(painting by Steven Mulak: http://stevenmulak.chicopee.com)The months of scouting, fixing up the stand, the anticipation of the hunt and the opportunity to be out in the forest are all just as important to me as filling my tag. Don't get me wrong, I would love to come home with a trophy buck and seeing deer makes the long hours of staring at the same trees a lot more enjoyable, but there have been several seasons that I never squeezed the trigger that rank amongst my favorites.
The one thing that dictates a successful season for me above anything else is deer camp. There's something about walking back into the cabin after 12 hours of freezing 15 feet high in a tree and hearing about everyone's day: How many deer everyone saw, who only lasted two hours sitting at their stand before calling it a day, who saw the most turkeys, who got lost on their way to their stand, who fell asleep for half the afternoon at their blind, where those four shots early this afternoon came from... You get the point.
The cabin is usually messy, stinky, crowded and either way too hot or way too cold, but it's heaven. It's a week-long escape from the real world where exit strategies and the sagging economy are forced to take a backseat in conversations to hunting strategies and raging hot chili.
My dad and three of his friends bought hunting land in central Wisconsin last year and built a nice small cabin with the help of generous friends and family. The cabin was mostly finished last deer season, but we can really sit back and enjoy it this year.
Somewhere around 10 people will be there for opening weekend, easily the largest deer camp I've ever been a part of. The group not only includes my dad and several long-time family friends, but also one of my best friends as a late addition. I can only imagine the stories and jokes that are going to fill the cabin that weekend. It should be a great season.
Only eight more days until opening day and my only extended vacation of the year. Not that I'm counting...
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