Sorry this is a little long. Got up at 4:00am yesterday morning got all ready and had a buddy come over and drive me down to my secret area in the dark and then take my truck home for me. The reason I didn't leave my truck down there is the snow is too deep to pull off the road and besides I didn't want to leave any tracks. I hiked into the edge of some real mean nasty river break country at first light. Right off the bat I saw a doe and two fawns and then around 6:30am I spotted a 3x3 and a 2 point with 6 does and fawns. I had a specific place I wanted to be so I left the does and two little bucks behind and took off. It involved walking a fence line and skirting the edge of the river breaks. I don't know if you've ever seen true river break terrain but it's the Devil's own design, extremely steep and rugged. As I was walking the fence line I noticed a large set of tracks had crossed the fence and headed for some open country opposite of the breaks. I half kept an eye out that direction as I walked along as it was fresh snow and I knew the animal couldn't be too far away. At one point I had to cross the fence to get around a steep, deep cut in the landscape that was drifted in. I figured heck, while I'm over here I main as well walk a little way out on a small point that provided a decent view and see if I could see what was making those tracks I saw earlier. As I stood there with 20 mph wind blowing with -20 degree temperatures I was starting to wonder about my sanity. I had to break ice off my mustache three times yesterday morning because the ice would get so bad it would block my air passage to my nostrils. Pretty darn cold to say the least. Anyway I was watching to my right and then panned to my left. I noticed tracks in the snow below me about 80 yards away. They led to a large Cedar tree. On the other side of the tree I could see where a deer had lunged away. I knew that I had scared it as there was no other reason for it to take off. I followed the lunge marks with my eyes and suddenly caught movement about 300 yards away. Up went the scope ****, there he is, make that there he was. I only got a quick glimpse of his right antler just before he bounded around the edge of a steep hill. With that brief look I thought he looked pretty good, but I wasn't sure. I decided the day was young and I'd spend the rest of the day tracking him if I had to. So off I went. The dirty bugger had circled around and headed right back for where I had been earlier that morning. He was running right down the bottom of a deep nasty ravine that eventually turns into a large steep canyon. I dogged him for a while and noticed that his tracks indicated that he was walking. So I picked up my pace to cut the distance a little. When I thought I'd cut it enough I decided to climb a little higher and see if I could see him heading down the canyon ahead of me. Sure enough I spotted him sneaking through the trees about 400 yards ahead of. He would stop every so often and look back to see if I was following him. Unfortunately I couldn't ever get a real good look at his antlers as because of the trees. What little I could see of them made me think he was worth pursuing. He was heading for an area where there was a cut running down to the bottom of the valley that would take him back towards where he'd come from that morning. I figured he would probably try to circle back around. I had to hike straight up the mountain to get on the ridge so I could ridge run and try to get ahead of him. I started busting up the hill. It was tough going steep as hell and lots of snow and snow drifts. I started to overheat and my #!@$@ glasses fogged big time and then the fog turned to ice. Crap! I took the glasses off and continued to the top. Only to discover I had to cross another deep valley and climb and another big hill to get to where I wanted to go. I cleaned the ice off my glasses and went for it. Had to clean my glasses two or three more times before I finally reached the top of the correct ridge. I was now about a mile and a half from where I first jumped this buck. The snow, wind, and steepness of the terrain was starting to wear me out a little, but I had to hussle because I knew that buck would get away. The going on the ridge wasn't too bad and I was able to keep my glasses from fogging a little better. I finally got to the cut where I figured the buck would cross. Sure enough there were tracks going across it and down into a steep canyon to my left. Where I had last seen the buck he was in the canyon to my right. I kept looking to the left because I figured he had to be over there somewhere. I couldn't follow his tracks with my eyes because they vanished into the bottom of the canyon to my left. It was almost straight down for 30 feet on each side of the bottom, basically a big elongated hole. There were all kinds of breaks, hills, cuts and holes to my left that buck could of slipped in to. I was about to concede defeat and go back to tracking him when he came running up out of the bottom of the valley to my left about 175 yards from me. I dropped to the ground. He stopped and looked back I started fumbling with my day pack to get it off my back for a rest. He took off about