Buck Fever

Some time in the middle of August the air begins to change just enough that you can smell Autumn in it. Though it's too hot to be hunting, I can feel that it's getting close and my every thought (well...almost) turns to being in the back-country. I begin to visualise sitting next to a quiet spring watching the chipmunks and hoping 'the big one' will walk by. (the big deer....not chipmunk....although i've seen some pretty hefty chipmunks around, lol)

Traditionally, buck fever is what happens when you get so excited about the deer standing in front of you, that you're shaking too bad to make the shot, or something goes wrong...like you forget to load the gun, or your arrow falls off the rest when you pull back your bow....and the deer bounces away while you stand there with your head hung low in shame. It's an adrenalin rush that's so extreme that you lose all site of everything you should be focusing on.

I can say that I've truly had this type of buck fever once, and to this day.....my husband will not let me live it down. I was hunting with a muzzleloader. I had a decent buck at about 50 yards, and shot. I hit him, but he didn't go immediately down, and my husband is in the background telling me to hurry and reload. So...I put a cap on the gun pulled the trigger again. The problem was, for those who are not muzzleloader hunters...I forgot to put the powder and bullet in the gun, so basically....I was shooting a cap gun at the deer. The cap went off and I stood there in sort of a duhhh moment, hurried and reloaded my gun complete with powder and bullet this time, and got one more into him so he didn't go far. In my defense...it was my first hunt with a muzzleloader....I think I prefer a rifle.

Buck fever these days is more of a state of mind for me. When Fall is in the air, hunting is all I can think about. I close my eyes and see big bucks standing on a ridgeline or in the trees. I go to sleep dreaming of bull elk bugling in the distance, and I can't wait to be out for a few days just enjoying the fresh air. With hunting season in full swing already, someone call a doctor....I've got it bad!

Summer Water Fun

It's no secret that one of my favorite past times is summer water sports. There are many to choose from, from float tubing on a quiet little reservoir, fly fishing a small creek, and river fishing for salmon, to some of the more active sports such as being flung behind a speed boat on an innertube in hopes that you survive, or cruising wildly on a waverunner.

My favorite, however, would have to be wakeboarding. Being in my 40s, three children later, I'm no spring chicken, consequently, a graceful wakeboarder....I also am not. (I have video proof of this, which I am not inclined to share) None the less, I keep going back for more because it makes my children laugh when I crash, and it's pretty good excercise when I manage to not. You know the old saying, 'The family that plays together, stays together'....and play we do!

So here's my intro on getting into wakeboarding. The boat is a bit of a necessity, obviously. A rental is an option. One that has a lot of power is a plus, not because you need to go fast, but because the more power it has at take-off, the quicker you come up out of the water and the less work it is as the skier. A 350 inboard/outboard usually does the job, and the prop that you put on the motor plays a part too. You can spend $100,000 on a fancy wakeboard boat with heaters and showers and fancy paint jobs, or you can buy an old 20ft,73' Fiber Form with trim tabs for a couple thousand and throw in a big fluffy towel. The difference is mostly the respect you get on the boat ramp, which....if you're there to have fun, doesn't matter. You can laugh your way all the way to the bank. I have skied behind both....and for those of us that are less than amateures, there is not a $98,000 difference in the wake the boat throws. But if you have the funds and the time to make it worth the money, spend away.                                    

                                   

You can spend several thousand dollars on a wakeboard, or you can start out reasonabley under $300. I have a nice board that seems to be easy for any rider that was under $200 for the boots and the board. I AM a bargain shopper and I love sales!!

Next you have the option of a wakeboard tower. Though not necessary, this gives you an additional edge when coming out of the water because the rope is anchored 4 or 5 feet higher than if it were just anchored to the boat itself. It also helps with putting a little more air under your board when jumping, which in turn gives you more room and time for trickages.

The rope would have to be the next option to make a difference. A longer rope tends to have more give, which is not necessarily a good thing for wakeboarding, where as a short rope gets you closer to the boat, closer to the bigger wake it throws, and more air as well. A comfortable handle is a must.

