Afield At Last

Nothing flared up to wipe out my free Friday yesterday, so well before dawn I was on the road, enroute one of my favorite hunting grounds. Grouse season has been on for more than a month, but between work and family obligations, I haven't ventured out. Oddly, I can't say I was raring to go. I wanted to go, I prepared to go, but I was preoccupied and stressed. While I was scrambling to get my gear together Thursday night, the trip seemed like just another chore to accomplish.

But when the alarm rang at 4 on Friday, I didn't hesitate to rise. At my destination, once I stepped out of my car and inhaled the marshy-sweet air of the creek bottom, I knew I was where I needed to be, and all the irritations and demands of the past weeks were left behind with the dust of the road.

The pleasure of the trip came mainly from the immersion in the sights and smells of the woods. The actual hunting was fairly difficult, though it got off to a fast start. Along the trail where I entered the woods, I noticed some woodcock droppings, which gave me hope that there would soon be some woodcock dropping. I did put one up, but he flew away safely, despite giving me the clearest shot I would have that day. Two hours later, at least two grouse thundered away from behind a jumble of mature alders, though I never saw a feather.

I left the first spot a little after noon, opting to spend the rest of the day scouting out covers in nearby areas. The first area seemed unpromising, covered by seemingly endless stands of tall pines with a scattering of oaks. The second looked much better, with large tracts of mid-aged aspens, broken by the occasional pine and muddy pockets full of alders. By the time I found an access point in the area, it was 4:00, but I figured I could still have a solid hour or so to look things over. I put up three grouse in that hour, and shot at two, albeit while they were barely visible behind a curtain of limbs. They're still there, and hopefully will be by the next time I go...maybe in December?

I drove home feeling more at ease than I have in weeks, and the glow is still on. While I may not depend on hunting to survive (thank God), it's not going to far to say that sometimes, it is a necessity of life. At least of my life.

Tags: Hunting; Outdoors