First things first, when I posted my "Late Chiwawa Quality Bust??" post (lost in the site crash), I was overwhelmed with the amount of pm's and advice I was given and I would like to personally thank everyone that reached out! It got me refocused and amped up big time....
Nov 6th -9th: After only seeing 2 spikes and 22 does I was beginning to worry a bit about the lack of weather and the 'any buck' vs. 'quality buck' dilema not to mention the utter lack of rutting activity! After a couple hundred miles on the truck and 10 miles on the boots and a few hours behind the bino's, I was at the 'any buck' stage going into the following week. However, with all the feedback from members on this site (I won't mention names not knowing who is and isn't ok with that) I was feeling confident that the best was yet to come.
Nov 12th: By now snow had started to fly in the Cascade's and the juices were flowing big time!! I had to work this day from 6am to 6pm, but we were very slow and I was driving everyone nuts pacing around mumbling to myself, so they let me leave at 10am! Woohoo! I called my wife and set up a run she could go on before I committed to the Tyee area for my last 3 days. So I dashed home grabbed gear and her and we ran over to Coles Corner. It was awesome to see the snow! We cruised around up Natopac Mtn for a couple hours and did not even cut a track or see a doe...cool looking area though! We decided to head down as it started to get dark and we were now in about 4" of snow, we were almost near the bottom when we cut tracks, I decided to check them out and left my wife and dogs in the truck since there was only about 15 minutes of shooting hours left. I followed the tracks for about 50 yards where they cut down into a clear cut. I caught movement out of the corner of my eye and looked to see a white ass hopping away from me, I cut back up to the road and dogged it for another 50yds until it stopped. I crept up on a slash pile and peeked up over the top...there he was, I put the scope on him as he stood broadside about 75yds away. It was a nice 2x2, dark horns, tall forks but there's the dilema again...do I take my first buck with my wife along? How excited would she be?? But I still have 3 full days to hunt and the snow has just begun to fly I could shoot a dandy!!....this went on for at least 5 minutes, safety off, safety on, back and forth in my mind until I finally decided to let him walk. I stood up, gave him a wave and we both turned and walked our seperate ways. I ran my wife back home to Arlington and headed back to Tyee the next morning at 4am.
Nov 13th-15th: Crunch time for me as I had to work Wednesday through the 20th and final day off the season! I started the morning driving up to the Tyee area and boy had conditions changed! Snow had arrived and it was blowing 45+. I drove back up to the Billy Ridge Trailhead and attempted to hike back in where we were the week before but the snow drifts on the trail were mid thigh deep in areas...not good and slooow going! I cut tracks, but they were all snaking through the Christmas trees where it was pretty thick. I made it back in there about a quarter mile and just decided to turn back. Got to the truck and on the way out I decided to walk a couple dead roads, thanks to the snow you knew instantly where no one had been. I headed down a unused road into the biting wind with the icy snow crystals stinging my face, I did not feel I had time to wait out the weather with 3 days left, so just go was my mindset! Got down this road about 1/2 mile when down to my right I see the back ends of two deer sneaking through the Christmas trees....I cut down and found their tracks and began to follow them, what a learning experience that was! We covered about another 1/2 mile snaking all through the forest until I finally got a good look at them at about 40yds, two does, bummer. Oh well, back to the truck before the blowing snow covers my tracks. While working my way back to the truck I had to negotiate a series of blowdowns. While crossing one of the blowdowns that was too high to step over and too low to crawl under I put one foot and one hand on it to hop over and as I transferred my weight it broke and I came down right on my left knee, right onto a broke off branch, ouch! It didn't impale me, but hurt like a mutter!! I stood there for a few getting my breath and assessing the situation. By the time I reached the truck it was swelling up pretty good, so I had a bite to eat and took about a 2 hour break.
As the evening hunt neared I decided to hunt a saddle I found earlier in the day, just to glass and keep the hiking down as my knee was on fire! So I stood out watching a drainage and two hillsides for 3 hours, glassing, glassing, glassing, but with the snow creating fog like conditions and the wind still gusting to 50+ it sucked!
Got back to the truck and I headed for a place to hole up for the night and have a good look at my knee. It wasn't pretty, so I fashioned a sling with a dog leash from the grab handle in the back seat of my truck, threw on an ice pack, ate a few ibuprofen and hoped for the best in the morning.
Monday the 14th: The swelling in my knee had gone way down, so I decided to hike an easy road and test it out. Put a good mile on it and even up and over a small knob and although it hurt pretty good, I felt it was doable. I doubled back to my truck and decided to drive looking for fresh tracks and glassing as another couple inches of snow fell over night. I went all the way back towards Billy Goat and never cut a track. I stopped made breakfast and made the descision to try to make it up Tyee. My truck had been plowing deep snow all morning with NO trouble and I felt it was worth the try. On my way there I stopped to glass the hillside the road drives up through and immediately spotted 6 does and a spike! At this point I was done passing on deer, I didn't know the extent of my knee damage and it was beginning to swell back up, so I decided a filled tag is better than tag soup, go get it over with. I drove down to the bottom of the road that heads up to Tyee and threw on my pack to see if I could head up and cut off these deer, but they had crossed the road and disappeared by the time I got there. Now, I will admit that at this point adrenaline and a little desperation had gotten ahold of me and I was kicking myself for not dumping that 2x2 the day before! I hiked back down to my truck, threw it in 4 low and headed up towards Tyee...I made it to the first turnout, not a problem at all, I thought to myself "I'm golden as long as no one is coming down", so I pushed on.....unchained.....
Absolutely my bad and yes I knew better and yes I knew how to install them, what can I say except I made a mistake! Ever happen to you? Well it happened to me....I can admit it.
