one second hesitation, a life free from sorrow

[dustybeat]

Crunching our way through the snow. a closeline from my friends arm, stopped me dead in my tracks. "Whitetail does on your right" Damians eyes and hand jester spoke to me. Nocking my arrow with shaking hands, I took aim at the closest of three bedded deer. I had it, this buck fever they speak of. 20-22 yards away give or take. This was it, first deer encounter in four grueling days of braving the elements and tredging through knee high snow. Something was off, my fading grip due to cold hands? No, grip was not needed with the bow resting against the meat of my hand. Thumb against my cheek as always, anchor point was solid. My posture, that must be what's off. Shifting my weight onto my back foot. CRUNCH. Silence in the forest had been abolished. Oh no she heard me, the closest deer ears perked towards the sound. One millisecond later her head followed.

[dustybeat]

I like to start my post by giving a big thank you to everyone from HuntingBC. Without your amazing stories of trials, tribulations, advice, success' and near misses. I don't think we would have built up the courage to go on a hunt this year.
Starting our trip off, we left the lower mainland around midnight. In hopes we could be in the potential hunting grounds before sun up. Unfortunately the road conditions on hwy 3 (through manning park) were treacherous, making it a slow go. Pulling over for a stretch at the brenda mine brake check, deciding then might be a good time to rest up a little before the next leg of the journey. Waking up freezing 2 hours later, I knew we had fallen behind our "scheduled" be there at dawn. Five minutes after departing the brake check, coming around a bend we spotted the first deer of the trip. From mid gallop to complete stop, Once the highbeams had blinded the doe she locked up. Scrambling with all her might to get back into the ditch, all she could do was slip and slide on the icy road. Likewise I tried to tap my brakes but with the shiny glimmer of ice on the road, I knew there was no stopping in that short amount of time. Swerving to the left we just clipped the deer, nothing was felt under my tires to my relief. Stopping a half km down the road, I ran back to make sure the deer wasn't twitching in the ditch or something equally grotesque. No deer nor blood to be seen on the road, no damage to truck, a little shaken up but definitely awake now(no coffee needed). I'll spare the details from the rest of the drive up, a little uneventful to write about. We did manage to catch a glimpse of a Wt doe and fawn crossing the road heading north on hwy 33.
Getting up into Christian valley we took to the best looking forestry service road on the map which happened to be Grano fsr (later we would regret this high mountian altitude). Cruising up the mountain we would stop periodically to see what kind of tracks we could spot in the snow. About 4km up we found what we thought was prime deer territory and decided to make camp. A dead end road in the center of a giant cut. With this being our first hunt/first winter camping trip we were eager to set up and get out in the snow. It was about 3pm when we got our tent (yes a regular canvass tent) set up and got geared up for the snow. Running through my checklist in my head we had everything from food to emergency survival gear. In all the excitement the only thing that was forgotten, just so happened to be the most important. To descent our selves with the spray. That first day, well it got dark rather fast so I should say night we traveled roughly a km up the mountian with deer on our minds and sweat in our jackets. Quickly learning the happy medium between what's hiking attire and what was needed to sit for extended periods in the snow.
*We woke up to -6° on morning one of our trip with big expectations of what the day would bring. After a brief safely meeting slash nap in the idling truck for warmth, we hit the trail with our bows and without our scent this time (some scent was still probably trailing us as this was our first experience with the whole ghost scenting). So much to take in the first morning of the very first hunt of your life. Tracks, rubs, bedding, smells, noises, and scenary all new to us. It was like being a kid on Christmas. Knowing then and there that this trial hunting experience was no longer a trial, but a new lifestyle. We were going through a metamorphosis, we would emerge outdoorsman.
I could write a short story for every day and* breathtaking moment we spent out there on the mountian. I wouldn't want to loose anyone reading this with petty details (as if my life was a Stephen King novel.)
*The first three days we stayed within hiking distance of our camp switching between heavy game trails and bedding areas. Setting up in makeshift blinds or laying in the snow if no cover was to be found near a popular area. We both had purchased ASAT(all season all terrain) 3d leafy pro camo which is basically a ghillie suit.

[markomoose]

and continue??

