Trail Diary #1: Deer and elk are tucked away somewhere. Saturday’s storm wiped the slate clean. I’ve managed to put in several hikes and run the roads as often as possible to determine where they are. I have to out scout the other hunters. 7 am already in the middle of a clear-cut unit just standing against a tree watching and listening. 37-degrees with a slight downhill breeze.
This is why I love it here. There is no box.
Tough to be sneaky when you have to go through a thicket of vine-y maples or snow brush.
Bumped a bear… or at least I think it was a bear. Heard a loud thump in the ground, movement of a tree as he/she bumped into another tree, then movement through the brush. No branches breaking or good sounds which is why I think it was a bear about 50 feet from me. I couldn’t see him/her through the thick reprod.
Found a nice game trail. This will make it much easier and quieter to sneak through. Damnit! Just got busted by some chipmunks sounding their alarm and an owl chiming in. Gonna stay on this game trail until I find a way to cut downhill without a bunch of noise.
It’s like a park back in here. Can you see the tree rub an elk made?
Someone tried to drive up a closed road. I put his broken off license plate for all to see. The road is closed for a reason. Follow the rules and this won’t happen to you.
You go from park-like forest, to open clear-cut like thing. I walked 6 miles in one big loop through several forests and clear-cut. Nothing… but I do know where the elk are NOT.
Finally back to the road to walk up back to my truck. Then water and food!
Best seat in the house. The stump cut next to its sister tree allows me to stand on a “perch” and look out over the unit. The sister tree provides great camouflage as I can tuck up tight against it and blend into the vertical silhouette. Great place to just watch and listen from while blending into the landscape. These are everywhere up here.
Thank you for reading my trail diary!
