OPENER AT THE Hotel was busy, I know guys are posting their success but with not much of how it went down, I tend to add a lot of description to bring my readers right to camp with us. This may be a very long story as it covers several days. So we are going to write it in chapter form.
ARRIVAL
Chuck went to town and picked up our stuff from Ma and Pa’s and Amy’s Bakery. He then came to my place for me and the work trailer. Earlier in the week Chuck had brought over a bucket of firewood with his tractor. The Tenners were here and they stacked the wood in the 6x10 work trailer then added wood from my pile till they covered the bottom of the trailer two sticks high. Covered it with a tarp and tied it all down with a 100’ of the wife’s clothesline. With my gear bags, coolers and shotgun along with a big pot of stew that I had been cooking all day we were ready to head out. Gave the wife a kiss and Duncan wearing his bright, bright orange collar came to me and we shook a paw good-bye. It was just about then when a light rain started to fall.
We drove to the Hotel with the wipers slapping away the rain and when we went past Old McDonnell’s place I made comment about all his cows in the field were sporting bright orange scarfs, not a big surprise because a few years back during deer season a guy shot one of his cows and said he thought it was a deer, he was not from around here. Made the turn into camp and saw tire tracks in the mud and snow, we were not the first ones to camp on this Friday afternoon. We did a little sliding but made it to the opening where the Hotel sits and where we park our trucks. Reed’s RV was already there parked up along the edge and out of the way.
Reed came out to greet us as we pulled up along side the H/C ramp that the guys put in for me last year even if they still say it is just a loading ramp. The Johnson twins came out and we were unloaded and the trailer was unhooked and pushed back to the wood pile that is by the outhouse. We will wait on unloading and stacking it for now but everyone did grab a armload of wood to stack out on the porch floor. The trailer will serve double duty this year as the plan is to use it to haul deer back to town. Low to the ground it will be much easier to load and unload. Stew pot was put on the gas stove and let to simmer. Reed who had been washing dishes went back to it and Hop was mopping the floor while his brother was washing windows.
Normally I would be the one to start the first fire in the potbelly stove but they already had a good one going. I must admit it was nice to walk into a warm Hotel then having to wait to get the chill out. Now the next thing I noticed was new stove pipe and what looked to be a slightly used Magic Heat Reclaimer that was pumping out the heat. I would later find out that Skinny who has a weakness for auctions picked up the exchanger for next to nothing and Hammering Hank was already planning on replacing the stove pipe. With Chucks help we cleaned out the cupboards and started putting food away. A cooler with ice was filled with our cold cuts and steaks and vegetables, butter, pickles and cheese all went into the cold cabinet. We got the idea watching how people in Alaska would hang a wood box on the outside of the cabin with a hole cut through the wall and a door inside to get to the stuff. We did not use it last year, it was to warm but with rain turning to snow and the thermometer of the running buck pegged at 32 I figured it was cold enough to use.
The rest of the afternoon guys arrived and soon the gun rack on the wall was filled with a variety of what everyone thought was the perfect deer rife. Stew was eaten and a dent put into the hard rolls. The big map came out and guys looked it over like they had never seen it before, but truth be known anyone of them could have recreated it by memory. Around nine or so the round table was cleared and guys started to build their lunches for the first day on the stands. We had ham, thin sliced roast beef, chicken, turkey and of course thick bologna. Sweet pickles and big dill pickles, lettuce and tomato. American, Colby and Swiss cheese. Peanut butter and jelly and of course tuna for the Johnson twins. Hard rolls, Kaiser rolls, home made bread in wheat, rye and white. Sandwiches were put in zip lock bags or wrapped in tin foil or as with the older guys just cheese cloth. They all went into the cold box to be taken out come morning where bacon would be added because everyone knows bacon goes with everything. With the wood stove loaded with Maple and mouse traps set everyone headed to bed. The Heat Reclaimer was pointed at the bunk room door and everyone said they have never gone to bed in there when it was actually warm. I have a bunk in the main room and as long as the fire burns I stay warm.
