Being not stuck with going to the same place every year we were always open to suggestions as to where to go for a hunting trip. This year we came up with a place above Idaho city on a map. There was a road going somewhere into the back country, ending up on a high ridge in the timber. The crew, this year, would consist of LeRoy, Uncle Lewie, Harry, Glenn, and myself. Glenn was not old enough to hunt, but we liked to take him along anyway. He was a lot of laughs. The camping was loaded into LeRoy-s and Harry’s trucks for the trip, to stay a couple of nights. We were not sure exactly where we were headed, but away we went anyway.
There were a lot of deer and elk above Idaho City so the chances of getting something were fairly good. We found the road from the map that showed it would take us where we wanted to go. The road was not on the list to be plowed, or even cleaned out. Other hunters had cut down trees off of the road during the early hunts. Right on top of a high ridge was a large open flat. We could see a lot of the area right from camp, so this seemed like a g○○d place to put the tent. Everyone pitched in to get the small tent set up and then built a large camp kitchen. The weather was not really warm at this time of the year, but we were handling it alright. We made some short hunts near camp until about dark. The wind was starting to pick up a little and the air was turning colder by the minute. We fixed a quick supper of canned stew and crackers. We did not want to spend too much time cooking, since it was getting so cold. We were standing around the fire trying to keep warm, when the wind really started blowing hard, and the temperature dropped drastically. In fact, we could not even stay warm by the fire. At a suggestion from Uncle Lewie, we decided we had better get off this ridge and down in a valley where it would be warmer and out of the wind. The first thing to do was to unstick the tent, leaving the sleeping bags on the floor of the tent. We just folded everything together and put it in the truck. Everything else was piled on top of it in the other truck. It did not take us very long to find a campsite in a tree filled small Valley. The temperature was about 20 degrees warmer than on the high ridge. Each of us took hold on the four corners of the tent to lift it off the truck as we had done to put it there. There was a level spot under some trees to set it up. The corner stakes were hammered into the ground then put up the corner posts to finish the job. The sleeping bags were still spread out inside, so we just had to straighten them up to be ready for bed. By this time, darkness had set in. The wind was blowing but the trees created a wind break. We sat around the campfire for a couple of hours before turning in for the night.
The next morning, we fixed a good breakfast of pancakes and eggs. While I was fixing breakfast. The other guys made up a stack of sandwiches so everyone could have a couple to take with them out hunting. Harry, LeRoy, and Glenn made a large circle up through some brushy country, above camp. I would stay with Uncle Lewie, as we always hunted well together. We always knew what the other guy was thinking and would do. Towards noon, Uncle Lewie and I were sitting on an open hillside waiting for the other guys to come off the hill to us. Suddenly they spooked out a large four-point buck. He came running our way as hard as he could. We spotted him about three hundred yards away. He had no idea that we were in front of him or even in the country. I had my .30-30 Model 94 on this hunt and knew it would not reach him. Uncle Lewie uses a .270 caliber rifle with a scope mounted on it. He loads his own shells at home and sometimes he would load them a bit heavier than he should. Uncle Lewie sat down for a good rest, off his knees, to be steadier. I was sitting behind him, while he tried to hit the buck. The recoil of the beefed-up shells would nearly knock him over backwards. I would grab the scope and point it in the direction of the deer. By doing this, he could find the deer quicker. This had to be done each time he shot. Needless to say, the deer ran right past us without a hole in him. The guys finally came running down off the hill hot on the buck’s trail, but they were too late to get a shot. The deer was probably in the next county by now. Lt was now time to have some sandwiches, since everyone was hungry. At this time of day just a plain old, mashed jelly sandwich would taste good. We always had a few candy bars along also. We did not have any plans about where to go hunt next.
Now maybe the buck did not go as far as we thought. Harry and I wandered down the drawer, a little way, while the others sat on the hill to rest. Suddenly, here appeared the same large buck. Why he came back, we will never know. Harry saw him first and was ready to shoot when I spotted him. Harry put him down with the first shot. The fun was over now, we had to get this large animal back to the camp. When Harry shot, the rest of the guys came running down to us, to see what was going on. They were also surprised that the buck came back up the hill. With their help we dressed him out, he was cut in half so we could pack him into the truck. Each of us took turns and we were at camp in no time at all. He was hung in a tree, to be skinned and bagged to keep the flies off him. We were going to stay one more night so he would cool out nicely before heading for home tomorrow. We would hunt for a while in the morning. Evening was coming on. It was time to fix supper. We had brought along hamburger to fix, because it is easy to cook. Having a simple meal that doesn’t take too long to fix, makes camping more enjoyable for everyone. There was plenty for everyone to eat and they ate it all. Now it was time to relax and play a few games of pinochle to unwind for the rest of the evening. Darkness comes early in the mountains in October. We sat on our sleeping bags and used a gas lantern for light. After a couple of hours of cards, we turned in, happy to have found a deer and enjoying a good camping trip.
Morning came with the clanging of the alarm clock again. Time to get up. It took a while for us to finally get out of bed since everyone was still tired from the day before. Again, we fixed breakfast of pancakes and eggs with a side dish of bacon. The coffee pot is always the first to go on the fire. After everyone was filled up, we took the rifles and headed out to hunt.
We spread out to cover more of the area, each of us going in a different direction. As planned, we would meet back at camp in the early afternoon. No one had seen a thing in their travels. The next thing to do would be to pack up for home. We had a good hunt and a good time, but the clock finally caught up with us. We still had a lot of work to do when we got home; everything has to be cleaned up. The deer would hang in Harry’s garage for a few days before cutting him into steaks. We would decide where to go the next time we got the chance to get out.