Do you remember Joshua Holm ??

[robodad]

Of coarse there are some of you on here going ....wait...what...who ??  and there are some that will not forget but this is just one little story about the Joshua Holm family that i'd like to share with you all.

I was called by Joshua's brother Jamie (my nephew) this past spring and asked if I'd like to return to Wisconsin to accompany him deer hunting this season and what did I say...HEEELLL yeah I'd be there. Jamie joined the Boy Scouts a few years back and while there took his hunters safety class and passed with flying colors so it was set that I'd drive there and go hunting with him and his dad (my brother) well circumstances prevented me from making the trip which kills me now but anyway Pete and Jamie said they would miss me being there but would "Get it Done" so I was good with that.

November 22 was opening day for them and with a little snow on the ground and some bitter temps it was shaping up to be a good season. The sign in the area they built their blind was heavy and fresh, seemed as though deer were crisscrossing the area on a regular basis and they had seen flashes of deer on a few occasions prior to opening day while setting up the blind and each time they went in to improve the stand more tracks were covering their tracks. This hunting area is in a public forest and Pete has a DNR permit to be able to ride a quad on the trail system that runs through this area so getting out a deer wouldn't be a problem or will it

They got into the blind on opening day and the temps were hovering around 0* and with the wind chill it felt like -10*-15* which would make anyone uncomfortable but stuck it out for the whole day and only heard a few shots in the surrounding area and didn't spot one single deer. On day 2 the same situation only the temps were a little warmer I think into the low 20's but the same result with the deer and no real fresh sign so they decided to make a change from sitting all day and on Wednesday headed to a little place we hunt quite often in Buffalo County (some of you know where that is) and do a little walking and still hunting along the river bottoms and swampy areas.

That morning the snow fell for several hours sometimes quite heavily. Now this is Jamie's first year as a hunter so he was packing the only gun they own while Dad walked slowly beside quietly coaching him on what to look for and how to pick out the deer in a wooded landscape and trying to read the sign on the ground in the snow at their feet. This area in along an old abandoned railroad with a few swampy areas and a few fields with rows of brush lining the outskirts of them along with some woodlots that are fairly open and the railroad built its tracks on a kind levy of sorts just kind of a burm that ran all the way through this area so they had a bit of an advantage being able to walk along these fields and woodlots on sort of an elevated position allowing them to peer down into the landscape looking for deer. Now this area I am referring to is off limits to quads and is several miles back off the main road and they had a couple railroad bridges to cross in order to get to the fields they wanted to hunt.

As they are approaching the field Pete spots what he described to me as a "Dandy Wide buck" standing broadside at 40yds and motions to Jamie to its location and Jamie just couldn't put eyes on it because he was scanning the opposite edge of the field and looked right through it it would seam. By this time the buck is getting nervous and just as it started to move, of coarse the conditions were deteriorating rapidly from a light to moderate snowfall to a whiteout just at that time when the snow flakes get from that medium size to the size of quarters and anything you look at just becomes mesmerizing and downright dizzying when it comes to looking through your scope.

[robodad]

This buck starts to bolt and Jamie still has not seen it he hands Dad the rifle and Pete takes a shot, by this time its about 150yds away and moving toward the wood line and no reaction from the buck, normally if he were hit there would be a stumble or jump or some other indication that the bullet hit its mark but time to jack in another shell and by this time the buck is at 400yds (according to google earth) and KA-POW shot number 2 and this time the buck did stumble although not the greatest situation to take a shot but these guys are new hunters and EXCITED, mind you after the deer had made it to the 150yd mark Jamie had finally seen it and was able to confirm the second shot hit the deer for sure.

A little time passes and they get their heart rate under control and sit down on a log to make a game plan, swig some Gatorade that by know after being in their backpack had partially froze so was extra refreshing, to now figure out which direction the deer had gone after it made it to the woodlot they gather up their stuff and make their way across the field watching carefully for the smallest bit of blood, there are tracks covering the whole field in every direction so it wasn't an easy task for a couple newbies "getting it done" so they make it to the edge of the trees and see what appears to be the stumble marks the deer made as it flew through the area at mach 4 so they knew they were most likely on the right trail now in this area like I mentioned it was a mix of eastern washington and western washington where there are swamps, oak thickets, nice open woodlots like an old growth patch of timber, and this area was pretty open as it was along a set of high wire powerless so the place this deer went into had the river, the powerless, and the railroad grade and boarders and was kind of pie shaped for the most part and approximately 3/4 of a square mile in size.

