I have this thing for deep forest- and I will go to a lot of trouble to find a section of forest that is either untouched or seems that way. I know I am there when it feels like it could be 2012 or 1712.
One area in Maine I used to hunt was a 1.5 mile canoe paddle to a small landing, then a short hike. It was an other worldly place and truely unusual for most of Maine woods in that it was fairly open.
The other is an old growth section in Colorado. The understory itself is over 60 foot tall with firs towering over that by a fair margin. Some views are 1/4 mile, but through heavy treed forest. VERY primative. The deadfalls in there are epic too. So bring your patience.
What forest have you hunted that made you feel like a time traveler? Or awed to be stalking through?
Joshua
Unfortunately in SC the most remote we can get is a large tract of game management land and does not provide the pristine old growth forest effect...however....with young kids, civilian and military employment...I am at the point where as long as I cannot hear traffic or run into other people, I kind of get the same satisfaction. My policy, when hunting and flyfishing...hike until I stop seeing trash and other indicators, then hike another mile and start there.
All the cedar swamps in Jersey give me goose bumps and have me thinking an Indian will walk by at any moment.I love the cedars in the morning.
Any piece of bush that has no computer, cell phone, traffic of any kind, just peace and quiet. I hunt in the foothills of the Rockie Mountains, and find it to be very serene. Even if I don't see any game, it's still awesome!
Lake City Co. back in the 80's
Selway Bitterroot Wilderness in Idaho and Montana. No roads, no gas powered anything. Beautiful dark timber, meadows, bowls and drainage's...quietest place I've ever been.
They were logging in there when I was elk hunting way back in on horses. The loggers were using those big draft horses to pull the logs out when I was there.
I hunt some state land that was my grandpas farm back in the day. Old growth hardwoods and deep valleys. Kinda bittersweet hunting next to rusted relics of farm equipment that was once my families. The price of progress.
Rob
Michigan's Upper Penninsula, or the Northern part of the Lower at the peak of fall colors.
County Line Valley in the Siamese Wilderness Area in the Adirondacks of upstate New York. Once you get a mile from the road and river the next 6-7 miles in just remarkable! I have taken my bow for a walk a few times and it is a neat trip! Last time I went I followed Moose sign the whole way....kind'a cool for New York!
Try the Pacific coast range in Oregon. Old growth timber in alot of places. Just magnificent.. Ferns chest high. Trees hundred feet tall and huge around.
I spent over 25 years hunting Aberdeen Proving Grounds in MD, a 35,000 acre hunters paradise that used to be farmland before WW1. What makes it beautiful is it was loaded with tons of big racked bucks.
We do a nice 45 mile back-packing trip in the area we hunt in the Cascade close to North Cascade national park and there is a section of the forest that reminds us of the Lord of the Rings and it seems like a Ork could be behind any tree. Just a neat section of woods with ferns a huge old firs.
I do miss sections of woods in the San Juans of CO that made it feel like it could be hundreds of years ago.
I love my pine hardwood mix at my camp.
A walk after my hunt with my grandaughter.
(http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p191/Kip_album/camping2009etc013.jpg)
but I also love the palmetto bottomland hardwoods at my hunting club.woods and duckblind.
(http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p191/Kip_album/DSCN1382.jpg)
(http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p191/Kip_album/DSCN1374.jpg)
but I also love my time in the Canadian woods.
(http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p191/Kip_album/DSCN1207.jpg)
I haven't downloaded some Rocky Mountians pics but I also love it there also and maybe anywhere I will be hunting and enjoying nature.Kip
Love to hunt in my home state of Chihuahua Mexico.
(http://i977.photobucket.com/albums/ae254/4x4vet/chihuahua2-1.jpg)
(http://i977.photobucket.com/albums/ae254/4x4vet/chihuahua1-1.jpg)
(http://i977.photobucket.com/albums/ae254/4x4vet/chihuahua3-1.jpg)
Sierra Nevada's, up and down California. If you get high enough and back in far enough you feel like your hiking with John Muir himself.
QuoteOriginally posted by Buckwheaties:
Try the Pacific coast range in Oregon. Old growth timber in alot of places. Just magnificent.. Ferns chest high. Trees hundred feet tall and huge around.
X2! Wilderness area's, Hard to describe but unreal timber. I will go back again one of these years even just for camping and stump shooting.
