TURNED AROUND - PART 1

In this blog I will describe an experience I had several years ago while hunting "big woods" in the Hiawatha National Forest located in Delta County, Michigan. This is a wild and beautiful part of this country and place I have had many great outdoor adventures from hunting whitetail deer and partridge (ruffed grouse) to simply hiking and shooting photographs. Part one runs today and part two will run Monday 9-8-08. I hope you enjoy it.

By: Ray Hansen

I wasn’t exactly lost. Even though I was not sure where I was, a dirt road ran east to west somewhere north of me, so becoming completely lost was not possible. A sure way out of the woods was to walk a compass line straight north to the road, and that would take me back to my truck.

The real problem was that I was not where I wanted to be. A new section of the Hiawatha National Forest in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula beckoned earlier that fall, so I did some deer stand scouting while bird hunting in September.

A nice clearing a half-mile or so back into the interior looked like it had not been visited by anyone for many years. Old tree rubs, trails, tracks, and a combination of habitat styles around the spot told me bucks ran the area.

I found a stump next to a smaller live spruce tree, and piled some brush around it to fashion a ground blind, and thought I had a sure winner for the November 15 rifle season deer season opener. I was even sure I could find the spot again in the pre-dawn darkness on opening day.

Well… I couldn’t, and it was frustrating me. Stumbling around the woods in complete darkness and hauling a back-pack with supplies for an all-day sit along with my rifle left me confused and disappointed. As dawn neared, I decided to sit down right where I was and wait until it was light enough to see. Then I would find my spot.

It seemed that I could not have chosen a worse place to stop. Heavy cedar cover blocked visibility and the area was on low ground with some standing water. Worse, I knew I would be there at prime time when I should have been watching the clearing chosen in September.

Setting my gear on the ground next to an overturned cedar, I sat on the trunk and leaned back against the base roots. At least it was fairly comfortable – a seat cushion provided a buffer from the solid wood. Checking my watch, I found that I had some time before legal shooting hour arrived (thirty minutes before sunrise) so I simply let the woods settle down around me and relaxed. The spot was nearly as quiet and dark as a cathedral at midnight.

Check back on this site Monday 9-8-08 for part 2. See you then!

Copyright Ray Hansen, 2008