Bringing Home a Baby Lobster, aka, Mighty Crawdad Hunters

During the Summer we heard a rumor via one of the guys, (Jared Williams…do ask Jack about him sometime, its worth the monologue) that there are crawdads in the canal…lots of crawdads. Crawdads to the point a determined group could fill a 50 gal cooler with little trouble and have themselves a crawfish boil…. We were intrigued.

Well the canal was shut off mid-October so we waited a few weeks for the level to drop to the ‘large pools’ phase, slipped on our rubber boots, grabbed a net, and went to go see if the rumors were true.

(Note: I know it looks like a grimace, but the is what that is Jack ‘smiling’ for the camera…I’m a bit terrified of what his school picture is going to look like.)

Turns out Mr. Williams was spot on in his assessment. Not quite sure if we could have filled a cooler (perhaps up closer to the head gates where density would be higher you could….we are many many miles downstream) But there were enough of them for easy pickings and a good time.

Watching the kids try to work up the courage to pick one up brought back memories of summer days and family reunions turning over rocks in the river at Lewisville Park. Kevin and I jokes we should get some chicken bones and come back after dark when the kids were in bed (right Julie ) ala the Lost Lake/Bonaparte technique.

30 minutes and 4 pairs of soggy boots later we have a good mess of Crawdads. Many of them were good-sized too. Emilie was a bit dismayed we were going to boil them ALL and was allowed to keep one. The following day we returned it to it’s ‘family’ in the canal.

Both kids were pretty adventurous and tried a sample. Emilie actually really liked them. I’m thinking next year we go prepare and try for a full on crawdad boil. What do you think?

In the meantime, I kid you not, Emilie is writing letters in bottles to them and taking them carcasses from leftover chicken…..All creatures great and small, fuzzy, slimy, or scaly that one.

Sheep Hunt 2013

(Author’s Note: The term ‘Stay at Home Mom’ is really not accurate. For someone whose occupational description includes the phrase “stay at home” I am rarely there. That, and when I finally am here there is usually a backlog of items on the ‘to-do’ list that rank above writing blog posts. So, almost two weeks late, here is the rundown on Kevin’s sheep hunt)

As you can see Kevin, Brian, & Jason literally hiked all over tarnation on their trip. Sadly, Brian did not get the ram he was looking for. Mostly they just got a lot of rain. So much so that they ended up coming home two days early. I guess getting rained on six times in one night is enough even for the hardiest of mountain men.

Despite it all, I think they had a good time. The did see eight bighorns…including one yearling ram. Those they saw the first day out after climbing 4,000 feet in three miles. Said sheep spent night kicking rocks down the hill at our intrepid heroes as they tried to get some sleep (note: this was the only night they did not get rained on). They also saw six bears, three mountain goats, two bull elk, two deer, two rattlesnakes, one salmon, and one very unfortunate grouse (I’m told he was tasty).

They also saw a plane crash site, which as all good explorers must do they had to detour to photograph, and investigate.

I’m told the most exciting part is a close toss up between scaring a 300lbs boar black bear out of the huckleberry bushes 20 yards away and almost getting hit by lighting. (Please note sitting on a knife ridge during a thunder storm isn’t the smartest idea even if there are higher points nearby. Yellow pushpin on map denotes location of this incident.) No fooling the lighting struck 237 yards from where they were sitting (they’re engineers, they measured) and ignited an old snag.

They also took a lot of awesome pictures and I just couldn’t choose which ones to post….so I give you a music montage of them all. Enjoy!

Oh, and all is not lost. Brain is going back in later this month for another week to try again. Here’s to hoping the second time’s a charm.

Into the Wild

Kissed my husband goodbye again today. This time he’ s gone for nine days. Nope, not a BAER assignment. This time he’s accompanying his friend Brian on a Big Horn Sheep hunt. There are 3 of them going in altogether Brain, Kevin, and a guy named Smitty.

Now this isn’t just any little old  hunting trip. It’s a Big Horn Sheep hunt, and an opportunity that doesn’t come around very often. They are going to be in the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness precisely located in the middle of nowhere. For those of you familiar with the area they are flying in Soldier Bar on Big Creek just up stream from it’s confluence with the Middle Fork Salmon River.  I kid you not they are at least 30 miles from the nearest trailhead. They will be flying in and out in a little single engine fixed wing plane. While I don’t worry too much about these 3 being out in the woods (they’re all pretty level headed and outdoor savvy) it’s this part here that makes me a little nervous.

I’d show you the take-off too…..but I think you get the picture.

Brian is the one with the sheep tag and will be doing the actual hunting. Smitty and Kevin are along for companionship, scouting, and general pack mule services. I will pat myself and Smitty’s wife on the pack for allowing our husband’s to go on this trip when they aren’t even hunting. Especially Smitty’s wife. She’s pregnant with their second and due at the end of September…someone should give her a medal!

Well, Kevin has been up to his eyeballs in work this week so I’ve been doing a lot of his trip prep. Mostly this meant gathering enough food to last him for 9 days. Plus it has to be backpacking friendly. This means it has to be non-perishable (no fridge’s in the woods), lightweight, and compact (you have to put this all in your pack and carry it). He’s got a lot of those Mountain House type “just-add-water” meals. Plus pita bread, bagels, dried fruit, trail mix, instant oatmeal, powdered milk, peanut butter, honey, etc. I actually had a lot of fun researching items for him to take.

I also got to gather some other things for his tri like new liner socks and blister band-aids (Kev rubs blisters on his ankles easily and I didn’t want him miserable all trip), sunscreen, bug juice, and most importantly a collapsible fishing pole. He may not have a hunting tag but he’s got a fishing license and trout is in season .

