Five days in the woods away from the office!

[JackOfAllTrades]

My high hunt... a solo trip because our boys are in college/highschool and my prefered hunting partners are busy bringing home the bacon. The first morning the day before season was spent on the ten mile hike in on part of the PCT then a jog over a couple of valleys to where I've been keeping an annual eye on the possibilities. OK, you get the picture, NOT where the forest fires are. Notes to self: I picked the wrong socks for that trek. Don't stub my toe ever that bad! 
I saw a good bear mid day but I wasn't about to toss the trip on a bear on the first day in temperatures where there's less mercury in the little bubble at the bottom than there is in the glass. Opening morning I hit he high country expecting to see 'something'. Nada! Next day... Nada! So I took a trip into the reaprod and windfall where it's a wonder I didn't turn a knee or fall on my face. Sign!  But if I got to see anything to shoot at it would have had to nearly step on me. It was so dark, a 25yd shot would have been a stretch. Back to the high country the next morning. OK.. a little frustrating to find that muley bucks were living like blacktail. er'  uh, a Bronx pimp. 'Never in the same bed two nights in a row'.  In one of the photos there is a buck bed in the shade just below the rocks that I located a month ago. In the recent five days, from what I could tell, that bed wasn't occupied during daylight hours no matter what the temperature. And having spent a little time in that area, I think I know why. -go with me here... 
Without getting ip address records for the site, I'm willing to bet that a majority of our membership are city dwellers. Nothing against you... I've lived there too.  That doesn't make you any less of an outdoorsperson. The rest of us are lucky to live rural, and those of you that live in the sticks are accessing the site via dial-up. OK.. I know there are many here that would say I live in a metropolis. How many of you hear coyotes bark and yip with your bedroom window open on a weekly basis? Living on the outskirts of a small town in dairy farm country for the last 12 years we hear song dogs all the time. OK.. I'm making a point. I know what they sound like when they get the neighbors cat, a bunny or rodents out in the pasture.
Sunday night from my sleeping bag I heard something not quite the same. Funny that the wife and I recently toured the Woodland park zoo. Yes, they have Elk... Right next to the Wolf exhibit. 'talk about teasing the dogs!' Anyway there's this repeating wolf howl recording that is almost monotonous. Please preface this with the fact that I do not claim to be any sort of canine expert. But I feel that I know what I heard was not yotes on Sunday night. Not the high pitched yips and barks, but much deeper growls and howls. One particular howl that was not the media enhanced wolf on the clif-top with nose to the full moon, but the triumphant announcement that I have blood tickling my vocal cords in a deep and wallowing gasp of air that no southern Mississippi Baptist choir marm could ever think of duplicating. Not 500 yds from my sleeping bag it is a blood curtling announcement. "I am dog. I have killed".
I do not believe it was coyotes.
Not funny at all, both Friday and Sunday nights I hiked trails as late as 10:30pm in the dark. I will rethink that option on future trips to the area.
The next morning the crows showed me the kill site. Do coyotes kill deer? Yes. But this buck had a mile of open ground to outrun sprinty little song dogs. The throat is ripped open/away as if Patrick Swaysee performed the move himself.(the movie Roadhouse). The neck was not broken. They had their fill, but left lots of meat. The next night, the valley was quiet. No yotes coming back for leftovers.
Other than that I saw some great country and if I had someone with me I may have hunted it different. A few guys had come in after not being able to hunt where the fires are, but once they left on Monday I felt it safer for me to bug out too. (It's one thing hiking trails and such alone, but when most of the time is spent off trail on the slick shale... -well, we're not all like Boneaddict.) My wife appreciates that and the rest of my vacation will be spent on honey-do's an a little fishin. I had a good time up there and will go back. Just not quite the same place.
-Steve
 

[X-Force]

Better then 5 days in the office. The wolf howl would have had me second guessing being there.

[WaltAlpine]

You look suspiciously close to where I was last weekend. We didn't see any good bucks, but lots of great country, does and bears.

[Ridgerunner]

I don't like hearing about the wolf report that's for sure, great looking country though.

[JackOfAllTrades]

Things that worked on this trip. (other than jerky, trailmix, granola/energy bars)
-REI stratus sleepmat
-Still like my Katadyn Hiker water filter.
-Lightest, durable, expendable, collapsable water bottles are 2 litre pop bottles.
-Cabella's mid weight poly long underwear
-Eureka soloist tent is fine for a small person. Shave some ounces by replacing the metal stakes. The coughland plastic stakes can be trimmed a bit to fit the loops and they weigh less than the expensive metal light weight ones. A free-standing tent would be nicer though.
-Vasaline soaked cotton balls in a pill bottle work great as cheap lightweight fire starter.
-Rayon knit benie hat for the chilly night/morning.
-Ziplok bags with one serving of rice, stove top stuffing each. Just add hot water.
-Mountain house Lasagna and the beef stew are... Pretty good... 
-Snow Peak Hybrid cookset with Ti spork. Use the pan as a lid for the pot to keep heat in while heating water to save fuel. Pocket Rocket stove stows inside. 
-MSR Pocket Rocket stove. Lightweight and burns hot even at 7,000'. Epoxy the hole in the bottom of the stove container for a four ounce tea/coffee cup. I did not completely use one fuel container and every meal required hot water.
-Quaker non-instant oatmeal!
-FigNewtons.
What didn't work-
-Dehydrated chicken breast cut in strips.  Next time I'll dry the cooked strips, but then grind them into a powdery meal to add to the stuffing. As it was edible, was like rubber though.
I would add some dried banana, apple and mango strips on the next back country hunt.
What I forgot-
Toothbrush and toothpaste were back at the truck. 

[Maligator]

Nice pics...and I have to agree that any day outdoors is better than one spent at the office 

[Wyoming08]

  Great Pictures! That howl makes the hair on your neck stand up, doesn't it!!
Great story, thanks for sharing.

[Greenhorn]

Wow, great pics and story!

[Johnb317]

Thank you for sharing.   Been in the backcountry with only a bow in hand and know the sound of a wolf howling at dusk.....walked a little faster

[jackelope]

Very nice, Steve.

[carpsniperg2]

Some cool pic's for sure

[Chesapeake]

Having grown up in Alaska I don't get your safety concern about the wolves. They are common up there. It was interesting to read the whole country boy bit and then have it followed by the "fear of wolves" bit. LOL!
If you want to test your mental toughness read the book "Alaskan bear tales" just before you do a solo wilderness camping trip. That will get a teenagers mind buzzing when it's dark.
Don't ask how I know.

Sounds like you had a fun trip. Nice pics.

[Maligator]

Here is an AWESOME backpacking stove for those concerned with weight... It's called an Esbit Stove I take this badboy whenever I'm gonna be hiking in a long way and it sure does work well and takes up almost no space!

[wilsongideon]

Sounds like an adventure! Any trip you come back safe on is a succesful one in my book.

[fillthefreezer]

like the pictures, thanks for sharing