2009 was certainly a year to remember. It was a year of increased physical training, and increased time in the field as well. I added to my hunting and outdoor gear, and even had some good family time mixed in with it.

TRAINING

This year was the first time I joined the Fleet Feet Trail Run Training Group. In 2009 I logged a total of 735.1 miles in 126 runs (according to my records up to 12/28/09) .

In additon to the purely physical aspect of training I broadened my social circle to include a variety of people from distinctly different backgrounds. It was an unintended, but fortuitous side effect since I’ve become good friends with a number of folks from the group.

I ran in five races,

• Ilsanjo Classic Trail run 10 mile
• Pirates Cove Trail run 20 K (12 mile)
• Muir Beach trail run 7 mile
• Salt Point trail run 25k (15 mile)
• Two Rock Union School 5k (3.1 miles)

That’s 47.1 miles of competitive running! Not that my pace was competitive, but having a race as a goal sure made a nice intermediate and measureable goal for my conditioning for hunting season.

My competitive archery pursuits were limitedthis year to the Western Classic Trail Shoot, and local 3-D league. Both great experiences. I do think that I am a better bowhunter when I go to more shoots in terms of confidence and shooting ability under pressure. The trail running definately took some of the archery practice and competition time. Finding that balance is going to be a challenge in 2010.

HUNTING

This year I had four “destination hunts”. These are hunts where I planned in advance, traveled and spent time under the stars. In previous years I had made one big hunt for a week to 10 days. That was one hunt to plan. This year I tripled the planning and logistics with three week long hunts!

This year was unique in the fact that all of my destination hunts were with archery equipment, and they were all of a do-it-yourself nature. Perhaps the learning curve was steeper than I had counted on, because I learned more about myself and my limitations than ever before. I also added two new states to my list of Places I’ve Hunted (Colorado, and Nevada).

• On the Tejon Hog hunt in June, I had two shot opportunities that I fouled up.
• My Nevada Mule deer hunt I was within 50 yards of bucks three times and never launched an arrow.
• The Colorado Archery Antelope hunt, I was able to make it a family vacation as well, but never got a good opportunity at a buck in range.
• The California late season archery blacktail hunt, I was humbled by the terrain and weather of Mendocino county.

FAMILY

Plus other quick day hunts (turkey and deer) that didn’t produce any results but memories, I spent 27 days afield this year hunting. However, my daughter did bag her first turkey, and that was worth getting blanked myself!

As for other outdoor activities, I spent a total of 28 nights sleeping out under the stars. Six of those nights were with my kids. I would like to increase this amount next year to at least 14 nights under the stars with the kids. Those nights in a tent or around a campfire are always memorable.

GEAR

I also updated my hunting and archery gear throughout the year.

• In 2009 I shot a Martin Warthog bow, and late in the year, added a Hoyt Alphamax 35 to the gear list. I began shooting Easton Axis arrow shafts since they were spined correctly for the faster bows.
• I lightened up my backpack with a Western Mountaineering Megalite down Sleeping Bag that is rated down to 30 deg F. I lightened up my shelter with a Ti-Goat Ptarmagin Bivy Sac. You will read more about these in 2010
• I invested in an Alaknak II tent from Cabela’s so I could have a comfortable base camp for family camping trips as well as late season hunting adventures.
• I also upgraded my optics with a pair of Vortex Razor Binoculars. I really glassed more, and spotted more animals with these.
• I put a pair of Meindl Alaskan Hikers on my feet at the start of this fall. These heavy duty mountaineering style boots were tough enough to hardly show any wear after a busy fall hunting season. After it all I put Obenauf’s LP liquid on them and I’m pleased with the leather condition. I wish I had done that 3 months earlier. The stiffness that adds support also increases break in time. But I think i’ll have these for years to come.
• I also was fortunate enough to win a rifle in a raffle near the end of the year. That Howa 1500 in .223 Remington will see plenty of action this next spring.

So all in all, 2009 was a busy and memorable year at the Western Wanderer. Now it is time to look forward and set goals for what I want to see, do and accomplish in 2010. But that is a whole ‘nother column.

Back when I was a teenager, my cousins and I always made arrangements to hunt ducks on the day after Thanksgiving, and the day after Christmas. These hunts continued as we entered college, and came home for holidays. Once we all got out of school and had to start working for a living, the day after hunts went by the wayside as we all had inlaws to visit, and during the week, work to attend to.

With Christmas falling on a Friday this year, that meant a weekend for hunting was available. I made plans with a high school friend Loren, my father and uncle for Saturday and Sunday morning.

Saturday morning we met Loren Poncia and his two dogs Sienna and Molly. We must have set a speed record as we had 5 birds in the bag in 45 minutes.

Loren had cows and lambs to check that day so he headed out to his Marin County ranch to do that. You can follow his Stemple Creek Ranch Blog and see daily changes in the stock, and the surroundings of the Sonoma and Marin county agricultural community. He also has some great recipes for beef and lamb that transition well to venison.

SUNDAY

My dad returned and Sunday morning we awoke to wet conditions after the misty drizzly night. Dad loaded Gator, an up and coming English Pointer and we hunted a cut grainfield along some railroad tracks.

