The Deer Hunt 2010

I just had to add these pictures... This is what I saw when Ryan returned from his adventurous day of deer hunting... Poor guy. I'm just glad he's safe. You never know what could happen out there in those mountains.

Now, here's Ryan's comments:

Well, what can I say about the deer hunt this year? No deer, kind of disappointed about that. Not that we didn't have our chance. Had two bucks, a 3 point and a small 2 point standing broadside at 75 yards for what seemed like 5 minutes. That was first thing Saturday morning. The hunt officially started for us at 7:15am and by 8am I could of shot the 3 point and the hunt would have been over. It was almost too easy and all year we(my friend Mike and I) had been telling ourselves we wouldn't shoot unless it was bigger than last year's buck. I passed on the 3 point thinking I would have another chance. Should have pulled the trigger!! That's how it goes.

It rained, it sleeted, it snowed. It mudded!! The two pictures below show us getting stuck in mud on the high country backroads. I got the trailblazer stuck in the mud and everytime we'd try to move it or push it, it kept sliding closer and closer to the edge of the road. At one point the car was sliding toward the edge with no one in it. At that point I was wondering what Courtney was going to say when I came home without her car. I've never really thought about losing a vehicle over the side of a mountain before. By a miracle, a few prayers, and some good samaritan hunters, we somehow saved the car and ourselves.

These are some of the guys who helped us get out. We were covered in mud. Mud was in my eye, my mouth, all over my face, and the poor car was just covered, inside and out. Without these guys we would have been walking off the mountain that night.

I took Londyn out of school to spend a day hiking and hunting with us. She loved it and this girl can hike. She never complained and could go like the energizer bunny. I took a long shot at a bigger buck and didn't knock it down so we had to go look for a blood trail. No blood, no deer this time either, just lots of hiking in thick, nasty brush and steep terrain. I think she had fun though. Soon she'll be old enough to go hunt with her dad every year and pull the trigger herself. By then we hope to be hunting from 4 wheelers:-)

We'll look forward to hunting again next year. I hope that 3 point grows up to be a big 4 point by next year and we'll be there waiting for him. Londyn will go through hunter's safety and we'll spend time together at the shooting range and then she can hunt with us for the whole week next year. All in all, you can't beat the fresh air and the time spent outdoors during the deer hunt which is always my favorite part anyway. Now we just have to wait for another whole year to do it again. 361 days left, but who's counting?