2014 Deer Camp Diary Pt. 2

This is the last of a two-part series about 2014 Deer Camp.

"There's a deer," Rudy said in a whisper.

Rudy Lopez and I were hiking a fence line with land in the Conservation Reserve Program, also known as CRP, on one side and sagebrush on the other. In front of us, at less than 100-yard distance was the white rump of a mule deer.

We stopped and dropped to one knee and watched as the deer continued to feed, turning to the right and feeding toward the fence. Antlers became apparent, but only two points on each side were visible. A legal deer must be wearing three points on at least one side.

This deer had been observed the day before in a field we did not have permission to hunt. Then he had a buddy, a legal buck with two points on one side and three on the other.

Rudy and I remained fixed in our position watching the deer feed and looking about for danger. He looked directly at us and didn't regard us as a threat. A more interesting point was the fact we had a wind from our back blowing directly at the deer and he still didn't notice us.

Finally the deer approached the fence and jumped, with little effort, and disappeared into the tall sagebrush. Rudy and I regained our footing and slowly walked forward, thinking the other buck might be near. After advancing about 20 yards, the two-point spooked, jumped to our side of the fence and ran out of sight.

We hunted the rest of the afternoon, spooking a few deer, mostly doe and yearlings, but no legal bucks.

Rudy had returned from three days of work and was prepared to spend the three days of hunting with The Hut as base camp. Friday night we asked Rudy to make another round of fish tacos and, again, we each had two.

We seldom eat breakfast during hunting season, but grab a banana or an apple when heading out the door. High winds held us inside two mornings. Weather usually doesn't stop us from hunting, but when the wind is hitting the 25-mph mark, a hike would not be pleasant. I prefer rain to wind any day, but one morning the rain was coming down so hard, we stayed inside until it slowed a bit.

Saturday night dinner was a surf-and-turf affair with shrimp in one cast iron skillet and elk chops in the other. Rudy cooked again, adding butter, lime, salt, pepper, plus one jalapeno pepper left whole, but cut open, added during the last five minutes of cooking the shrimp. The chops were cooked in olive oil with onions. The ingredients added up to superb eating.

Sunday, the last day of the season, found us hunting hard, trying to find at least one legal deer. But, alas, we were back at The Hut at noon without any of us firing a shot.

Lani fixed out last meal of the season breakfast/lunch. He started the hash browns in a 13-inch cast iron skillet. Next he added chopped bacon, a pound of sausage, onions and six scrambled eggs and mixed the entire conglomeration until the eggs were cooked. Again, this added up to superb eating.

A few items used at The Hut are worth mentioning. Hygiene and sanitation is important during any camping trip and spending time at The Hut during hunting season is no different.

We all help with cleanup and soap and boiling water are a part of the mix. Plastic knives, forks and spoons are used, along with paper plates. Of course the plates are thrown away, but we wash the plastic items. A red plastic cup is used during our stay and we each use the same cup for the season.

Clorox wipes are used for hand washing and cleansing cooking and eating areas. Those wipes will also clean a dirty cast iron skillet to the point boiling water is used in the final rinse.

A Honda 2000i Generator has been used during the last five hunting seasons. It has hummed along during the night, powering a row of florescent lights inside, plus an outside light. It also powers this computer, as I prepare stories for future use. Eventually I plan on buying another generator and will wire the two together for more power.

Monday, the day after the deer season closed, I drove to The Hut for an overall cleanup. The carpet was vacuumed, shutters closed, food and water removed for use at home.

It was the worst year for The Hut Crew, hunting wise, with no tags notched. Still there were the stories, great food and camaraderie making the 2014 Deer Camp a success.