My hunting mentor invited me to be his support on a black powder late deer season hunt. This window of four days allows one final chance at a deer before the season is over. It’s short and sweet, so you have to use all the waning daylight you can to be in the field. I took my shotgun to watch for grouse, but my main mission was to learn from my mentor. Time in the field with this accomplished sportsman is worth it, and a rare gift of his time with me. We were in The Snoqualmie Tree Farm for the whole hunt. Though we did not find any deer or grouse, many good things happened, including a lot of learning for me. Thanks to the people who take time to teach and offer opportunity for others to learn.
The weather played a big part in making our hunt difficult. This may surprise some, because the sky was clear and the sun was out- but blacktail deer sleep away bright days, and become more nocturnal. They get too hot in the sun with those warm winter coats coming on. Rain and clouds are what bring these deer out, so we saw very little activity, in fact, none. No deer showed it’s self the entire four days we were out, and we were covering lots of ground. My mentor thought it might also be the uptick in chemicals being used on the tree farm grounds. They spray herbicides in the young plantings, and spread treated sewage everywhere. The deer are repelled by these unnatural applications in their landscape. We could not find any brows or tracks in these chemically altered spaces. My mentor ever said he might stop coming here to hunt because of the disruption.
The views of our surrounding mountain ranges was quite magnificent. I’d not seen a good panorama of The Olympics for a while. In one of our spots, we were high enough to see just above the teenage plantings to our west. I spent some time scrambling along a recently logged off ridge line to get a picture. While picking my way through slash and slope, I picked up on a fresh set of deer tracks that went in the direction my mentor had gone. He would pick a place to hunt and I would stay on the opposite side of the road from where he went in. That way, he would know what direction I was in, and I stayed out of his hunting ground. Black powder guns don’t have a long range, but having a plan on where everyone is to keep out of each other’s line of fire is an important part of safe hunting. If my mentor wanted to change position, he would first meet me back at the truck at our planned check in time, and then make a new plan so we were always on the same page in the field.
My hunt for grouse was fruitless. There was not a bird in sight where we were. Was there any wildlife at all? Yes! We had an amazing encounter with a young bobcat. While checking out a quarry for deer- “a quarry?” you ask, yes, a quarry, where deer will sometimes look for mineral deposits in the exposed layers of earth; Wes saw movement just before I picked up on it- I was driving. We stopped the truck and watched a bobcat slink across the road and into the woods. That’s usually how you see a bobcat, briefly crossing the road. But this cat did not go too far. Moments later, as we got out to look around, the cat popped back out on the road and gave us another show. We began to observe the animal together, noting its dark morph and unusual behavior. My mentor guessed it was a young animal that had not learned to fear people yet. The encounter was magical.
Bobcats have amazing camouflage. Can you see it in the picture above? It’s crossing a log right to left, about center in this photo. I only knew it was there because I’d watched it moving for a while. My mentor and I were happy to stand and observe the animal for as long as it chose to be around us. You might be wondering why we didn’t hunt it. Well, we didn’t want to. Bobcats are not good eating, and the pelt market is not something I wish to participate in. We had our small game license, and could have harvested this cat, but that was not our intention. We were appreciating the opportunity to observe and learn form a shy, mysterious animal. The cat seemed to pick up on our intentions, and came out a few more times to show off it’s unusual dark morph and how athletic it was. I got a great series of photos as it ran away down the road.
It was a gift to watch the bobcat for so long. Sometimes it’s good to pause in a hunt to let nature show you a few things. I was glad my mentor wanted to take the time with me to watch. That was a special moment for both of us, and we cherished it. Time in the woods can slow way down. Each day there was a series of adventures. There had been a recent wind storm that knocked down a lot of trees. Many roads were impassible, which shrunk our hunting options, but there was still much ground to cover, so we did some driving, a lot of scouting (looking for recent tracks or brows) and my mentor took a few walks into recent clear-cuts in hopes of getting a deer up. They usually lay down to rest during sunny days, so you have to go into the open places and try to spook one up from it’s lay. My mentor is in his 70s, and though he is still in good shape relative to his age, he went slow, and had to take breaks between each wander. The relaxed nature of this rhythm helped me relax and enjoy the days too. I was often on a road keeping a safe distance while watching for a grouse. Not even a wing beat was heard.
I did find mushrooms, chantrelles were on the menu each night when we got home in the dark. This year, mushrooms have been off the hook in these woods. I would carefully hunt the ground, keeping a sharp lookout for any golden treasures, and I usually found them, quietly waiting on the edge of a tree line, or half buried under the needled of a fir tree. It was wonderful foraging, and rewarding to find some almost everywhere we went.
The golden light towards the end of each day was also beautiful to watch. Though on our last evening out, the weather was changing, and a thick mist rose up from the valley below to blanket us as the light faded. My mentor was a little frustrated, because it closed our last day of hunting a little earlier than we had hoped. Once the light is gone, even if the hunting hour is not over yet, you can’t shoot what you can’t sight in. Though the mist was welcome earlier in the evening, as a motivator to move the deer around, it soon became our shut out. I sat and documented the change in light as the fog set in.
Things got dark and still faster than we realized. As I waited, I thought about how quickly the conditions change in the higher elevations where we were. Even with the influx of moisture, the deer remained illusive and we ended out last evening without harvesting any animals, but I still got a handful of mushrooms.
When my mentor came out of the hunt to rejoin me at the truck, I was amazed at how well he blended into the landscape with the added shroud of mist. I took a few photos to show how hard it is to see someone in this kind of situation, burning the images into my memory. Late season black powder does not require hunter orange. You can see why knowing exactly where your hunting buddy is prevents confusion or worse, a fatal shot at someone. Never point a gun at something you can’t see clearly. There was a moment when my mentor’s movement first caught my eye, that I thought he was a deer in the low light and poor visibility. I continued to sit still with my gun across my lap, sorting the visuals that told my brain one thing, while my wisdom said remain still and just watch.
Hunting has taught me a lot about what our eyes perceive, versus what is really before us. For the rest of my life, I know I’ll have moments like this, thinking I see one thing, when it’s really something else quite different. Learning not to react with sudden impulse in these situations is a key safety skill. What a lesson that day. Again, so much gratitude to my mentor for inviting me on the experiential learning adventures. Of course, I’m also there as additional brute strength in case there was a deer harvested. Having a buddy to help get it out is always good. Though we did not receive a deer in this hunt, I got some priceless in the field dirt time with a man I have a deep love and respect for. I hope to pass these experiences on in my own mentoring, and look forward to more time with others in the hunt. So much gratitude for all the opportunities to learn and be with good teachers, who are also continuing to learn.
EEC Forest Stewardship 