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End of the Year Flurry

  Near the end of the season, I was overwhelmed with a flurry of personal things that didn't allow me to keep active with the journal, and I apologize for my negligence in not getting back to it until now. Near the end of the season, I saw many things that really let me down when it comes to social media and the way certain hunters try to portray themselves. I just wish people could tell the truth about what they're doing. If people claim to be trackers, how come they very rarely kill deer before huge storms roll in at the end of the seasons across New York and New England and dump large amounts of snow, causing the deer to migrate and head to winter yards? As I've always said, and I still stand behind it, snow makes bad hunters good hunters. If you can kill deer at any time of the season with and without snow and everywhere you go, you probably have a pretty good idea about deer behavior and how to find them.    By the time late muzzleloader season ended in the Northern Zo
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Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023

   When I woke up this morning, winter didn't go anywhere. Once again, it was staring me in the face. I'm still not sure why I decided to do what I did, but I went on what I would call a marathon walk. I figured, I would use the day to cover as much ground as possible to see if I could locate any good sign. In my travels, I saw many amazing things.    I found one of the things I've been looking for, which was a really good bear track. I figured they would be heading toward their denning areas, but I didn't expect one to be wandering around in all the snow. I tried catching up to him, but I never accomplished my goal.    Instead, I had one of the most amazing things that ever happened to me happen while hunting in the Adirondacks. I wrote about a similar incident in my second book in the chapter titled The Bowl. As I was still-hunting, I spotted a doe. Within a few minutes, there were a few bucks chasing her all over the forest. I took some video of them and hope to uplo
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Monday, Nov. 27, 2023

  Winter came with a vengeance last night. When I got up this morning, I didn't expect to see what I saw when I looked outside. I figured every expert tracker would be in the woods, but knowing how most deer react after a big snowfall, I decided it wasn't for me. I've always noticed that some deer do move the day of the storm as the storm tapers off, but usually the deer will move much more 24-48 hours after the storm blows out. I've studied this for years, and it has held true in every area I've ever hunted.    Although I wasn't hunting today, I did get out later in the day to ride a few roads to look around. In my travels, I met a young man walking down the road. He looked bushed, as I'm sure he was due to the amount of snow that came down. There was about 10-12 inches of new snow on top of the few inches that still remained from the other day.    Although I wasn't going to go out, I decided to check a place out for my dad shortly before dark. I knew i
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Sunday, Nov. 26, 2023

   I had a hard time believing today was Sunday. It seemed like Monday the entire day. It was another chilly start, but at least it was 20 degrees. It warmed up about 10 degrees throughout the day, but the wind picked up to the rise in temperature didn't do much when the wind chill got figured back into it.    It took me about an hour to get to where I wanted to go. It was the first time sitting there this year. Upon my arrival a few minutes before daylight, a deer began blowing at me. I know it couldn't smell me due to it's location. I'm pretty sure the noise is what caused the chaos. It heard me walking in the crunchy snow, and when I stopped, it got nervous. After blowing for about five minutes, it finally made its way out of there.    I sat until about noon and never saw anything. After getting up, I wandered around for a bit and found a few places where the deer have been hanging out. I actually found a big rub that was made yesterday as well as a scrape. Being thi
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Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023

   Today was a chilly one. When I got out of the truck, it was 12 degrees. I know it's chilly when my hands hurt while walking into the woods. This morning when we were all outside getting ready to leave, we heard a shot. I'm not sure what people are shooting at 5:00 in the morning, but it makes me wonder. Little things like that, although they are most likely harmless, make me feel a little uneasy.    I had every intention of going to a place I haven't gone this year, but 3/4 of the way into the trip, I was spent. I thought I had more in me, but I just had to tap out and sit in an area I hadn't planned on sitting. I also had a new pair of lined LL Bean wool pants on. They no longer make the pants I've always worn, so I decided to try the lined ones, and they were a little over the top. I'm going to have to decide what to do. I could use them for sitting, but I definitely can't walk any great distances with them on again. They were great for sitting the enti
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Friday, Nov. 24, 2023

   Today was chilly and windy. The wind just doesn't want to give us a break. I figure the woods would be full of people today. I went in well before daylight and came out after dark, so I don't know what happened on the road. There were no gunshots, but I'd say the wind and weather probably were the main causes for that.    I don't have much to add tonight. I'm exhausted, and the length of the season is starting to catch up to me. I can't imagine how many miles I've put on this year. I covered a lot of ground today and didn't find much of anything that made me look twice. I saw minimal deer sign. I cut very few tracks for the amount of land I covered. It was rather disappointing.    Hopefully, they win calms down a little bit. It chills me to the bone and won't let up. The wind has been nonstop. Today it averaged about 20 mph. At 20 degrees, that didn't feel to well by the end of the day. 
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Thursday, Nov. 23, 2023

   There has never been anything like hunting on Thanksgiving Day. I've enjoyed it since I was a kid. It has always been something I've looked forward to. However, as the the years have passed, the day doesn't seem to have the same luster it used to have when I was growing into adulthood.   Anyhow,  I made my way into the woods this morning behind my dad. It brought me back to a time when I never thought about aging. I thought Dad and I would be able to hunt forever. It's amazing how when we are young we don't think we will ever see the effects of getting older. We think we will be able to climb mountains one after another and return to do it day after day after day.   It was bitter sweet to follow Dad into the woods this morning. He doesn't go like he used to, but he still goes. I can recall trying my hardest to keep up to him and not complain. He could easily walk be into the ground. This lasted many years, probably until about eight years ago. As difficult as
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