a little stalking before the season begins...
This last week I was a camp counselor at a Young Life Camp in Central Oregon. The camp is about 90,000 acres. I have gone there previously and seen huge elk and some massive muleys. The camp is private property but they use hunting (they have a guide service) to help support the camp.
Yesterday morning, I was taking an early morning run and I spotted a lone buck in some trees across a ravine. He hadn' t seen me or heard me so I got down and snuck behind a tree that was on a running knoll. I saw that the buck was coming down towards the basin of the ravine and I guessed where he would come up if he decided to cross the ravine. I crawled back out of sight and went down and got behind another tree. I watched as he made his way down and back up the ravine about 10 yards from me. Currently he was a nice fork and decent size. He just kind of fed for a while and then meandered away from me and back down into the ravine.
A small part of me wished it was season and on ground I could hunt on. But more than anything, I just enjoyed the moments watching and being part of nature. I think I get just as much if not more enjoyment from watching the beautiful animals we are so blessed with than I do hunting them.