The last key ingredient would be the a driver that has the feel of pulling and knows how to handle the boat when pulling someone out of the water. Your driver could make the difference between popping right up, or swallowing several fish in the process. Water skiers tend to like more speed than wakeboarders. My son, for instance, has managed to do a 360 degree jump this summer, but insists that his father pull him at only 8 or 10 mph. Most wakeboarders prefer 15 - 20 mph. My personal feeling is.....it hurts a lot when you crash at 20 mph, so I like to go 12 mph....plus I'm old...and there's a longer recovery time for injuries. We try to please the skier, because we're all there to have fun, not get hurt, so the speed is a personal preference thing. We spend about 7 or 8 days a year wakeboarding because there are too many other fun things to fit in during the summer. We're not experts by any means, we know just enough to make it fun!

Sharing The Sport

Hunting is something that has been handed down in my family for probably more generations than even I realize. It's just what you do when it's hunting season. At certain times of year, our schedule revolves around it, vacation time is saved for it, and it's always been that way. It IS the priority when opening day rolls around.

Over the years I have hunted with my dad, my brothers, my uncles and aunts. I have made my children follow me through the back country....and my husband. But I rarely get the opportunity to take a new hunter out. Someone who's new to the game, new to the experience.

This past Spring my nephew and his mom (who will be the first to tell you that she is a city girl, and is fairly new to the whole outdoor experience)graduated from the hunter education program, and I thought it might be a good idea to start them out with turkeys. With tags in-hand, we headed off in search of our fair-feathered friends.

  

Our hunt was not an extreme one, but was full of calling and listening and watching in hopes that we might bag Tom. Though we never did. I still, however, would say it was successful. We learned a little more about hunting turkeys, we learned a little more about calling them. We watched them roost each night after the hunt, and even had a chance to take lots of pictures. (since we can't legally shoot them out of the tree with a gun, we shot them with the camera, not as good eating, but much easier to clean, lol) 

But spending time with family, seeing their enthusiasm and excitement, and knowing that now they understand what hunting is about and why we do it was just as much fun to me as if I had had my own tag.

Just being out and enjoying the outdoors is what it's all about. Next time, we'll have a little experience under our belt, and we'll fill our tag too. Watch out Tom....we're hooked on Turkeys.

What To Do, What To Do...

With summer in full swing, one might ponder on which activities to fit into this, all too short, season. From kayaking the rapids, to bicycling the back country, there is more to do out there than there is time to fit it all in.

Why not try something new. If you like water sports, there are many to choose from, but one that began back in 1948 called 'sailboarding' might be just what you need. Today, this popular sport is termed as 'wind surfing' and the riders....'board heads'. Though the first thought of a board head brings to mind a blonde, tan, teen on the beaches of So. Cal. holding a surfboard, I'm not above trying new things. And though I may not be as good at it as my 18 year old son, who seems always at home in the water, I'm not out to win any competition. I'm there to learn something new, and be able to say....'yes, I can do that!' (or at least I tried)

So if you are up for a new adventure this summer, check into your local sporting good shops and lakeside marinas. A new board complete with gear can be had for around $1000.00, which might be a little much to jump into before you know if it's the 'new' sport  for you. I would suggest renting the gear first, and see how it goes. The other benefit to renting is that most pro shop opporators are plum full of how to info. They will be more than happy to lend you a tip or two (because your surviving means they get there equipment back, and your not crashing insures that it is in one piece when they do). Most pro-shops also offer training for a few more bucks. I myself, am a figure it out kind of person, but I will admit that help is never turned down. The few extra bucks you spend on lessons could cut your learning curve time down tremendously, in essence, saving you time and travel to the lake money.

Happy sailing :)

No Lions, No Tigers, Just Bears!!

Over the last couple of weeks I have become completely infatuated with planning a bear hunt. In the great state of Utah, we must enter into a drawing for a bear tag, and our chances of drawing a tag are not as great as I would like them to be. Turns out, this year, my husband actually drew a tag in one of Utah's prime bear areas. (well....it's prime to us because we know there are bears there and where to find them) It's a Fall hunt, so we have plenty of time to plan, but also, plenty of time to wait.....not so patiently for opening day.
Armed with a new camera, I'm excited to start scouting, but with this years' over abundance of late snow storms....it may be Fall before they even wake up!!

One of the hardest parts of hunting, for me, is waiting for opening day, but one of the great things about hunting is the opportunity to spend time scouting. It's really amazing just how much you can learn about an animal just by searching for signs from them.

