tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62625784323975525852024-03-14T13:29:25.429-04:00Northwoods JournalNews from the Mountains of Tioga CountyUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger44125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6262578432397552585.post-87803879843704202152017-12-05T20:56:00.000-05:002017-12-05T21:08:52.605-05:00Deer Season 2017I was thrilled that my oldest son was going to be able to join me for the first three days of deer camp this year. We arrived at camp on Sunday, Nov. 26 around noon. After lighting the furnace, we got out the leaf blower and rakes and took care of all the leaves around camp. Afterwards, I did some temporary repair work on a small leak that was discovered inside. The local DCNR officers (also friends of the family) paid us a visit around 3 pm. We talked for a while and their report was that the deer herd was up this year. Monday morning found us going to our usual opening day spot. We saw quite a few deer on Monday, but none we could shoot. I was very encouraged, however, because it was more deer than we'd seen in the previous several years. In addition, I had a rare treat to have an all-black coyote run past my stand. Tuesday, morning found us back in the same location. Again, we saw several deer. My son had a nice 4-point walk by, but had to let him pass. The antler restrictions over the past years have really paid off. It's tough to let a buck pass, but there are now some trophy class buck running around. On Wednesday, the temperature was warmer, but there was a very gusty Northwest wind, so we decided to hunt the south side of the mountain. I did a small drive for my son first thing in the morning and ran into a flock of over 30 turkeys. I think it was the ones who were calling all around us on Tuesday. The biggest treat of the day for me was having a black bear walk right up to me around 12:00 noon. He came to within about 15 feet and never saw me. It was quite a thrill to be that close to a bear. We didn't see any deer today, but we really had a great three days of hunting. We headed home around 5:15 as we had closed camp and packed up in the morning before going hunting. We probably won't make it up for the 2nd week this year. I was fortunate to harvest two deer in Maryland in the October Muzzleloader season (an antlerless deer and a nice 8-point) so we already have venison in the freezer. There was more food (esp. acorns and beechnuts) in the woods this year than I've seen in a long time. The number of squirrels in the forest this year was staggering. We may try to come up for a day or two during the late <span style="text-align: center;">flintlock season, but I'm not sure. Again, I am thankful for good health and the opportunity to spend my 43rd consecutive First Day of Buck Season at Peter's Camp. </span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6262578432397552585.post-64559162237916287742016-12-19T16:32:00.001-05:002016-12-19T16:32:20.402-05:00Deer Season (2nd week)Still excited from shooting the bear last weekend, my son and I traveled up to camp on Wednesday, Dec. 7 to hunt the last few days of the season. As we were climbing up the mountain we went from dry leaves, to ice, to snow. There was about 2" of snow on top of the mountain, so we were very excited about the next few days. Temperatures were very cold, so we figured it would stick. My scouting in bear season revealed a huge acorn crop this fall. In fact, they were everywhere. This led me to believe the deer would head to the thick stuff the 2nd week where there was also abundant food. I knew where we wanted to hunt. We started out on Thursday morning around 7:30. My goal this week was to push something out to my son. We hadn't been able to hunt together since he left for college 7-8 years ago. I put on two drives for him and I didn't move anything, but I did see an abundance of tracks. We decided to go up on top a ridge we've often hunted during the second week where the laurel is thick. The higher we climbed, the more tracks we saw. Finally, we arrived to a spot I wanted to try. I put my son up in a tree stand, and did a large circle drive back to him. The most exciting sound I heard the entire year was when I heard his rifle crack as I was just about finishing the drive. It worked perfectly, and 20 minutes later, we were both standing over a beautiful 8-point buck that came right past his tree. I was never more proud! After lots of hand-shaking, hugging, and picture taking, we started the long drag back to camp. The snow made that job much easier. After getting back to camp and shedding some clothing, we drove up on top the mountain where we can get a cell phone signal so that he could tell the rest of the family the exciting news! That night, we enjoyed a nice dinner and relaxing evening at camp. The next morning we got to sleep in and after closing up everything for the winter, we headed home. Another successful season for the guys from Peter's Camp!