I am back to my Blog finally!!!

Well Well Well, I took some time off and I am back on the blog. I actually missed not keeping track via my blog my hunting adventure.

Ok, i want to update you on the Colorado 2008 hunt and recap.

Day 1 - Thur
Larry and I flew out to Denver Thursday night rented a car and drove to Marble where we meet up with my good friend David Long. We stayed in a cabin setting right there in Marble. Drank a few cold ones and got our gear ready for the morning's hike into the trail head.
Day 2 - Friday
We got up a day break drove to the trail head, and we where the only vehicle there, which is a goof sign . Loaded the packs on our backs and Hi O silver away. Well six hours later, 5 miles in we made it up to approx 10.5 k elevation and found a good camp site with some boulders barricading us in from the wind and elements. We where tired and exhausted and made some chow got camp setup and relaxed. We started glassing and hour or so before dark and some some deer, elk and yes mountain goats. All I will say is this was some beautiful but rugged area in the Raggeds wilderness. Our game plan was to glass and get a feel for the land, animal capacity and stalking possibilities the first 3 days. Then move and go into attack mode!!!
Day 3 Opening Day - Sat Up early after a good nights sleep and got to the spotting scopes which were set up 10 yds from Bivy camp. Starting to see some does and then some buck, some elk and of course the mountain goats where moving and feeding up in the nose bleed sections. We spent the whole day glassing as planned some to nice bucks at 2 miles away up around 11k. They where bedding by them selves in a hard to stalk spot. These where two bucks we differently would try to stalk in the next day or so. We where seeing other bucks as well. All does where 10.5k and down and all bucks where 10.5k in elevation and up. Bottom Line you had to go high to stalk those grey ghost of the High Country or bust! We continued to glass all day and we where starting to devise some stalking possibilities for Sunday and Monday. Weather was good to date and there was plenty of water above 10K which was nice.
DAY 4 Sunday - We will starting to get a good feel for the area and which basins that where holding the most game and picking out campsites and stalking possibilities. Took an afternoon nap and got ready for the evening glassing and possibly a stalk or to get ready for a morning stalk at those two nice bucks. Well I split up from Larry for the evening glassing and went up around 11.2k and found another vantage point to see if I could pick out some different bucks. I blew a deer out of a rock bed area as I was climbing but all I saw was a tail. Well as we where communicating via two way while glassing a couple of hunters game out of the other unit thru a top bowl and the two bucks we where watching for two days where down wind of the three guys and they blew them out of the area.....Just Great. Plan B was kicked in and we where seeing a big group of buck across back up in two of the high back bowls. The game was we would spot one more time in the morning and move camp across the Drainage which would be a 2-3 mile hike and set camp and start our stalks from there.
DAY 5 Monday morning we watched 15 bucks in that back basin all traveling in a line what a site. We waited for them to go out of site and then packed up camp and made plans to camp at a selected spot up at 11k on the other side of the Drainage. Tally Ho and away we go straight done to the trail to Yule creek trail then down stream and stopped to fill our water supplies. Dam I lost my Sleeping pad on the way down. I backed tracked and found it on the trail a 1/2 mile back. Filled up the water and took a visual on the route we would take to where we would camp which would be about a 2 hour climb about 1,800 ft gain in elevation. Yeah man we where off and moving. Well I made some bad decisions in my direction during the climb and got side tracked in some real heavy thick cover to say the least. Then here comes the rain and no we where not having fun. Keep going I said to Larry we will hit an opening soon!! His response you are crazy you are going to Kill me in this stuff. Well another couple of hours and we got to the snow slide we had planned to be two hours earlier. We both looked at each other and nodded as to say lets camp here we are beat. We set of camp and decided to climb at day break in the morning. We camped right aside of a water fall. Well it rained hard all night and by morning it stopped.
DAY 5 Monday - Time to Rock to the top. I took a picture or two of Larry coming out of camp and then we took the snow slide to the top and an hour or so later we got to 11.2k and stopped and dropped our packs to get our spotting scopes out. I bent over to get my spotting scope out of my pack and WHAMMMM the pain set in and dropped me to my feet in pain. My back was in pain!!!! Stay tuned for more of the story

Packed and Ready to Rock

OK,
Two weeks to the opener and 12 days till flight out. The new Badlands Case/bag fit by bow and everything real nicely. I am impressed with this bag with the wheels and handle to boot. The remainder is in my Badlands 2200. Two items to take for eight days yes. I will shoot my bow a couple more times this coming weeks then I will pack back up. Double check my gear list and food list. Just got my 10day wilderness athlete supply in with the Altitude Advantage pills as well. I will check back in one more time before I go. I hiked with my pack on 7.5 miles today. Drank a Hydromax when I got back and felt real good. Legs are feeling about the same as last year/pretty good. I am ten lbs heavier that last year, so I want to see if that makes a difference or not in the High Country this year. That due mainly to limited time training due to my New Business start up this year . Stay tuned


Chow

High Country Awaits

Finally back to update my blog. Been busy the last couple of months with my new business.