Either way, off I went, and sure enough about 50 yards in I see headlights...CRAP! I thought hopefully I can save some face and back down, get out of their way, throw my chains on and continue on after they passed. I started to back up and God decided to teach me a little lesson....you know sliding 3 inches on a road like that feels like 3 feet when your behind the wheel!!
When it happened the second time, I was officially at pucker factor 10 and got out to get my chains on...yes as a matter of fact I did feel like an idiot at this point, but lesson learned and rest asured it will NEVER happen again!!
One of the guys coming down was actually someone I met on this site and his crew in two trucks! These guys were awesome, they got out weren't irritated with me or my bad idea and even helped with my chains when they didn't have too!! One of them even walked behind me spotting me all the way back to the turnout, again not neccessary but appreciated. I decided that was enough and after getting out apologizing for taking time out of their day and thanking them all I let them pass and decided to head back down towards the main asphalt road after all.
Quick side note: These guys had on the mack daddy ice breaker chains they got from Les Schwab...I had standard highway chains I purchased at Les Schwab....you do not need to know the secret handshake to get the ice breakers, just be aware to ask for them specifically! The ice breakers are not street legal but WAY more effective for a hunting application!
O.k., these guys stopped at the bottom to unchain and I waved and continued down the main road as I was a bit embarrassed and felt I had interupted their day enough. About a 1/4 mile down I see a 2x3 standing on the uphill side of the road, so I parked in the first turnout and went in after him. I cut his tracks in the xmas trees and began to follow, for about 600yds until he dropped down into the abyss where I knew I couldn't go, I glassed the oppossing hillside for a bit to see if he would pop out but no dice. I once again head for the truck thinking it may be over? My knee was on fire and swollen back up to where it was the previous day, at this point I just wanted to fill my tag and head home. If I ate my tag now, at least I knew I had a perfect opportunity that Sunday... My goal after all was just to notch my first deer tag and gain valuable experience hunting solo finally...
Rolled a ways down the road and again passed the guys that I met on the hill as they stopped to glass an area, I waved and continued on again, it was pushing noon and I stopped off the side of the road in some trees to text my wife that I was going to finish out the day and head home regardless of my tag status. I knew I needed to rest my knee for at least a day before heading to work Wednesday as I am on my feet alot at work. I decided to head back about a mile to where I camped the night before and try one of the lower roads that forked off the main road there. I made it about 200yds down the road and here are the guys again, pulled over, everyone out of the rigs this time and glassing something, so I decided to stop and see if maybe they were going to finally take one? They had been seeing a bunch of bucks in their area, but the young man with the tag wanted a monster! I completely respect that! I am not nor will ever be a "trophy hunter" I will take what I take and be thankful for the opportunity, if it's a toad all the better, but if it feeds the family it's a wonderful animal that I won't take for granted! Another reason I was kicking myself for not shooting the 2x2 Saturday night.
Turns out, these guys spotted a doe and another deer in the trees and thought it was a buck?! We all glassed it and sure enough it was a decent buck! It worked it's way out of the trees and we got a great look at it. The young man looked at me and asked "is that something you would shoot?" I looked at him and replied "I would shoot a spike at this point" and laughed. I was out of time and in pain and promised in a prayer that morning that I would not pass up another opportunity. This was looking like that opportunity...
I retrieved my rifle from my truck and these guys stayed there and continued to watch it and range it...it's at 310yds the young man said as I sat down off the side of the road to attempt to get a rest with my elbows on my knees... that wasn't good so I moved to a nearby tree, but it was swaying in the 30mph breeze! At this point the buck started walking right towards me nose on! One of the guys popped his spotting scope off his tripod and said try this, that was perfect! I got back on the deer that was still walking towards me... nose on, no shot... behind a tree, no shot, nose on, no shot!! He closed to 175yds and finally after some hooping and hollering he stopped and turned just enough uphill to his right that I had a shot....."ok, I'm gonna shoot" I announced....safety off....breath...hold....BOOM! He dropped right there as I put the round right into his heart!! Unbelievable!! Handshakes all around and I text my wife BUCK DOWN!! A nice 3x4 with eye guards!
Now I really owed these guys!! Not only that, but they were as excited as I was! Awesome! I couldn't believe I just harvested my first buck!!!
These guys weren't done..... we headed down to where the buck dropped, I took some pics and so did they! Then they told me they got the shot on video! SWEET! We all dragged it down to a spur road and the guy I met on here drove his truck down to pick me and a couple other guys up and drove us back up to our trucks! I drove down to where the deer was and they helped my load it in the back and just like that, I was DONE! Amazing day! What a roller coaster of events and emotions and an experience I will never forget!!
I only hope to be able to, in some way, repay the favor some day... I would be honored to bump into these guys out hunting again, in the short time I got to spend with them, they to me, are the embodiment of what a sportsman should be! True outdoorsmen and enthusiasts!! I hear rifle hunters catching a ration af grief on this site for the unfortunate actions of a few, these guys are a shining example of what a hunter with ANY weapon should be and I am truly grateful they were on the mountain that day! I have always tried to be that type of sportsman as far as I'm concerned it's the only way to be if you choose to be a hunter!
I was finally relieved I didn't shoot the 2x2 Saturday night
That one buck has re-energized me and will keep me hunting for years to come! I also learned more in 2 days of hunting than in the past 7 years of hunting crap deer area's scouting for elk! I started my first year solo hunting this year not knowing if there would be a second, cramming my head with research and upgrading gear and in 2 days on this mountain was taught more than I could have imagined and in the process built a strong foundation to build on in the coming years! Awesome...
Thanks again guys! God Bless and talk to you soon!