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6262578432397552585.post-35282940982017026352016-12-19T16:23:00.000-05:002017-12-05T21:11:36.773-05:00Bear Season (Extended)Saturday, Dec. 3 found me hunting closer to home in Perry County. The first Saturday of the season is a unique day in WMU 4B as a properly licensed hunter can hunt buck, doe, and bear on the same day. At around 8:30, I saw some movement below me. Much to my surprise, it was a nice sized black bear slipping out of the clear cut. I raised the gun and he presented a standing shot at about 150 yards. I fired my .270 and he took off running. I fired a 2nd round as he disappeared back into the clear cut. I heard a few more shots after that and assumed that someone else had gotten him. After waiting a few minutes, I started down the mountain to check on my first two shots. I was almost at the spot where he had been standing when much to my surprise, here he came again running out of the clear cut up the mountain towards me. He stopped at about 40 yards and I fired a 3rd shot. This time, he dropped. And just like that, I was standing over my first-ever PA black bear. It all happened so fast I couldn't believe it. My brother and niece arrived a few hours later and spent half of their day helping me to get him the 1.5 miles back to my truck. What a memory! At the check station the boar weighed in at 276 pounds (estimated 326 pounds live weight). <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnBtw7_NQwKQk8QyTrbZycGZ1HJsEzAXdtfjdxGSqPlnHc0LdSVrVvyD5CNHtu_SzkqFl3LfxZr-xrnzOYW9wimEHRaX1HqEbvu5sT7mwy3U2gUNI_rkSvgm9fQPcdlmgfIgdynBhRHZo/s1600/Bear+2.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnBtw7_NQwKQk8QyTrbZycGZ1HJsEzAXdtfjdxGSqPlnHc0LdSVrVvyD5CNHtu_SzkqFl3LfxZr-xrnzOYW9wimEHRaX1HqEbvu5sT7mwy3U2gUNI_rkSvgm9fQPcdlmgfIgdynBhRHZo/s320/Bear+2.jpg" width="320" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6262578432397552585.post-34890985181266328782016-12-19T16:16:00.001-05:002016-12-19T18:01:24.220-05:00Deer Season 2016I hunted in Maryland for the traditional opening day on Saturday, November 26. I was fortunate to harvest a nice big doe around 9:00 am, so my day was short. It was nice to have some meat in the freezer. I drove to camp on Sunday, Nov. 27 and arrived around 12:00 noon. After starting the heat, I took a walk up the road. After returning to camp, I enjoyed a nice dinner and relaxing evening at camp. I'm by myself again this season for opening day. Monday came quickly and it was a very nice day to hunt. I climbed up the mountain in my usual spot and climbed up the tree to hunt for the day. I saw three deer around 10:15 that appeared to be two young ones and a doe, and that turned out to be the only deer I saw the entire day. There was very little shooting today (far less than the opening day of bear season). The weather report is calling for heavy rain the next two days, so my plan is to go home tonight and return with my son to hunt the last few days. I'm thankful that this was my 42nd consecutive opening day at camp. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6262578432397552585.post-88822232738486189012016-12-19T16:06:00.000-05:002016-12-19T16:33:45.021-05:00Bear Season 2016I arrived at camp around 9:00 pm on November 17 for the opening of Bear Season. Saturday morning came quickly and I decided to hunt the ridge behind our camp. It was a chilly morning, but it soon warmed up to near 55-degrees. It was a beautiful day to hunt - sunny and calm...that is until around 12:15 pm. I've never seen the weather change so quickly. The wind which was coming from the SE started coming from the NW. The temperature dropped like a lead weight. A large drive began around 1:00 on the ridge across from me. Towards the end of the drive, I heard several shots. All I saw were two deer. By 3:30, the temperature had dropped to around 30 degrees and it was snowing, so I started down off the mountain. By the time I got to the road, we had about an inch of snow on the ground. I saw a large number of hunters standing at the road so I went over to see three bears that had been shot off the drive. They were all small ones. I was told another small one was shot by a hunter from one of the camps down the road. So they had shot 4 bear off that drive. The next morning, after cleaning up all the leaves at camp(which was quite a job considering they were covered with an inch of snow) I left for home anxiously awaiting the opening of deer season the following week. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6262578432397552585.post-47651959588235159552015-12-08T14:55:00.001-05:002015-12-08T14:56:11.922-05:00Deer Season 2015Deer Season 2015 found me traveling to camp alone this year. No one else in the family was able to make it this year. I arrived on Sunday, November 29 around 12:00 noon, opened camp, and got the stove lit to warm up the inside. The weather report for opening day looked great. Monday morning came with temperatures around 18-degrees and the forecast for a beautiful day. I left camp early, and climbed up to my usual spot. I find out each year how much older I'm getting as my climbing tree stand and backpack seemed heavier than ever. I was set up and ready by 6:45. The morning began with the old fashioned deer drives beginning right on schedule at 7:30. There were two shots across the valley from me. I found out later that one hunter harvested a beautiful 10-pointer and another missed an 8-pointer. At 10:10 am, something brought two deer running towards me. Immediately, I could see that both deer were legal buck. I chose the first as it appeared to be the largest of the two and fired. Before long, I was standing over a nice 8-pointer. Just like that, my Tioga season was over. I got him back to the truck by 12:00 noon, then headed back to close up camp. Even though I had planned on hunting for three days, I was on my way home by 2:30. Thus ended another successful Tioga County Deer Season. I'm thankful for the success of this season (including the nice 7-pointer I harvested in Maryland Muzzleloader Season back in October), and the fact that I saved a few vacation days by getting a deer on the first day. I was especially thankful since the weather turned ugly and the next two days brought pouring rains. So another buck is added to the roster at Peter's Camp and another chapter is written into the legacy. It was my 41st consecutive opening day at Camp. I hope I have many more. