Last week was spent chasing deer in Idaho. Not much chasing because I didn’t see many deer. However, I did enjoy the outdoors, animals, scenery and friends.
I spent the first couple nights alone in camp. It was cold and lonely with temperatures dipping below 20 degrees. Waking up and crawling out of the small 2 person tent was a challenge, but the anticipation of what I would experience was enough to get me up and moving.
The first couple days involved shorter hikes, some does, and elk. The elk were still in the rut and the big bulls were screaming and chasing off smaller bulls. I saw 3 bulls which any hunter would be proud to chase. One of the bulls was the largest bulls I have ever seen in the wild. I had a great time watching them work a herd looking for cows in estrus.
On the second day I was joined by a good buddy in camp who came to join me in hopes of spotting a bear to pursue the next day. Having someone in camp with you makes a big difference and adds to the enjoyment of sharing time in the outdoors with friends. We didn’t see any bears or bucks to chase but had a nice hike into some beautiful country. We were later joined by my wife and sister-in-law at camp. My sister-in-law had an either sex deer tag in her pocket with anticipation of finding a buck or a doe to harvest. We had one opportunity to harvest a doe that evening but was not able to take advantage.
The last day was a short hike through the area we spotted the doe from earlier. The deer were using the area for bedding and refuge during the day. I spotted the deer in the a couple days before but decided to not push the area to hopefully keep the deer in there for my sister-in-law to have a chance to fill her tag.
We ended the hunt unsuccessfully seeing any deer, but we enjoyed the time outdoors and hopefully will have more chances to get out and chase deer.
The time spent outdoors is always enjoyable and a new adventure. The first couple days were tough and discouraging. Having someone in camp to visit with and share the experience makes the adventure much more enjoyable. I get pleasure from working to help others be successful and find animals, but I wish we were able to find more animals.
This weekend I am headed out to chase elk and deer in Payette National Forest. Hopefully, with the weather forecast and good e-scouting and knowledge of the area we are able to find elk and get something on the ground. Stay tuned…
