TradGang Bear Quest # 4 2010' Unpacking & Wheels are Turnin for BQ # 5 JUNE 2011'

[Novaln1975]

Looking North



S.

[Novaln1975]

The 1985 SAAB 900 survived the trip one more time.



S.

[PV]

No Time for story telling today Whip. Promise to get to it when I get the time. Way it looks long about Monday. bd you the man to keep so many happy with not much to work with in the way of a KITCHEN!!!!!!!


I will say the the mutual admiration society of Marty,Mike and Barry was a thing to behold......

*******Remember guys, we have some younger folks reading along********


Catch you guys later....

[Kip]

Congrats to all for another great trip,great stories and pics only wish I would have been there.I am signed up for next year already.Paul very nice ,cook and bear killer all rolled in one among many other talents.Tell your wife thank you for tip where to eat.Legal Seafood was great wife and myself loved it as did other couple and we enjoyed Boston a bunch.Simon nice pics cannot wait to see it in person again.Will sit back and enjoy rest of second week adventures.I did not hear from Jay but I saw his pic in group where you at Jay.Kip

[brill16hockey]

Where's Waldo?

[Hill Hunter]

He probably left because of that bloody Pink arrow sticking in the ground.

[chadt1]

Whats up guys i just got home long trip 1100 miles. Bob i will give you a call tonight and fill you in on the last day. I had a great time meeting all the guys and the hunting was good also. gonna go unpack and love momma up before i get put on the porch.

[brill16hockey]

You mean this pink arrow?



Nah, those pink arrows arent man enought to scare any bears away ;-)

Chad, sounds good buddy, cant wait to hear from you.

[chadt1]

Any word from the last evening of hunting on the 2nd week.

[bill langer]

GOOD JOB on the bear PV and thanks again for the great meals and company!!!

[Dick Langer]

That pink arrow looks like its at the moose tower stand. Good job PV you got redemtion.

[Gatekeeper]

By the end of the 2009 Bear Quest, Bear Quest III, I was exhausted from spending 52 hours in a treestand over a 6.5 day period. All of my muscles ached from trying to remain motionless for such a long period of time. To help alleviate the aches I rotated from seated positions to standing positions every ½ hour. This helped in the beginning but after a few days this began to loose its effect. I'm sure many on here have experienced days much like what I described and can attest to the struggle we as hunters go through to remain in the treestand, but it doesn't keep us from coming back for more. After awhile it becomes a challenge if not an obsession and in my case it made me determined. By spending so much time in the stand I missed out on a lot of the camp camaraderie, but I wanted a bear and that wasn't going to happen if I wasn't in my stand. Anyway, I left the Rothman camp last year a little disappointed and a little frustrated, but also determined to return the following year to Bear Quest IV to try again. It wasn't that I didn't see any bears or have opportunities to shoot. I set my goal for a 150# bear or bigger. Determined to stick to that goal, I left Canada empty handed, but filled with one more adventure to tuck under my belt and pictures to add to my memory book to remind me and to show others the adventure that I had.

It was like Déjà ve, one year later I found myself crawling out of bed at 03:00 in the morning after only three hours sleep from the night before to begin the marathon run to LaTuque, Quebec, Canada. A hunt that I had eagerly signed up for before leaving the Bear Quest camp in 2009. At the end of the morning's flight Tippit, who graciously offered to pick me up and transport me back to his home before we departed for Canada, greets me at the Boston airport. After a few last minute stops we arrive at his home where I meet Jeff's wife Molly and Trad Gang member George Galan AKA xroadshunter. After introductions and greetings we were off to the backyard for some traditional archery fun.

 

 

 

A short time later Paul Van Vaerenewyck (thank goodness for copy and paste I could never spell this last name on my own) AKA PV arrived and Jeff took us into his "man" area. All I can really say is that Jeff may have a problem. In a 10' x 10' (I'm guessing on the size) den there was traditional archery equipment everywhere. It was overwhelming there are bows, bows and more bows. You name it and I bet, whether he knows it or not, he's got it. I made the comment to Jeff "you must get one bow a week in the mail" Paul replied back with " you may want to refigure that timeline when you see the basement."