As they are following the tracks they decide are the "Masher's" because of their size they stumble upon a bed with just a few drops of blood in it.... SWEET !! the first real sign they are tracking the right set of tracks now the rest of Monday they go by what they can only guess is this deer's tracks because of the amount of sign in the area and without any more physical evidence and with night time quickly approaching and the temp dropping they decide to back out and make another go at him in the morning. I can only imagine what this nights sleep was going to be like, kind of reminds me of when I was a kid and my dad would never tell me the night before we were to go on a fishing trip cause he knew I wouldn't sleep a wink cause of the anticipation it had to be brutal !!

Thursday morning comes and they are greeted by a couple inches of new snow which, and many of you know what I mean by that sinking feeling you get when you know all the sign you once had is now 2" below a new blanket of fresh powdery snow under the canopy of the trees where in the field and any small opening would be more like 3-4 inches but not discouraged they make the 2.5 mile walk back down the railroad tracks and across the field to once again pick up the trail at the bed where they saw first blood, mind you this was maybe 300yds through the woodlot on the edge of the river bank. Arriving to the spot they notice another bed that also had blood in it and was fresher then the first one but still had snow over the sign so it was sometime before the snow stopped this buck had left that bed only to move just a few feet away and make another and then another in just a small area maybe 30square feet had made 4 beds or at least laid down 3-4 times but didn't stay long in any of them, they found more cast off and gravity blood spatter between these beds only after they walked through the area and turned around to see it in their boot tracks.

So now they knew they had definitely hit something vital, the amount of blood sign was picking up but then just as it began picking up it went away. An area with 3-4 beds with they estimate 1-2 cups of blood spread about the area and in the beds then nothing they searched all around the area to see which way this buck had gone and only snow-covered dimples in the snow indication some critter had walked through there they search and search doing ever widning circles and a sort of grid pattern with no meaningful results so discouraged and cold they decide to back out once again as the light was fading and temps were falling they set a coarse for the railroad grade on the gps when Jamie looked down into his dads boot track and seen fresh blood........ WHOO HOO !! found it and another sleepless night ensues. 

[boneaddict]

    I was going through photos and ran into a photo of him yesterday.   My daughter still wears her signed hat when we go hunting.  Very prized possession for her.  Now, I have to go read your thread.

[Boss .300 winmag]

Name sounds familiar but can't remember the story?

So what is the back story of Joshua Holm?

[boneaddict]

He was a great young man that was taken from us way too early by a horrible cancer.   Huntwa rallied to help support him and his family, and all those involved were blessed by knowing such a courageous youth and were fortunate enough to have their lives touched by such a soul. 

F R O G

[jackelope]

I remember Josh and was happy to get to hang out with Jamie a little too.

What a nice kid.

[actionshooter]

If I remember right, it was one of the 1st times the board members came together to help someone out.

[boneaddict]

He brought a lot of people together.   ITs how I met Josh.

[jackelope]

He brought a lot of people together.   ITs how I met Josh.

I think it was the 1st time I actually met in person members off of this forum. You and I, Fanatic, Huntnphool and 50calJim. Was a good day for sure. That was 2008 believe it or not.

[jackelope]

Boom.

http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php?topic=6669

[Birdguy]

Sounds like an epic hunt, hope the ending is what it needs to be. Congrats to the boy on completing his hunter safety and getting his Dad into the woods with him. Sorry you were unable to be there with them. Looking forward to the next installment of the story.

[boneaddict]

I know, cliffhanger or what?   

[robodad]

Yes like Bone said Joshua was and 11yo boy at the time he passed away, and it really broke his family, Dad was a wreck after staying by Josh's side every step of the way  for months and months and watching his boy suffer through the anguish and pain of not only having one of the most fierce and aggressive forms of liver cancer there was known to mankind but he also had to go through the treatment regimen of something not well known so many of the pills and injections administered did absolutely nothing toward kicking this things a$$ but played a huge role in undermining his immune system that finally just couldn't take the drugs any longer. His mom was fighting a 10 year battle with breast cancer at the same time so she was a basket case and being treated at the same time wasn't able to be close to Josh because of the fear of passing germs between each other and getting each other sick with even the common cold would have been devastating to either one of them and little old Jamie was just 8-9-10yo watching this disease tear his family apart.

That story has affected many lives here at Hunt-Wa and those that knew him including myself are very lucky people, He was a true inspiration and there are many many threads about him on this board if any of you want to get to know him you will be doing yourself a favor !! Now its several years later and little old Jamie has become a real guiding light in his community and still goes each month to the NICU where his brother was treated and brings the kids there a bit of cheer by sharing his own experiences he had during that battle and every month they bring toys and books to all the kids there to help them fight their own battle with the sick twisted diabolical monster that is inside of them.

[Special T]

Joshua Cup correct?

[robodad]

Joshua Cup correct?

Thats right Special T The "Joshua Cup" is a great fun contest for those that hunt out of state and is named after Joshua Holm !!

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