I was excited. And still sleepy, but mostly excited. I had my camo vest turned inside out so the "hunter's orange" would show brightly through the 6am mist. Trudging through the deep woods of my step-dad's large acreage, we headed to the blind where I was sure I would bag my first deer. A buck no less. I was hoping for an 8-pointer, but would be happy with anything over a 4 point, so that I could rub my brother's face in it. His 4-point-short-bus-deer is a whole different topic, best saved for a future blog.
My concern was that since I had showered that morning (what?! I wanted to feel my best for my hunt...don't judge)my clean scent might repel the deer. But what concerned me most was my stomp, stomp, stomping through the woods, trying to keep pace with my step-dad.
I've often wondered how Native Americans, and ninjas for that matter, can walk through the woods undetected....stealthily stalking their prey. If there were a class that offered lessons in stealth, I would readily hand over my hard earned money...well, maybe my parents hard earned money.
The great hunting expedition of 2010 began at 5:45am Tuesday morning, November 23rd. I was looking forward to that Grandaddy deer I was positive would be just waiting for me in a clearing. It was a full moon, bright enough that we didn't even need flashlights. Although it might have helped as I seemed to have found every root and rock sticking up from the earth.
My step-dad, who continued to walk ahead of me, would routinely and silently point out large rocks or branches that might snag or trip me. Every so often he would stop, stand still and listen. Now whether this was because I was making too much noise and sounded like one thousand armadillos all vying for the prize of noisiest critter or perhaps it was to just allow me to catch up with him, I'll never know.
But I took into consideration that maybe I WAS being too loud. Was there a trick to walking silently through the woods? I'm sure there was. There was no time like the present to try a few different techniques, right?
I first investigated the idea of walking "heel-toe-heel-toe." It was a bit more silent, but was slightly painful and I realized there was no way I could walk like that all the way to the blind. Then I thought maybe if I shifted my weight as I walked "heel-toe-heel-toe," that could possibly be the solution.
I began to walk heel-to-heel-toe while shifting my weight from side to side, trying to silently find my way through the underbrush, weeds and thistles. The noise was lessened, but I all too soon realized I looked like a stunted penguin. All I needed was the quack, or honk, or whatever they do.
In that moment I was unendingly grateful my step-dad didn't turn around. He probably would have told me to go back to the truck and wait for him there while he hunted.
My step-dad also has a sixth sense about things. Could it be he could sense me waddling behind him, unable to figure out exactly what I was doing, but didn't want to turn around and truly admit his step-daughter might be a lunatic? More than likely, yes.
After I was done waddling, I decided maybe the trick was to walk silently while moving the rest of my body up and down, much like a buoy you might see on any large body of water. That didn't work really well, either.
I finally gave up, realizing that my step-dad wasn't worried about making too much noise, and I was probably over-thinking the stealth issue.
I felt very crazy. I shook my head at myself and thanked my lucky stars it was relatively dark, so that I didn't have to look at myself making a fool of myself.
The trek to the blind was about the most exciting portion of the hunting trip. Well, except for the part where we actually saw some deer.
Now, I must tell you.....sitting in a blind, bundled up with gloves on your hands and an extra coat wrapped around you, sitting in the middle of nature, watching the woods for any sign of movement....well, it tends to make one very sleepy.
I'm not going to lie and say I NEVER doze off while I sit there, but it's been known to happen on occasion. Well, this was just such an occasion.
However, nothin' wakes a girl up like a nudge from the step-dad sitting next to her. Instinctively, I knew that nudge meant he had spotted deer. And I knew I had to be ready.
Before my eyes were even open, I had ripped off my gloves and let them drop to the ground, and extended my hands, ready to take the rifle and aim. Now, once I was fully awake and realized my step-dad was only nudging me because he saw the backsides of two deer making their way AWAY from us, I realized I had woke up for no good reason. I also realized a few other things.
#1: I had dropped my gloves before my eyes were even open. No lie. Which I thought was a pretty smooth move, actually.
#2: I had expected to grab the rifle and aim, even though I had just woken up.
#3: If my step-dad knew I was itching to grab the gun while still half asleep, would he ever take me hunting again?
Never-mind that all of this made complete sense to me while still in my sleepy state.
Walking back to the truck empty handed, cold and ready for breakfast, I was thankful that Arlyn kept the rifle in his corner of the blind.
We hunted the next day as well and Arlyn reminded me, after we saw nothing more than a few active squirrls, that it's called hunting not killing.
I will be hunting Sunday morning, the 5th.....my last chance for rifle season. I'm trying my luck with my brother and his father-in-law.....even though I feel like I've found out that my superpower is Deer Repellent Woman....
Maybe my beginner's luck will finally kick in.
Stay tuned!