FIRST LIGHT
Saturday morning I never heard an alarm go off, I just rolled over when I heard Reed poking at the coals and adding wood to the fire. Heard the door open and watched as Big Earl came in, he had gone down and used the outhouse and stocked it with tp and reading material. I put my feet on the floor and we exchanged HIYA’s. "Bobby, did you get apples" he asked me and I told him yes. "Did you happen to leave them on the porch?" I thought about it and said "I may have, why" Big Earl held up two ripped paper bags but no apples. "By the tracks I would say we fed two or three deer last night and one of them walked right up the H/C ramp" Well I had to chuckle, not a big deal I bought three bags, the other one has to be around here somewhere. Everyone else got up and the morning conversation was about the stolen apples. We had pancakes, bacon, ham and eggs. Toast was made eight slices at a time under the broiler.
Lunches were taken out and Mayo and bacon added to those that wanted it. Bag of apples was found and apples were written on the white board as the first thing we need more of. Walnuts, raisins and chocolate chips along with granola were mixed and put in bags. Bottle water or soda or in some cases bottles of juice were packed away. One by one guys exited and headed out to the stands. I stayed back along with Elmer, we were going to be the house mothers and I was still feeling under the weather, I think spending some time on the porch was going to have to be good enough for me. Beside them thieving deer might make a daylight raid on us.
STANDS
Chuck, Hammering Hank, myself and Skinny have been in charge of building and maintaining our stands. We have a dozen of them and they are spread out from the Hotel like the spokes of a wheel. Trails have been cut along with shooting lanes The outer edge has a trail that connects all the stands together and Reed and Chuck who like to still hunt will use it. We also play tag where one hunter will bump a hunter out of his stand and then that hunter bumps the next and so on. We usually only do this late in the season to try and get deer moving for others to get a shot. The stands are all made of green treated wood with carpeted floors and rough sawed wood on the outside about three feet up, this hides movement inside the stands. Some of the guys will put in the cheap rolling chair so they can move quietly inside. They all have roofs and at least one sheet metal corner where a coffee can with charcoal can be placed to give off some heat. A shelf wraps around three sides so you have a place for your lunch or it can be used as a rifle rest. Last year they expanded my swamp stand making it bigger for me and putting in a ramp. They all have names but depending on luck the names may be changed. The stands are also used in the nightly poker games as guys will use them in their last hands or all in, if they win they can change stands and the rest go to a hat to be drawn and traded.
FIRST DEER
About thirty minutes after Big Earl and Junior headed out I heard a rife shot, then a second shot echoed and I knew it was from the spoke that Reed likes to still hunt. Forty-five minutes later and Reed appears with a big grin on his face. He held up six fingers made his hands look like antlers over his head and came to the porch. He sat down in the rocker next to me and told me he was walking slow like to his stand and he spotted a buck down the trail just as it was crossing. Reed was just a few yards away from where his trail has a fork in it and he took the right fork and hustled down about fifty yards to where he thought the deer should be crossing. He sat down on a stump and waited and just when he thought the deer had already crossed the trail the deer emerged from the brush and on to the trail. He looked both ways like a kid crossing the street then just stood there for some reason and sniffed the ground. Reed took the safety off, fired and the deer flinched. With his rifle still on his shoulder he jacked in a second round and pulled the trigger. This time the deer just folded up and Reed dressed it and covered it with the orange plastic leaf bag that we all carry and headed back to camp to get the sled and see if anyone was around to help him drag it out. Elmer went to the white board and put Reeds name on it with the day and time.
SECOND DEER
Was not shot at the Hotel but I got a call from my son in law who was hunting out of his late grandfathers stand, he had shot a nice doe and he thinks it will be one that he will not forget. He will have it processed down there but he wanted to call and have me tell the guys.
THIRD DEER
Around ten or so it started to rain again, the red needle on the deer thermometer shows thirty-four degrees and with a little breeze it was cold and damp in no time. Earlier I had added more tatters, onions, celery and carrots to the stew, browned some stew meat and added it to the pot. By mid day guys started heading back to camp wearing their orange leaf bags trying to stay dry. Johnson twins each gobbled down a big bowl of stew and chunks of warm bread from the oven. They then went with Reed and brought his deer to camp where it was hung from the meat pole and the orange bag wrapped around it. Reed got pats on the back and he told his story to who ever would listen. More wood was put into the potbelly stove and the reclamier was paying for itself the very first day, wet coats were hanging from the ceiling and the hot air was drying them out nicely.