Now Gator is an exuberant, high energy dog with a lot of hunting drive. To keep him from ranging too far, Dad hunted him with a 50 ft check cord. The first bird to raise was a surprse to all of us, dog included. He escaped unscathed. Then we started spotting roosters running in the wheeltracks through the stubble. We hustled to get Gator in the Scent stream and he put a bird up over my head. The #6 shot pattern put him on the ground, but he started sprinting. Gator ran him down and held him down until we could get there to praise him.

From that point on, Gator became more focused and you could see his demeanor change from running to hunting. Each point became more rigid and by the fifth bird he was like a magazine picture. He even retrieved the bird with minimal coaxing.

It was a good weekend with time spent afield with family and friends. Much like the holiday hunts from my youth.

Exposing the kids to hunting and the outdoors can be tough when the majority of your outings are extended affairs in distant spots and foul weather. I completely understand when kids don’t want to leave the house to go out in a rainstorm for an all-day hunt.
During the holidays, we had a chance to jump a few ducks off the pond, and that is just the ticket for a 3 year old to tag along.  The main goal of the outing was to get our 11 year old, Erin, a chance at a duck or two.

 As it turned out the ducks flew the opposite direction from where we were waiting for them to flush over us. Instead they flew over my uncle, Colby and he dropped one with his second shot. The duck fell in the field, so Sydney got the chance to be the retriever.

After searching the field, she examined the duck for quite a while before she picked it up. From that point on though, it was HER duck!

She marched it all the way back to the house, even making a stop to show off her prize to Mom, on the tractor.  All of a sudden Erin, became a mentor to her little sister when Colby and I were trying to mentor HER.  We had created an unintended bonding moment between sisters.

photo by Marc Strozyk

This week I moved my long run up to Saturday Night. One of our coaches was marking the tail for the morning run so I made plans to run while he marked the trail on his mountain bike. 

I left the trailhead before him and I was surprised that it took him four miles to catch me. But knowing someone was behind me spurred me on.  He caught up to me another two miles on the down hill stretch , but I was able to make it to the bottom of the hill before he caught me again. 

In the fading light I was lucky enough to run past a group of 3 does and a buck at 50 yards.  Of course being park deer, they were used to people, but being within archery range of a 100 inch, 3×2 blacktail buck is still a thrill regardless of the setting.  That is something I would not have experienced with the larger group. 

 Since I left the Trailhead at 3:38 pm I was racing against darkness as well.  All the other trail users I passed were headed down to the trail head as I ran uphill. 

I turned on the headlight for the last mile as the sun dropped below the horizon, and the trees blocked out the twilight.

As I was running along, I thought about the number of solo night hikes, and pre dawn approaches I had made into my hunting spots over the years. When it comes down to it, if you are going to be successful in backcountry hunting, you are going to spend time in the wild in the dark. 

 This is where a GOOD HEADLAMP REALLY PAYS OFF.  A beam that can help you discern a rock or washout on the faint trail that leads to your glassing spot or bivouac site will only make your backcountryhunts, or runs that much easier. 

I hit the parking lot 10 minutes after full dark, just after Robert had hit the main road below on his bike and zoomed by me.  The ranger closed the gate behind us as we pulled out with another good 8.5 mile training run in the books. 

That brought the weekly mileage to 18 miles.   I’m still having trouble scheduling three base mileage runs during the week.  We will see if I can get it done over the next two holiday weeks.

The rain made the trails of Annadel State Park pretty slippery this week.  Although it was the rock, 2 miles from the end that tripped me up and skinned up my knees and knuckles. 

There is video out there somewhere of this weeks run.  I’ll post it when and if it surfaces. 

The long run this week was a challenging 7.8 miles which brought the weekly total to around 17 miles.

Dec. 17, 2009
Contact:
Harry Morse, DFG Office of Communications, (916) 322-8962
Marc Kenyon, Wildlife Branch, (916) 445-3515

The California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) announced the closure of the statewide black bear hunting season on December 17. Under regulations adopted by the Fish and Game Commission, the black bear season is closed when DFG verifies 1,700 bears are taken by hunters.

DFG has mailed notices to all bear tag holders that the season is now closed. DFG wardens and biologists will also inform hunters they encounter in the field that the season is closed. Statewide media sources are being notified via this press release.

All bear tags must be returned to the DFG Wildlife Branch, 1812 Ninth St., Sacramento, California, 95811, by Feb.1, 2010.

Hunters must submit harvested bears to DFG for validation within 10 days of taking the bear. Teeth are extracted from half of the harvested bears, and DFG biologists use the teeth to compile data about the health of the state’s bear population.

Tags yet to be received by DFG may put the total harvest slightly above 1,700 bears. The hunting season does not have an adverse impact on the state’s bear population, which is estimated at more than 35,000.

Last weeks warm temperatures were replaced by cool frosty conditions on our long run Sunday December 6th.  One of my fellow runners even videoed the trail we ran and posted it on her blog.

