Finally the day arrived that we have been counting down to for months! We both drew tags for Area 7 to hunt mule deer from Oct. 21-Nov. 5. We put in for this north east Nevada area way back in March knowing that we would be in eastern Idaho come hunting season and that we wouldn't have time or gas money to spend on getting down to areas 22-24, the ones David will forever call home. I (Giulia) had 3 bonus points accumulated from previous years so we were pretty confident that this would be my year. David, having drawn almost every year the past 4 years- the lucky son-of-a-gun, had nuttin'. So we put in as a party to 1) help David's odds of getting a tag and 2) if we had a successful draw we would be able to hunt the same area. Well botta boom botta bing! At the end of May we found out that we both had tags. Saweet!!! As we sit here writing about this adventure that we've waited 6+ months for, we're looking at each other like, "Now what?" Just kidding- we are now looking forward to Thanksgiving break which is only a few short weeks away, and then shortly after that it will be Christmas break!! We love this time of year. It goes by so quickly because of all the fun things there are to look forward to.
For the last week and a half, we have been preparing for our hunt. We worked longer hours each day to be able to get all of our hours in for our jobs; we kept longer nights to get more homework and tests done so that we would be able to miss classes Thursday afternoon and Friday; we sighted in the rifle; we went through gear; and the list goes on. When it came time to leave on Thursday around noon, we were so excited but so exhausted at the same time. The last weekish has been mid-term season which means exams in every class and big projects in others. Looking back now, we're amazed we were able to get everything done. And not just done, but done well AND DONE EARLY so that we could head out of town. After our very first week of school back in September, we looked at the schedules for our classes and test dates and assignment due dates. We had a one weekend gap between the start and end of our hunt where we didn't have any tests scheduled on a Friday. We had plenty of assignments etc. that were due on Friday, but we worked hard to have them submitted before Friday and we completed all of our mid-term exams that had open dates (you could take them throughout the week) finished before we left. We knew we only had one weekend to devote to our hunt and we wanted to make the most of it. Needless to say, it feels soooo great being able to just lay in bed on this Sunday afternoon with nothing more to tackle until we dive back into classes on Monday.
* when you click on a picture it will link you back to our photobucket where you will be able to see all of our pictures from the trip. *
We spent our Halloween dressed in camo while bugging out of Rexburg. We got to our area around 5:00 and used what daylight we had left to look around and get a feel for the terrain. We have never hunted this area before, so we really had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. Most people with a tag for 7 hunt the Jarbridge mountains, but we didn't want to travel that far and be in a wilderness restricted area (meaning no motorized nothing, meaning difficult to get to where you want and get out with any game without a horse or pack mule, or need more time than two days to hike in and out) and we didn't want to be in a place where there were hunters everywhere. So David emailed the wildlife biologist for that area and she said to go to Contact, Nevada and hunt either side of highway 93. Contact, like most of Nevada, is a whole lot of nothing. Literally, there is a sign posted with the elevation, and that's it. As we were exploring Thursday night, our prospects of being able to fill a tag were looking dismal. We didn't see any widlife. No tracks. Just sage brush and rocks. This was on the east of the 93. As the sun set we made our way over to the west side of the highway and still didn't see much, but were given some hope after finding a few water holes and game trails. We made camp on a mountain side a few miles west of the highway and went to sleep just hoping to see something more than brush and rocks the next day.
Our campsite.
1) Can you see our red tent?
2) view from camp
3) view from camp
4) home sweet home!
Friday morning we rolled out of our sleeping bags after a rough night's sleep- the wind had the tent fly incessantly flapping and our air mattress must have got a hole in it as we slept on rocks most of the night. Giulia had first dibs for Friday, meaning she got to pack the rifle and choose if she wanted to take a shot or pass it on to David. We got to a knob on a hillside and glassed the large mountain to the north of where we sat. The sun wasn't quite up all the way and we weren't seeing a thing. But when the sun's rays finally hit the mountain side, it was like the sunshine ignited a burst of life. So much excitement just to feel disappointed again. All we saw were does, does, and more does. And then finally we saw one little 2 point buck pushing some does up the mountain. Shortly after sighting him, a bigger buck came charging in and pushed the little 2-fer out of the way. The poor little guy ran left and right and up and down trying to attract any doe he could find, and not one doe wanted anything to do with him. We watched the group of deer work their way higher up the mountain, (we were a few miles away watching this- a good scope is nice to have) wanting to see where they would bed down at and maybe put a stalk on the buck. Eventually, the group went over a hill and behind some rocks and we didn't see them come out, so we decided to head over there and get a closer look. And here's some videos to explain the rest of that story:
I haven't edited any of the video, so I apologize for the annoying wind. Also, will someone please tell that stupid girl to spit her gum out? sheesh.
video one.
video two
*legally married note: I meant to say "officially married." Before we wed, we joked about how the marriage wouldn't be real until I filled my first deer tag.
**poor guy coughed up (part of) a lung
**poor guy coughed up (part of) a lung
If you remember the movie, "Legally Blonde," with Reese Witherspoon, you can share a laugh with me while I say- Shooting a 4-point buck? What, like it's hard? JOKING, joking.
After quartering him out, we drove to Jackpot, NV, about 15 miles north, to get some ice. And then it was back to the mountains because we still had David's tag to fill. We didn't see anything else that day except a few does and probably that same little 2 point. We headed back to camp when the sun set, had a delicious tin-foil dinner, and snuggled down into our sleeping bags for another windy night on a bed of rocks. In the morning we went to the north side of the mountain where Giulia shot the day before (she shot on the south side). It was similar to the day before- as soon as the sun hit the hillside things came to life. We saw plenty of does, and no bucks. And then out of nowhere this big guy comes charging through trying to attract the ladies. He was a solid 4-point with deep forks, and David was excited. Thinking we were in for a long day on the hillside, we grabbed our packs and bundled up and left the warmth of the jeep. It was a cold and windy morning. And I'm not sure who gave these to us for Christmas last year, but they are awesome! David calls them our ninja masks.
Anywho, we crept along this trail that hasn't been used for a while, keeping our sights on this buck. This was about 9 in the morning. At one point the group of deer went up and over a ridge and they were out of sight. As we rounded a bend in the trail David spotted a buck bedded down on the hillside. We dropped down and sighted him in, thinking it was the same "monster" (monster is David's affectionate term for a nice big buck) that we saw drop out of sight. David decided to pull the trigger. He was soooo excited. We got up to him, and David's heart sank. It was not the monster. They look really similar, but sadly this one was not as large and in charge. (You can kind of see his frustration in the video) But good news- it's still a really good size and bigger than anything David's been able to shoot at before. So, hooray!
before the sun came up:
Sunshine! But still cold.
David's video is still loading to YouTube. We'll get it up asap.
We got David's deer quartered out and headed back to camp to enjoy lunch next to a warm fire. Then we packed up camp and headed back home to Idaho. We are loving Idaho so far and are glad to call it home.
Shortly after arriving, the shop was turned into a meat locker.
And then we celebrated our successful return by cooking up the tenderloins. Yum-o! We had Jake and Kate come up and try it, and they really liked it too. Yay for having food! ( I apologize if any of the above images disturb you, but I promise you that what is pictured is a much more humane process than what the meat that you buy at store goes through; also, much healthier.)
And to close: you know you go to school in Idaho when, telling your professor that you will miss his Thursday afternoon class because of a hunting trip and asking him what you can do to make up the points missed for that day, your professor tells you that he expects pictures and videos of the hunt on his desk on Monday. hahahaha. Love it!