I know not all of you are the praying sort, but if you are, send up a little one for these three. That they stay safe, healthy, and get that sheep they are looking for!

Oh and if you are interested I have Spot trackers for Brian and Kevin…if you want to ‘see’ where they are real time just let me know and I can get you a link.

Deer Camp 2012

Kevin’s last hunting trip of the year has proven to be his most fruitful, he finally bagged a deer! He and his friend/co-worker Shawn spent the week hunting up around Grangeville, Idaho on the Nez Perce National Forest.

As you can see it’s not a record-holder by any means, but meat is meat and young meat is more tender. Right?

As usual Kevin & Shawn camped out in Shawn’s wall-tent. The accommodations are “deluxe” for deer camp and include carpeted flooring, AstroTurf, and a wood stove. Plus the view is superb and the food is to die for! Very posh indeed. I’m told it’s an excellent place to kick back and relax at the end of a long day. (unless of course your hunting partner snores like a bear…ask Kevin for that story sometime)

Shawn also took a deer as did Kevin and Shawn’s friend/co-worker Chad and Chad’s buddy Tom. The latter two came up later in the week and “roughed” it in a cabin further down the mountain. Tom is a retired game warden and Kevin said he is a good source of humorous hunting tales for when you’re sitting around the fire.

From top to bottom:

Tom and his deer, a nice three-point with eye guards.

Chad with his two-point. Size-wise the rack was about as large as Kevin’s, except that this one forked.

Shawn and his spike. He took this one the morning of their last day. His daughter’s first comment when she saw it was , “Well, guess Mom can’t use those antlers for decorating….”

 

 

 

 

Four guys, four deer. Good time, good company, no major snafus (except for Kevin almost forgetting to take his gun, which he thankfully remembered before they left town). In all it was a good trip and they were all feeling pretty proud of themselves.

Mother nature likes to have the last laugh though. They had just gotten down off forest and onto private ground when this fellow pranced by with a couple of lady friends…..

……Guess there’s always next year.

In Search of the Mighty Speed Goat

I apologize for the lateness of this post. I meant to put it up last week as Kevin and his buddy Brian went hunting on the 25th of September, but we’ve been dealing with a bit of a stomach bug around here and I’m only just feeling ready to catch up with the blog.

Kevin & Brian on the Hunt

This year our friend Brian had the Antelope tag. Kevin had a tag last year so he didn’t qualify for one this year. Below is Brian’s recount of their hunt. Though Brian and Kevin claimed the buck charged,  I hold that he thought that those two up on the ridge looked like real purdy ladies and he was just bouncing over to invite them to join the herd ;-P

Saturday morning we put the sneak on a big buck we'd spotted during scouting but he decided to hang in an area that was virtually unstalkable (no vegetation besides cheat grass and absolutely flat). Every time we moved within 800 yards he and his does took off. After a couple hours of that dance we decided to move on.

On our way back to my plan B buck, we spotted a group of does that seemed to be lacking a buck. Just as the does, crested the hill, we caught a quick glimpse of what we thought was a decent buck following them. We tried to cut them off at the next ridge only to find that we were still 500 yards behind. We posted one spotter at that location and my buddy Kevin (wsu44) came with me on the stalk. An hour and a couple miles later, we'd circled around the antelope and were positioned downwind on a ridge above them but slightly out of sight. As we slowly crawled over the crest, a bedded doe instantly locked on to us. Alerted, she stood up and drew the attention of the rest of the herd. The buck came over to investigate and I ranged him at 320 yards. I was a little uncomfortable with the angle of the shot and wasn't totally convinced he was the buck I was after so I held off for minute while trying to get a closer look. Just as it looked like the group was about to take off, the buck decided we must be a threat to the herd. He stomped at us a couple times and then started to charge! Because of the curve of the hill, he disappeared from sight shortly after starting his run toward us. After a minute or two, I looked to my left only to find him staring at me at about 40 yards. With only a couple seconds to make a decision, I settled the crosshairs, asked Kevin what he thought (and was hoping he had the camera on him), and sealed the deal.

He turned out to be a very average buck as far as size is concerned but it was a really exciting sequence of events with good friends in tow. There are certainly bigger bucks out there, but this hunt will leave a lasting impression in my memory. I just can't wait for the next chance at a goat (did someone say Wyoming next year?)....

Kevin & Brian with the Pronghorn of 2010

The Great Hunt of '09

If you were guaranteed a critter every time out they would call it Shooting Season, because more often than not people return home empty-handed they call it Hunting Season. Despite the fact the we still have an empty freezer, Kevin has taken some neat picture of where he's been this hunting season. They are almost worth the long weekends by themselves.

Phyllis Lake in the Whitecloud Range

Brrrrrrrrrr; In search of the elusive Speed Goat

Drake takes A Snowy Nap While Antelope Hunting

Castle Peak: One of the most distinct peaks in the US not visible from a road.
If you want to see it you've got to work for it.

Sheep Mountain (sorry its so small). You can just make out the Lost River Range
in the upper lefthand corner.

Aside from the great pictures Hunting Season 2009 afforded Kevin some very good leasons. A brief list of lessons follows:

1. It is ALWAYS steeper than it looks

2. It is ALWAYS farther than it looks

3. Antelope are the Teases of the hunting world. They let you get close then run away

4. Your prey is not always just over the next ridge

5. Frozen boots are a *&^$#%!!!

6. When hunting in any country designated as prosposed wildernes...take a horse, unless you want to hike your butt off literally. 10lbs in 4 days in not healthy.