We got a late start today. As we headed down the road we were greeted with a steady rain, which turned to snow. Since I hadn’t packed any of my rain gear we turned around to get it. It’s always better to be safe than sorry. Since it poured all day yesterday I wanted to make sure I stayed as dry as possible today.
Since the woods were so quiet I decided to walk all day. As I went from one place I expected to come across good sign at any moment, but it never really happened. As the morning hours faded away the clouds dispersed and the sun began to cast it’s light through the treetops. Shortly after the sun made its presence known the wind picked up and blew willy nilly for the rest of the day.
Around 11 o’clock I came upon a fresh bed. The deer had just gotten up and headed toward a big hardwood bowl on the opposite side of the ridge from where I stood. If I could cover the ground quickly I figured I might have a chance of catching him feeding in the bowl.
As I followed the tracks I caught some movement to my right and a few seconds later I could see a very large bear bounding toward me. Not knowing what to do I pulled the hammer back on my gun and waited. A few seconds later I saw a cub. I fumbled through my pocket for my video camera. By the time I got mama and baby boo bear had stopped and stood quietly on the ridge above me, probably only about 50 yards away. As I zoomed in on them the wind shifted and away they went. I managed to get a few seconds of poor quality video, but the experience will surely stay with me for as long as I live.
I continued still-hunting into the afternoon without any success, but success is relevant. I wasn’t successful with seeing any deer, but I had an awesome time in the woods. If more people could experience something like I experienced today they would have a much better appreciation for why a real hunter goes to the woods every day. I find inner peace there, so I will return as long as I’m willing and able. I thank god for giving me the time I’ve had to spend in the woods. I hope I have many more years ahead of me. Here’s a quick video of the bears I saw and another video of a spider I watched on the side of a tree.