of The Ghosts of Tsavo before sleep catches up with me. Sunday, 10/27 0530- I get up early, and take a leisurely approach to the morning. I'm in no hurry, nor do I expect any great success today. I plan to go up and hunt My Hill at first light, then see what the rest of the day brings. My knee isn't as sore as I was afraid it would be, which is a good thing. 0930 - (Since this update is so late, I'll kind of jump through the day.) I'm getting really restless. Nothing has moved anywhere in the canyon or up on the ridges. I heard a couple of trucks head up this morning, and I figure there must be a road hunter up there somewhere, but I haven't seen anyone. I had hoped to at least see my little herd of deer come down out of the thicket above My Hill, but even they seem to be gone. Too much pressure in the canyon, I decide. The deer have all been driven out. I realize I am pacing from one end of My Hill to the other, glassing and walking. I stop, and then sense some movement on the opposite ridge. Sure enough, I see the outline of one, then two, then three deer standing backlit and looking right at me. I can see right away that they are does. I watch as two more deer top the ridge and join them. I'm pretty sure it's my little herd, the does and spikes I've been seeing all season. Not gone after all... I'm happy to see them. Unfortunately, they saw me too, and turn to drop back down over the ridge. I hang out for a while, then decide to follow. The rut should be nearing, and it's worth a look to see if a buck is hanging around the group now. 1030 - I've covered a lot of ground, and seen a lot of sign, but the little herd has disappeared. I can't imagine where they went. I decide not to push too hard, though, because if they stay in the area my odds are better of seeing a buck coming to the does. I am almost back to the road, so I cut across country and work my way back to the truck. 1200 - After a sandwich and some water, I decide to lay down and read for a while. I've pretty well given up on the canyon for this year, but I do want to go back in for the evening hunt... for sentimental reasons if nothing else. 1330 - Just as I'm dozing off I hear a shot, very nearby. I jump up and crawl out of the truck. Up on the road I see two road hunters pointing down into a draw where I'd been following the herd of does and spikes. This doesn't look good at all. Just my luck, there WAS a buck in there with the herd, and someone else shot him because I gave up. Doesn't that figure? One of them works his way down into the draw, at the same time as I notice another one coming up the trail through the canyon. He must have come down from the north end. I hear a lot of talking and discussion, then I see them all coming back up from the draw empty handed. A single shot usually signifies a kill, and I suddenly suspect that someone just shot one of my little spikes. It's just so seldom that anybody fires only once if they miss. I keep waiting to see if they lower a rope or something to pull a deer out, but they stand around the truck talking for a few minutes, then climb in and drive back up the mountain the way they came. I want to get down in that draw and see if there's a dead doe or spike, but I can't convince myself that there'd be any value in doing so. All I would accomplish is to get truly ticked off. Even if I could find a warden or ranger to take the report, I don't have any kind of reliable description of the hunters. And if there's nothing there... well then I've worked up a heck of a sweat for nothing. I spend the next hour or so vacillating, until it's nearing time to prepare for the evening hunt. 1500 - Since Kat isn't hunting anymore, I decide to hunt Katbird Ridge. It's the last evening of the last day, so why not? I found a simpler way in a couple of weeks ago, and manage to avoid most of the poison oak getting across the ditch and onto the ridge. I climb up and drop my gear. I pick a couple of likely shooting lanes, and make myself comfortable. 1600 - A familiar truck rumbles up the road, and I recognize the guys I see here every year. They mostly road hunt, but at least they will get out of the vehicle and put on the stalk when they see game. We've talked several times, and they know the area pretty well. I watch as they hop out and start glassing. Eventually they spot me, and we offer waves of recognition. 1700 - I'm not seeing any movement at all, either on the west ridge or up the canyon. I hear a door slam, and look around to see the guys jumping in the truck and roaring down the hill. They don't usually drive hell-bent for leather like this, and I know they must have seen something. I start to glass intently. They slide to a stop a little below the trailhead, then all three of them jump out and trot onto a ridge. One of them has a rifle, so I'm guessing the other two have already filled their tags. I note the direction they are all glassing, and try to see what they're looking at. Some trees block my view of the hillside below them, but it looks like they're glassing the west ridge. I can't spot anything at all, though. The rifle comes up once, but then is lowered. I guess they saw does, or else the deer moved out of sight. It's getting dark fast now, and I keep hoping that whatever they saw will move out for me. I don't even care if it's a buck at this point, just so I can see a deer tonight. 1745 - Shooting light is nearly gone. Nothing has moved, and I decide to write it off. I want to go down and glass a little meadow on my way out, so I leave my stand and head for camp. As I hit the edge of the meadow I hear something moving and I freeze. 20 yards away, a deer steps from behind a bush. I can see the white lines of antler coming from his head, but I know without even looking hard that those antlers are too small. Still, when he puts his head down to browse, I ease the rifle up and catch him in the scope. As I figured, he has a pair of nice six inch spikes, but no forks. I will the spikes to fork, and cast some mountain voodoo spells.... but no go. I watch the little guy as he browses into the meadow and slowly crosses, then exits toward the creek. He's going my way, so I follow. So much for B-zone. Tag soup for dinner. I wonder how Dave is doing in G1? |
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