Hirshey's Hunting Season 2016

[Boss .300 winmag]

Quit teasing us with old photos. 

[hirshey]

Derrick

[hirshey]

Jeff

[swanny]

keep it coming, always love the stories you share! 

[hirshey]

Storm

[hirshey]

So the day finally arrived for our departure from Washington and 5 humans' migration to Idaho. We converged upon our small town and modest hotel room to ensure everyone had the proper gear for the trip, and to consolidate any excess gear. The exercise ended up being fruitful, as we dropped a few pounds prior to the start of our hunt. Before the morning sun could change the hues of the sky to muted pastels, we were up and at it with our preparations. Packs were loaded, rifles were stowed, and adventure awaited. When we arrived at the location we planned on setting up base camp (my Kifaru 12 man tipi) each of us had a task to set about to help with our group's success; two went to cut firewood, one went to pump water, and my mother and I set up the tipi, inflated thermarests, and organized camp gear. Faster than ever before, we found ourselves ready to hit the trail for spike camp, which was a good thing seeing as we decided on a location 2 miles further interior than ever before.

[hirshey]

Our arrival at spike camp heralded similar efforts in shelter, firewood, water, food, and a few modest benches around a fire ring. Jeff had made a major contribution in purchasing an 8 man Seek Outside tipi and stove for spike, so we were set up better than ever this season for comfort in both locations. We constructed an outdoor fire and set to work on one of Jeff's traditional creations on the first night: Coho salmon and chantrelle mushrooms. YUM! We all went to bed with full bellies, a small celebratory swig of whiskey, and a hunting plan we were certain would usher in the start of our backcountry success; good thing the whiskey was on board, otherwise how was a girl to sleep??

[Jason]

Wow...Your telling of your hunting adventures gets better every year!!

[hirshey]

The soft hum of Lucky One by Alison Krauss (fitting?) welcomed us to our first morning of hunting, and these stats:

Kari: unfilled deer tag, 2 wolf tags Evie: unfilled deer tag, 1 wolf tag  Derrick: no tags  Jeff: unfilled deer tag, 1 wolf tag, 1 elk tag  Storm: unfilled deer tag, 1 wolf tag

We were ready to get to work, with the exception of Storm who has a history of migranes, and unfortunately acquired a debilitating one on opening morning. With this unexpected occurrence, plans were shifted slightly; my mother was going to go with me to my favorite basin while Jeff and Derrick went big to chase elk on a ridgeline one major drainage to the west. We had InReach devices for communication, and set out our separate ways.

[hirshey]

Mother-daughter duo

[hirshey]

Aaand, I'll be back with more a little later today... have to make a drive for some turkey and company for the afternoon.

[Boss .300 winmag]

Ughhhhhhhh you and RB dragging out your adventures. 

[Mark Brenckle]

Haha, can you please keep this going until the spring? Love these stories and thank you for taking us along!

[hirshey]

Ughhhhhhhh you and RB dragging out your adventures. 

A girl has to eat! I lost 10 pounds in Idaho this year! I'm starving as my metabolism revs away!

[Okanagan]

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Thank you for taking the time to post your story, especially to do it in digestible bits.  Love your stories and enjoy them the most of any post all year.