I took my Son to D6 last weekend rifle deer hunting. For those of you who don't know D6 is in Northern CA and runs from the valley floor all the way up to the high country in the Sierra Nevada range. We spent the night in the back of the truck at 6000' and walked into an area we had never been before. It was a very steep climb choked with manzanita brush and areas of old growth with tons of deadfall. We were working our way through this to get to an area I had been eyeing for years on maps and glassing from across the canyon. We had climbed up to 7000' through this crap and about to give up and turn back when something caught our eye. It was a orange juice jug in a cluster of trees about 50 yards away. As we approached we started to realize this was a camp. We started seeing pots and bowls and trash. At this point I'm thinking it is someones hunting camp but couldn't imagine why anyone would be hunting in this sh!t let alone set up camp. I'm sure most of you have already figured out what it is I'm describing but it never crossed my mind. I have been hunting this high country for 30 years and never seen anything quite like this. So as we get into this mess we find black plastic hoses, potting soil, fertilizer, shovel, pick, hoe, saw, tent, sleeping bag and tons of trash. Now, let me say that we had approached very cautiously even though we thought it to be a hunting camp. So by the time I realized that it was a pot growing operation I already could tell that there was no recent activity. I took a few photos, saved it on my GPS and we headed back down. I've notified the Forest Service who put me in contact with the proper law enforcement and have sent them the details. They were very interested and will definitely investigate. They said that these small rugged area camps like we found are Mexican Cartel organized operations and the growers will absolutely shoot you dead without hesitation. Thank God there was no activity at the time we were there. So the message is be careful out there. If they're at 7000' in rugged country then they could be anywhere.
Brad
Brad