Not knowing what to expect and taking Paul's comments as over exaggeration, I followed my host and the rest of the gang down the wooden staircase leading to the basement. Now I don't remember the words that fell out of my mouth as I stood their like a slacked jawed mouth breather, but I'm sure they can't be recited on here without causing me problems.

The basement is unreal! It is a private museum. There is memorabilia and traditional archery history in every nook and cranny in the room. The upstairs room was either an overflow area or a staging area for stuff that is eventually going to be moved to the museum. There are bows on top of bows, arrows, quivers, mounts, hats, pictures, magazines, books, sheds, strings, flyrods and God knows what else. Years and years of history in one small area, there was too much to take in at once. It was fascinating! I found myself walking from one end of the room into another room and then back to where I started.  I followed this path over and over and saw something different with each pass. I kid you not, HIS BASEMENT IS OVER THE TOP AND OVER WELMING! Jeff, thank you so much for showing me your private collection and allowing me to share the photos with the rest of the gang. Like most photos, they don't do the actual room justice. The camera, unfortunately, just can't pickup the detail and depth of all of his collection, all I can do is stress how fantastic it is.

 

 

 

 

 

[ksbowman]

Atta boy Tom, I've been waiting for this to start! You're stories are always the best and jam packed with pictures. Keep it coming!  Ben

[Barry Wensel]

Regarding Jeff's Man-Cave.. Molly said one time she stopped counting his bows at 500. And our wive's think we're bad? Thank you Jeff!UB

[Gatekeeper]

After the tour we headed upstairs where we eventually met up with Barry and Marty







and set down for a meal that Jeff and Molly had prepared for us to give us the energy that we needed for our journey north. Molly is an excellent cook and gracious hostess. I felt welcomed from the beginning. Thank you very much, Molly for your hospitality.

[Wapiti Chaser]

Sounds like a great was had by all ! Jeff's basement is incredible.

[Gatekeeper]

Barry, just by looking I guessed the bow count at 700, but I'm know I didn't see them all.    :eek:  

Yeah...thanks,Jeff. You make us all look good. I can always point to you and say "see I'm not that bad!"  

[Gatekeeper]

For the most part the drive to La Tuque was uneventful and dark. My road companion was Paul. He is a great traveling companion and we traveled in style in his brand new, 4000 total miles on the odometer, still smells new, Toyota pickup. This truck will be broken in after bear camp for sure. The most excitement we had during the journey north was when we all were standing on the side of the road with our tally wackers hanging free taking a leak. 02:30 in the morning and we hadn't seen a car in miles, but guess who shows up. Canadian Highway Patrol and not just any CHP, but a female cop. To quote Barry "I had to cut it off in mid stream."



"Keep moving you can't park here" was all she said.






After getting somewhat settled in we all drew the stand that we would be hunting. I drew the Long Trail. I remembered this stand from last year and wasn't too excited about my pick. I like a stand that offers a little bit of a view and The Long Trail's views are limited. The foliage is so thick at this stand it doesn't allow the hunter to see very far into the timber. So the chances of seeing a bear prior to it entering the bait area is pretty slim. For me, confidence in the setup means a lot. The more confidence I have the more effort I'll give the hunt and the more time I'll put in the stand. Never the less, this was the stand I drew and I was going to make the best of it.



Time to change clothes and head out for our first bait run.









I didn't hunt the first night. The sandman was calling me and after 36 hours of no sleep I needed a couple of hours of shuteye and did exactly that.

[Gatekeeper]

The following, day we were on another bait run. My bear baiting partners were Marty and Barry. To say each trip out was interesting is an understatement. Marty was very interested in knowing as much as he could find out about me and was relentless with his questions. The only thing missing was a dark room and 100 watt bulb hanging over my head as he grilled me with each mile of the drive. Actually, I enjoyed every trip out. The stories that Barry told and the songs that Marty sang kept me chuckling the whole time.

 

 

 

 

 

The Long Trail turned out to be a bust for me and when the opportunity came up to draw another stand I was ready for it. My new stand would be the Glove....

Continued on page 53

[Herdbull]

Were any nice bears taken on the "Bird" stand during week TWO? I saw about 18 during week one, but I know Marty took one of them that moved over to his bait the last evening. Thanks, Mike