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLLV-He8pgbzlMEWGC4IOstoFJKQNBo0_hwt4CKuO6QEJSHUSJu0U5KoHyBJTfmCIxvz1saTjlM1u_Y308S8M2qHy4dWlLKMk_zG2eQw-vmqtmG8-zxxKywDrxiNmYBTzKxrjBNa8JPUc/s1600/FullSizeRender.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLLV-He8pgbzlMEWGC4IOstoFJKQNBo0_hwt4CKuO6QEJSHUSJu0U5KoHyBJTfmCIxvz1saTjlM1u_Y308S8M2qHy4dWlLKMk_zG2eQw-vmqtmG8-zxxKywDrxiNmYBTzKxrjBNa8JPUc/s320/FullSizeRender.jpg" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6262578432397552585.post-23379963867437714882015-12-08T14:45:00.002-05:002015-12-08T14:45:36.426-05:00Cleaning up the LeavesThis fall has been very busy, so there hasn't been as much time to travel up to the cabin. On Sunday, November 8, the kids and I came up for the day to clean up all the leaves. It was a beautiful day and we got the job done. I won't make it up for Bear Season this year. It's the first time I'll miss in many years. As always, I'm looking forward to Deer Season, although I'll be the only one coming up this year. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha_SNgyTSJ2_qGYMI79ei04gH3i7qX1se1V4YekmssfU1AFgvD0NH0SEU4Bze6z8BRQwNEV7I__cm2UYMEZRakp4tlmzTZREg_FV-O_kfNj8oiGSVl5OvEY1AmS_i_du_LpbepDqtKzr8/s1600/IMG_1426.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha_SNgyTSJ2_qGYMI79ei04gH3i7qX1se1V4YekmssfU1AFgvD0NH0SEU4Bze6z8BRQwNEV7I__cm2UYMEZRakp4tlmzTZREg_FV-O_kfNj8oiGSVl5OvEY1AmS_i_du_LpbepDqtKzr8/s320/IMG_1426.JPG" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6262578432397552585.post-49770509002439466932014-12-09T22:20:00.001-05:002014-12-09T22:20:27.947-05:00Deer Season 2014I arrived at camp around 6:00 on Sunday, Nov. 30. After opening camp and starting the furnace, I waited for my brother and niece to arrive. They arrived safely a few hours later. Monday morning came early and we awoke to a misty rain. I drove to my usual spot, and started up the mountain carrying my tree stand on my back, and my backpack and rifle in my arms. By 6:45, I was set up and ready for my 40th straight "first day of buck season." There was a bit of shooting early, but very little the rest of the day. The weather was cloudy, but the rain held off most of the day. Late in the day one of the camps shot 6 times just prior to their last drive of the day. I assumed they got something. I hunted till almost dark, then started back to my truck not seeing a single deer. Monday evening, my brother and niece headed home and I prepared my dinner and then went to bed early. On Tuesday morning, I awoke to much colder temperatures around 18-degrees. I started back to my usual spot and was in place in my stand by about 6:45. It was a very cold/calm morning. Around 11:00 am, it got cloudy and very windy. Then it came like a freight train - snow and sleet started coming down like rain. It only took about 10 minutes for the ground to be covered. I realized I needed to get down off the mountain and off the state forest roads while I could. I got to the truck about 1/2 hour later and started back to camp. I saw a nice buck hanging at the camp closest to ours (confirming that they did shoot one Monday afternoon). It took about 1-2 hours to close up camp for the winter. The snow/sleet was still coming down. I got down to the hard roads by about 4:00 and started the 3 1/2 hour drive home. Deer season was cut short due to the weather. Rather than hunting on Wednesday, I was back at work. No deer sighted this season. There were very few hunters around this year, and I'm convinced the poor weather saved a lot of deer this season. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6262578432397552585.post-16291959740232981332014-11-23T21:37:00.001-05:002014-11-23T21:49:14.384-05:00Bear Season 2014I arrived at camp on Friday, Nov. 21 around 8:30. It took me a while to get the stove working tonight. Temperature outside was 12-degrees, but it felt even colder. The sky was crystal clear and starlit. Morning came early, and I started up the mountain to where I had seen fresh bear sign two weeks before. Temperature when I left the camp was 3 degrees. I had a nice-racked three point walk up to me first thing in the morning. Later, I found some fresh bear tracks and followed them for a while. I lost the tracks when I hit the south side of the mountain and the snow was gone. A lot of shooting in the area today and I saw two bears being loaded onto trucks. I went back to camp around noon and used my leaf blower to clean up all the leaves that had fallen. The temperature had warmed up to around 25 degrees. A lost hunter showed up around 12:30. He had gotten separated from his group on a drive and heard my leaf blower. He followed the sound to me, and I helped direct him back to his camp. It's easy to get lost in these woods if you don't know your way around. I went back out hunting around 1:30. Some hunters told me they wounded a bear but hadn't found it, so I focused my hunting in that area in case I could find him. Around 3:00 it stared raining and I noticed it freezing on contact. I decided to head back down to camp to get down out of the mountains before the roads got too bad. My truck was coated with ice when I arrived back at camp. The roads were a bit slick, but I made it down to Cedar