Tracy
(http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b58/Hallstead/IMG_0445.jpg)
The Olympic peninsula rainforest. If you lose your way it will be 1720 and your trying to survive to get out. You can watch Elk, Deer, or Bear cross the trail or river anywhere you walk. Climb high enough and Mountain Goats, Bears, and Cougars, rule the landscape.
Yes, right here in Oregon.
(http://i415.photobucket.com/albums/pp233/TradNut/101_0110.jpg)
West Central Montana First day of archery season 2010..Love it **Photo credit to my good friend rookiebowhunter**
(http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/l554/rileynrita/montana042.jpg)
QuoteOriginally posted by zootown2007:
West Central Montana..Love it
(http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/l554/rileynrita/montana042.jpg)
Wow, that looks like it off a post card!! Beautiful!
I only got to stump shoot here, but someday I would hope to return and find a black bear...Southeast Alaska
(http://i886.photobucket.com/albums/ac67/peastes/8698b1ab.jpg)
The Kentucky woods is hard to beat.
(http://i54.tinypic.com/2urvxwz.jpg)
(http://i52.tinypic.com/2qtcwf5.jpg)
(http://i52.tinypic.com/2ujilo8.jpg)
(http://i56.tinypic.com/kbokcl.jpg)
I know there are more remote places but I'm with Ron, the Adirondacks feel ancient at times. Early morning mist off a vly as you roll out of a homemade tarp lean-to and pine bough mattress....
A fly-in hunt for elk and Sitka blacktails on Afognak Island, which is right next to Kodiak Island.
(http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh271/chinook907/rszdafognak.jpg)
Anywhere in Northern Michigan or the mountains of Colorado...
(http://i1121.photobucket.com/albums/l502/MrDwood/DSCN0950.jpg)
10,500 feet up there.
This is where I hunt whitetails and turkeys; 5 minutes from the house.
(http://i886.photobucket.com/albums/ac67/peastes/3d03d72f.jpg)
I have hunted the rockies in northern Colorado the appalachians in West Virginia and my home range in the Indiana hardwoods and they are all very special and beautiful places
Man you can tell I'm a crappy photographer!
Native Elm forests of Northeasten Saskatchewan, 7 foot ferns with a American Elm Canopy. Elk Paradise!
There are some places here in UT that are realpretty, but not off the beaten path. One of the places I've felt like I was back in time was in ID.
(http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h160/steadman_2006/IMG_0459.jpg)
Tracy if your headin back, you better stop here and pick me up! :)
Great pick buddy, looks like a awesome place.
I would gladly stop and pick you up my friend couldn't ask for better company on a long trip. :bigsmyl:
Great picks everybody keep em coming :thumbsup:
Tracy
living here in Colorado we have some hugh pieces of wilderness. miles and miles... and altitude to go with it.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v683/timkoi/stuff761.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v683/timkoi/arrow2183.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v683/timkoi/arrow2182-1.jpg) (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v683/timkoi/arrow2181.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v683/timkoi/arrow2180-1.jpg)
Our Sierras
Anywhere along the Brule River or Armstrong Creek near my beloved Shrew Haven camp.
(http://www.shrewbows.com/rons_linkpics/Brule%20River.JPG)
Great thread!
Any place I'm at is my current favorite.
My most accessible favorite place is the James River just a few minutes from my house.
Further from home the breaks in the south central part of my state are incredible, especially so in September when the sumac is turning. One morning this past September while coming back to camp after the morning's hunt, as I gazed out over the landscape of deep draws filled with cedars, oaks, ash and elm, and marveled at the hill tops covered with the brilliant purple of sumac, it hit me and I absolutely knew it was true, that I was the most fortunate man on the face of the earth. It was an exhilarating feeling...one of those times and places you go back to often during the long months of winter...
The pictures I took are good, but they don't do the moment justice. If I knew how to post them here I would share them with you.
Kevin
northern mn bwca and just about anywere with montains just love north west nm
Colorado sure has some pretty places...
(http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e175/Wapiti1/474b3799.jpg)
Kodiak and surrounding Islands, deer, plus elk & bear with a drawn tag.
Big Sur on the California coast.
I think my top two would have to be anywhere in the Rockies and the cypress swamps of La. With that being said, I absolutely love seeing new places. I think the rolling farmlands of the Midwest are awesome and I really hope I can make it to the Adirondacks and Catskills one day. The list goes on and on.
Lots of really cool pictures.
I have to agree with North Idaho and Western Montana. It's easy to feel like you've gone back in time. The Sierra Nevada in Ca. runs a close second.
