What a beautiful weekend!

We finally travelled back to camp on Saturday, April 25. It seemed like a year since deer season, even though it was only 4 months. Everything at camp seemed fine. The leaves are about 3 weeks behind where they are back home. This year, there was a hatch of gnats (big ones)that attacked you as soon as you stepped outside. Hopefully they will be gone soon. The weather was unseasonably warm - around 88-degrees-most of the weekend. The stiff breeze helped to keep the bugs away, but it also turned out to be a problem as two forest fires were burning over the weekend. One started at the Petticote Junction Campground. It was started by a group of boaters who were throwing fireworks into the dry leaves. Another much larger fire was buring off the West Rim Road, but was contained by Saturday evening. This was the same weekend that the Bull Run Fire was burning last April. I'm hoping to get up at least one time for Spring Gobbler Season. I noticed a large gobbler hanging on the meatpole at one of the camps as you enter Leetonia. Someone was succesful.

Deer Season 2008

Well, another deer season is behind us. We had the first "white" deer season in a long time. There was snow on the ground for the entire season. We had to strap the tire chains on our 4x4's to get in and out of camp for the first and second weeks of deer season. Although we didn't get any deer at camp this year,as always, we had a great time hunting together as a family. We saw some deer, but the hunting is tough these days up North. There are very few other hunters in the woods to move the deer around. You can't sit in your tree stand all day and see deer like you used to. Also, the herd is down in numbers. One of the highlights of the season for me came on the last day. I was driving through some thick laurel trying to move some deer to my son, when I knocked 3 bears from their den. They weren't too happy about being awakened, but it was exciting to be within 15 yards of them. My son was still talking about the experience on the way home. We may not get back to camp now for a while. The snowmobiles will soon have the road packed down to solid ice. It's great to be able to read Paula's blog. It's kind of like being able to be up there. I'll still be doing some hunting in Maryland this winter, and perhaps take the flintlock out for a walk once or twice. I'm looking forward to a long-awaited Christmas vacation with the family.

Success in Maryland

This past Saturday, I was successful in harvesting a buck in Maryland. It is the second Maryland deer that I've brought home this hunting season. This weekend, we're heading back up to Tioga County for the last few days of deer season. My son is home from college. It will be great to be able to spend a few days in the woods with him. Since I've already gotten two deer, my role this weekend will be to dress lightly and keep moving through the thick stuff in an attempt to push some deer to one of the other guys in camp. The weather this week has been weird. The temperature is supposed to be near 50 with rain tomorrow and then fall back to the single digits by the weekend. It's hard to say what the roads will be like going back into camp. However, as always, we'll be prepared for just about anything.

Ice & Snow

Well, we needed to strap on the tire chains to get back into camp for the first day of buck season. We had about 5 inches of snow on top of the mountain. Dad and I arrived at camp around noon on Sunday to get the heat going. It was about 20 degrees outside and inside. The camp really didn't begin to warm up until we fired up the oven and started the meatloaf around 5:00 pm. The rest of the gang arrived safely just in time to enjoy the venison meatloaf. We hunted hard for three days and then inched our way back down off the mountain. We didn't see many deer, or other hunters for that matter, but as always, we had a great time just being out in the mountains. I think the icy roads really deterred some hunters from coming up. I'll be heading down to Maryland to hunt this Saturday, and then we're heading back up to camp for the last few days of the season next week.

A Cold Day Hunting

Yesterday, a friend and I decided that we wanted to go up to camp for one last day of turkey hunting. We left home at 4:00 am and traveled all the way to camp. Arriving around 7:30 am, we were excited by the fresh coating of snow on the ground, but not the temperature (9-degrees.) I can't remember the last time I hunted in 9 degree weather...esp. in November. We saw a lot of game today. Many turkeys...although the turkeys ended up being the hunters as we did not bring any home for thanksgiving...and several deer including a few nice bucks and a piebald deer. It was a beautiful animal...not quite albino...but very close as it just had a few patches of brown. Once again, I did not have my camera with me when I needed it. A lot of the camps were open today with hunters eagerly anticipating the opening of bear season on Monday. Not being a bear hunter, I'm eagerly awaiting the opening of deer season the following week. It's hard to believe that another PA deer season is just a week away. I'm sure I'll have a lot of information to post following deer camp 2008.

Turkey Hunting

I traveled up to camp this past weekend. It was a beautiful fall weekend. We hunted all day for turkeys. Although we didn't find any turkeys, we did see a lot of signs pointing to where they had been...feathers, scratching, etc. I probably covered at least 5-7 miles on foot. I found out just how out-of-shape I am. The wild cherry trees seem to be having a banner year. The birds, deer, bear, all seem to be feeding on the wild cherries. Although I didn't find any turkeys, I did manage to bring home a grouse. I look forward to adding it to the thanksgiving dinner this year. Except for a flat tire (they always seem to happen way back in the mountains...so much for my AAA membership) we had a great day of hunting. There seems to be a lot of deer sign in our area....buck rubs, scrapes, etc. The deer are probably moving a lot right now. I was particularly surprised at the lack of hunters I saw out and about. It seems as if fewer folks are heading to the big woods every year. It's nice to have such a beautiful spot all to ourselves. However, it makes the hunting that much harder. Oh well, I guess that's why they call it hunting. I hope to get up again this weekend to do some more scouting before deer season. As I always say, "any day spent in the woods of Tioga County is far better than a day at work."

Longing to be up north

The weather is turning colder now. The past two mornings have had temperatures in the upper 30's. I finally broke down and turned on the furnace. I haven't lit the coal fire yet. I'll wait a few more weeks until the up/down temperatures change to down. As the leaves begin to turn and the temperatues drop, I find it harder to focus on my office duties. My mind is constantly traveling up to Tioga County. I'm wondering "where are the bucks hanging out?" Where are the turkeys feeding?" The colder the weather gets, the harder it is to concentrate on work. Fortunately, I have a few Saturdays off in November and I'll get the chance to travel up to camp and do some turkey hunting. While I enjoy turkey hunting a great deal, turkey hunting for me is really "deer scouting." Actually, the turkeys are always found where the food is. Therefore, if you find the food, you'll not only find turkeys, but usually also deer. These days, there seem to be fewer and fewer hunters traveling up to north to hunt. This makes the hunting much more challenging. However, there is something magical about the solitude and challenge of hunting when you know you are probably the only guy in a few square miles of forest. I look forward to the days in November, and will post my stories (every trip is a story) when I get back. I enjoy reading Paula's blog. It's my window to the north from home. I try not to be too jealous of her being able to live up there year round.