Run. The drive home was ok until I got to Jersey Mills. When I hit the bridge, I lost control of my F-150 but managed to keep it on the road. From then on, I drove about 20 mph with my flashers on. Just south of Waterville, the traffic was stopped. I sat there for 2 1/2 hours. I've never seen the roads this bad. When I got out of my truck to stretch my legs, I slipped right down on my can. The roads were so icy, I couldn't even stand up. The traffic finally started moving, but very slowly. When I got to Jersey Shore, things were no better. Cars littered the highway on both sides and in the median. It was creep and crawl the whole way to Williamsport. It took me about 4 hours to go 35 miles. I stopped for dinner on the other side of the mountain near Allenwood. The temperature was rising now. From then on, the roads were fine. However, in all of my trips up North, these were the worst roads I've ever encountered. This time of year, you need to be prepared for anything. Always have flashlights, flares, chains, etc in your vehicle. Now, I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving with the family, the opening of Deer Season in Maryland on Saturday, and the first few days of Deer Season back up here in the Northwoods. I'll have a tough time topping last year's first week of deer season. I already tagged one in Maryland in the early muzzleloader season back in October. I love this time of year! Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6262578432397552585.post-13203739471701051332014-11-23T21:23:00.001-05:002014-11-23T21:23:17.203-05:00Turkey SeasonI made the traditional trip to camp for Turkey Season on Friday night, November 7. Arrived at camp around 8:30 and lit the stove. The next day, I covered over 6-7 miles. I'm definitely not in the shape I used to be. My legs were very sore by the end of the day. There is an abundant acorn crop this year. We haven't had acorns like this in our area for many years. This is good for the wildlife, but it's going to make hunting tougher this year. I didn't see any turkeys today, but did see signs that they were around...as well as deer and bear sign. I'll be coming back up in two weeks for the opening of Bear Season. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6262578432397552585.post-72275326320060019022013-12-09T23:15:00.002-05:002014-02-13T13:23:11.829-05:00Deer Season 2013<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO93E4eoS84Gr7RPXk5m2G1b4hsPjgLwwXwfe2YPbEXw5M2Hq5i6_1S3jvZ2POl9dq1cUE5ENEHNXTVn8mlSuGLMStNPdQ8lYNFQ9NyuKrrpzNZ7gJi6E5op-V5sBEYjWqN9XmdZYX7VA/s1600/CIMG1022.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO93E4eoS84Gr7RPXk5m2G1b4hsPjgLwwXwfe2YPbEXw5M2Hq5i6_1S3jvZ2POl9dq1cUE5ENEHNXTVn8mlSuGLMStNPdQ8lYNFQ9NyuKrrpzNZ7gJi6E5op-V5sBEYjWqN9XmdZYX7VA/s320/CIMG1022.JPG" /></a>This was the best deer season I've ever had. The season began in MD for the opening day of gun season last Saturday, November 30. It was a very cold morning. Temperature was around 16 degrees. I made good time in the morning and arrived at the property about 6:15. I was in my stand and set up by 6:45 and it was just starting to get light. As the sun began creeping up over the Contoctin Mountain range, I just had a feeling it was going to be a morning. At 8:00 am, I caught some movement above me. It was a spike buck sneaking through the thicket. For some reason, he didn't feel something was right and he ran back the direction he came from. Thinking that might be my last chance of the day, I settled back into my comfy tree stand seat. About 15 minutes later I heard a lot of noise behind me. As I turned around, I saw a large group of deer moving into the thicket. Immediately I saw two nice-racked deer...then another. At first I thought I was seeing things. Then two large doe move in. Because I had seen the bucks, I passed on shooting one of the does. I'm glad I did. The deer kept moving in and out of the openings in the thicket. Finally, a nice buck moved into my view and I squeezed the trigger of my .50 caliber in-line. I saw him drop as the other deer all scattered. A nice wide 6 point ran down below me and just stood there. I looked at my watch...it was 8:20 am. I hadn't even had a chance to get cold, and I had my buck....a nice 7-pointer. I was in my truck and on the way to the butcher shop by 10:30 am.
On Sunday, I left early in the morning to head up to Tioga County. I was the lucky one who got to go up to camp early to warm up the place. I stopped at Denny's on the way up for my traditional breakfast stop. We had about 3 inches of snow on the ground and the roads were solid ice. I had to put the chains on my F-150 in order to go any farther. It reminded me of deer seasons past. I arrived at camp around 12:30 pm and got the stove lit. It took me a while as it was so cold in the camp, the kerosene had actually frozen inside the line from the tank to the stove. We've never had that happen before. I had to use one of our kerosene lamps to thaw out the line. I had a nice dinner and waited for my Dad, Brother, and Niece to arrive. They arrived just before 9:00 pm and we decided where we would hunt on Monday. Monday morning came early, It was a beautiful morning and we were excited to have the snow to hunt in. We hunted hard all day and we were impressed with the amount of deer sign we saw. However, we didn't see a single deer between the four of us. Monday night, the other three left for home leaving me at camp by myself. I had planned to hunt one more day before coming home. It was a quiet night in the mountains,but I went to