Mark
I love the Wilderness areas of SW VA. I have also really enjoyed hunting NE Alabama. I wouldn't trade my time in CO or MT for anything either. I guess you say I'm not picky :D
Great pics everyone. Keep 'em coming. I am kind of partial to the Adirondack Mountains in northern NY. Some of the oldest mountains in North America.
Thank You for posting your favorite hunting spots, the winter is long and I needed this. Beautiful photos , Trad Gang people are the Best!
For me...I love hunting any river bottom that's iced over & a little bit of powder on the ground. I love seeing the fresh tracks & like having the river frozen over. For whatever reason it seems like the turkeys in my area like to walk across the frozen rivers. I've never gotten a shot @ one but it's sure fun to watch.
But, I don't like freezing my toes off...so the ambition to hunt starts to dwindle once it gets below freezing.
Copper Country State Forest in the U.P. of Michigan. There are virgin white and red pine in here that give you a sense of being in a primordial forest. It is remote and unspoiled.
I really enjoy the Southern Indiana hardwoods when the leaves change in late October. This is some of the public land I hunt.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v701/crenfrow/roadtocamp.jpg)
This is a beautiful country we have here isn't it?
For me a toss-up between the Buffalo National River and Flatside Wilderness area in Arkansas.
Colorado
(http://i1255.photobucket.com/albums/hh628/fjguyette/P9070069.jpg)
(http://i1255.photobucket.com/albums/hh628/fjguyette/P1000058.jpg)
sorry thought it was resized
(http://i1255.photobucket.com/albums/hh628/fjguyette/P1000058.jpg)
(http://i1255.photobucket.com/albums/hh628/fjguyette/P1000063.jpg)
First try at posting pics, I guess it worked
see if this worked
(http://i1255.photobucket.com/albums/hh628/fjguyette/P8290028.jpg)
The western U.P. of Michigan, and south western Pennsylvannia, with family and friends. It doesn't get any better! Can't wait for the seasons to change. We truely are blessed to live in this great country with so many great places to hunt.
The first two are North Idaho and the third is Sierra Nevada, Lake Tahoe.
(http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e125/MDS65/IdahoElk055.jpg)
(http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e125/MDS65/IdahoElk010.jpg)
(http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e125/MDS65/bow004.jpg)
Canada
(http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd107/miller_cem/P1060115.jpg)
SE Ohio
(http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd107/miller_cem/Tradgang13-small.jpg)
More SE Ohio
(http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd107/miller_cem/Tradgang02-small.jpg)
There is no doubt that all these woods are beautiful. You guys are lucky to spend time in them.
But me, I'll take the deserts of the Southwest.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v177/GreyTaylor/AZTrip012.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v177/GreyTaylor/AZTrip025.jpg)
Guy
I, too, love the desert southwest. A wild and rugged place where everything will stick you or bite you.
(http://i886.photobucket.com/albums/ac67/peastes/5e4f8878.jpg)
All the wilds are a beauty to me.
I will say that the Rocky Mountain states RULE!
I have had guys from AZ and OR hunt with me. They say the hunting is WAY better than where the are from. We do have a bunch of differnent game to hunt here, and quite a bit of it, except where the wolves live.
northern Alberta
(http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6131/6188798293_c5b8ef5d87.jpg)
(http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6151/6188784825_b2db131a1b.jpg)
Summer stumping area (http://i981.photobucket.com/albums/ae298/bfreese_2010/041-1.jpg)
Elk chasing area (http://i981.photobucket.com/albums/ae298/bfreese_2010/016-1.jpg)
(http://i981.photobucket.com/albums/ae298/bfreese_2010/019-1.jpg)
This is a picture from the Dolly Sods Wilderness Area in WV.I spent a lot of time there in the '70's and '80's.It was about half tundra and half woods and could snow 9 months out of the year,with extremely rough winters.
(http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a140/jbrandenburg/Scan0019.jpg)
Of course MT has a lot of varied and beautiful terrain.I've hunted in the Sierra Nevadas in Northern California a little,and they have to be seen to be believed.
It is just hard to beat the Eastern woods when the Fall colors peak.I wish I had taken more pictures of them when I was there.
The timber I love the most is the one I own... Standing on your own ground is a feeling like no other. At least to me...
I've been a few places, and seen some beautiful remote country. NWT, Utah, Arizona, BC, SK, Ontario, Yukon, Adirondacks, Colorado, etc. Here's my current favorite location, and I'll be seeing it again in a few months:
Interior Alaska's prime moose and caribou country.
