Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire At least I went, hunting that is

It may be tough, and I'll probably not draw a general tag around here in my lifetime as I enjoy hunting too much and put in for archery and lose all my points. I came to the realization, I'm better off hunting here, in nearby areas of OR and NV, and maybe a couple of closer places in Cali like the B zones or D.

In the near future, as in after recovery from my surgery, guys like Heym, Santiam and a few others are going to get PMs about places and tags in OR. Same goes for the fellas in Northern NV. I'll be interested in small game hunting too. Field Grade gave me a hint or two before he passed, wish he was still around to pick his brain.

On with the trip. After not seeing anything much up in the trees besides slick heads and a possible spike, I decided to head to the South end of the unit, near Sedona. Had been there for a few days in 2014 and enjoyed it, saw some tail flags while there so figured I'd give that a shot.

Found out the tourons screwed up my action. Large portion of the unit is now closed to camping and fires. (fires I can do without, but having to drive to a spot every morning instead of camping nearby and being there in a couple of minutes sucks). What a difference 9 years makes. Friggen outfits at the entrance off the highway with trailers full of 4 wheelers for rent even.



All camping is restricted to "Designated Dispersed Campsites"..................which is stupid because according to my lexicon if it's designated it ain't dispersed. I'm not one for camping near a bunch of folks parked near the porta potties.

Drive by pic of one of the designated campsites.




At least the drive in to where I wanted to hunt has nice scenery, as anyone who's been to Sedona and the surrounding area knows.



After 6-8 miles of driving out to my intended hunting area, because I was already there and figured I could at least get a day in and leave after hunting, I found out the spot I wanted to go to is out of the no camping area!

Way at the upper left corner of that map it shows the continuation of the 525C road past the boundary, heading to the Sycamore Canyon Wilderness. I park at the end and camp there and hunt near the Wilderness boundary. Not many people out that way. Some of the AZ guys likely know where Sycamore Pass is.

Looking down into that Wilderness area from a high spot. Sat here and glassed that flat and the saddle area coming up toward me, hoping to see something moving toward water before darkness set in.



One must watch where one plops one's ass to sit and glass. Little pokie things are everywhere. It's not the cactus you see that gets you.



Cool rocks everywhere, and the tourons never get close to them.



That's all for now, time to get a little more stuff done before surgery happens.

Great thread, good luck on your surgery.

Mike

Beautiful landscape and photo, Geno.

Thanks Mike, I'll get through it like the other two shoulder surgeries I've been through...................


I hope

Morewood,

yeah, it's an awfully pretty place to hang out while hunting. Not sure I'll ever get back though, getting too crowded for my tastes. Of course, going out to the end of the road helped.

Hope to get a few more pics up tomorrow before I become a one handed man.

Good stuff Geno, well except for the cooking. 😁

The friggen cube steaks were the best I've ever had!

Glad you got out Geno..... good luck with your surgery 🤘🏻

I'm glad too, was really needed.

Love that country, great pics. Sometimes the solo trips are the best.

They're growing some weird lookin' cows down there in that desert

Gotta be some Zebu or Brahma or something in there. They came to water a couple of times while I was passing by.



Got tired of down in the desert and went back up in the trees to sit on a couple of places I saw does moving across.

Found a nice spot to sit for lunch and got to listen to a raven making some of their varied calls. First one sounded like Bigfoot knocking on a tree, then there were some gargling noises and other weird ones. Maybe it was a Squatch up in that tree?



Forgot about the Sitka Gear jacket I found before I headed to the desert. XL Cold Weather Hoodie. Not sure I'm going to keep it, I'm not used to form fitting clothes. Might offer it up here one day. Still in great shape, someone screwed up.

Probably about it for me posting pics. Y'all seen pics of bear poop, there's a nice size one living in that desert area I was hunting. Found out how tasty manzanita berries are while walking around using them to cut the thirst. Found a cool little pottery shard too, type I've never seen. Might contact NAU and their anthropology dept to see if they can ID it to which culture.

Oh yeah, there was a Texan at the truck stop in Kingman that was "one of those". Dude was parked at the front pump, already in the store when I pulled in to gas up. Filled the truck, still no one coming to the SUV. OK, fortunately no on directly behind me, I back out and park across the way a bit, walk in, use the head, get out make some texts/calls, and finally the dude comes out. F'n rude people. Plenty of parking in the lot too, no friggen excuse to tie up a fueling lane.

All in all a good trip, even with the tailgate handle breaking, the skimmer getting my CC number, the price of Biden gas (LGB ), the traffic in Vegas and Sedona. Scored a jacket and some peaceful recreation time though.