bed early. Tuesday morning I awoke to warmer temperatures and fog. It was around 32 degrees. We had a bit of drizzle over night, so the snow was now slippery and slushy. After breakfast, I decided to close up the camp for the winter so that I could hunt my way out of the woods. I packed up the truck and headed to one of my favorite spots to hunt. Just in case I got lucky, I hunted in an area that would provide a downhill drag. I hiked up the hollow and used my summit climber to go up a tree about 15 feet or so. Around 7:45 I had a lone hen turkey pass by just below me. The fog was rolling in and out as it often does when there is snow on the ground with warmer temperatures. Not long after 8 am, I heard something behind me. As I turned around, I saw a deer sneaking up through the thick stuff. Immediately I noticed antlers and could clearly see three points up on the right side. As I took the safety off my .270, the deer stopped. As he started walking again, I squeezed the trigger. As the deer ran off, I looked down at my watch....I almost laughed out loud....it was 8:20 am....the exact time I shot the 7-point in MD just three days earlier. It took me a while to get down out of the tree, and a few minutes later I was standing over a beautiful nice-bodied 8-pointer. I almost couldn't believe it. The only deer I saw in two days, but the only one I needed to see. The drag back to the truck was a little tricky since I had my climber, backpack, rifle, and the deer. However, the snow made it much easier, and by 9:30 I was back at my truck. I was on my way home by 10:30. What a season!! We will be feasting on a lot of venison this year! We probably won't make it up to camp now until Spring. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6262578432397552585.post-88085947034760429922013-11-24T21:29:00.001-05:002013-11-24T21:38:12.914-05:00Bear Season 2013My 7 year old son accompanied me to camp this weekend for the first day of Bear Season. It was his first hunt. We got a little bit of a late start and hit major traffic on the way, so we didn't arrive at camp until about 9:30 on Friday night. After getting the heat going, we snuggled into the sleeping bag. Saturday morning we awoke and had breakfast. Temperature was around 22 degrees. I was surprised how many hunters were out early. We hunted an area along a clear cut first. Saw a few buck scrapes and rubs, but no bear sign. We were hoping one of the camps would drive the clear cut. By 9:30-10:00, we realized that wasn't going to happen. We headed east to the area where I was hunting turkeys two weeks ago. We ran into several hunters from other camps. We did find a lot of deer sign, bear sign, and turkey sign. However, we didn't see anything. At around 3:00, the Northwest winds began howling and the snow moved in. Suddenly we were cast into a winter wonderland as the snow began blowing. We decided to get down off the top of the ridge and walk back towards the truck. By the time we got back to camp, the ground was covered. The temperature was dropping fast, but it felt great in the camp. After a nice dinner, we drove up to the top of the mountain so we could get a cell signal. I've been an avid Nebraska fan since I was 9 years old. There aren't many of us in PA. Today was a big day since the Huskers were playing PSU. In fact, I passed up a $30.00 ticket to go to the game. My son and I painstakingly watched updates on my phone as the game went into overtime. When Nebraska scored the winning field goal, I'm sure any deer or bear in the area probably heard us yell. After calling home to let the family know we were ok, we drove back down to camp. After a small snack, we snuggled into bed. We could hear the wind howling outside. The sky was crystal clear and the display of stars was beautiful. We awoke around 7:30 this morning. We could tell that the temperature inside the cabin had dropped considerably. Outside it was 9-degrees. There was enough snow on the ground to make for a winter scene. We probably would have heard a lot more shooting yesterday, if the ground had been snow covered. After eating breakfast, we cleaned up camp and got everything ready for the opening of deer season next weekend. My son did awesome on his first-ever hunt. It was a true test for him and he weathered the weather quite well. I'm still concerned about the deer herd up North. I haven't seen a live deer in the woods while hunting since the opening day of bear season 2011....two years ago. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6262578432397552585.post-9082512652475804472013-11-17T17:21:00.003-05:002013-11-17T17:23:07.908-05:00Turkey Season 2013I arrived at Camp on Nov. 8. It was a very cold evening. Opened camp and started the stove. It's always colder inside the cabin than it is outside. I knew it would be one of those nights to sleep in my clothes. This time, I arrived at camp with a full stomach. A good friend of mine from college just became a pastor in Liberty and he and his family invited me for dinner on the way up. The food and conversation was awesome! A awoke early on Saturday and decided to go up the big hollow across from camp. I had heard some turkeys over there in October. Temperature was around 22 degrees, but it was nice and warm in the camp. About halfway up the hollow, I noticed that first, I'm not as young as I used to be, and second, I began getting a cell-phone signal. Near the top of the hollow, I heard some turkeys fly down off roost. I heard them land, and dig for a while, and then walk off. They were not too far above