Thanks for all of your great advice (and keep it coming if you haven't chimed in, already)---it means a lot to be able to vet the stuff you read in the NRA and NAHC seminar publications.

I will definitely be facing the challenge of hunting a ridge; that's what practically the whole property is! The good thing is that if nothing comes of the ascent, I can peek over into the National Forest lands and see if I can see a deer bedded down.

One quick question I have is this: does wind always go up the ridge, or does it tend to go uphill in the morning/daytime and move downhill in the late afternoon/evening?