(http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g13/dillbilly/Alaska2011061.jpg)
Every woods that I am presently hunting in. Thanks for the nice pictures folks. When your in the woods ENJOY the moments.
New wallpaper, thank you Mr. Dill! Even the small file size worked well, the large file would make some money for you as stock!
Looks like Russell Annabel's place!
Killdeer :eek:
JimB, I played with the white balance.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/Killdeer/Hunting%20and%20Camp/Highland%20and%20Nearby/Scan0019.jpg)
Yours has more of the forboding aspect of the skies. You feel so unprotected there, vulnerable, and the weather can turn on its heel and be replaced by something completely opposite in a trice. I look on the flash of sun on a freshly garnished tree and savor the blessing of light and heat. Have to, it will be gone in a moment.
That place is sacred.
Killdeer
I think it's usually the last place I went hunting out of state.
In this case, a Nebraska Creek Bottom.
What do you think?
(http://i1198.photobucket.com/albums/aa460/WI-Canner/758388ff.jpg)
No such pristine place here. Can't get away from farm machinery or road traffic. BUT, there is a small area nearby I call Hidden Valley. It can't be seen from the road. It is my illusion of remote wilderness, good for a day. I go there to daydream and do as little as possible. Then, the crushing reality returns on the trek out. Ah, but for those moments of departure from the mundane, life would be less interesting!
QuoteOriginally posted by Killdeer:
JimB, I played with the white balance.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/Killdeer/Hunting%20and%20Camp/Highland%20and%20Nearby/Scan0019.jpg)
Yours has more of the forboding aspect of the skies. You feel so unprotected there, vulnerable, and the weather can turn on its heel and be replaced by something completely opposite in a trice. I look on the flash of sun on a freshly garnished tree and savor the blessing of light and heat. Have to, it will be gone in a moment.
That place is sacred.
Killdeer
Thanks Killie.that looks nice.It was actually a forboding day and the wind was brutal.It is a special place.Wish I could get back into some of my old haunts.
Marbel Mnt. wilderness N.W. Calif is pretty neat
Beaver ponds gone to meadow
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/Killdeer/2007Bowhunt2-1.jpg)
Little gardens everywhere
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/Killdeer/Hunting%20and%20Camp/GardenatSlabcamp2004.jpg)
Springtime
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/Killdeer/Hunting%20and%20Camp/VanceRun600.jpg)
Off to the knob
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/Killdeer/Hunting%20and%20Camp/2010%20Highland%20Hunt/IMG_3311.jpg)
Killdeer
The Flattops, Colorado. The first place I went elk hunting many moons ago.
But I can not remember being in any woods that I didn't like.
War Bluff area of Shawnee National Forest in extreme southern Illinois.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v606/bgentry/whiskybreathpartdeux007edit.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v606/bgentry/whiskybreathpartdeux005edit.jpg)
some on the other side of the valley
(http://i981.photobucket.com/albums/ae298/bfreese_2010/045-1.jpg)
I have really been blessed by being able to learn how to hunt here in Montana. Sure there are lots of areas where there are lots of people, but I've been on trails that I know nobody else is around for miles. Pretty awesome.
Yes it is TJ!
I long to see with my own eyes some of those Western areas with the silver aspens(I think) with the yellow leaves some of ya'll take when elk hunting. Mike Mitten had some sweet pictures of different Western hunts he'd taken also. Maybe he will share!
I like my backyard woods too! By the way these are all from areas at the time of drag out. :)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v75/varmint101/065.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v75/varmint101/121909012.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v75/varmint101/101109019.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v75/varmint101/LongbowDoeKill1021070007-1.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v75/varmint101/LongbowDoeKill1021070016.jpg)
Just fantastic stuff......Killdeer, your photos always amaze me!!
I have a little hardwood hillside that falls away into a creek bottom on the small place I have in my home county. It does not have the majestic look of some of the beautiful photos seen in this thread, but it just looks like what the autumn woods in Midddle Georgia are supposed to look like in deer season. Being there relaxes me. That's where I talk to God a lot.
Everywhere I've been has it's own special beauty, to me, anyway. Here's some from my files....from Alaska, to home, to Georgia, and Florida...