me. Decided to sneak after them. Oh, how I was wishing for a little snow. I probably covered about 6-7 miles throughout the day, and never did find the turkeys. There were a lot of grapes in the head of the hollow. The turkeys and bear had been scratching quite a bit to find them. In the entire day, I did not see a single deer. A few scrapes and rubs, but not very many. Nothing like I would have seen 10 years ago. There is no question the deer herd is down considerably. Two things that I noticed this trip. Once I got on top the mountain I had a full cell phone signal. I never had that before. They must be constructing more towers. While it felt weird to be getting emails and sports scores while turkey hunting, the ability to send messages home was comforting for the family since I was up here alone. The other thing I noticed was a low humming sound. I heard this back at camp too and all through the night. My guess is it is a far off gas well that wasn't there last season. I'm heading back up this weekend for the opening of bear season, then a week later for deer season. I have never missed an opening day of deer season at Peter's Camp for 39 years. I love this time of year!! Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6262578432397552585.post-32990814446367873112011-12-12T21:56:00.002-05:002011-12-12T22:13:53.316-05:00Deer Season 2011It seems as if the deer hunting gets tougher up here every year. I don't know if it's because there are fewer deer, the deer are bigger and smarter, there are fewer hunters around, we're just getting older, or all the above. Nevertheless, we arrived at deer camp on Sunday eagerly awaiting the first day. This year, we had a first at Peter's Camp. My niece was hunting with us. She is the first female deer hunter at Peter's Camp! The first day greeted us with Spring like temperatures and very little shooting. It was music to my ears when I heard my friend Matt shoot only 100 yards away from me at 3:00 pm. He dropped a nice 7 pointer. It was the same buck I saw the week before in Bear Season. I think we were the only camp in our area to get a buck on the first day. We were planning on staying up on Tuesday, but the warm weather forced us to bring the deer home early. Three of us came back up on Saturday, and my brother and I hunted the last day. We saw one doe and a bear, but that was it. We had really cold temperatures and a nice 2" snow cover for the last day, and while we didn't see many deer, we did see a lot of tracks. There are definitely some deer around, they're just hard to find. So another deer season is over in PA and I did not get any shooting. I did shoot two deer in Maryland, so we have plenty of venison in the freezer. It may be a while now until I get back to camp. Christmas, New Years, and work will occupy much of my time in the next few months. The camp will now settle in for it's "Long Winter's Nap."Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6262578432397552585.post-82619563128455661982011-11-20T23:37:00.005-05:002011-11-20T23:44:37.849-05:00Fall HuntingI was able to get up to camp the past two weekends. Last weekend we came up for turkey season. We did find a flock by 10am, but came home empty handed. The birds managed to give us the slip all day, and we realized how out-of-shape we were and how much better-suited the birds are to the rugged terrain. I was surprised at the large number of archers we saw out hunting. The deer are definitely in the rut right now as we saw several buck out running around. This past Saturday, I came up for the first day of bear season. It was one of the first times I've come up in a long time that every cabin was opened. It was great to see so many people up in the cabins. I didn't see any bear. Most of the shooting sounded as if it was over towards Leetonia, so I'll be anxious to see what Paula has to say on her post. I was able to get the leaves cleaned up around the camp. After celebrating Thanksgiving with our families this week, I'll be heading down to Maryland for the first two days of the season and then back up here to camp for the first two days of the PA season. Hopefully, we'll have a good deer season. I love this time of year!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6262578432397552585.post-34007098550667712832011-06-11T20:09:00.002-04:002011-06-11T20:16:21.194-04:00Short VisitYesterday, I rode my Kawasaki up to camp to check things out and mow the grass. We were fortunate that there was no damage from the storms two weeks ago...nothing more than a few branches down. The folks down along Pine Creek really got hit pretty hard...especially in the Slate Run, Cedar Run, Gamble Run, and Blackwell areas. The storm was confirmed as an F-1 tornado. I stopped to visit Sandy and Sue down at Petticote Junction. They made out pretty well in the storm. Going all the way up to camp and back on the same day makes for a long ride. Next time, I hope to stay overnight and enjoy some of the quiet and relaxation that only the mountains can provide.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6262578432397552585.post-21353297569285614022011-05-09T23:17:00.002-04:002011-05-09T23:24:12.699-04:00Spring Camping TripWe came up Mother's Day weekend for our annual Spring Camping Trip at Petticote Junction Campground. It was a nice weekend, but we experienced some really strange weather on Saturday. Several lightening/hail storms came through the area and we lost our RV awning. They have had 18" of rain up here since the beginning of March and there is a lot of water damage in the mountains. Several of the roads and trails are still closed. Route 414 in the narrows between Cedar Run and Blackwell is just barely passable. Fortunately, everything was ok up at camp. The trout fishing should be good throughout the summer. The streams were so high the first weekend of trout season that they really weren't fishable. They are still currently running very high. The trout should be spread out and there should be good fly fishing later in the spring and into summer. I'll probably come back up soon on my motorcycle.