Years ago, before we began hunting bears, we hunted elk in this same area, but had no idea there were bears there. Just because I wanted to try something new, I put in for a bear tag in 2006 and was lucky enough to draw the tag, but a little concerned that I had absolutely no idea how to hunt bears or what even to look for. I had NEVER seen a bear in the wild, and I wasn't really sure I'd even ever seen signs.....that I was certain were made by a bear.

Over the next month I wandered around trying to figure out where I would go if I was a bear. After treking into the thickest, deepest parts of the timber covered, rugged terrain, we found probably more sign than I needed to ensure that there were bears aplenty in any direction of travel. We found cub prints, and big bear prints, little scrapes and big scrapes, broken branches, stumps and rotten logs that were torn apart, claw marks that were left as they climbed to the top of a 30 foot tree, and roots that were uprooted. I was amazed at how many signs we found in the same areas we'd always hunted....but never noticed they were there. Though I never filled my bear tag that year, it was undoubtedly the funnest hunt I've been on....and I've been on a LOT. I have a new found love and respect for black bears, not because they are mean or vicious, but because they are the exact opposite. They are shy, quiet, and reclusive most of the time. So here's an insite for those who may fear this beautiful creature or may not understand them.

Unlike a grizzly bear, the black bear is mostly vegetarian, (which means....he would prefer not to eat you, but will if necessary). Their main diet consists of mostly berries, grasses, nuts, and bugs(larvae). Their claws are not as long and straight as a grizzly's which resemble small double bladed knives perfect for ripping flesh, but are round, much shorter and curved, and made for digging and scrounging. They come in several colors other than black, such as blonde, brown, chocolate, cinnamon and silver. An older bear has no interest in ever seeing or being seen by humans, so if he can see or hear or smell you coming, you'll never know he was there, (except for the hair standing on the back of your neck). When there are reports of bear encounters, it's usually youngsters that have been booted from mama bear so she can raise her new baby bears. These bears are learning how to look for food....unfortunately....some of them learn to follow their noses to your 'pic-a-nic' basket. Sometimes bears will attack if they feel threatened or are surprised, but these instances are rare.

In Utah, there have been only two major bear attacks that have made the news in the past 30+ years (that I can remember anyway). One of them happened because someones child was feeding a bear oreo cookies through their camper window and when the cookies ran out, the bear took the next thing he could find....the child who had been giving them to him. (This is why they tell you 'Don't feed the bears!!') As the story goes, grandpa wacked the bear over the head with a big flashlight and the child escaped. If you follow a few simple rules when you're camping, you'll likely never have problems. You are actually 180,000 times more likely to be killed in a car than you are by a bear, (that is an actual statistic) and....more people die from bee stings every year than from bear attacks. The moral of the story.....walk to where you're going, armed with bug spray, and leave the oreos at home!

Let Spring Begin!!

With Spring comes a stronger passion for being outdoors. The first glimps of Spring sunshine is an instant magnet pulling me outside. It's one of my favorite four seasons. Spring, because everything is new and fresh and green...and lets not forget all the baby critters, Summer because I thrive on water sports and hiking, Fall BECAUSE IT's HUNTING SEASON...YAYYY!!!, and Winter, because it's snowsports....and a little hunting.

Spring, however, has it's hunting perks as well. Almost every hunting show on television at the moment seems to focus on turkeys. Pics are popping up across the country on the social networks of gals and their gobblers(and guys too). And though I do enjoy chatting with the Toms of the world (male turkeys, for those who may not know the field names), I am overly infatuated with bears these days, and they happen to be huntable in the spring as well (in some places).

With good reason, bears are known as the 'phantoms of the forrest'. It's rare that you actually see one in the wild, but if you have time to scope the slopes for fuzz balls....now's your chance. As the snowline begins to receid in the high country, bears begin to feed just below it on the dandylions and grasses, so it's a great time of year to spot them.

Spring bear hunts have been banned in some states, but who says you can't scout? The great thing about hunting is that you only need a permit if you plan on harvesting something. Take a camera instead! I ALWAYS have better luck finding critters when I'm not carrying a gun anyway.