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v508/woodwizard/FeathersthrutheWind003.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v508/woodwizard/scenic/Gear1.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v508/woodwizard/scenic/Riverbottom2.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v508/woodwizard/scenic/Korypriairie.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v508/woodwizard/scenic/2008hunt046.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v508/woodwizard/scenic/paradisepigs008.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v508/woodwizard/scenic/paradisepigs020.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v508/woodwizard/scenic/paradisepigs038.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v508/woodwizard/scenic/paradisepigs049.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v508/woodwizard/scenic/CIMG1428.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v508/woodwizard/scenic/Florida026.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v508/woodwizard/scenic/Florida006.jpg)
tahr country for me.
http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=104207;p=8
some of the places i've hunted water buff solo have nearly chewed me up and spat me out. heavy paperbark swamps with blowdowns and knee deep mud. the swamps of cape york are special.
my time in BC was great too.
this is the walk from the boat (boat access) to 'scrub bull creek' on cape york. old growth termite mound forest. LOL
(http://i530.photobucket.com/albums/dd349/ozyclint/Picture.jpg)
by the way, does any one know how to edit the date out of the pic? it would look good framed minus the date.
Although the Bighorn and Grand Teton mountain ranges probably take the cake for me so far, I have to say the older growth areas of northern Maine that have not been victimized by clearcutting really take my breath away. I've seen some incredible views up there deep in those woods.
Yornoc,
Here are a couple of Bighorns pics since you love our range. I feel very fortunate to live within a few minutes of these pics.
(http://i886.photobucket.com/albums/ac67/peastes/7ef98af3.jpg)
(http://i886.photobucket.com/albums/ac67/peastes/604de8a9.jpg)
(http://i886.photobucket.com/albums/ac67/peastes/d4ee8349.jpg)
Thats what I'm talkin' about!
Pat...that last pic is stunning!
Seeing these pictures and reading the descriptions its obvious "stewardship" is alive amoung trad archers.
I was just reading a biography of Fred Bear and one camp he stayed at in Alaska (I think) required all hunters to hand over the plastic bag, orange peels, wrappers and other stuff from the previous days packed lunch to obtain another days snack. Pretty good approach- those outfitters knew what they were doing.
Joshua
Like Ken (http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll306/mongoose030/076.jpg)tucky TJ says, I too like the woods of Ky
Incredible photos everyone!
The old growth maple hardwoods of Porcupine Mountains State Park in the UP. Have not been there for years. Need to go back!
(http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/ac170/longcruise/lkclouds.jpg)
Lots of waterfalls up in the Porcupine area. Awesome area. That Lake Superior dishes up a brutal winter though. Snowing pretty good up there right now. Big Storm passing over, from Minneapolis to Green Bay to Canada. Maybe someone can put on a fresh picture with about 2 feet of snow. Snowshoe land!
I look at these pictures in my office and I can breath again!
Thanks to all posters
F-Manny
Glad I found this and maybe someone else will enjoy.
Some more from Colorado:
(http://i1121.photobucket.com/albums/l502/MrDwood/DSCN1110.jpg)
(http://i1121.photobucket.com/albums/l502/MrDwood/DSCN1109.jpg)
(http://i1121.photobucket.com/albums/l502/MrDwood/DSCN1113.jpg)
(http://i1121.photobucket.com/albums/l502/MrDwood/DSCN0978.jpg)
(http://i1121.photobucket.com/albums/l502/MrDwood/DSCN0921.jpg)
(http://i1121.photobucket.com/albums/l502/MrDwood/Image1-1.jpg)
(http://i1121.photobucket.com/albums/l502/MrDwood/DSCN0956.jpg)
Can't wait for September!
Great photos everybody, beautiful country we are privileged to hunt in.
I would have to say the mountains in Colorado would be the most beautiful woods I have been in so far. I am headed to Austrailia in a couple weeks for a Red Stag hunt and I hope I have a new favorite afte that hunt.
Bisch
(http://www.tradgang.com/upload/terry/cohuttamistpic1a.JPG)
That's Wicked Terry!
^ DANG, thats wild looking
NW Colorado is one....NE Iowa driftless area is my favorite though!
(http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/417457_3492389915229_1435962113_3437903_685208139_n.jpg)
(http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash2/59891_1618267223333_1435962113_1642911_7528716_n.jpg)
I'll hafta say the woods behind my house. They aren't the prettiest, by far...but their beauty lies in the fact that they are MINE!
