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Topic Archives => Memorable Hunts => Topic started by: JC on March 01, 2008, 08:40:00 PM
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Well, yesterday was the last day of our small game season and sadly, I did not get a chance to hunt "technically" the close of our '07 season. It was a bitter-sweet day...knowing deer season was really long gone and now the hogs on public land had to wait till turkey season for me to pursue them again.
Chuck (CJ) Pearson invited me a few weeks ago to take a look at some private property that bordered a river near my house. Supposedly, the place was et (that's the past tens of "eat" for my yangese bretheren) up with hogs. The old farmer told CJ that the hogs were tearing up his fields....and the bears were scaring the horses.
So, being the good samaritan that he is, CJ offered his services as pest controller....and invited me and Chase (my eldest) along for a look. A bit saddened by the end of the season, I jumped at the chance to be in the woods with bow in hand. In Georgia, on private land, hogs are legal year round. Did I mention how good a friend CJ is for inviting us? :D
CJ picked us up around 1pm and we quickly were on our way. The farm was litterally around the corner...down a road I pass every morning on my way to work.
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I went light, just my compass, camera, bow and arrows. CJ strapped on his cat quiver....Chase his back quiver and G&L longbow. We eagerly bailed out of the truck and made our way to the gate.
We followed a logging road up and down the hills till we neared the river and branched off on a heavily used game trail. The rough terrain reminded me of the Cohutta Wilderness Area Terry and I so often hunted. The ridges were sharp, the draws steep....and everything seemed to be vertical.
We made our way down to the river hoping to find seeps and/or pools where the hogs took refuge. The thick rhododendron along the river banks and multiple blow downs from high winds seemed to be the perfect sunning spots for critter bigger than a rabbit.
The sun was warm and it was an invigorating change of pace from the cold winds that had blown the last few weeks. Ask Iron Bull how he would compare his WY temps to ours...while not the deadly cold he experiences, our temps in N.GA frequently drop into the teens and when coupled with the high humidity, make the air cut like a razor through thin clothing. We had a few mornings below 20 past week and the wind was simply brutal.
The interspersed clear cuts, power line right of ways and steep, brush choked hill sides reflected the sun's warmth. The rough terrain actually caused moist brows with the hunting party....labored breathing from the steep climbs reminded me of too many hours in the stand when I could have been stalking.
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Keep movin JC,that wind is COLD!! LOL :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
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We made our way down towards the river and paused on a bluff. My "lil' indian" Chase, paused, speaking wisdom that belied his youth..."This sure is a pretty place, Daddy."
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v701/recurvhuntr/3-1-08%20w-CJ/IMG_0061.jpg)
He was right, God seemed to have carved out the chasm just for our scouting party. The breeze was no longer cold but had the hint of suns warmth on it. The river babbled seductively below...CJ and I smiled as we caught each other scanning for trout below. Lord, what wonderous creations you have made.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v701/recurvhuntr/3-1-08%20w-CJ/IMG_0063.jpg)
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Oh yeah!!
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No hog sign where we were, we made the heart taxing climb back to the ridge....only to make our way down yet another gully to hit a steep draw that looked as if it lead to yet another vantage point.
We saw thick brush as we neared the far top rim...obviously a clear cut. Knowing a bit of mountain hogs, my pace slowed as we slipped towards the thicker cover. Multiple game trails crossed, seperated and reconvened coming out of the edge of the cover. Again, CJ and I caught ourselves smiling at one another while Chase whispered in hoarse, strained whispers..."Look at that trail...and there....and over there!"
We found ourselves coming out on the powerline area that cut through the property. Sadly, man's hand had not been gentle to the land. There had been a swath of timber laid low 100 yards wide. It had been done some years ago, but it still tugged at my heart that someone could intentionall deface such beautiful country.
One thing we did clearly see among the blowdowns was a serious game trail. It was obvious the local fauna found the view from the open hillside just as captivating as we did....I paused to snap a shot of CJ and Chase.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v701/recurvhuntr/3-1-08%20w-CJ/IMG_0065.jpg)
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There's my little mohawk wearing buddy! Hurry up JC dad gummit!
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Yeah, Chase got the new doo during wrestling this year. Lately he's been hard into our Creek heritage and once he found our the Muskogean tribes often sported "mohawks", there was no changing the hair!
We side-hilled along the step bank, working our way generally along the river looking for sign. Though we saw numerous seeps and muddy banks along the river, the hog sign evaded us. But Glory, it was a fine day to be "walking with weapons" as brothers Wensel are fond of saying.
The river ran clear and cold...it held shoal bass and panfish that would rise lustily when during the summer months. Right now, it simply reeked of trout...and if not for the boiling summer months could support a healthy population.
