The weather was still not cooperating but we were going anyway. We strapped up for the long hike through the jungle for the upper elevations. For anyone but goat hunters, this hike would have been brutal - but after our hunt in the mountains it was actually fun.
We climbed up 2500 vertical feet to a place that only Johnnie knew about. We set up our ultralight camp and headed out to hunt deer. This was my first time hunting blacktails, I had been in mule deer country and of course, whitetails, but these creatures were much different than the others - according to Johnnie. I would soon find out.
The fog really messed us up. We would catch glimpses of deer on the hillsides when the fog rolled out but those occasions were rare - and greatly appreciated.
The glowing red coat of these early season deer contrasted with the dark green surroundings. In many ways they were easier to spot than goats. We continued hiking and moving around the high country, spotting more deer as we climbed. By late day, the fog had lifted and the valley was crawling with deer. We counted over 25 on one hillside and Bobby spotted some real dandy bucks. We tried to get close to them but they were movin' out.
After looking over several decent deer on the hillside, we decided that it was getting late and we should start heading back. On the way down, Johnnie took out his deer call and made this whistling/whining sound. My first thoughts were skeptical - I had never had much luck calling deer back east, but when a doe literally barrelled us over on a dead run I was a believer. According to Johnnie, Blacktails answer deer calls like nothing on this planet I only wished elk were as responsive. The deer would not back off either - she stayed within a few yards of me the entire time and as she started to get nervous, Johnnie would blow the call again and she would come right back.
We made it back to camp at dusk and built a comforting campfire. We had one more day of hunting and we would make the most of it tomorrow.
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