I woke up this morning and couldn’t function. I haven’t been sick in four years, but this cold is a doozy. I’m hoping it gives me some relief in the next week. It feels like one of those that’s going to hit me and not let up for a good week or better. I’m definitely not feeling close to being able to head into the woods. I don’t have the energy and couldn’t if I had to.
Dad went out this morning and sat in the stand he set up over a water hole. Unfortunately, the solitude was quickly broken when three hunters walked by him shortly after daylight. We just can’t escape the people this year. I’m not sure if there are so many of them in here because of all of the fires in other areas. Maybe the fires pinched people out of their primary places and made them search for new areas to hunt. Having hunted here for almost 30 years, I can definitely tell them that there are much better places to hunt. We keep coming back because of our familiarity with the area, and we also know where the elk like to hide, even when they’re being pressured. Amazingly, we’ve even been seeing people in those areas. On our way back in the forest road today after going downtown to get some medication for my cold, we counted 12 camps or more with an average of four people per camp. You can do the math on that one. While I’m not a mathematical genius, I can figure out that there are a lot of people in the woods every day, and nine out of 10 of them feels the need to blow on their bugle tubes and cow calls all day.
When Dad was coming out of the woods this morning, he ran into a guy on the trail. The guy told him he was headed to the area where Dad had just come from. During their conversation, the guy told him he was from a place called Elkington, W.V., and asked if Dad had ever heard of the place. It’s pretty funny that we drove through the town last month while attending the IBO World Championship at Snowshoe Mountain in West Virginia. The guy was amazed. Every time we travel, we realize how very large — but small — the world is when it comes right down to it. As the conversation progressed and the man learned Dad was from the Adirondacks, he quickly perked up and referenced the legendary Bigfoot. He asked if Dad had ever seen a Bigfoot, but Dad shrugged it off and said he had never come across the creature in all of his years of being in the Adirondack Mountains. I guess our little area is known outside of our minds in some places. It’s funny where some conversations with strangers can take us.
I’m sitting in camp right now waiting on Brian to get back to see what kind of day he had in the woods. Whenever I don’t hunt with him, he seems to have better days than when I do hunt with him. I’m guessing that it’s because of the gap in our age, and I might slow him down a bit.
I’ll chime back in when he arrives so I can have a full daily account of what went on from start to finish. I doubt if I will go out in the morning if I still feel like I feel right now. While the fever is currently gone, I feel like I got run over by a tractor towing a wagon full of hay bales. Things could change through the night, but I kind of doubt it from what my body is currently telling me. It’s unfortunate to have this happen after waiting all year for my vacation to do what I love. When the vacation finally arrives, I’m not able to do anything due to my health. I know I shouldn’t push it because I’m sure that won’t make things any better.
Brian put on a lot of miles today and didn’t have any luck at all. At last light on his walk out, he saw a 4×4 and a cow. They spooked and began running, so he grabbed his bugle and let one rip. Suddenly, another bull answered and was in his lap. They bugled back and forth for a bit, but the bull retreated into the darkness. We will see what tomorrow brings.