Deer Camp 2009

Well I'm home from camping & hunting. That last sentence was typed with a hint of sadness. I love this annual trip. It's no secret. This year was no different.

Zach and I left early Thursday morning, only to arrive to find out our friend had got an elk that morning. After a quick clothing change, we headed up the mountain on 4-wheelers to help bring it out. As I was cruising up the mountain with my dad, I looked at my arms and thought about sunscreen and how I managed to forget it. I spent the rest of the weekend with a wicked farmer tan (read: BURN) and raccoon face. LOL! I went out with my dad on Thursday night to hunt. We didn't see much until right before dark...two does were hanging out on the side of the road. We thought we saw a third until it turned its head at the perfect moment and sported some antlers!! My dad and I both had binoculars on it and realized at the same time we were staring at a buck! The truck pretty much erupted in chaos! Between flying binoculars and trying to get the gun ready, the buck still didn't move. I was able to get my gun on it, but I didn't feel like I could get a good shot through the trees. And even though I had my dad screaming at me to, "Shoot! SHOOT!!!", I didn't. It was my shot and I didn't want to miss or wound, so I didn't take it. I think the best part was when the buck went running towards our camp, so my dad gunned it and flew into camp. Uncle Bob didn't know what the hell was going on, but figured we must have seen "The Big One" by the way we were flying into camp, because he dropped his drink, grabbed his glasses and gun, and just started running. LMAO! For those of you who know Uncle Bob, it was a damn funny sight!

On Friday morning, my dad and I left before dark to get to our favorite hunting spot over by Middle Mountain. We hiked down a steep logging trail to a pretty little meadow. We sat for a while and saw a lot of does, but no bucks. Unfortunately, this was pretty much the trend for the rest of the hunting trip. That night, Zach and I set out in his truck and again saw a lot of does. We did see a little spike buck that night, but definitely not worth shooting. Although, it was standing so close to the truck, I could've reached out with the butt of my gun and konked it on the top of the head. Heh!

Saturday was a slow hunting day, so Zach, my dad and I went out and chopped wood. We did this last year and it was actually a lot of fun. We filled the back of my dad's truck with a lot of great firewood. I think the highlight of this was when we found three dead trees right by each other to cut. The problem was that they were quite a ways away from the road...or so we thought. After cutting up one of the trees and hauling some rather large logs to the truck, we realized we could actually maneuver the truck right up to the trees. Of course, this was after a lot of sweating, dragging, grunting and cussing from packing the first tree. HAHA! Saturday night, I went out on 4-wheelers with Uncle Jerry and Derek. We didn't see much (more does), but we had a fun little ride. I have to add that we spent a great deal of our ride picking up cans and garbage off the side of the trails - we always leave our mountains cleaner than when we came. Unfortunately, we came across a disgusting fire pit filled with cans, dirty diapers and just general garbage that we couldn't pack out. People are disgusting. If you disrespect the outdoors like that and I catch you, expect a swift punch to the back of the head, people. Meh.

We packed up and headed home yesterday. Besides the elk on Thursday, nobody managed to get a deer this year. It was definitely a slow year, but nobody minded. We had a lot (A LOT) of great camping food, some awesome campfires and just general camping fun. I got to sleep out in my kick-ass Cabela's canvas tent each night and just enjoyed being up in the mountains. Hopefully next year, I'll get to shoot my first deer...I want some jerky! HAHA!

I had a funny realization on Friday night. I went for a ride in the back of a truck to drop off some of our friends on top of the mountain to hunt that night. I was wearing camo, sporting a nice dirt mustache from not showering for a couple days, had a gun in my arms and was yapping with my childhood buddy, Jared, about how much beer I would drink that night by the campfire, listening to funny hunting stories. It dawned on me that the next day I'd be cutting wood and covered in sawdust, and that in no less than two days (today), I'd be back in the office, wearing nice slacks and sitting in front of a computer. I love my crazy life. :)