Reflections on a week at deer camp

The upright, respectable and just plain warm feelings of an enjoyable week at 2010 deer camp are still wrapped around my shoulders. Many other Washington hunters are also basking in the memories of their hunts. These pleasant memories will last a lifetime.

Readers have contacted me about more details of my week at deer camp. One was a new hunter, meaning he was relatively inexperienced, having only a couple of hunts under his belt. Remembering the time when my hunting experience was considered parallel to a tenderfoot, greenhorn or novice, more particulars and fine points are hereby offered.

Preparing for the hunt

This year three trips were made to our central hunting location, The Hut, before the season. Instead of taking all of the food, sleeping bag and clothing in one trip, a little at a time was delivered.

A few of the cooking utensils, left at the building during the year, were brought home and washed. This was a minimal chore, as The Hut is tight and not much in the way of dust or critters makes it inside the building.

Care of cast iron skillets

The three 10-inch Camp Chef cast iron skillets were ready for cooking. They were cleaned and oiled on the last day of the hunt last year. Each was placed in a plastic grocery bag and the bag tied at the handle. A 50-cent piece sized spot of rust was discovered on the bottom skillet, but it was considered a minor problem.

Additional thought about our method of storing the skillets may provide a change in the process. Plastic will hold and trap moisture, the enemy of cast iron. Perhaps a clean, but old white terrycloth towel or two for each skillet will serve as a better cover when not in use. The towel will absorb any moisture, yet keep dust out.

Coolers and ice

We usually keep two Coleman X-treme coolers at camp. These are left outside in the cool of the night, but placed in the shade of The Hut if the sun beats down in an excessive manner.

One of my faults is to bring too much to eat. In years past, by the end of the week-long season, all frozen meat would be thawed. None was wasted, mind you, but it all needed to be eaten.

This year dry ice was purchased for one cooler and most of the frozen items were left alone, with a determination to not unnecessarily open it. This worked just fine, but the temptation was too much and at the end of day three, the lid was cracked to discover everything still frozen solid.

While cleaning up Jerry Lester’s deer, the heart and liver was placed in the dry ice chest with several layers of newspapers in between the dry ice and the bag holding the fresh meat. When checked 30 minutes later, both were almost frozen solid.

At the beginning of day five, all of the dry ice was gone. At the end of the season, most of the meat was still frozen or at least still contained ice crystals, meaning those packages could be refrozen.

The other cooler contained all of the other items needed to be kept cool, as if in a refrigerator, the mayonnaise, sandwich meat for lunch, mustard, steaks for the evening meal, leftovers, etc. Three bags of ice did the trick for the entire season, which is a testament to the effectiveness of the X-treme coolers.

Canned goods

Three years ago we purchased several cans of vegetables, such as beets, peas, green beans and corn. Those cans are still within the best-by date. The group discussed the possibility of the cans swelling, freezing and bursting during the winter, but we figured there was so much salt in canned vegetables there was little chance of this happening. One can was displaying signs of bulging and was disposed of without hesitation.

Personal hygiene and overall sanitation

When at deer camp or any other type of camp during anytime of the year, make sure everyone in the group exhibits proper sanitation and personal hygiene techniques.

For example, if the cook uses a plate to take raw chicken to the barbecue, make sure another plate, a clean plate, is used to bring the cooked meat to the table. The same goes for hamburgers, steaks and any raw meat. Using the same plate to transport the cooked meat as was used for the raw meat causes cross-contamination and the possibility of people becoming sick.

At deer camp, as well as other camping situations and at home we use a great number of Clorox Disinfecting Wipes. These have been used to make greasy skillets, dirty dishes and silverware shine even before these items are washed with soap and water.

The wipes are used to clean countertops at home and table tops at The Hut. Plus we use these as hand wipes also.

Pot of hot water

The first person awake at deer camp is to light the stove and place the pot holding water on the burner. This is a coffee-pot, but these days only used to heat water. We use coffee bags, similar to tea bags, for individual coffee servings.

When the water is hot, we take turns using a large plastic pan for washing hands and face.

This pan is also used for washing the skillets and other cooking utensils. Warm water and a scrubber with soap added cleans the items, but boiling water from the pot sterilizes them.

Means of cooking

We use a Coleman table, a Cabela’s table, a Cabela’s steel chuck box and a Coleman Outfitter three-burner stove to prepare our meals. The chuck box contains our plates and silverware, along with all of our spices and other cooking utensils. Although we have granite-type plates and real silverware available, we seem to use the paper plates and plastic silverware for ease of cleanup.

My hunting buddies don’t know it, but I save all of the plastic silverware, bring it home and inspect each piece, throwing out the broken ones. The rest are washed thoroughly and take back to The Hut for use next year.

Plenty of water

Our five water containers are full at the beginning of the season. We may not use all of the water during our stay, but we don’t want to run short.

A pleasant, but safe season

The precautions mentioned above are followed as a means for us to have an enjoyable, but sanitation-minded safe week at deer camp.