[dustybeat]

Staring down into the valley with hungry eyes. Thoughts of plump, field fed deers crossed our minds more than once. Climbing the coolie east of our camp on day three, to our suprise we had stumbled upon last nights bedding area of the resident moose. The thought of moose being within a half km of our camp, made my heart lift. Just seeing a moose in it's natural habitat would bring me more joy than any deer being dropped. After getting side tracked with moose tracks for an hour or so, we headed back to our camp for lunch and to revise our hunting strategies.
Over a fine meal of double barreled shotdogs( two hotdogs rolled up in half of a tortilla with bbq sauce and cheese) we came to the realisation. The lack of deer may have been caused by our needless trekking through the woods when we wernt blending into the forest. Then and there we had decided instead of staying within 5km hiking distance of camp, we would try driving into an area and blending in with minimal hiking in between spots.
At this point we had been having little luck with our fire place due to propane freezing up and my asolo wood burning stove staying lit for more than two minutes. Cooking food on my engine seemed within reason with the limited wood we had brought up with us.
Weary to venture away from the comfort of camp and the expensive gear we were leaving behind (I only say this after reading in a forum about looters in the area). Knowing that the only tracks we had seen on the fsr were from snowmobiles gave me some relief, maby we wouldn't come back to find we had been ransacked. We headed on down the mountian to see if we could find any huntable land in the valley bottom. Driving further and further away from our mountian camp, passing a million and one beautiful looking sites all on private property. We arived at a new fsr (rendal creek) that parraleled the river we had been trying to get close to. A couple of kms up the road we seen a unused road leading into a flat cut being blocked by a moderate size ditch. Humming and hawing I finally made the decision to venture through. About 10 ditches later (they were all perfectly manageable with my new vbar chains) we made it to a promising looking stand of timber. Amongst the timber was a gold mine of fresh tracks and a plethora of fresh rubs. Here was the first time we had came across what looked like fresh urine and I decided to cover my scent with said urine soaked snow (my girlfriend needless to say was not impressed when I got home

[North Arm Knives]

Good story so far! I was totally new to hunting last year too. Hope you got one! Looking forward to chapter 3
cheers,
mike

[RossP]

next installment please, need something to read at work and this is a gooder...

[rifleman]

keep it comin, so far so good... exciting read already...

[.264winmag]

Déjà view;)
good stuff so far bud

[TrickleCharger]

Love the double barreled shot dogs! :lol:

[dustybeat]

Sorry people had some free time today to write while on the ferry to and from the island. Back home now with the wife and kid who I haven't seen for the past week so I'll try to finisher up tomorrow. I can't read or spell check to we'll so I have to copy and paste it all from my memo pad lol

[Dash]

I can't wait to read the rest! This was my first year too but I didn't have any luck. I love reading stories like this!

[Seeker]

Hey Dusty, in your last post you said 'girlfriend was not impressed', now all of a sudden you are married with a kid! You move fast!;-)

[dustybeat]

Haha I call her my wife but it pissed her off haha we are common law partners with a two year old ;)

[markomoose]

Haha I call her my wife but it pissed her off haha we are common law partners with a two year old ;) Haha we'll let it slide cause we wanna hear the conclusion?You take any pics?

[dustybeat]

Once done my natural scent block we continued threw the new found area. Hopefully thinking we would come near the river at some point. Super fresh tracks we were following finally lead us to the embankment of the river. Only it wasn't the beautiful drinking fountain we thought it would be. Instead of sneaking up on a deer taking an afternoon drink, we found a skating rink. A few sections of fridgid water could be see through open cracks in the ice. Both of us shook our heads and he stole the wisper right out of my mouth. "Junk" (one of my most contagious one liners apparently, my two year old started to say it in the past couple months aswell). We had a small snack and a drink of water debating on weather we were going to try to follow the tracks onto the ice. After a quick scan 20 yards further up stream I noticed a decent size set of tracks that looked to big to be deer. Moose tracks, of course you know what that means. We're going onto what looked to be some sketchy ice. Not because I really wanted to see a moose, but the idea of what looked to be a decent sized animal not falling through. A network of tracks crossed the river and followed it along its course. Heading upstream on the ice we search for something that was a little less steep coming down to the river. Maby we would find a more popular game trail where deer were using the newly formed ice bridge. Finding a smaller bank with multiple tracks leading onto the ice, we decided to check it out. After further investigation we we satisfied and camped out. North of the tracks is where I decided to set up against a tree, still on the rivers edge. Damian found some low hanging branches across the river so he could see further up the popular trail* without being in smelling distance. Hearing some noise coming from the timber, i was on edge for the first hour or so. Four hours after we sat down I woke up to no feeling in my hands or feet. Hitting up Costco the day before we left I found a skookum deal on little hotties hand warmers. Those little things may not look like much but when your able to fill your gloves and pockets it sure makes the difference.* Thinking back on it now I don't think sitting near frozen water in -6° with the wind blowing in my face, was a good idea. At this point I needed to stretch out and get some blood flowing, avoiding the trail I went onto the ice away from my spot. Walked ten steps towards the middle of the river and then I heard it, frozen in my tracks . The first cracks sounded like they were thirty feet away, closer and closer they moved. Untill I could see them under my feet

[Sniperdan]

Somebody is an author! Not sure about waiting for the next chapter though!