Running across a bear is rare, but last year while hunting with my two girls, we managed to push a big black bear over the ridge to the clearing where my son was walking. The bear was running towards him but didn't see him there in the shadows of the pines with his camo(bears really have poor eye sight). He said he thought he was going to be ran over, but started whistling so the bear would see him, and then backed slowly off the trail. The bear stopped when he heard the whistle and turned away at 15 yards. Most bear attacks happen because the bear is caught by surprise, or felt threatened (or because someone smelled like the hotdog they were roasting for lunch), but black bears are not naturally aggressive. They prefer not to be around humans, (hence the reason you never see them....they're hiding) I was glad I had taught my son how to react to encounters with bears in the wild, but I can honestly say I'm not sure I wouldn't have panicked and done the wrong thing. It's good to know that at age 17, he's level headed enough to handle himself in such a situation. (although, he did mention needing to change his undershorts after that)

My experience with bears is minimal, but what little I do know, trust me when I say, You can't out run a bear. I watched one travel 4 large canyons, and roughly12 miles in less than 30 minutes. In the best shape of my life, I would never be able to do that. Amazing animals.

One last note, when scouting for bears in the Spring, remember that they have been asleep for several months and haven't eaten either, so they can be a little grumpy and more aggressive than other times of the year. It's a good idea to take all the usual precautions for wandering in bear country. (You know, try not to smell like the bacon you ate for breakfast. I read somewhere that their noses are 7 times more powerful than a bloodhound that has 220 million little smell receptors...we humans have a measly 5 million ) If you happen to stumble across one, make noise to let them know you're there, keep your distance, back away slowly, and try not to surprise them. It's also best not to make eye contact. If you're NOT looking FOR them, the best way to avoid seeing them at all is to make noise while you're hiking.

Happy hunting!

Camp Cook Made Easy

Spring fever is settling in and it seems everyone wants to be off camping. Venturing into the backwoods armed with bandaids and bugspray seems only right this time of year. Some of us outdoor diehards live for spending time together in the outdoors, sleeping on the ground in a tent, and lets not forget burning dinner over a campfire and then being forced to eat fruit snacks instead.

A little planning ahead can be a life saver for the chef. Let me just be up front and honest when I say that cooking is probably one of the worst of all of my girl-like qualities, (it's why generally my husband does the cooking at home)because unless I can put it in a crock pot and walk away, it takes too long. However, when we go camping, for some odd reason, everyone expects me to cook, so....I've learned a few tricks. Two of my favorite pans in the outdoors are tinfoil and a hot dog roaster.

Just because I have to cook, doesn't mean I must provide a 5 course meal, but if I want to get fancy, I have a plan for that too. You've all heard of dutch oven cooking, well, invest in one. For between $20 to $50 you can have your own outdoor crockpot and I have added a recipes page with pictures and a few dutch oven treats that are a snap. The great thing about the dutch oven is it can be used for any meal of the day, AND dessert.

When headed off camping, it's easy to pack too much, but the last thing you want to have to deal with is washing dishes, so it's nice if you can leave the pots and pans safely at home. It's also easy to pre-mix ingredience before you leave home and put them in zip tight bags that seal and then just reheat when you get ready. (keep in mind....you WILL need a pan to reheat it in.)

Cooking outdoors can be as simple or as extravegant as you wish to make it, but even extravegant doesn't have to leave you with a national clean-up effort. Try these tips:

        1-paper plates, and plastic utensils and cups
                  These can easily be tossed instead of washed.
     
        2-heavy duty tinfoil has more uses than you realize
                   It has the obvious uses, but also can be used as a pan itself, to line one of your own pans for      quick clean up, or as a liner for the grill over the firepit.
                 
        3-plastic seal tight bags are so much easier than bowls and you don't have to wash them.
                   Not only can you pre-mix things in them and use them as a bowl, but they have the obvious storage cababilities.

Here's a couple of things to keep in mind. While I'm expected to cook for everyone when we're camping, I also expect to have fun while I'M camping. I do not want all of my camping memories to be of me choked with campfire smoke, singed hair, and cleaning up dirty dishes. For these reasons I plan ahead, think simple, and in todays world, shop cheap. If you want a big meal, the dutch oven is great, and easier than you might think. If you're into simple, roast a hot dog on a stick with a bag of chips, or make sub sandwhiches before you go. Planning ahead makes outdoor cooking much less stressful.