Day 7 of Archery Season

 

Dropped by the beaver pond for a quick look see, (nothing there) and remembered to keep the wind at my back.  Improved my hunt quite a bit, as the deer I bumped on the way back let me get within 60 yards rather than 400 like last time. 

 

Went to the west side of the coast mountains.  This really is my favorite area to hunt.  The trees are huge, and the canopy is so tightly woven that light barely makes it through.  On a foggy day (like today) the overall effect is brooding, almost oppressive, like I need to watch my back, despite knowing full well that the apex predators in Oregon have been either wiped out or conditioned to avoid humans like the plague.  "Primeval" is a term that has been over-used to describe the Northwest rainforests, but I can almost imagine it when I find stumps like the one pictured.  5-6 of the "huge" trees I've already described could grow out of it, if their trunks were tightly clustered together.  The picture doesn't do it justice.  (Might be the fat head in the foreground ruining the perspective).  Try to visualize a forest consisting entirely of such behemoths. 

 

No elk today, despite an enjoyable effort.  On the way home I saw a 6 point buck by the side of the road that a nice family in a minivan hit just a few cars ahead of me.  Also passed a sign with a phone number to call, advertising "gopher control."  It had a ground squirrel sitting on top.  That about says it all for this first week of archery season.