My two favorites are Ron LaClairs Shrewhaven lodge and the backside of Lone Mountain (inbetween Lone and Fan mountain) on the other side of Big Sky, Montana. One has a bunch of good friends attached with a 'grizzly bear' mountain man leader and the other has lot's of Grizzly bears (along with elk, mule deer, mountain lions, moose and black bear) for a true wilderness feeling-although I haven't been there since the late eighties, I still have pictures in my mind.
the Colorado Rockies with the big old growth pines, golden fall aspens and crazy rut'n elk. Oh my friend that is a little bit of heaven.
(http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w39/rcswampbucket/IMG_1896_1.jpg)
(http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w39/rcswampbucket/IMG_1816.jpg)
(http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w39/rcswampbucket/IMG_1765.jpg)
(http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w39/rcswampbucket/IMG_1492.jpg)
(http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w39/rcswampbucket/IMG_1418.jpg)
(http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w39/rcswampbucket/IMG_1331.jpg)
(http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w39/rcswampbucket/IMG_1177.jpg)
(http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w39/rcswampbucket/IMG_1146.jpg)
(http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w39/rcswampbucket/IMG_1100.jpg)
(http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w39/rcswampbucket/IMG_0810.jpg)
(http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w39/rcswampbucket/IMG_0770.jpg)
(http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w39/rcswampbucket/IMG_0529.jpg)
(http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w39/rcswampbucket/IMG_0486.jpg)
(http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w39/rcswampbucket/IMG_0400.jpg)
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I have no pictures of the woods I'm thinking of. They are woods on the edge of the "Bald Knob" at the end of Schooner Valley Road in Brown County, Indiana -- about 15 yards from the Brown County State Park. That's where Mr. White-tail and I first met in 1970.
I'm going to go back there this summer to take a couple of pictures and see if even the nails in that old permanent stand are still in place.
This thread inspired me to want to do that.
Thank-you!
Probably the most inspiring thread I have ever viewed..thanks to everyone for sharing
Northern Maine
northern Quebec
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7179/6818350266_7f06ef1e5f.jpg)
out my back door
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mine would prolly be my camp in sw ms. when the leaves are changing in the fall from yellow to orange, hard to beat that. watching a river bottom with the big creek flowing thru.
Central Idaho. Along the Salmon River just north of where the Pahsimeroi River dumps into the Salmon. It's where I chase elk and muleys every September. Also see bear, moose, mtn goats, bighorn sheep, wolves, pronghorn, and an occasional turkey.
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QuoteOriginally posted by okla bearclaw:
Northern Maine
Especially from a canoe in September... lots of waterways.
I've been fortunate to have hunted in a lot of places in this country, and Canada, each has it's own special qualities, but Kevin Dill's picture on page 5 is it for me. I lived in Interior Alaska on the banks of the Yukon for 4 years, and hunted the Yuki River each September. Getting up on a small ridge off the river is a view I will never forget, you could see for miles, the colors were spectacular, and you never knew which of the many small oxbow ponds would reveal a moose. Even though 30 years have passed, I remember it like yesterday....
David
Backyard in Alabama. Big snow.
(http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff14/LoneWolf73_photo/KimsiPhone013.jpg)
Mt Hood National forest
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My back yard
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The jungles of the Oregon coast range
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(http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u301/kirkll/Hunting%20pics/elk%20hunt%202011/SANY0067.jpg)
Slide show below... click on photo
(http://s171.photobucket.com/albums/u301/kirkll/Hunting%20pics/09%20elk%20hunting/th_Elklamp021.jpg) (http://s171.photobucket.com/albums/u301/kirkll/Hunting%20pics/09%20elk%20hunting/?action=view¤t=ce681b8d.pbw)
i've hunted a couple times in the rockies including just below the 14,000'mt. sneffels south of montrose and that was unbelievable country...but my favorite hunting is in my home state of ohio...i've hunted the wayne national forest since 1964...i've taken a few very nice bucks in it...i was born and raised there...in the athens district...each year on halloween weekend we have a 9 day deer camp there thats free to anyone that wants to come...its very primitive camping in the woods but near a twnship road...we've killed some nice bucks at the camp...several being killed by guys from other states...as said i,ve hunted here since 1964...to me once i get out in those woods its as nice as anywhere...and the hunting is great...
Outside Kotzebue, Alaska
(http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y295/jkmolongbow/AlaskaTrip-092.jpg)
Glassed for Bou from Castle Rock
(http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y295/jkmolongbow/HPIM0248.jpg)
My place in MO.
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Nothing like your own place. Very lucky.
