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Don't piss into the wind!
Been meaning to get out for a hunt before the silly season arrives, so headed off with my son for a weekend mission a couple hours from home.
Now I know from past experience, what it's like to get up early on a Saturday morning with my son for a hunt, so we get going not long after I finish work last Friday, and sleep in the back of the truck close to where were going to hunt. The dog got the back seat which was surely warmer than we had it, but I had a great view of the stars out the side of the canopy so I won best view!
5am next morning after not a lot of sleep we drive off down the road and begin our walk up part of the Hawkdun Range. We hadn't gone more than 10 mins when my son tells me he's seen a deer running over a ridge not 200m from me. I never did see that deer, but it was a promising start and shows that deer are where you find them, especially early in the morning.
Half way up the hill, obligatory photo op for son and Holly the dog.
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We trudge up the hill and eventually the the sun pops up over the top of the range and we concentrate on gaining altitude rather than looking for deer up the valley in the hazy light. By noon we have reached our campsite and I make sure to place the heaviest rocks I can find on the tent pegs as there was some northerly winds predicted later in the weekend.
All set up.
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We wander to the north of camp and settle in for a hour or so of glassing, but nothing seen. We decide to go and find water further up hill from camp and while carefully glassing likely areas I spy a deer down lower than us about 1km away. We had 6.5hrs of daylight so we carefully sneak down and sidle along towards where the deer was last seen (hopefully bedded down in a small gut out of site and out of the wind). Hopes are high and I leave my son and the dog with a radio on one side of a scree slope and I carefully traverse that obstacle and climb up over a small ridge and toward where the deer should be. Alas no deer to be seen! I sit down and glass the whole area again, and take my time given the effort to get into position, but nothing was in that gut or anywhere else for that matter. My son was disappointed when I radioed to him nothing to be seen, but I enjoyed the stalking in all the same. We head back to camp and collect water on the way both thoroughly looking forward to having dinner and resting up at camp. Plans were made to walk up the hill further and set foot into Canterbury and walk along the top of the range next morning. All going well so far....
Happy, but unsuccessful hunter (with hunting shadow!).
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Not long after arriving the wind begins to pick up and things started to go south. Unfortunately my son couldn't hold down his dinner, and wants to head home, but with only an hour of daylight left that was not an option and I tell him we have to stay where we are over night and we need to hunker down and make the best of it. Then the wind really picked up and started to let us know what it really thought!!! Inside the tent the dog and my son (surprisingly) sleep relatively peacefully through out the night, but I was up most of it worrying about the wind and if I secured the tent well enough. Next morning it is still blowing a gale, but the morning ablutions have to be done regardless. Now, I've always to my son to pee with the wind behind you, but today it didn't matter which direction you faced, as a vortex of piss was swirling around you no matter what direction you faced!!! It seemed to defy the lawsof physics! Man, that wind was pumping! At least we could both see the funny side of it all - what could you do in conditions like that!
No chance of getting up towards to top of the range given the conditions, so we breaking camp. About 30 seconds in, I realise I have made a rookie mistake by taking the tent down from the upwind side. That the tent didn't take off into the distance is a miracle, but we did have one guy rope tether point tear off the tent as a reminder of how strong the wind can be. As quickly as we could, we crammed things into my pack and we were only too happy head down and out of some of the worst of the wind.
We checked out the valley and likely spots as we heading back down to the truck along the ridge, but spotted nothing. I asked my son back at the truck how he thought the trip went, and he said he was disappointed that we weren't successful, but really enjoyed sleeping in the tent! I told him I was happy just to see a deer, and have a 'chance' (event if remote) to get a shot at one. Quietly, I was relieved to have came out of it unscathed considering the wind and my son being sick. Driving home we chased a few hares down the road and I spotted two pigs along the roadside in the Cromwell gorge which added to the experience.
Yet another trip without any venison to show for it, but it was a certainly an experience for both of us, especially with rapidly changing weather conditions.
