Warning - No animals were harmed in the making of this blog :(
Sunday (Oct. 17)
Our intention was to leave yesterday but there were weather warnings for days about an atmospheric river moving towards BC. Not wanting to chance dealing with falling trees, flooding and landslides we decided to error on the side of caution and leave a day later. It's also not much fun setting up camp in the middle of a storm :)
Fall colours...
Passing by the boat launch near Heather Campground on Cowichan Lake...
We had learned that our usual hunting area was now behind locked gates due to the ongoing protest blockades protesting the logging of old growth forests at Fairy Creek. We chose to try another area in the next valley over. So far since the protests began more than 1,100 people have been arrested by the RCMP and is set to become the largest act of civil disobedience in Canadian history.
High water level on the Nitinat River...
We drove thru several flooded sections on our way in...this was one of the smaller ones...
Moss covered rainforest...
This appeared to be a First Nations protest camp. The sheet on the truck reads:
"BAND COUNCIL IS NOT CONSENT. WE DON'T NEGOTIATE WITH COLONIZERS"
Due to extremely pothole filled logging roads it took us almost 4 hours after leaving paved roads to reach our camp...2 hours longer than we expected! For the most part it didn't rain much on the way in, that is until we reached our destination. Thankfully it didn't last too long and we managed to relax a bit after setting up.
My son Rob with my good buddy Jim. In my absence over the last 11 years my high school buddy Jim and Rob have had many hunting trips together and some interesting stories about their adventures. How cool is that!
We headed out for an evening hunt and to explore this unfamiliar area. Rob and I in his truck and Jim on his quad...
Hard to tell from this photo that I took from inside the truck but it's an Elk rub, as it's too high for Vancouver Island black tail deer...
As it turned out we found the area mostly overgrown with hardly any good areas to hunt. So much for Google Earth and their old pictures. There was one steep clear-cut near our camp. Rob hunted one end and I walked the length of it to a small lake.
The clear-cut at dusk. The only positive thing about this valley is that there are more grouse than we have ever seen before. Our coolers were full so we we decided to wait until later in the week to harvest a few :)
Monday (Oct. 18)
As this area was a major disappointment we drove up the mountain pass towards our old area to a spot we knew for our morning hunt. The logging company has what they call "put the road to bed" by removing culverts making the roads impassable to all but 4 wheelers, so we parked at the bottom. As there is a 28 year difference in our ages, I suggested to Rob that he hike the long upper mountain road and I'd take the lower road. Turned out the route I chose was now overgrown so I turned around and headed up the mountain road in Rob's direction as I knew there was lots of area up top for the both of us. Well the road seemed much longer and steeper than I recall from when I rode up it on my quad last year :) I nearly made it to the first clear-cut when I met Rob coming down. He really liked the area but saw nothing.
I had Rob turn around for a pic as we were heading back down...
When we got back to camp Jim said he managed to ride into our old area. He met a wood cutter that said the gate is closed but manned 24/7 to keep protesters out. SWEET!!! So we packed up camp that we just set up the day before and headed off. As we came down the mountain pass into our old area there was the remnants of a deserted protest camp. What a mess!! They claim to be all about the environment and old growth forests. GEEZ!
They left an old exhaust system, beer growlers and other garbage...
And a broken down car, and a little further down the road the new gate had been cut open...
After getting our new camp setup we had a bite to eat then went for firewood. With all the work done it was time to relax with a few brews. We were all too exhausted to do an evening hunt but were so glad to be back in familiar territory.
Jim and Rob...
If I remember correctly Jim saw two does today.
Tuesday (Oct. 19)
Sunrise on my morning hunt...
We used to camp at the lake but it tends to flood the campsites during heavy rains...
There was a huge hole dug at our camp since we were here last year...
I was shocked when I looked over the edge to find a huge pile of what appeared to be Canada Geese carcasses. In all our decades of hunting the area we have never seen Canada Geese here. Hmmm!
Evening hunt...
Our camp in the distance across the valley...
Cool pic Rob got of our camp...
Last year we had 2 fire pits. One at the edge of the tarp for when it rained but we got smoked out with the winds swirling around and another further out for when it wasn't raining. Rob hummed and hawed about bringing his wood stove but were we ever glad he did. We added the silver tarp which blocked out the rain and wind and reflected the heat back. The stove is made from a 30 lb LP tank which is very light and works great!
Rob and Jim peeking thru for a photo op...
Sheltering from the rain...
A couple of short videos...
The next morning for our morning hunt we came across slash piles that had just been lit...
Lots of rushing creeks, streams and rivers....
This slash pile is across the road from our camp. It was lit last year when we were here but didn't burn...
Another cool pic from Rob...
It gave us quite the show all night as the sparks would reach around 50 feet or more as it continually collapsed on itself.
Thursday (Oct. 21)
The morning hunt turned out quite pleasant weather wise however unbeknown to us we were in for a bomb cyclone...
As Rob was walking back down the road he was shocked to see a doe running towards him, stopping within 10 yards before it spotted him. After seeing Rob it looked both ways then headed off into the bush. I think Jim saw another doe and I've seen squat!
In the wee hours of the morning the bomb cyclone arrived with major rain and winds shaking our trailers and making a racket with the tarps. We weren't sure what we were going to wake up to but thankfully all was okay :)
Despite the weather it was a great week getting some guy time. Even though we were skunked, making new memories with family and friends is always more important than the meat. Two days before leaving on this trip I saw a beauty 3 point (6 point US) buck in a yard near Rob's house, and on our way home from this trip a nice fork (4 point US) on the side of the Pat Bay highway near Victoria. This wasn't the first hunting trip where we only spotted the bucks in town. :(
Friday (Oct. 22)
Last Tuesday night as we were all in bed accept for Rob he spotted pit lampers lighting up that clear-cut in the distance. Rob said the truck was low behind the trees but the light was so bright it even lit up the trees above the clear-cut. They even lit up the area behind us!
Our last day...
Rob and I were determined not to leave any firewood behind that we had worked so hard for, so stayed up until just after 10:30.
Rob's photo...
Saturday (Oct. 23)
We decided the night before not to do a morning hunt. We ended up packing up in the rain. Once we reached the gate the attendant said it's been 5 weeks since any harvested deer had come thru here. Makes one wonder if the poachers are responsible.
FINALLY... I spotted some deer! Two young does that had been lying beside the road.
So nice to be back on paved roads...
