The weather was very nice, unseasonably warm (last year we started in a snow storm). But it was still chilly at 7,000 feet (above sea level) so we had the fires burning. The tent footprint had to be shoveled free of snow before we could set up camp. Mom and Dad Petersen along with Jared, Uncle Daryl and Gabriel got camp set up on Friday afternoon.
Uncle Daryl had a couple of hiccups to getting started on the deer hunt...1) he left on tent pole on his garage floor while packing (Jared had to create a new pole of of the nearby timbers); 2) he also forgot the smoke stack prop (again, a prop was fashioned from the nearby timbers); 3) Gabriel forgot to completely assemble his gun, leaving the bolt safely separate from the rifle (he borrowed Mom's gun for the first morning hunt). You couldn't help but chuckle to yourself at each hiccup. :)
We were up bright and early on Saturday morning, waking at 5:30 am so as to have time to prepare our gear, eat breakfast and make it to our starting point before the sun rose. Everything went like clock-work.
We were on site as the light began to glow for our first sunrise. We hiked into the mountain bowl, whispering only when necessary, watching every tree and scanning all the open hill side. But for all our stealth we didn't see any sign of life! That all changed when we reached the top of the bowl; on every rim surrounding "our" bowl were hunters positioned, identifiable by the hunter orange vests and hats, orange dots on the horizon. There were at least a dozen hunters "glassing" us as we hiked along the bowl.Obviously that wasn't conducive to our successful deer hunt so we headed out of the bowl to more remote sections of the mountains, scaring a couple of doe as we went. Just over the ridge we encountered more hunters, so we adjusted our course and heading. Running into more hunters at every turn we plunged ourselves into the bottom of the ravine, taking care to climb down without scratching our guns or slipping on the rocks and causing ourselves any harm. We found our way past all the hunters but only saw a few more does running through the trees.
With no bucks in sight we headed back to camp to have lunch. The evening hunt found us heading in the opposite direction, to escape the onslaught of hunters on their 4-wheelers. We hiked over the top of the mountain only to discover 4-wheeler trails and full convoys of 4-wheelers coming over the ridge in our direction! It was no use...we were defeated. There was no sign of any male deer and we were completely surrounded by orange clad hunters! We humbly bowed our heads and headed back to camp.
Uncle Daryl and Gabe headed home Saturday afternoon to retrieve the missing bolt and to pick up Reed so that he could have a good camping/hunting experience. It was fun to have him join our group.
Sunday is a day of rest so we didn't go hunting. But with the snow still on the ground we had to forage for firewood. This was easily accomplished with the chainsaws, splitting mauls and hatchets. Everyone had to have a swing with the axe at least once.
Kyle woke up feeling under the weather and was forced back to bed for the duration of the morning. We did get the opportunity to witness Kyle receiving a blessing and to feel of the Spirit there in the tops of the mountains. After a lazy morning and some friendly conversation it was time to enjoy the beautiful world that our Heavenly Father has created for us. Mom was determined to take some of the beautiful world home with her and she went in search of perfect rocks for her rock garden. One rock she was looking for was on the side of the mountain; the family was not able to find it (a rock identified from last years hunt) she had to settle for a substitute rock.
As we drove around admiring the beauty and trying to figure out the best spot to go hunting on Monday we ran into some minor vehicular difficulties...the jeep stop going forward! But the able bodied Jared was under the hood in a flash and had the repairs quickly in order and we were off and driving once again. We wouldn't stop until we were on top of the world!
After completing our whirlwind tour of the mountain range, literally climbing straight over the top of the mountains, we headed back to camp for a much anticipated Sunday dinner of Elk roast and potatoes, carrots and onions. Of course, after a good Sunday meal no one is much in the mood for anything but relaxing. Reed and Kyle faithfully prepared the kindling for starting the morning fires.
Monday morning we were back at it but our enthusiasm was waning. Could there be any possibility of success? After hunting all morning we came to the sad conclusion that the deer were not to be found in this part of the mountain range. The early snow had driven many deer to lower grounds, the earlier hunters had been too successful and we had nothing to show for our efforts but some pictures and some memories. It was a beautiful camp out but a very unsuccessful hunting expedition.