Around three or so the rain turned back to snow and most of the guys headed back out into their stands. I was back on the porch with Elmer riding shotgun in the other rocker. I was buried in my gear with a bright orange sleeping bag on top of me. I don’t know where the wife found it but she figured I would use it. I was thinking to myself I should put some potatoes in the oven as tonight is steak night. Skinny is our grill master and I was about to go inside and Reed came out and said he put a dozen tatters in all ready, I told him he should add a few smaller ones, the boys will be hungry tonight.
A few minutes later and Elmer and I looked at each other as an old faded blue pickup came down the road and slid to a stop before hitting the porch. I was surprised to see Vic behind the wheel and DOC sitting alongside of him. Before I could say anything Vic held up a white package and said "We brought our own steaks" DOC went inside with Elmer and Vic zipping up his orange parka and tugging his hat down on his ears took his place in the rocking chair. I told him about the thieving deer and the apples and he told me he caught his thief. I sat back and listen as Vic told me he was just settling into his easy chair with some nachos and cheese and looked up to see a buck sneaking into his garden. He got up and went to the hall closet where he had his deer rifle, jacked in a round, snuck out the front door, eased himself around the corner and squeezed off one shot, Deer fell sixty-six paces away. DOC heard the shot and the two of them went to the garden and the fallen deer. DOC dressed the deer and they used the tractor to get it out of the garden. He told me the story so nonchalantly I was having a hard time believing him. So I asked "Where is this deer now" Vic pointed at the tarp in the back of the truck and sure enough you could see antlers. I asked him why they brought it here and he said you guys are just as far away as town is and I knew you will be taking your deer to Pa’s and I didn’t know of the old truck would make it, asI have not driven it in years. Skinny and Hammering Hank came out of the woods a few minutes later. They backed the truck up to the meat pole and hug the deer. I followed everyone inside and looked at the white board, I then added Vic and my son in law to it with a little *
STEAK NIGHT
Skinny pulled the grill out from the shed and filled it with charcoal, the only way to cook porterhouse as far as I was concern. Skinny started grilling steaks and everyone pitched in making a big salad, getting out ice cold beers and waiting for the bread warming in the oven alongside the baked potatoes. As the steaks came off the grill Reed and Vic got first pick. No one picked the small porterhouse that I had Pa cut for me and as it was I only finished half of it. I made announcement for guys to trim their meat off the bone with a knife. I wanted no one chewing on bones the reason being I will add the bone to the stew pot to make new stock and I guarantee tomorrow you will have the tastiest stew you have ever had for lunch.
With belts loosen guys found chairs and refreshments were served. Talk was exchanged about deer sign or lack of sign. Big Earl passed on a small buck and junior for some reason missed a doe. I got grief for feeding the deer apples and was accused of baiting! Cards were brought out and a few cigars were lit, the guys with the cigars retreated to the porch to smokem and chat and watch the snow fall. I knew they were out there because of me and if I told them so they would just shrug it off as no big deal. Their wife’s don’t let them smoke inside at home why should there be any difference here. I really do have some pretty good friends. Vic and DOC found bunks and after a round of "Good night John Boy" the Hotel was quiet, just the humm of the fan and the occasional crackle of wood burning. I closed my eyes and was asleep, tomorrow is another day.
SUNDAY
Woke up not feeling too good, pretty much did nothing for most of the day. Guys made breakfast and packed lunches. Couple of inches of fresh snow on the ground but no one saw anything moving. Guys came in a little later, ate lunch on the stands but when they came in the Hotel and smelled the new pot of stew everyone had seconds. Reed baked up the stuffed pork chops for supper but I was not there, was not feeling any better so Chuck took me home. By Monday morning the skeleton crew was at the Resort, Reed n Elmer were going to be the caretakers this year keeping the fire going and doing some minor jobs. The day was sunny so they took off the shutters to let the light in and hooked up the solar panels to feed our back up twelve volt batteries. Sunshine Ray is calling for it to go below zero by midweek. Looking to be a more average deer season. I plan on feeling better by Friday when I will be heading back to the Hotel. Just have to get use to these new meds and find something I can eat and keep down. Check back for more here at Lake Iwanttobethere
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