Reunion with Long Time Friends

Warning: Absolutely zero moto-content.

A bit over 33 years ago, I met both Lee and Otto.  I was a new cadet in the University of Miami's Army ROTC program and they'd been part of it for a couple of years already.  We were to become life long friends.

Going through the ROTC program together, training together, partying together and as part of a small group of cadets....it was the start of a friendship which has lasted over 30 years as we all went our separate ways after being commissioned into the U.S. Army.

Both Otto and Lee are now retired from the Army after distinguished careers in Military Intelligence and Engineering jobs respectively, now working civilian jobs.  Lee lives in Virginia and Otto is a resident of New Hampshire.

It was Otto that was hosting both Lee and I this time, one of the somewhat infrequent meetups we've had over the years.  The objective was to go hunting for deer (Bucks, to be specific) in the woods near Otto's town of Jaffrey, NH.

Dinner at a nearby watering hole

Lee, Otto and yours truly

The first evening was filled with good food, drinking and catching up on each other's lives.  There was of course the re-telling of tales, the spinning of new ones and drinking.  We retired at a late hour, with the plan to sally forth into the dawn for some hunting.

This was, by the way, only my second experience hunting.  The first time had been decades ago and was really just a one day event.  This trip would ultimately involve 3 days of hunting where we'd start soon after sunrise, and I'd tramp in the snow-covered ridges and valleys comprising the hunting area.

I would begin to learn the art of moving quietly over snow covered wooded terrain, enjoy the sitting in a post, enjoying the quiet and the cold temperatures, all the while hoping to catch a glimpse of movement perhaps; movement which might be a deer moving through the trees.

Rain had washed away a lot of the snow that had fallen previously in the week

Temperatures were cold but we were geared up for it so no one suffered.  The hiking up some steep hills in broken wooded terrain certainly built up heat for each of us as well!  I became quite winded on the uphill climbs, while trying to be quiet, slipping on snow and ice that hid roots and branches underneath. 

Otto and Lee, day 1 of hunting

We even managed to find ourselves in a swamp, a snow-covered swamp, which added the possibility of wet feet into the equation while one tried to avoid twisting an ankle.  Fun.

Otto and Lee were armed with their hunting rifles, I was armed only with my new Sony A5000 camera as I had not gotten a hunting license.

Lee, preferring to hunt alone, would post in one area and Otto and I would wander about; stopping now and then for quiet watchful periods where he strived to get me to be quieter.  I am told I got better by the third day.  Most of the movements were aimed to "drive" any deer in front of us towards Lee's position of the day.

Much time was spent in silent "posts", hoping to catch a glimpse of a buck.  In the end, on the third day of hunting, Otto would spot and point out to me two Does perhaps 70 feet in front of us which we flushed from hiding.

It had been lightly but steadily raining that day you see, so no wind and the rain made so much noise we managed to surprise the deer somewhat.  I caught fleeting glimpses of gray bodies racing away through the trees.  That was a win for me, my first sight of a deer while on a hunt.  NO pictures of the deer running away though, it happened within the space of 2-3 seconds I think.

Day One, scouting possible post locations for the next day, we

would stay together this day as we explored.

As you can see, the snow was not deep at all.

Otto told me it had been closer to knee-high the week prior

At various posts, I'd take pictures of nearby flora that caught my eye

Above is a beaver dam, one of two we ran across while 

moving about the hunting area

Otto and Lee discussing the many tracks found, possible post sites

and where Otto had seen deer sign in the preceding week.

The cut pattern left on this tree trunk caught my eye as

I sat quietly in a post near the above picture with the trees.

The interesting growth in the downed tree trunk located a few

feet from me, shot using the zoom lens.

A relaxing Otto, probably thinking that any nearby deer could hear

the clicking noises made by my camera

Early start, hunting day 2, we were all staying at Otto's

large home in Jaffrey, NH.  Early morning roads were a bit icy but

not too bad if you took things easy, which we did.

The consensus is the above are bear paw prints, I found them

shortly after Lee went off to his post and I walked with Otto to ours.

As you can see above, the roads were pretty dry except for

ice-covered patches here and there.

 The road which led up a small hill which held 2-3 small open fields lined

by stone walls.   It was much warmer up on the hill, when exposed to the sun's rays!

 At the edge of the biggest one of the three fields on top of the

hill, nice location.  It was warm with temperatures in the mid-30s 

I think, and we had 3G network coverage so I did a little work:

Pitiful, isn't it?  I must say though, it was only for a few minutes.

 Small streams were encountered by us as we meandered about the

hunting area, easily crossed at selected points with a bit of care.

At yet another post location, being quiet and watching for movement.

 Above and below, pictures taken near the end of the hunting on day 2

 A small frozen pond near where we parked for the day.

Fallen leaves trapped under the ice in the frozen pond,

the light making them look like golden/bronze objects underwater.

All smiles at the end of day 2's hunting

 Last day of hunting, overlooking the small pond created by the 

beaver dams, you can see the beaver's house in the center of the picture above.

 We had a bit of snow and ice fall overnight, making Old Dublin Road

look more winterlike as we moved about.

The "young" forest we were hunting in, had been in years past open

farm fields, divided by rock walls.  The rocks, as you can see above, were

collected as the fields were cleared and remain in place as trees slowly

take over the cleared areas of yore.

 One last shot of Otto, as he walks to the truck at the end of the day's hunting

 A flock of turkeys which were spotted not far from Otto's 

back yard in Jaffrey, NH.

Otto, the consumate host, put out quite a spread during our visit.

Here we are enjoying a lunch of bratwurst with sauerkraut and red cabbage.

No motorcycling but still quite the enjoyable visit with old friends.  I count myself fortunate to have friends like Lee and Otto.  Otto is currently renovating his 140+ year old house back to correct period condition, and hopes to have it ready by Christmas 2015, so that may be the next time I see it.  

Oh, by the way, no Bucks were seen by us, and thereby none were shot by either Lee or Otto.  Still, an enjoyable time was had by all!  Am I now a fan of hunting?  Probably not.  The quiet introspective solitude mentioned by both Lee and Otto as one of the perks of hunting I can achieve while on my motorcycle, and it sure is much less exercise!  :)