Re: The Hijack Zone - Zombies Welcome
HIJACK!
Scouting time again!
Went over to Chassahowitzka Wildlife Management Area with my GF Nancy this morning for a little pre-season scouting.
Mind you, Nancy is basically a city girl raised in the Detroit suburbs and is very new to "wild" areas. But she really wants to reconnect with nature. Cooool...
We arrived at the front gate by 0815 and headed on in. It was a beautiful late summer morning with the temp about 80 degrees and humidity lower than normal. Nice!
Every so often I'd stick my box turkey call out the window and make with a few yelps. Wasn't expecting anything and I wasn't disappointed. LOL
The general area of the WMA looks like so... with roadways frequently cutting through the hammocks, yielding very neat overhangs with a variety of trees. Pretty.
Sunbeams invite one in to explore the inner areas...
But those areas can be SPOOKY too! Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!
And of course, once you're inside the hammock, it becomes clear that there are swamps all around... and there could be '
gators too!
Out in the open on one of the back roads, we spotted some small tracks and stepped out to have a look. Quite frankly, I can't tell if it was a bobcat or a coyote. Still, Nancy remained completely non-plussed by the wildlife tracks. Something that wouldn't last.... Heh heh.
Nancy had kept suggesting that it would be a "real adventure" to just park the Jeep and walk straight through the WMA and on over to the Gulf. Uh huh. NOT!
We drove off to another area a mile or more away, then made a left turn and followed a distinctly unimproved road about 1/2 mile back into the wilds. At that point, we got out of the Jeep and started walking along a fire trail which meandered even further back into the primitive area.
As we were walking, I continued to yelp with the turkey call. After about 100 yards, I noticed a LARGE footprint in the sand, which measured over 7 inches wide. Pointed it out to Nancy and said "there's yer bear right there!" "Really?" she said. "Yah." says I. I don't think she believed me at first though. Heh.
I continued to call turkeys as we walked along and the more bearpaw footprints we saw, the more nervous Nancy became. At one point she asked quietly for me to stop turkey calling... thinking that I might be calling a bear to us by imitating a turkey. Neato. I told her "'two eyes on the world' while we're walking." But I DID stop calling. Heh heh.
About 5 minutes later, even though nothing was there, I stopped, looked sharply into the woods to my right, then took 2 big steps backwards very quickly. Nancy said "EXPLETIVE DELETED!" and her eyes got huge as her head snapped around in that direction. She was fully awake and alert now! Hehehehe.
We continued onward for about 3/10ths of a mile along the trail and did find a big tree suitable for my tree stand. Dunno if it's reasonable to set up a stand in a bears bedroom though! Needs further research.
As we neared the Jeep, I spotted it through an opening in the trees about 25 yards away. Nancy hadn't noticed, as she'd been looking very, very carefully for more bear sign.
Hehehehehe... So, I started wondering out loud what a bear sounds like when it charges it's quarry. Just as Nancy started to reply, I hit the "panic" button on the Jeep's alarm system.... BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP!!! Nancy's eyes were huge and she had a very perplexed look on her face.... she knew it was the Jeep, but was still ready for running!
So much for her wanting to wander through 3 miles of wild area to get to the Gulf! She is totally over that idea now! Bwahahahahaa!
I am sucha chit. LOL
We actually did have a very nice time and Nancy does feel much more educated and appreciative of the wildness that lives so close by our home. She looks forward to going back and exploring more of that wild area.
BIG bear prints!