I will say the prettiest day I ever spent in the woods was a day in mid October in N. Mo. It was the early 80's and the oak leaves were bright orange. I think every leaf on every tree decided to fall to the ground that day with the light breeze. Walking thru the woods was like walking in a snowfall of leaves. Haven't seen anything like it since..........
Here is a picture of the woods of northern Maine. I took this picture this past fall when I hunted bear with Hunters Point Guide Service. It brings back great memories. God willing I'll be back in 2013. God bless, Scott. (http://i703.photobucket.com/albums/ww33/pricklybuck/100_0014.jpg)
Beautiful slide show, Kirk.
Killdeer :wavey:
My little 27 acre plot.
(http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y275/420W/1319664824.jpg)
I hunted and treked in a lot of different areas, but in my case I would say North Western British Columbia on a Mountain Goat, moose and grizzly hunt. I was just east of Alaska and just south of the Yukon.
I shot a mountain goat on top of a mountain overlooking Llewellyn Glacier. I will post some pictures if I can get my daughter to scan them in. I have pictures of me looking down on mountain goats, now that took some doing!
Gil
ttt for the dreamers!
Every time I come back ....more great pics :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :notworthy:
The day I heard an elk bugle from that stand of aspen is still etched in my memory. I've seen more beautiful places, however the sound of that lone bull made the sight even more special.
NOTE: Press your F5 key to refresh the page if the photo fails to download.)
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I sure wish I had taken that picture!!
Killdeer :notworthy:
You and me both Kathy! I don't think I could ever tire of seeing that one.
Travis
Thanks guys. Killie, I only had to run between the camera and that spot about three times to finally get it right . . . many more dashes and I probably would have knocked the tripod over due to lack of oxygen!
Not far from home, here in Colorado.
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INCREDIBLE
The pictures on this thread really highlight the diversity of landscape and overall beauty of the U.S.
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a little surf & turf from Ca
Great thread !
a ridge in the Dack's.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v119/adkmountainken/kens003.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v119/adkmountainken/ledge.jpg)
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Sorry for taking a while to get with it. Upper Peninsula Michigan on my little piece. Hey just figured this out, the picture actually shows up. Camera sd card will not upload but old pictures work or have to get a cd made to dowwnload. Hope I can join in some of the fun.
Franklin County Virginia, near Farrum, is the most beautiful place I've hunted. A friend has a house on the side of a mountain that was built in 1859.There are remnants of old shot-up stills still there.
We can walk out his back door, climb the slope, and see purple mountains in every direction.
There are rocky outcroppings we use for "stands". Quite a place.
Crane Pond wilderness area, Adirondacks
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God bless America. Wow, this thread delivers! Keep the pictures coming guys, I love it!
This is a great thread! Let's keep it going, if I could post pictures I would, maybe when I get home.
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Great pictures, Ken, Charlie and everyone!
North Ontario, summer 2010
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Fall 2008, South East Ontario
That was the most peaceful time for me
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This is an awesome thread... Our country/continent sure is a beautiful place.
I get complacent sometimes of my own backyard and dream of exotic places but I am truely blessed of what I have within 45 minutes of home, desert to sub alpine tundra. (http://i580.photobucket.com/albums/ss248/barebow13/IMG_0843-1.jpg) (http://i580.photobucket.com/albums/ss248/barebow13/IMG_0051-1.jpg)
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This is a trail I use to glass from. (http://i580.photobucket.com/albums/ss248/barebow13/IMG_0756-2.jpg)
This where it all started started for me with a longbow. (http://i580.photobucket.com/albums/ss248/barebow13/IMG_0123-3.jpg)
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Those are all some pretty places
I lived in Eastern Ohio for several years. Career change moved me and my family back to California. I miss the Eastern Woodlands.
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The Yellow Dog River Michigan
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there is this one little spot, ontop of a rise, where I bowhunt, that in the fall look down where the skraggly creek bottoms meets open harwoods that I just love in the fall.
Alaska morning. Moose hunting close to my house
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Later in the day
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Its been fun to see all those spots back east. I LOVE seeing where you all hunt. I'll add some photos later.
However, for me theres this one spot. I don't have any pictures...
Getting there requires a 3 hr truck ride, doesn't matter where from you leave. It has the isolated ignominy of being one the the most solitary spots in the least populated county of the least poulated state of the lower 48. 2 of those secluded hours are on an endles dirt (not gravel) road giving way to a two track, with nothing but miles of sagebrush hills interspresed by wildflowers for your eyes to process as they follow the ribbon along. Abstract Antelope, trickster coyote and iconic bison are spotted on the horizon melting into spacious blue skies filled with gossamer clouds, all of which beckon your soul like a feather bed to drink it in and rest from the moment.
