PART II; RETURN to pick up the shed from last week.
After work, I couldn't wait until next friday when I had time to go out, so I ran up to the hill in a spring rain shower and nearly got drenched. Not to mention the spring run off was at an all time high with record snowfall and constant rain, the trail was a small stream.
Higher up the hill all signs were of the dethaw in full swing. Small flowers were breaking out. everywhere. If you haven't seen the hills at this early time of year, your in for a treat. The hillside looks like a well trimmed lawn. Everything is turning green. Grass in only one or two inches tall.
From the earlier shot you can tell I had to search in the middle of a scub oak patch, the only problem was the whole hillside was scrub oak. What looked obvious three days ago, wasn't so obvious. I just trusted my instinct and kept climbing higher until I was sure I was in the right spot.
I entered into a tall thick clump of scrub oak and penetrated to the middle of the thicket. Right on cue... there it was. White bone sticking straight up in the air. I let out a yahoo, and walked up to see how big it was. I was in for a treat.
It was a good sized 6 point.... wait, seven point, oh crap, a devil horn cheater too! That makes it an 8 point! I could have been more excited about another great discovery. This is getting fun!
After pulling it out of the grass, it was obvious this shed had been there for a year or two.
The disbelief to me is the size of the bases. He is a big bull for these parts. This is a public land area and we don't see this caliber of bull here. Winter bulls are rare and big ones are even rarer. BIG 5, RN, and RD are the biggest I have seen, and here is another in their class. Too bad I missed him earlier. It makes you wonder how many we really miss each year.
After some searching around for the opposite shed, all I could find was this cow skull. I hung it up for the next vistor to discover in an awkward place. I like the colors so I took a couple of photos.
Day light was burning so I had get motoring back to pick up another shed I saw on the way in. I glassed the opposite hillside and to my surprise I found this small 6 point. I took a photo of the hillside to help me remember where it was from a large clump of scrub oak and another couple of land marks.
As It Lays; this is how I found this one. It was stuck straight in the dirt. The terrain is very soft and soggy. With all the rain, it's no wonder it was sticking straight up.
All in all not bad for a quick trip to pick up a shed spotted from the other side of the hill and to find another, I was happy to say the least. I am beginning to like this new hobby for the spring. The temperature for hiking made it very pleasant and the new signs of spring and smell is refreshing after a long winter.
Each trip is one less place to search for RD. Too bad the haystack is so large. Chances of me finding him are slim. But that is where the lure to hike come from...perhaps I can narrow it down by guessing and checking where he might have migrated.
Stay Tuned...