The ridges were steep....and around every point rested a ledge of shale. Like the moccasin-clad hunters of days gone by, the rocky outcroppings thrust their chin into the warm sun, proud and strong. Overhangs and open caves painted pictures of small warming fires during a downpour.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v701/recurvhuntr/3-1-08%20w-CJ/IMG_0068.jpg)
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Come on your killin me here! :campfire:
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Dang it...there's a dead rabbit on that boys head!
Wear it proud little brother!
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We bushwacked through the thick brush along the river. CJ took a high trail that seperated and ened up ahead of us....Chase and I crawling through the mountain laurel and heavy river brush along another "trail". Between the greenbriar and thick bush, we clawed our way up through the tail that seemed to be more suited for a raccoon than humans. We met up with CJ mid hill and decided to change tactics. No hog sign yet....we thought we would make our way back in the general direction of the field the farmer had complained of the hogs tilling...where we had parked. Maybe if we walked the edge of the field we would find the main trail they used and back track to a bedding area.
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come on patiedntly waiting
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Wish I had the Nad's for a Mohawk! He looks COOL!
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Great looking spot Joe, Looks a lot like a little "step across " creek I found on my last hunt in the Ocoee Bear reserve. I gotta get me one of those haircuts.
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We hit a draw that led us back towards the truck. The recent rains had brought the spring to life....we slipped along it's fern lined banks up the gentle slope it provided. Moss covered rocks glistened in the bright afternoon sun, rejoicing that the callous grip of state-wide drought had been forced to loosen it's iron grip by the winter rains.
The land seemed to flatten...the draw widened and became much less steep. Oaks lined the gentle slopes as we made our way back.
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Hec Nads Joe Weed. I have one only it's what you call a reverse Mohawk. Great story so far JC.
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Great pics and story JC, keep-um coming. Sure don't look like any place I've been lately!
Pop
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Great story so far!
Nice Pics!
Stylin' son!
Ya got me waitin' here for more!
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We still had seen no hog sign....but obviously the heavy trail that wound it's way through the draw was well used. We certainly agreed with the old farmer's statement about the bear. The paths had obviously been traveled by deer....but these were slighly different. It almost looked as if the trails had boot travel. The leaves were beat flat, but we could find no footprints :rolleyes: Oaks, interspersed blackberries, fresh water, rough terrain, rock outcroppings...it all whispered "bear"...and "deer" in our attentive eaars. Even if there weren't hogs, there were certainly other game to be had....albeit in later seasons...but certainly enough to keep our attention as we walked.
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Keep it coming JC, this is great......
David
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Chase couldn't help himself as we found one picturesque spot. Surely, the dark rock overhead had been dimmed by a campfire from days of old...
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v701/recurvhuntr/3-1-08%20w-CJ/IMG_0072.jpg)
Again, the land seemed to open...the trail still was well worn and obvious to our eyes. We eventually made our way through another bottom...the babbling brook still whispered it's song of the hunter's heart..."what's over the next rise?" it crooned in a hushed tone so faint you could not hear it without listening for the heatbeat of game.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v701/recurvhuntr/3-1-08%20w-CJ/IMG_0078.jpg)
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Just wish I had enough hair for a "hawk"!
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Mine's a 'sideways-hawk', goes from one ear to the other across the back of my head. :D
Great story and pictures! :thumbsup:
Dennis
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And then, what we woud eventually come to find was not 300 yards from where we parked the truck was a part of the draw that simply screamed "game". The trail was wide and well worn, every lead seemed to focus into one 50 yard area. CJ and I picked out the same copse of 4 trees in stereo....."That one!"...would be where we would hang a stand if given the opportunity. Four trees grew from one large base...offering an opening big enough for a hang on but still providing plenty of backround to allow a standing archer the abilty to look like another tree trunk. To paraphrase ol' Bear Claw from the classic mountain man movie Jermiah Johnson, "Deer can't count, pilgrim!"
For a bowhunter, this was the place. The spot that after many acres of wandering, you would go no further to hang a stand or draw the brush together for a blind.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v701/recurvhuntr/3-1-08%20w-CJ/IMG_0075.jpg)
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Though hard to see from the picture, this place was thick with the traffic of big game travel. I found my mouth suddenly dry as I often do when close to game. My heart quicked it's pace ever so slightly. It had not been long since deer season, only two months since it's end....but I longed for the opportunity of a crisp fall morning...and the promise of a freshly hung stand over heavy sign.