After weeks in waiting, entombed in the chains of a babylonian office, this vast awakening of reality, which our minds can not take in momentarily, serves as palladium to the weary spirit longing for solitude, rest. This drive down rugged, rutty roads serves to jar the sense from hustle-bustle into the peace only to be had by a lazy afternoon underneath mother natures canopy. That quality is somehting we must attain in order to really feel the solitude there being offered like caloric sustenance to a weary being. As has been said, nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.
Eventually, the mountains are seen looming in the horizon, growing everpresent and larger wtih each passing mile. This time traveling is to prepare me for what is to come.
Arriving at the base and finally succombing to locking in the hubs of my four wheel drive, the first major ford washes my jeep like baptism, opening the gate and preparing the course for proper entrance into that kingdom.
I've been there coutless times, but still to this day my heart will race as I approach the parking spot. I call it '5 mile', as it is that distance from the turn off from the 'big road' onto the sorry excuse for a cattle trail traveled. The place to leave the vehicle is itself rather lonesome, with no fanfare, sign or wide spot in the road to announce its presence. Only the memories in my singular mind mark this place as a jumping off point for exodus. Ineveitably I reach this spot late at night in aphotic existence of sight through hi-beams, slowing down with the window wide open, hearing my tires creep to a stop over dirt and rocks that havent percieved rubber for weeks.
My seat kicked back I settle into a restless night beneath the mountain, listening to the lonely night sounds of aspen leaves on the breeze, owl, cricket, and coyote singing with the occasional unitelligible shriek of what must be something in pain in the far off distance as if only to give a sense of its deepeness.
Mercifully jolting awake before the sun ever begins to throw its rays across the golden vista of leaves freckled with evergreen, I can't stand it anymore and get on the trail. Strapping on my pack with stick in hand my feet start moving the 4 miles and change up the interminable ridge it will take to get to 'the hole'. After what seems like an eternity of again following a single ray of light cast by my headlamp, nearly two hours of grappling with what can't be seen and only barely surmising what can, I inevitably get to the crest just at that point when a black sky begins to blush.
Resting on a rock I have rest my backside on before I can't help but be overwhelmed by the stillness of this place. The wind has died, the crickets grew tired and even the quakin aspen are no longer quakin. A skyline of jagged mountains across the valley have taken shape now and I realize that for all the stillness around me, I must be going. Even as the curtain seems to be being raised, another quarter mile must be covered before I can be present for the show.
Downward, plunging into a north facing slope of timber, dark at noon day, but down right ominous during the witching hour. I feel a chill on my neck, announcing the presence of a light miasmic mist of fog, slowing my pace but heightening the awareness of all my senses like a wire connecting synapses of environment with spiritual self. Sentinels scratching and clawing at me like fingers trying to hold me back, pine trees being to fill the air with there smell, my path with their presence. Barely they can now be seen, nay felt, all around me, with only so much color of an Ansel Adams photo, still in the dark-room, now reaching them.
I settle in, taking in this moment. My mind drifting to somewhere outside of me, breath slowing to match the pace of the world around me as it awakens from its still ensconced stillness, breath inhaling organic life in the air.
Finally catching up to this exodus I have been on, the painstaking, not patient, wait of the year behind me, I am nearly overwhelmed by how alone and quiet I man can still be in a world of loud and crowd. Just as I begin to fade out and increase that sense of being with a truly wild space once again, just as my mind begins to settle like dust to its native habitat, just as my breath feels symbiotic with the ethereal air around me, the show begins...
That air I have just gained is ripped out of my lungs, hair standing on end, pulling the corners of my lips to a smile, as the nasally song of the numen of the woods reverberates like so many bolts of energy into all that lives rooted in this earth. Screaming high pitched then loud and deep, the strength of 7 winters behind it, a bull announes the presence of a drama unfolding, the prize being no less then life and death.
With his song complete, this place too is whole. And I know am part of something very few get to witness, or allow themselves to be a part. Something so real, alive and deep it can't be man-made. Men can't be here, can't call it home, without giving of themslves and their own prideful nature. Even if they walk here, it can't be really expereinced without the humility to let go, allowing the god of nature to be at once in charge.
Elkbreath,
Your narrative returns me to a special place in the Absarokas. Thanks for sharing.