Nice story MM and reminded me of my first time. My first solo deer hunting came a few years later probably in the 1962 time frame. Similar weather conditions in northern Vermont and it was at the family camp filled with my relatives. I too was allowed a few days off from school for that undeclared holiday here in the Green Mountain State. I sat on a log at the head of a draw after climbing the mountain in the dark along with some Uncles who told me to sit there. At daybreak the deer started to climb up to higher ground headed for the bedding area after feeding in the fields along the town road. My buck was the 22nd deer I saw that morning and was a modest 3 point. After I got down to where I shot it I waited for an uncle to show up to help me field dress the deer and drag it back to camp.