Chase stood on a particularly well worn trail that ambled up out of the open "death valley" as CJ spontaneously pronounced it....the pines up one side and blackberry bramble up the other seemed to provide an obvious funnel for anything larger than a squirrel.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v701/recurvhuntr/3-1-08%20w-CJ/IMG_0077.jpg)
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As always... a great read JC. Thanks for taking the time to share. I'll be back for more! :campfire:
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Still....we found no hog sign. It seemed as if there were plenty of game around...but none we could legally pursue. The hogs were gone. The old farmers tales of "pigs so thick I was afraid the horses would break a leg in their rooting" was possibly exaggerated at best....and at least 6 months old at worst. But maybe he would trade some fencing help or strong backs that would load some of his junk pile into a truck for a trip to the scrap yard for permission to return in the fall? What we had seen did not speak to us of smoked pork loin and dry rubbed hams....but of backstraps and simmering bear steaks. Maybe...the trip was not in vain?
Then....not long before our journey ended....we saw something we did not expect...but in seeing it, knew it was what we had been unknowingly searching for all along. A whisper...a warm breath across our cheek...a reminder that even through the cold rain and cutting wind, God still provides....and a sign that "all things have a season"...
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v701/recurvhuntr/3-1-08%20w-CJ/IMG_0070.jpg)
Thank you brother CJ, and my dear son for sharing this day with me. It was indeed just a "walk with weapons"...but oh, the joy it brought my soul.
Yes, yet another story without game on the pole in the end. Lately, I seem to be telling many of those. But as I grow older, they don't seem nearly as bitter as they do sweet. They make me appreciate the times when my hands smell strongly of the coppery odor of fresh blood....and they remind me that most times, "being there, is good enough".
Thank you all for sharing it with me.
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Thanks for taking me along as well.. you tell a great story.
matt
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Very nice country indeed, there, JC. Thanks for the pictures and story.
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Very nice JC and a kind respite from the remorseless snow we've been getting here.
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Great narrative of the day Joe! All I got from CJ was "Naw, didn't see no hogs", LOL! Tell Chase I said he looked at home in them woods. Just needs a pair of Moccs and a loin cloth. :thumbsup:
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Thanks Joe. The trout lillys at the end sure look like spring. We still have snow and have had it all winter for a change. Good deal that you are finally getting a break in the drought. Walk on bro
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What a nice walk in the woods! And all that green stuff poking out all over gives us folks up here hope that southern winds send some our way before too long now. We're probably a good month or more behind, but you remind us that it will come!
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Great story JC , Was that a picture of a creek there , I thought all the water was gone from Georgia . Hope you have been getting some rain .My son is finally starting to bowhunt with me , he's 24 and seems to be hooked big time . Thanks for sharing and on another note see if you can sweet talk Miss Kim into giving me the recipe for that world famous " Breakfast Casserole " . I kinda have a craving for it . Hope all is well with you and yours , Fred
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JC, Nice to see a father & son enjoying the outdoors together...Doc
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Must say "GREAT JOB BRUDDER" HONOR them Younguns :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
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JC, all I can say is "Aho" (thank you) brother for the story. I too find just the time in the woods anymore more fullfilling even if I take no game. As our ancestors said. " A ha lani cha" (till we meet again.)
Donald
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Very well written Joe! Thanks for warming our hearts as well as our souls with your prose.
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Thanks for your kind words guys.
Fred, yep, praise the Lord we've had a little rain lately. The creek in the front of the house and the springs in my woods are all flowing now. Glad to hear your son is sharing our passion with you...I know how it warms a father's heart. I'll have Kim email you the recipe, she'll be flattered.
Vance, your words ring true. At one point yesterday we walked up a steep hill and Chase was in the lead. For the first time in his life, he truly set the pace. All the wrestling and conditioning he has done pushed his ol' man a bit...if I had not given it an honest go, he would have walked away from me. It was a joyful revelation that my son was growing into a man...and also realizing I will soon have my own "drag unit" :bigsmyl:
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Trout lilies! Ah! And the spring beauties and bluebells and the skunk cabbage rising! Fiddleheads and mayapples, and the mysterious call of the veery and the hermit thrush..thanks for the hope, the reminder, the re-emergence of the greenings in the woods.
Killdeer
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Nice!
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It was a great time. Thanks for going JC and Chase, it was well worth the time to find the valley at the end. I have a good feeling that we will be going back next deer season.
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Thanks JC , nice to bring a little bit of color , can't wait for the spring to be around now !
Eric .
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Cool pics, cool storyline and cool hair! Thanks JC my cobber mate, it's always good to see someone spending time in the woods.
AK
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No game this time but when Chase gets a shot I think the meat pole will be heavy...... Check out his form from last year. If he looks this good just huntin stumps, think about what will happen when it has hair and breath !!! :scared: (http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u89/nocams/JCs2-3-07005.jpg)
nocams
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Well told little brother! Brought a touch of spring to this old heart.
:clapper: :clapper: :clapper:
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I can only hope the future will have days like that for me with my children.
