Tough Love on the Mountain

[Kyle85]

So there I was... bow-in-hand at 6,000 feet on the windswept southern slope of Mauna Kea, Hawaii's tallest volcano.  I was in an open grassland where I couldn't move without being conspicuous, so I found a little dry creek bed / arroyo and started walking down on the bottom where there was a thin ribbon of sand offering me quiet footing with my movements mostly concealed by the banks of the creek and tufts of grass and low bushes growing above that.  As I rounded a bend, a feral sheep suddenly scurried up the far embankment and I froze just before it stopped and turned around to give me a good stare.  The minutes creeped by, the breeze filtered through the grass, the sun arched overhead, I gently adjusted my weight between my feet to relieve my cramping muscles, and with a little tail-flick, the sheep finally sauntered over the rim.  I resumed my stalking with renewed caution, and as I cleared a tuft of grass, I saw a little shrubby tree with a deep pool of shade to my left.  In the shade was a long, dark shape that demanded inspection.  Under the 10x magnification of my binoculars, I was able to see, just 30 feet away, the long hairs protruding from the flank of a boar, sound asleep in the shade.  A sharp-angled shadow on one end revealed the position and orientation of the boar's head, and therefore an eye pointing my direction.  So, even as close as it was, because it was facing me and I had a creek bank to scramble up before I could do anything, I had no way to shoot from there without spooking him first.

I slowly melted back below the grassy bank.  I prepped for a long stalk to come in behind him – stripping off my backpack and shoes, taking a sip of water, and gathering my nerves.  I slipped off with my stockinged feet back up the arroyo, and crawled up over the bank a good 30 yards away from the boar at an angle I calculated would be out of view.  I crept inch-by-inch in the soft soil going into the breeze without making a sound.  At a little over 20 yards, I could see the shade tree he was sleeping under ahead and a low bush between me and the tree, as I cut left around the bush that sharp-angled shadow caught my eye again – was I still in view of his eye?  Just as that thought crossed my mind, his head suddenly jerked up, and ice ran in my veins  "Oh no!".  He lurched to his feet and stepped out – a 100lb boar with 3" white tusks shining in the sun, quartering to me, and offering no shot as he challenged my presence.  After a quick moment to verify what he saw he quickly turned and trundled off across the arroyo and up the far bank never to be seen again while I took a knee and melted into a disappointed puddle.

Pu'u Huluhulu, which roughly translates as "Wool mountain" is an interesting place near where we were hunting that we visited on the last day, and there are many many sheep in the vicinity. It is a 150' tall by only 4-500 feet wide miniature hill close to the high point of the saddle between Mauna Kea and Kilauea (the two big volcanoes on the island of Hawaii), and is largely surrounded by huge expanses of flat prairie, and equally large swaths of black lava rock left over from old eruptions that look like huge black lakes and rivers frozen in time on the sides of the mountains and in the plain of the saddle.  Due to the hill's peculiar character, Pu'u Huluhulu is itself a green oasis covered in thick grass and Koa trees that do not otherwise occur in any close vicinity to it, making it a particularly distinct feature on the land.  This probably explains why at the very top is a creepy carved statuette of sorts with the dessicated remains of various Hawaiian leis and ti-leaf ropes and other fetishes left behind by native folks making prayers and offerings..  Standing on top and looking miles away through binoculars you can see little dun-colored dots on the old black lava flows that reveal themselves to be mentally ill (or highly adventurous) sheep for some reason. Why are they on that barren, black rock in the middle of the heat of the day?  What could they possibly want out there?

I came home empty-handed from that hunt, but perhaps wizened and more experienced? My buddy Tucker got himself a feral ram, and friend Joseph got a boar too.  I saw lots of game birds out there - Turkey, Francolin, Hungarian Partridge, Ring-necked Pheasant, and California Quail - all out of season.  At least the grocery stores are still open for me...

Tough love on the mountain.   -K

[EHK]

Tough love indeed.  These critters all seem to want to survive.  Thanks for sharing and better luck on your next stalk.

[rastaman]

Great write up! Thanks for sharing!