Hey y’all,
For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Mason, I’m 29, and I’m new here (you can even find me in the newbie section)
So, here’s the deal. I’m trying to hunt. Which means I need a spot to hunt in (or a few spots). Problem is, I don’t have any spots. I don’t have any family who hunts, and the last person in my family to spend considerable time outdoors was in a time when it was just called “out” because the concept of doors hadn’t quite been invented yet.
With no family or friends who hunt, I wandered into the good ol outdoors on my own. I bought a good 35L day pack, put some snacks, fire, clothes, water, and a first aid kit in it, and off I went into the D15 area.
Here’s how it went…
I used my downtime at work and a week of free OnX to map out my route. I was focused on finding water, any kind of standing water that animals would consider drinking from. I found what I thought was going to be flowing water, in a state without any water, in the middle of a drought. Day of, I wake up long before the sun, put on my fancy new merino wool base layers, some Khul pants, a pair of $20 hiking boots I took off my dads hands for the low price of free, and drove an hour to a spot in CNF.
Within 10 minutes I knew, I messed up. The city had blocked off an entrance to the forest that I planned on using. No biggie, backtrack a little and find another way in. Well, turns out that flowing body of water I thought I spotted, was high and dry, overgrown by so many plants that I would have needed a chainsaw to get through.
Shit.gif
Go back to the car, open up OnX and AllTrails and see what I can do to salvage the day. New goal: see some type of 4 legged animal moving ANYWHERE. If I can see an animal, I know water is somewhat close and can begin narrowing it down more.
Proceed to walk 6 miles around D15, without seeing…well anything living. Not even a bird. I got on a ridge about 700 feet above my original intended path and knew it would have been a bust anyway. What I thought was a sloping saddle was actually a valley between two VERY steep mountains. Even if I did see something that I could shoot during season, it would be nearly impossible to retrieve and the animal falling down into that valley would ruin all the meat.
Turns out this scouting thing (especially right after the deer season ends) is a lot tougher than I expected.
Overall, I had a good day in the forest though, can’t complain.
What I got: A good workout, a blister (f***ing $20 boots…), and most importantly, to field test my gear and myself. I learned the ins and outs of my new pack, got a first hand look of the landscape seen only on maps (which helps me better understand Topo maps), and saw a dog on my way home.
What I didn’t get: A look at wildlife, a sunburn, a glimpse of water.
I may head into D11 next, as I live about equidistant between D11 and D15. I feel D11 can also have more of the…”forest” feel that I was also changing, with CNF feeling more like a desert than a forest.
For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Mason, I’m 29, and I’m new here (you can even find me in the newbie section)
So, here’s the deal. I’m trying to hunt. Which means I need a spot to hunt in (or a few spots). Problem is, I don’t have any spots. I don’t have any family who hunts, and the last person in my family to spend considerable time outdoors was in a time when it was just called “out” because the concept of doors hadn’t quite been invented yet.
With no family or friends who hunt, I wandered into the good ol outdoors on my own. I bought a good 35L day pack, put some snacks, fire, clothes, water, and a first aid kit in it, and off I went into the D15 area.
Here’s how it went…
I used my downtime at work and a week of free OnX to map out my route. I was focused on finding water, any kind of standing water that animals would consider drinking from. I found what I thought was going to be flowing water, in a state without any water, in the middle of a drought. Day of, I wake up long before the sun, put on my fancy new merino wool base layers, some Khul pants, a pair of $20 hiking boots I took off my dads hands for the low price of free, and drove an hour to a spot in CNF.
Within 10 minutes I knew, I messed up. The city had blocked off an entrance to the forest that I planned on using. No biggie, backtrack a little and find another way in. Well, turns out that flowing body of water I thought I spotted, was high and dry, overgrown by so many plants that I would have needed a chainsaw to get through.
Shit.gif
Go back to the car, open up OnX and AllTrails and see what I can do to salvage the day. New goal: see some type of 4 legged animal moving ANYWHERE. If I can see an animal, I know water is somewhat close and can begin narrowing it down more.
Proceed to walk 6 miles around D15, without seeing…well anything living. Not even a bird. I got on a ridge about 700 feet above my original intended path and knew it would have been a bust anyway. What I thought was a sloping saddle was actually a valley between two VERY steep mountains. Even if I did see something that I could shoot during season, it would be nearly impossible to retrieve and the animal falling down into that valley would ruin all the meat.
Turns out this scouting thing (especially right after the deer season ends) is a lot tougher than I expected.
Overall, I had a good day in the forest though, can’t complain.
What I got: A good workout, a blister (f***ing $20 boots…), and most importantly, to field test my gear and myself. I learned the ins and outs of my new pack, got a first hand look of the landscape seen only on maps (which helps me better understand Topo maps), and saw a dog on my way home.
What I didn’t get: A look at wildlife, a sunburn, a glimpse of water.
I may head into D11 next, as I live about equidistant between D11 and D15. I feel D11 can also have more of the…”forest” feel that I was also changing, with CNF feeling more like a desert than a forest.