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Good reading JC. Looks like a great area to hunt. I have very fond memories of hunting with my dad, uncles, and cousin.
Wrestling and hunting are two things important in my past. I don't think that there are any better activities for a young man.
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Fine tale well told, JC.
As I read the read half-dozen entries, I found myself scared to death you'd actually kill a hog... a 250#er W-A-Y bsck over those rills and ridges. Mebbe it's a good thing to give Chase a few more months to build muscle before a "win" like that occurs!
Hope you get in amongst the bear and other critters in the visits to come to this place. I look forward to the stories... and the pics. Thanks for taking the time to share it with us.
Daryl
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Thanks for sharing. Brings back memories of my son and I in the Swamp or on the River. Have lost my hunting parterner to ALS, and now my son is in the Army. I miss them both. But, hopefully, my son will return one day to tramp the Swamps and River banks, as my hunting parterner. For now your story makes my Heart Soar, on the wings of hope.
Thanks again!
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JC,
You are an excellent writer!
Very nice. Beautiful country.
God bless,
Jaz
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JC,
Great pictures and an even better narrative as everyone has said. Fine sons you have there!
Steve
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JC, Nice story, looking forward to seeing all of yall at the state shoot.
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Thanks Joe. Chat with ya tomorrow.
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cool beans!!!
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Great story JC, good to see you and your son enjoying spring. Quality time, well done. No spring here just snowdrifts!
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Morning guys and gals. I have not had time to log in and catch up for a while. Missed you all.
Fred asked for the breakfast casserole recipe so here goes....very simple really...
1 package shredded hashbrown potatoes
1 package shredded cheese (I use the "mexican" variety)
1 Large can Cream Of Mushroom Soup
2 packages sausage....cooked (crumbled)
14 eggs beaten
salt & pepper to taste.
Mix and bake at 350 for about an hour or until potatoes are done.
This is what I fix for JC to take to "hunting camp" so this makes a large amount. You can cut it down and play with the recipe. When JC is watching his carbs, I only use half a bag of potatoes. It's better that way, just isn't as filling...
Chase has loved his hawk....I thought this was for wrestling (regions) but it seems that this is "do" is staying.
I can live with that.... :saywhat: :D
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OH MISS KIM.....THANK YOU :thumbsup: THANK YOU :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
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JC - Just in case you are getting too warm or miss a good tracking snow. Wish I could just give it to ya.
(http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r257/bow_dude/snowydrive.jpg)
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Steven, miss tracking snow? Yes...but I don't miss "losing snow"...that stuff is deep enough to get lost in!
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WooHoo! Think that breakfast casserole will work in a dutch oven? Can't see why not.
I'll let you know!
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Great story, awesome writing. I almost expected the snow to be gone when I looked outside afterward....it wasnt. Looks like some serious country there. Good luck with the critters.
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Originally posted by ishiwannabe:
I almost expected the snow to be gone when I looked outside afterward....
Thank you, that was EXACTLY my hope in writing it. For all ya'll still stuck in cold/wet/white conditions...hold on! Spring is around the corner. :clapper:
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Spring showed up here in MI today, and Winter is due back with a vengeance tomorrow! :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:
Nice pics and story JC. Wish I was there.
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Great story! Your picture of the shale ledge brought a smile to my face. Below is a picture I took on Saturday from my place in the Missouri Ozarks.
(http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a79/bmnash/March%2008%20scouting%20trip/IMG_2027.jpg)
Thanks for sharing your "walk with weapons"
Bill
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Dang Bill....looks like home! Thanks for that pic, cool to see geographic similarities like that so far apart. I mean, that literally could have been on any of the hillsides we were on Sat.
Gregg, if you ever can take a break from scraping, sanding, gluing etc., you know you are welcome at my place!
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Very nice JC....Thanks for sharing....
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Whip,
It's great in a dutch oven. Just and a little oil to keep it from sticking.
I forgot to tell you guys and gals to spray your pan/glass dish with cooking spray before you pour the mixture in.
I never think about stuff like that....sorry! I don't measure and everything I make is slightly different each time. Hope it works out for those who try it....
should be hearing from Vance. He called last night to say he was going to give it a go! :thumbsup:
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Thank you Miss Kim ! I knew others would appreciate that . Too good to keep secret . My wife is an excellant cook also and leans towards baking , I think I am destined to be a fat old man , don't know how JC stays in shape with your cooking , be well , Fred
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I've been saving this tread, by not looking at it til now. Thanks for sharing the day with us especially us snow bound ones :( And a wonderful day you all had! Great pictures also, spring is just around the corner :thumbsup:
Oh yeah and now I have this crazy craving for scrambled eggs with the fixens at 5PM. Need UM Milk :D