That stinks that you could not follow the track. Here in MD if you don't make every effort to recover your game, including trespassing, then you are in violation of the wanton waste law, and of course if you go after it without permission you are violating the trespassing law. Most people around here don't follow the deer because the fine is less and usually harder, or impossible, to prove who shot the deer, compared to being caught trespassing. Never heard of anyone getting busted for it, seems like a dumb rule that you have to break one law to keep from breaking another. Hope you have time to get back out this year. Congrats to your bro.