Larry and I are ready to Fly out 8-28 to head into the Raggeds Wilderness in CO for some High Country adventure. We are going in for 8 days. We are both ready to rock and down some mule deer with our bows. I am not in as good as shape as last year due to starting a new business and excessive hours in two months to get it started, but my desire is high and my legs are still strong, so I will give it all I got. I have been practicing and my accuracy and confidence is there. My main focus on the first three days of the hunt is to get Larry my best friend on some stalks and get him chances on downing his first mule deer. This is his first Western hunt and I want him to want to do it again and reap some rewards.

Stayed tuned for more info on our hunt.

Colorado Draw update 2008

Yeahhhhhhh, My best friend and I drew Archery Mule Deer tags in Unit 43. We are ready to rock in the High Country at 12,000ft. Now the bad news!!! I have not been training at all due to work overload and the new business venture I am about to start. My priorities had changed for the the time being due to the business start up. But, I am here to tell you my daily five mile hikes with start up this week, which will give me 2 1/2 months to get the lungs and legs in descent shape. Stay tuned for more updates.

D

Turkey Season Wrap Up

Hey Friends, Long time no updates! Been busy with work and starting a new business venture. Well I had fun this turkey season, I had plenty of gobblers working to the calls. Missed a few and had fun this spring with my turkey hunting friends. Explored new hunting areas up in Slate Run, PA. Overall the turkey population in our neck of the woods is flourishing. There is always this fall. Stay tuned for Colorado updates coming up.

Turkey Season Update

Alright the turkeys are getting the best of me right now, but I sure am having fun in the outdoors.

Opening weekend I went up the Hunt in the PA Grand Canyon area around Slate Run 2200 ft max. I wound up bunking at the Twin Peaks Camp which my Good friends Keith & Luke Kemp are members. We hiked up and down the mountains in the surrounding area covering 22 miles in three days. I hunted along side of Keith the whole time. He is the person responsible for teaching me all about turkey hunting. We tag teamed in calling in a Slate Run Gobbler on Monday and Keith Shot him! Over 20 lbs 9 1/2" beard. I blew our first hunt on Saturday morning when the gobbler caught me moving. I messed up also on our Monday morning hunt again while trying to shoot left handed... mistake I missed. After hunting turkey across this beautiful country I have drawn the conclusion that Upstate PA birds are some of the toughest birds to hunt in the nation!

I took this past Friday off and headed back to Slate Run solo to pack in and camp up high on the ridges and move camp each day based on what I was hearing. Now let me say that although these mountains are steep and big in PA terms it by know means is Colorado. My it sure challenges your conditioning to some degree! I covered 6 miles a day for two days up and down those mountains went toe to toe with three longbeards with them winning and passed on two Jakes late morning today. I carried my full load of gear as I would out west only with three days of food. I used my Sitka gear for both weekends and loved this stuff. I was able to layer and unlayer very quickly using my badlands 2200 pack. My new 22 oz Tarptent performed great. It gave me a chance to shake down all my gear and enjoy the the outdoors in a mountainous setting. I really feel in love with the Slate Run Area and mountain range. Although it is not the high mountains of CO it is the next best thing for us flatlanders of the East.

Stay tuned for more updates on my turkey season!!

D

Turkey Season 2008 Plans

Ok hunting friends it coming up on that time of year to chase those gobbling fools in PA & NY. I am excited for the PA opening weekend as I plan on backpacking in a couple of miles on Friday night and setting up camp and hunting thru Monday staying in Bivy Camping out and coming home Monday afternoon. I will we hunting in the PA Grand Canyon area above Slate Run skirting the mountain tops around 2100 ft elevation. I will be using my bow this year alot and hope to take a turkey with a bow without a blind. It will be a challenge which I am looking forward to. Plus this will give me a chance to shake down all my gear for my trip to the Colorado High Country in late August for Mule Deer. I truly enjoy the solitude on my own in the backwoods and the one on one challenge of killing critters whatever they might be. I will be using my standard hunting bow setup for turkey.
I am then going to leave after work May 1 and head up near Kueka Lake in New York to the Smoker Cabin with Dave Smoker to call in some long beards for Dave and hopefully take one myself. We will hunt Friday, Saturday & Sunday. It will be a fun two weekends. I will keep you posted on my turkey scouting with the kids in April. That is always alot of fun taken each kid out to try and call gobblers in or just listen to them gobble in the morning before hunting season opens end of April. I will call in areas I will not be hunting so I don't educate the birds to much.

I consider turkey hunting a poor mans elk hunt!! It is fun..

talk to you soon

Utah ISC Show Recap

Just got back from the ISC Hunting show in Salt Lake City Utah. I am really thankful I took a VAC day and flew out there for the weekend. I spent alot of my time at the show near the Eastmans' Theater which was right in front of there both. I spent time talking with Ike & Guy Eastman, David Long and of course my backcountry mentor Cameron Hanes. It was money well spent and I really enjoyed the Eastmans' Experience out there. I also visited all the booths as well and picked up a few items to upgrade my pack a little. I purchased a new pistol grip for my spotting scope and got a great deal at $60.00 (reg $120) and purchased some new lanyards for my turkey locator calls. I also hiked around town in the early mornings 4-6 miles each day to keep the training going. I wanted so badly to get up in those beautiful mountains surrounding salt lake and view the critters. I will say the Eastmans' crew are some special people that truly care about there subscribers no matter where they are from. They treated me like a friend more than a subscriber. I truly enjoyed chatting with all of them and I do consider them my Western Friends! I hope to see them again in the future!