I spent the week prior fighting various aches and pains and even enlisted the help of a sports chiropractor that practices ART or Active Release Technique.  The idea is that the muscles and connective tissue, when tense and sore, pull bones othey connect to out of alignment.  When they are allowed to relax and have a full range of motion the joint naturally goes back to the proper place. 

ART is a patented, state of the art soft tissue system/movement based massage technique that treats problems with muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia and nerves. Headaches, back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, shin splints, shoulder pain, sciatica, plantar fasciitis, knee problems, and tennis elbow are just a few of the many conditions that can be resolved quickly and permanently with ART. These conditions all have one important thing in common: they are often a result of overused muscles.

How do overuse conditions occur?

Over-used muscles (and other soft tissues) change in three important ways:

• acute conditions (pulls, tears, collisions, etc),
• accumulation of small tears (micro-trauma)
• not getting enough oxygen (hypoxia).

Each of these factors can cause your body to produce tough, dense scar tissue in the affected area. This scar tissue binds up and ties down tissues that need to move freely. As scar tissue builds up, muscles become shorter and weaker, tension on tendons causes tendonitis, and nerves can become trapped. This can cause reduced range of motion, loss of strength, and pain. If a nerve is trapped you may also feel tingling, numbness, and weakness.

 

It seems that parents are under a lot of pressure to buy the “Hot New Toys” every holiday season.  6 to 8 months later they are given to Goodwill, and the kids haven’t budged from their rooms or in front of the television…

Here is my alternative guide to kid’s gifts for an active family…Adapt as needed..

Instead of a:

Wii ski Game

Buy a

Season Ski Pass

Instead of a

Snuggy blanket for indoors

Buy a

Winter coat for outdoors

Instead of

Bunny slippers for lounging in the house

Get them

Boots for the outdoors

Instead of a

Lifetime of Sitting on the couch

Give them a

Lifetime Hunting license.

Look on your State Fish and Game Website for more information.  I’ve linked to the ones in the West I could find Lifetime license information online.

California

Oregon

Idaho

Arizona

Wyoming

This week, we upped the mileage to 6 miles in Annadel on November 29.  The weather was a little more temperate, as wind patterns brought some warm air into the region.  I was able to run in shirtsleeves, and even carried water. 

While I didn’t do as many miles this week as I had planned on, I still got out twice earlier in the week to do 2 of my three runs that constitute my “base miles”.  It’s tough to get real motivated when you have had a good thanksgiving meal isn’t it?

12 miles total for the week.

You might remember My buddy Zeke Bass, the Triathlete , and fellow Pope & Young Scorer who I bowhunted with at Tejon Ranch earlier this year.
I was estatic when I read about his first kill with his Black Widow recurve bow on the Sage Creek forums.

His words convey the emotion better than I can!

 
Feeding the Spider

Here’s the deal. I switched back to traditional gear this year after getting frustrated with my compound. I had equipment malfunctions and all kinds of issues. The last few years I kept looking down at the high tech gadget and wanted it simpler, but no less deadly. Finally after two dismal and frustrating years filled way too many miles hiked while holding my bow I got rid of it and got a Black Widow.

About 0930 I was still-hunting through a very active area when I saw a bedded doe within 40yds. Between us was a small rise and some tall grass.

I slowly moved up and got to where I could see the top of her back, when to her right a good 20″ forky stood up. He was onto me, but wasn’t buggered as the grass was still hiding me just enough. He started moving to the left as I worked my hand over my head like a deer’s ear, and saw there were a few more deer around.

One other forky and a spike got up and joined the others. I still had no shot, the grass blocked my rangefinder from getting a solid reading. I kept moving forward and finally got the big fork @ 35, my self imposed max with a known range. As I started to bring the widow back, I saw the spike was behind him and I let down, a pass-through would hit the small buck too.

Finally the big fella decided he didn’t like deer holding a spider, and moved off to over 50yds into the brush.

The doe and the small 12″ fork were standing there looking around @ 30yds. I would have loved to get a shot at the big fork, but considering a doe and a small fork I decided the doe was what I wanted.

I started drawing and then noticed a beautiful arc was forming tween the deer and I, followed by the best sound in the world besides being called daddy, THWACK!

She donkey kicked, and spun the other way and was gone. I saw my arrow fall down a few yards down the trail she took. I tried to wait, but got to the spot of the shot in about 2 mins. She was pumping out a ton of blood as she ran, and the ground was moist and quiet. When I got there I looked 20yds away and she was piled up, stone dead.

The arrow entered the lower leg, right below the elbow and severed the heart and took out the lungs. She broke the arrow as the ran off, but the end was still in her. The broadhead hit the offside shoulder after shattering her lower leg on the entrance.

She was at least 10ft higher than I was, so I am glad I remembered to hold low or I may have hit only one lung.

By 1045 I was heading down the mountain with her in my pack, man that is always a great feeling.

I had her made into steaks, sausage sticks and maple sausage. The boys and I will have her digested before the New Year.

FYI this is the same broadhead that I accidently drug backwards through my leg. I have kept this as my #1 broadhead and knew it would cut well going the direction it was meant to, as going in backwards opened me like a zipper, see below.