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6262578432397552585.post-79295647210440701102011-01-17T13:12:00.003-05:002011-01-17T13:19:12.575-05:00Last Day in MarylandI was hunting in Maryland on the last day of gun season last Saturday. At 4:55 pm, I got my first shot at a deer this entire season. It was a decent sized doe at about 70 yards. I held as steady as I could with the .50 caliber inline and fired. For the first time in many years, I missed completely. About 30 seconds later, I noticed a very large-bodied deer heading my way from the same direction the doe had just traveled. As I raised my binoculars, I noticed that the large deer was a nice racked buck...the first one I had seen the entire season. As he stood there at about 75 yards, totally oblivious to my location, all I could do was laugh as I held my just-emptied inline muzzle loader. Whoever says deer do not have a sense of humor, has obviously never tried to go hunting.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6262578432397552585.post-35569522017591898992010-12-13T12:19:00.002-05:002010-12-13T12:25:12.151-05:00Last Week of Deer SeasonMy son, one of his friends from college, and myself arrived at camp on Friday, Dec. 10 for the last two days of deer season. We opened the camp, lit the stove, and then hunted all day. We put on several drives in the thick laurel and I found out that I'm not as young as I used to be. The snow began around 9:30 am and it snowed most of the day. By evening we had not seen any deer, but had another 3-4 inches of fresh snow. My father and brother joined us later that night and we all hunted together on Saturday. There were numerous deer tracks in the snow, but we did not see a single deer between the five of us in two days. It's just been one of those kinds of hunting seasons this year. I've hunted four days in Maryland and three in Pennsylvania and have not gotten any shooting. Nevertheless, it was great to get out and hunt in the beautiful mountains of Tioga County. It's always great to shoot a nice buck, but no day hunting is ever a "bad day." It will probably be Spring until we get back up to camp again.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6262578432397552585.post-73141002953944354782010-11-30T15:19:00.003-05:002010-11-30T15:30:12.123-05:00Deer Season 2010Dad and I arrived on Sunday to open camp and start the furnace. It was a beautiful crisp November day. While the camp was warming up a bit, we took a drive around Leetonia to see how many guys were in the woods. We noticed that one of the camps was not even open this year for Deer Season. Most of it's members have died or are too old to come up anymore. The younger generation just didn't take over. It was really sad to see this as we always enjoyed chatting with these guys each hunting season. Back in the 70's it was common for there to be 10-15 guys in the camp. After a nice dinner of lasagna, my brother showed up and the three of us eagerly awaited the 4am alarm on Monday. After breakfast, we all went to our traditional first day spots and listened as the yelling of the first deer drive began across the hollow. Almost immediately, the shooting began. There was quite a lot of shooting today...more than the past few years. Unfortunately, none of the shooting was ours. I saw a few doe, and my brother saw several bear (the one's we didn't see last week in bear season). Nevertheless, a bad day of hunting (in my opinion, there is no such thing)is always better than a good day at work. I realized as I sat in my tree stand that this was my 36th consecutive first day of deer season in Tioga County. I've never missed an opening day since I was 12 and was able to hunt. We are really fortunate to have such a wonderful place to return to each year. Hearing the Tuesday forecast of 3" of rain and flooding, we decided to drive home Monday night. I went back to work today and saved my personal day for another day when the weather would not be so awful. We'll be up next week for the final few days of the season.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6262578432397552585.post-19628849862652031512010-11-22T21:35:00.003-05:002010-11-22T21:44:35.505-05:00Bear SeasonDad and I traveled to camp for the day for the opening of Bear Season on Nov. 20. We expected to see a lot of hunters since this was the very first year that the season opened on a Saturday. We were surprised, however, to find that there were not that many hunters around. For the first few hours, we hunted in the area where I traditionally hunt on the first day of deer season. We did not see anything, and there was very little deer sign. In the afternoon, I decided to hunt the thick laurel. I saw several deer including one nice buck. Later in the afternoon, a group of young guys put on a few drives and moved some more deer past me, but they did not see any bear. There was no shooting the entire day in our immediate area. We began the journey home around 5:00. It was fun to have a day to hunt bear, but even more exciting to see more deer than we've seen in a while. Based on what I've seen this fall, I'm leaning towards changing my traditional opening day of deer season location. After spending the opening day of deer in Maryland this Saturday, <br />I'll be heading back to camp for the first two days of deer season.