the time I got the pack off. I layed the rifle across the pack and found him in my scope about that same time he stopped again to look back. He was looking straight at me and his antlers looked pretty good, but I could tell he was going to leave. I didn't have much time to decide. It was a kind of a now or never kind of deal. I shot and lost him in the recoil and blowing snow (from the muzzle blast.) I looked over the top of the scope and saw him running hard for the top of the hill. I worked the action and found him in the scope again he was over 200 yards and moving fast (I ranged all this later with my laser range finder.) I pulled ahead of him and shot again. Lost him in the recoil/snow again. When I looked over the scope he was gone, but all of the sudden a large Cedar tree shook about where he disappeard and all the snow fell off of it. I wondered if he had just run into the tree and was dead there or just knocked snow off it as he passed it. I sat there for a while to see if you would come out, he didn't, so I figured I better start tracking. It took me a while to get over to where I first shot at him. Crossing the bottom of that valley (remember the 30 foot straight down drop) was an adventure in and of it's self. Then I had to climb up a very steep hill side. The snow was deep and underneath it was muddy-clay. It would be like trying to hike up a grease cover hill. Lot's of cussing and falling I finally made it to where I took my first shot. I found blood and was pleased to see that. I continued to climb higher and wondered how a wounded animal could do this as I was healthy and having a heck of time. It was one of those grab any kind of bush, tree branch, clump of weeds with your hand and pull yourself up the hill kinds of deals. While your feet spin out on the snow and mud. Fortunately I eventually came to kind of a level cut on the side of the hill and that was the route he chose to run down. I followed the blood a little ways and then looked at the tree he had knocked the snow off. I thought I saw his rear end sticking out under the branches I raised my glasses to confirm it and sure enough there he was and I could see one fork of his antlers. It looked real good and I got a little excited. I cautiously approached him. He was dead, I untangled his antlers out of the branches. I was a little disappointed in his antlers. He turned out to be a 3x4 (I thought he was a 4x4) and was only a little above average for antler size. Ground shrinkage I suppose. At 23 1/2" wide with fair mass he'll do though. Besides there was a lot of satisfaction in going one on one with this buck and getting him. I also noticed that I'd hit him both times. Once just behind the shoulders and once through the shoulders about 5" apart. I was pleased with the shooting. Now all I had to do was bone him out and pack him 3 1/2 miles back to the pick up point. After taking some photos I got to work, boned him out stuffed him in the pack and then spent some time removing the hide and jaw bone from the skull. This was the most time consuming part of the whole operation. Finally got everything loaded and started climbing for toward the ridge top. I figured once on top I could ridge run all the way back. I thought climbing those side hills were tough without a heavy pack. Oh wow, did I get an education in steep snow/mud covered terrain and a heavy pack! I also had a strong desire to be carrying a light weight mountain rifle for some reason. I made it to the ridge top and called my wife on the cell phone and asked her to come get me in a couple hours. I followed the ridge for about a mile and then discovered that it was going to end and I had to go back down the the bottom of a big canyon and up the other side which was a long friggin ways. While I stood there feeling sorry for myself I saw 4 does and fawns take off across the canyon from me. I decide now was a good time for a break so I sat down to watch them and noticed another deer. It turned out to be a 3x3 similar in size the buck I had just shot. It was nice to see there is at least one left for seed next year. Finally I sucked it up and basically hiked, slipped, slid, and fell down the mountain until I got to the bottom which was full of trees, blow downs and a water. It was like, take a step break through the ice, untangle gun and antlers from tree branches. Take another step and repeat. I finally found a place to start up the other side and did the grab a branch, bush, weed clump thing to get the top again. When I finally reached the top my glasses were completely ice covered. I cleanded them off and then followed the knife back ridge out to the fence line where this whole ordeal started and then on out to the truck. Other than wading snow drifts and seeing a few does and fawns it was pretty uneventful from there. My wife pulled up about the time I arrived at the pick up point and I was plumb beat. On the way home my muscles locked up and I had a heck of time reaching back to undo my seat belt. Anyway the buck is all cut up and I'll clean the skull tonight. It was a fun full filling hunt. I guess that wall hanger will just have to wait until next year. I'll post photos later when I get the film developed.<BR>
