In The Cathedral

Last Tuesday I left work a bit early to make a scouting trip west of town in Goethe State Forest.  I returned to the general area of my muzzleloader hunt last fall and my turkey hunt in the spring.  I had close calls with game both of those hunts, but I ended up meatless.  Honestly I chalk both failures up to the carry over of a behavior that has served me well for all my years of hiking and general wandering.  I've conditioned myself for years to freeze and go into observer mode when confronted with wildlife.  The thing is, of course, with hunting, at some point observer mode has to kick over into action mode.  I was too slow in both instances to make the split-second transition needed, and as the result a nice buck and a red-headed gobbler ended up in the forest instead of my freezer.

There is a lot of freshwater marshland in that area of Goethe, and I've learned from older aerials that in wet years they become large ponds.  It was far from wet there during my last trips, in fact in the spring even the remnant watering holes were completely dry and there seemed to be little sign of deer or hog.  Since then there have been two tropical systems and a lot of thunderstorm activity, some areas of Florida experienced extreme flooding.  The rainfall triggered hundreds of new sinkholes in the area.  Bearing that in mind I strapped a pair of knee-high rubber boots to my backpack for the trip.

The path out from the parking area follows a dirt road for a short time before angling cross country.  At a certain point it intersects a game trail, trodden for years by deer and hogs.  Although they weren't exactly endangered, the mosquitoes and flies were at surprisingly reasonable levels.  Soon I reached the edge of marsh.  The dog fennel, a native but aggressively opportunistic plant, was tall and green, contrasting starkly with the sun faded browns of the early spring.  Blackberry briars grabbed my jeans as I emerged from the forest's edge.  Amazingly, and truly a testament to the severity of the drought this area still suffers, the trail across the marsh was still dry!  Oh well, so much for carrying a heavy pair of flopping rubber boots on my back for most of a mile. 

Across the marsh I pushed my way though the thick brush at the forest's edge and entered the wide-open world of pine and cypress.  I know many people compare places like this to a cathedral, and the comparison is apt.  Tall, column-like trunks reach up to a high, broken canopy 80 plus feet above.  The open ground is carpeted by years and years of golden pine needles.

As I stood to catch my breath and consider my next direction, heavy thumps come from off to my left.  I look over in a flash and can barely believe it as a huge buck takes off, his head high with antlers well out past his ears.  The dull sound of his hoofs echo though the cathedral, fading in the distance.

Well, looks like I found the place, I thought.  I knew of a scrape in the general area from last season.  I located it, not much signs of activity, but after carefully casting about I found another very fresh one about 40 yards away.  I spend a half hour observing and choosing the tree I'll climb with my new climbing stand.  A few clip-on reflectors to make sure I can find it in the dark and my business is about complete. 

For the slower walk back I pulled out the hip flask and sipped a little Bushmills.  I saw two more deer, one not far from where I spotted the buck and one close to the truck.  The second I jumped only about 10 yards from the road, not quite the rush of a turkey flock in the dark but still enough to make the heart skip a beat. 

Anyhow, guess I'm about ready for Saturday.  Weather and fates willing, I'll attempt my first hunt with a recurve bow.  I'm more than a little nervous, part of me still thinks I'm crazy for not giving in to technology and just buying a crossbow, but where's the fun in that?  Besides, ever since I heard cams referred to as training wheels I can't look at a compound the same way.

Wish me luck, I'll need it.

Looking out of the stained glass window.