A day in the woods
11-30-2003, 01:09 PM
#1
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: summerville sc USA
Posts: 120
A day in the woods
I thought you fellas might enjoy something I wrote several years ago.
The Hunter
By Rem7400
I awake in the early morning hours from a fitfull sleep. After many years I still get as excited as if this is my first time going hunting. I leave the warmth and comfort of my bed to my wife as I silently put on the clothes laid out the night before. A few cups of coffee and a check of the gear in the back of the truck and I' m on my way.
The road is dark, I' m alone in my thoughts about what the day will bring. No need to hurry now, it' s time to slow down, to leave behind all my worries. The sound of the tires on the pavement changes as I turn onto the dirt road, I' m close now, the anticipation builds. There it is, the parking spot. I ease the truck to the side of the road and turn off the lights.
I gather my gear, rifle in one hand, flashlight in the other I head off down the trail. It is cold, silent, no noise except for the sound of my boots on the hard ground, deeper into the forest I go. I' ve been here before and when I come to the log across the trail I know I' m close to my destination. A few minutes later and my flashlight finds the tree where my stand is. Swiftly, silently from many years of practice I climb up into my stand, into the air 20 feet from the ground.
A quick look at my watch shows that I' ve got about 30 minutes before the first gray light of dawn will appear so I sit quietly in the dark. Now is the time that I give thanks to God for the opportunities that he has given me, for the wonderful creation of the forest in which I sit, and my only prayer this day is for a safe hunt, that I may return to my family tonight tired, cold and hungry but no worse for the wear. My mind turns to my fellow hunters, they are out there now, in the darkness same as I, alone in their own thoughts. What do they think about? What do they want from the day to come?
As the dark slowly gives way to the gray dawn, so does the silence. The first bird breaks the silence with a single call, then another and another. As dawn gives way to the rising sun the woods are now alive and so am I. I am alert, looking for the buck that I know is here. Minutes have turned to hours and yet I wait. Suddenly out of the constant noise of the forest I hear it, something different than all the other noise, small, faint, almost imperceptible from the noise that squirrels make. I lean forward a little, squeeze my rifle a little tighter, straining to see through the brush. There! Something has moved from between the trees. Is it him? A large doe and her fawn step out into the oak flat and start to feed on acorns. I watch them intently for what seemed like hours but it was only four or five minutes and then as quickly as they came they were gone.
Before I know it the day is over and night is coming quickly. The last few minutes of daylight I spend searching the woods around me to no avail. Darkness descends around me and the woods go silent again. Within moments I' m back on the ground and turn my flashlight on for the long walk back to the truck. Alone in the dark and accompanied only by my footsteps back to the truck I think of the day just passed. Many that have never hunted would consider the day a failure for lack of killing a deer. Not I, it was a great success as far as hunts go. The success of my hunts do not depend on a kill no more than whether or not my family eats depends on a kill. Arriving at the truck I put my gear in the back and unlock the door, step up inside and have a seat. I' m tired, cold and hungry. My prayers have been answered, thank you God.
The Hunter
The Hunter
By Rem7400
I awake in the early morning hours from a fitfull sleep. After many years I still get as excited as if this is my first time going hunting. I leave the warmth and comfort of my bed to my wife as I silently put on the clothes laid out the night before. A few cups of coffee and a check of the gear in the back of the truck and I' m on my way.
The road is dark, I' m alone in my thoughts about what the day will bring. No need to hurry now, it' s time to slow down, to leave behind all my worries. The sound of the tires on the pavement changes as I turn onto the dirt road, I' m close now, the anticipation builds. There it is, the parking spot. I ease the truck to the side of the road and turn off the lights.
I gather my gear, rifle in one hand, flashlight in the other I head off down the trail. It is cold, silent, no noise except for the sound of my boots on the hard ground, deeper into the forest I go. I' ve been here before and when I come to the log across the trail I know I' m close to my destination. A few minutes later and my flashlight finds the tree where my stand is. Swiftly, silently from many years of practice I climb up into my stand, into the air 20 feet from the ground.
A quick look at my watch shows that I' ve got about 30 minutes before the first gray light of dawn will appear so I sit quietly in the dark. Now is the time that I give thanks to God for the opportunities that he has given me, for the wonderful creation of the forest in which I sit, and my only prayer this day is for a safe hunt, that I may return to my family tonight tired, cold and hungry but no worse for the wear. My mind turns to my fellow hunters, they are out there now, in the darkness same as I, alone in their own thoughts. What do they think about? What do they want from the day to come?
As the dark slowly gives way to the gray dawn, so does the silence. The first bird breaks the silence with a single call, then another and another. As dawn gives way to the rising sun the woods are now alive and so am I. I am alert, looking for the buck that I know is here. Minutes have turned to hours and yet I wait. Suddenly out of the constant noise of the forest I hear it, something different than all the other noise, small, faint, almost imperceptible from the noise that squirrels make. I lean forward a little, squeeze my rifle a little tighter, straining to see through the brush. There! Something has moved from between the trees. Is it him? A large doe and her fawn step out into the oak flat and start to feed on acorns. I watch them intently for what seemed like hours but it was only four or five minutes and then as quickly as they came they were gone.
Before I know it the day is over and night is coming quickly. The last few minutes of daylight I spend searching the woods around me to no avail. Darkness descends around me and the woods go silent again. Within moments I' m back on the ground and turn my flashlight on for the long walk back to the truck. Alone in the dark and accompanied only by my footsteps back to the truck I think of the day just passed. Many that have never hunted would consider the day a failure for lack of killing a deer. Not I, it was a great success as far as hunts go. The success of my hunts do not depend on a kill no more than whether or not my family eats depends on a kill. Arriving at the truck I put my gear in the back and unlock the door, step up inside and have a seat. I' m tired, cold and hungry. My prayers have been answered, thank you God.
The Hunter
11-30-2003, 05:08 PM
#2
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Greene Co. TN
Posts: 5
RE: A day in the woods
Good story, Rem. You expressed a lot of what so many of us love about this sport: the chance to be alone, in the still of the woods, to think, to enjoy what we have been blessed with. A day in the woods is better than therapy, more people should try it, instead of all those pills from their shrink.
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