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6262578432397552585.post-78148786848148732232010-11-22T21:27:00.003-05:002010-11-22T21:35:43.493-05:00Turkey Hunt / Fall CleanupOn Friday, Nov. 5, I traveled to Bloomsburg University to see my daughter perform in the Fall Play. Afterward, I traveled up to camp. I arrived around 12:45 am on a very cold night. Opened camp, cracked a few windows and got some sleep. At 5:00 I awoke, closed camp, and warmed up in my truck. I traveled to a faithful hunting spot and had breakfast in the truck while waiting for the sun to come up. I hunted all morning in an area where I've seen turkeys in the past. I did see a few deer and a lot of rubs & scrapes. The buck seemed to be in full rut. I found an area where there was a lot of turkey scratchings. I did hear a few but was not able to get them to come into my call. Around 11:30, I went back to camp to clean up the leaves. It took a few hours to get the leaves cleaned up. Later in the afternoon, I hunted in the area where we saw the turkeys a few weeks ago. It didn't take long to discover why the turkeys were hanging in this area. Unlike the area around camp, there were acorns all over the place. This area may be a good area to pursue deer later in the year.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6262578432397552585.post-91751669372669836222010-10-14T23:11:00.003-04:002010-11-22T21:26:48.685-05:00Fall GetawayI had Columbus Day off work, so I took the family up to Camp for a one-night getaway. We got to see a black bear and a flock of turkeys on the way into camp. We arrived in time to have a campfire and roast some marshmallows. The night was unbelievably clear. I've never seen such a starlit sky. Around 10 pm the Hoot Owls put on quite a concert - one like I've never heard before. We awoke to a temperature of 40 degrees. The sleeping bags felt great, but it was hard to crawl out of them. After a breakfast of pancakes, we had time for a walk and then a bike ride on the Pine Creek Trail. The drive home proved to be interesting as we encountered thunderstorms, hail the size of quarters, and then a beautiful rainbow. There's nothing like Fall in the mountains of Northern PA. The leaves around camp were past their peak. However, around the Steam Valley area they were absolutely gorgeous. As always, it was great to get back to camp...even for just a day. I hope to make one more trip to clean up some leaves before hunting season. On the way down the mountain, we saw a flock of turkeys. There seem to be a lot of them around this fall. We snapped this picture of the last few to cross the road.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6262578432397552585.post-13205599088104668232010-08-11T23:07:00.003-04:002010-08-11T23:14:38.561-04:00Summer VacationWe spent our annual week-long vacation at Pettecote Junction Campground in Cedar Run. It was a beautiful week weather-wise...especially for August. Temperatures were in the 70's during the day and 50's at night. We only used the a/c one night. One of the highlights of the week was hiking the Turkey Path from Colton Point down to Pine Creek and back up to the top again (see picture). Our kids were really troopers. I don't think many 3 and 5-year old kids have made that trip on foot. It is truly a beautiful trail. There are some beautiful falls near Four Mile Run. We're anxious to hike it again when the water is running higher. I spent a day at Camp mowing the lawn and picking up some fallen branches. The porcupines are still chewing up everything at all the cabins. I ran into Paula (Mountain Girl). She was replacing Charlotte's porch floor down in Cedar Run. Our daughter remembered her from two years ago. She said "she was the woman who showed me the snake." We got to see a few nice deer, and several bald eagles during the week. Of course, one of the favorite activities is doing a slow float down Pine Creek in an inner tube. It's always great to get to the mountains of Tioga County.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6262578432397552585.post-50986842287731469972010-06-26T20:41:00.002-04:002010-06-26T20:49:29.541-04:00Spring Clean UpYesterday, we got a chance to go up to camp to do some mowing and clean up. It was a beautiful two days weather-wise. Last night was a beautiful full-moon which lit up the entire forest. We mowed the grass, and fixed up a few things around the camp. The grass was very high and everything looks very green in the mountains. However, the streams are extremely low. We never remembered the streams running this low 20-30 years ago. However as we were talking, we realized that there is a lot more vegetation in the woods than there was 30 years ago. That could be the reason for the lack of water in the streams. Last evening, we took a drive down to Cedar Run for some ice cream. We saw several deer on the way back to camp. A potent storm must have come through in the past week as we had another tree come down behind the cabin and noticed many others down while driving around. Any chance to get to visit the Tioga woods is welcome change to the daily grind. This trip was no exception. The time always goes too fast when were at Camp. We hope to get back soon!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2