We started off uneventfully at Dad's house. Mark and Robert decided that we needed to take both ATVs and Robert Didn't want to pack his stuff twice so we took three trucks up to deer camp. Spencer and I drove my truck. Robert and Dallin took his and Mark rode with Dad.
The road to Kolob was especially bumpy due to the snowstorm we had two weeks ago. I don't remember washboard that bad and coming around blind corner I almost hit a lady on an ATV. She scowled at me as if I should have known she was there. Dad and Mark were in the lead vehicle and decided to drive as fast as they could so we had to stay 1/2 a mile back for the dust to settle a bit. Of course when we finally got on top they decided that 5 mph would scare the deer so we got out and pushed the trucks instead to keep the engines quiet. Mark and Dad claim they saw a bunch of deer, including a three-point, but their stories were unsubstantiated by the other 4 of us suffering behind their constant stopping.
We arrived at camp and found that the table had been smashed by the winter snow (actually Mark and Dad already knew that as they had been up earlier in the day). As you can see Spencer was great moral support, he takes after his dad.
The evening was enjoyable as always. Robert warmed us up some stew and cooked some rolls in the dutch ovens. It was good, but the cheese we brought up was a bit moldy and may have given some of us a bit of the runs, but that's a story for another day. He had to do it the old fashioned way (in the coals) because he forgot the propane tank for his camp stove.
During dinner the adults and Dallen ate around the campfire while Spencer ate behind the tables. He said he hadn't earned his spot around the campfire yet because this was his first hunt.
As the clock his 6:00 dad decided he had been up too long so he went to bed. I think in the future I'll put my camper on the truck and just set up a bed back there for dad so he can sleep on the way up.
Spencer went to bed around 8 (he was pretty excited about the next day), but didn't actually get any sleep for at least another hour as Dallen went in to join him at 8:15 and the two of them played around a bit. Mark decided to wake up dad around 9 and we got a good laugh.
The next morning we left camp at our usual time with walkie talkies in hand. I soon found out that my radio did a great job of receiving communication, but nobody could hear me unless we were close enough to talk to each other anyway. After listening to some kid on the other side of the hill chat with his dad for 5 minutes I finally turned it off. We did our usual route of the mountain with dad walking straight up from camp. Upon arriving back at camp Robert reported that he had walked the whole top of the mountain and seen nothing. I had seen a couple of does, while dad had taken an easy up and back route (he did say he made it to the top, but I'm not so sure) and shot at two bucks and saw a bunch of does.
I went down in the oak alone while breakfast was being cooked, but didn't see anything. Breakfast was great and while we were eating it Doug Urie and his wife drove up to get some wood. They brought Pug up with them so it was good to see them.
In the afternoon we went down to Hog Wallow and hiked over to the south fence while dad took a nap. Saw a bunch of does but nothing to shoot at. We were becoming a little discouraged. After another short rest at camp Spencer and I decided to take the ATV back down to Hog Wallow and sit for a bit. I think I made it 15 minutes before I had to go walk around a bit. I chased a doe for a while and heard two gunshots in the distance. We rode to the south gate then back to camp where we learned that Robert had fired at a big 4 point, but missed. He had Mark do some target shooting with the .243 and felt worse when Mark his a soda can at 30 yards (maybe 40 or 20 I can't remember for sure) on 2 of 2 shots.
We did one more sweep in the oak below camp south to north, before heading home. I did see a deer that I think was a 2 point at the north end of the property just above the gate, but I couldn't see for sure if the deer had antlers so I didn't take a shot. We drove back to town in the dark with Dad again sending up a 50 foot wall of dust.
Fast forward one week to Friday morning. I awoke at 5 AM in order to get to Navajo before sunrise (having to go through Parowan and Brian Head really cramps my style). This time I was alone as Spencer had school, Robert has a real job that requires him to work like normal Americans, and Dad is in Texas. I got to the property about 30 minutes before daybreak which was a bit early so I sat in the truck for 10 minutes before getting out to head down to the meadow. As I was walking down the road to the meadow I heard a bunch of deer down on the hillside. I froze and stood in that spot for 20 minutes waiting for it to get light enough to see.
I made my way down the hill, off the road now, and proceeded to follow the sounds of deer along the hillside between the cabin and the meadow. About halfway across the hill I heard something and saw a deer make the turn North around the hill. I continued my pursuit and saw that it was a doe. I made the turn North around the hill then backtracked from the other side to the peak to the West of the cabin when I heard deer jumping down the hill. I raced down through the bit of oak on the hillside and waited. Off to the east of me I saw a doe and fawn trot down the hill and into the meadow. I watched them through the scope for another minute as they crossed in front of me and headed across the fence to the west and down into the gully.
At this time I decided to loop the property so I headed down the west fence to the bottom and turned east from there. I saw and heard nothing back in the pines, but it was very enjoyable just to be up there anyway. When I got to the meadow across the fence on the east side of the property I saw a deer coming down the hill from the trailer. Another doe and behind it a fawn just like before. It may have been the same two I saw earlier, but they would have had to make a big loop to get back to that side of the property.
I proceeded North up the fence. Past the pavilion and through the thick pine until I was within sight of the main road whereupon I turned west again with a plan to hit the road and head back to the truck. As I crested the short hill before the truck I heard something and looked up to see two bucks trotting through the trees toward the road that goes to the cabin. They were both big bucks at least 3 or 4 points. I followed closely and saw them once more as they turned south toward the cabin, but couldn't get a shot off.
I hurried up Uncle Steve's road an stopped at the point where the old road had connected. I could hear them and then I saw one up on the ridge just beyond the trees. I knew there were two so I raised the gun to the place where I had seen the deer and hoped that he was the first rather than the second deer. Just then a big buck entered my sight and I fired. I didn't see it fall so I reloaded and went running up the hill (isn't that what dad does anyway, he's killed a lot of deer). I knew if I made it quick I would be able to see them before they made it down the big hill to the pavilion. Just as I got to the top I saw my deer laying on the ground with a shot through the neck.
I cleaned him where he lay 50 yards from the cabin and pulled the truck to within 30 feet of him. In all my excitement I forgot to tag him, but remembered just as I locked the gate to leave the property. Good thing I had some suture in my bag for that.
As if the deer wasn't reward enough I plan to reward myself by getting some new orange when it goes on clearance in the next few days. Especially a new hat.
