Goat 2010, The sun rises on another day

Waking up today was difficult as the body not the legs were hurting. The stomach tightens when it is rested and on some mornings it takes up to an hour to loosen up,today the process was a bit longer but it gave me time to have a bonus cup of coffee and check my pack to make sure I have everything needed.With this many guys in camp my mornings have been timed so the out house is empty and know one is waiting on my departure.
Inside the confines of the shack is a board indicating where each hunter is located so one knows who will encounter in the woods. In my case it is good to know as I know where each guy is allowing me to calculate my journey in hopes of pushing a deer in their general direction. It also helps to know in case I myself jump a deer and need to figure out or consider my shot selection, the later being critical since we are not exactly hunting with pop guns.Rule never one ,two and three pretty much cover it. Never shoot n towards fellow hunters in stands, Never shoot blind, and never shoot in the vicinity of building or in our case the hunting shack. Very few hunters possess the skills to shoot an animal on the run or one that is past his range 100 yards for the most part up here,if that. I have been in stands where a 40 yard shot was long distance.
Armed with this knowledge I sprayed an additional amount of no scent on the cloths which hang outside the shack and are quite cold when slipping into the. My decision is to sneak into the area where I last saw the buck and wait the morning out to see if he would return. Walking down the trail and clearing in a large stand of Norway's I come across a large bed. three and half to four and half feet indicating either a large Lew or buck, a few feet ahead and off on another trail some trail scrapes. With the heart beating a smidgen faster I locate a stump and windfall on a slop and make myself comfortable on the ground staying downwind from the site.
The hours passed and I gazed at squirrels and an assortment of birds all gathering and feeding heavy which made sense since the weather mentioned the threat of snow tomorrow.Nature is and always will be a pretty good barometer of what mother nature is going to throw on the plate.The call came and I knew i needed to head back to camp and take care of business and refuel for the afternoon hunt. I have not stayed out later as in my late forties now my eye sight is not getting better and the thought of gutting an animal out in the dark has lost some of its attraction along with having to track an animal for miles which has happened on several occasions hunting with some of my buds from the Mi la Cabina Camp a bit further North.
With a small lunch behind me a total change of venue was needed for the afternoon as a few stands on federal land were available to sit in for the afternoon and one in particular I wanted to sit in as a number of deer have been seen earlier in the week.The stand sits at the end of a field cut out of a spruce patch about 300 yards deep by 100 yards wide with dense heavy woods surrounding it. The walk back to the stand was enough to get the blood going as the field looked like it was used as a buffet for a number of creatures including wolf scat and bear scat piles.
Easing into the stand there was two south facing spolks which were not much to look at but would provide a view of deer if they choose to flank the field rather than walk across the field. The real view was to the North as you looked out over the field and wondered where would they come from. Looking through binoculars I made mental notes of where shots could be placed and where they should be avoided. as there was a farm and a road to my North with permanent residents traveling to and fro.
As I made myself comfortable I gazed away from the field and when i looked back up a deer had appeared at the edge and was grazing casually on the greens closest to the pines. Cross Hairs placed it was a young Lew Calf and would make for fun watching. She kept looking back into the woods so I knew there was another animal out of sight so I kept the sight pinned on her. She kept feeding and was migrating in my direction when her little brother should up directly underneath the stand and made his way out into the field. he kept looking towards his sister and she kept looking back into the woods so Mom was here also but not showing her face.The scope now placed on the young buck the antlers were not even close to making the required 3" allowing me to harvest this Lil roaster deer. I kept the rifle within reach and began to run some video which surprised me as I needed to make some noise in order to retrieve it and turn it on.Mom would not show her self and the two young ones played and frolicked in the field eating until mom summoned them into the woods. OH the relief as my rear ,not accustomed to sitting this long needed a break. As I stood to stretch the two young ones Ran along the edge of the field and my cover was busted. Mom jumped out snorted ,stomped a hoof and trotted to catch up to her kids.
This two and half hour episode pretty much sealed the deal on my hunt and I decided then that if I did not see or shoot a deer that my journey and trip were a success. Another bridge crossed in not only my long recovery but as a complete hunter who can now enjoy what is presented to him.
No longer able to sit I finished off my afternoon walking South along the Dark River looking at the flats one hundred feet below wondering how difficult a drag it would be to retrieve your quarry from there.I made my way back to the vehicle thinking I would make it back to camp to sit by a field but light was fading quick as clouds started to build.
A sauna, quick dinner and tonight I would go visit old friends at their camp and see how the season was going. Tomorrow another day and a plan already forming in my head. Would tomorrow be the day..........