Nothing but Bears and Snakes

This cooler weather sure does make me come alive. You know, when it's hot out you want to do the minimum. Or at least I do. Get finished with work and then sit on the couch or the swing, or head to the cool basement for a nap. But with the snap of cooler weather last week, man, there's so much I want to do. Cut firewood, make a pumpkin pie, sit around the fire in the evening, or lots of other things. Something about a morning breath of 40 and 50 degree air is like a shot of adrenaline or swig off the top of an energy drink. I don't actually know about the drinks because I'm not into energy drinks, but adrenaline, now I've had a rush of that a time or two.

And this weather is like that. It really gets me out there doing things. Part of it is knowing that bow season is coming. I love setting out my trail cameras and finding that perfect spot to hunt. But the bigger thing is just getting out there and watching the season change. From acorns and wild cherries dropping to seeing the leaves change, to the fawns losing their spots, and the wild turkey poults blending in with the hens because they've suddenly become the same size.

So that's what I was doing.  I was way back in the middle of nowhere, when I spied a fisher looping through the woods. It went into a hole and came back out. Wondering if it was just a random hole, or one he frequented fairly often, my inquisitive self just had to place the camera there. And so I did. 

I grinned to myself as I bent over and placed the trail camera about a foot off of the ground. I must be getting older. Usually I'm all about getting deer pictures and finding a big one to hunt. And I still am. But for me, I've gotten to the point where I would rather walk back into a remote area to hunt a mediocre deer, than to hunt a big deer close to the house. I already had a spot picked out and there was deer sign there, so it didn't really matter if I got a picture of a big buck there or not. My plan is to hunt it several times because it feels like a great place to have a beautiful morning. I only have two cameras that work well. The other one is way down in a little rough spot where I think a big buck hangs out. It's almost impossible to get too without him knowing that you're coming, which is probably why he's there. Not only that, he's protected by the guardians of the forest, the black bear and the rattlesnake. No one dares to tread there. Of course the guardian is really just fear. Fear can be a good thing but sometimes pushing past our fears and realizing that our fear is overrated is what adventure is all about and so I put a camera down there early in the summer with the hopes of getting a picture of a smart old buck. And this cooler weather had me determined to get down there and check it. And so I did. I've been around bears enough to know that I don't need to fear them, just respect them and for the most part they'll run away from you. But I'm always a little nervous about the timber rattlers. Most people have never seen one. There are people that don't even believe that they are in our area. I grew up a mere sixteen miles away from here and was in the woods daily around our farm and never saw or heard of one, but here in the Dry Run and Big Run area, I seem to run into one almost every year. Sometimes they rattle and sometimes they don't. I made my way down to the camera. I could tell that the deer had been there but was disappointed to see my camera had been knocked sideways and out of commission. Checking the pictures revealed that an inquisitive bear was to blame. I stuck the camera in my pack and headed back up the mountain. I'm always constantly looking for a shed antler or mushrooms and it's a good thing. As I made my way up the steep embankment, I spied a black and yellow timber rattler about four feet in front of me on the trail, curled up in a tight ball in the ferns. I took a picture and stepped back a couple of steps. He didn't move. I tossed a twig at him and he raised his head. In the back of my head I remembered a couple of phrases that I've heard over the years. “Don't poke a sleeping bear” and “where there's one, there's usually more.” Whether it's true or not, I don't know, but fear took over and a case of the heebie-jeebies had me feeling like I needed to get out of the ferns as soon as possible . After cautiously picking my way back up the mountain, I kicked myself for only taking one picture. It wasn't even a good one!

Getting older seems to make adventure less appealing, but watching the kids around us growing up and finding adventure of their own makes getting older worthwhile. 

My boys did  a backpack trip with a couple of their friends down Poplar Lick this past weekend. The cooler weather must have had its effect on them as well. I wasn't invited. A couple of teenagers really wouldn't want someone in their fifties along anyways. The twinge of feeling left out was replaced by the excitement of seeing them getting ready for their first “real” adventure. I tried to not offer too much advice and everything seemed to go fine. Being a couple miles from any cars, houses, cell service or barking dogs is always a good thing for a teen.Their main focus seemed to be food, and it sounded like they had a great time around the fire. They mentioned that they thought they heard something walking in the dark and one boy thought he felt something brush under his hammock while he was falling asleep. Nobody mentioned anything about getting the heebie-jeebies, but some of them did decide to set up the tent after that and sleep in the tent instead of under the stars. Maybe it was a bear or a fisher or rattlesnake. Maybe it was fear. Whatever it was, they survived. It's what helped to make it a fun adventure. I'm pretty sure that they are going to want to do it again. The question is, will they have the nerve?

There always seems to be a lot of “what ifs” in this world. It's usually the dividing line between boredom and adventure.

Pushing past those “what ifs” and “fear” can open up a whole new world for you. And just like this cooler weather, it can make you come alive.

And, maybe, like that cap on that energy drink, the “what ifs” and “fear” are what's keeping you from your next adventure?

But you have what it takes! Push yourself!