While it would be nice to be bow hunting this weekend on the Oregon coast for elk, or central Oregon for muledeer, I still have to wait until October to hunt. My tag is for the Northside unit and although I haven't hunted the area for many years, the guys I'm hunting with have hunted for elk there for several years. All in all it will be nice to be back in the mountains. The economy has taken me out of Oregon for several years, but with any kind of luck I will be back this winter. We have decided we have been away from home for too long and will spend the second week of my vacation looking for work. One way or another, we will return to Oregon. Not being able to just head out the door and go hiking/scouting anytime I want to, is probably one of the hardest things I've given up.
Until you've lost it, it is hard to understand how important the times you get to be in the woods are to you. Never take those times for granted, and know that there are other parts of this country that don't even know what those from the northwest have at their fingertips. I for one know what it is like to loose those times, and refuse to spend the latter part of my life only having only the memories of my youth.

While it would be nice to be bow hunting this weekend on the Oregon coast for elk, or central Oregon for muledeer, I still have to wait until October to hunt. My tag is for the Northside unit and although I haven't hunted the area for many years, the guys I'm hunting with have hunted for elk there for several years. All in all it will be nice to be back in the mountains. The economy has taken me out of Oregon for several years, but with any kind of luck I will be back this winter. We have decided we have been away from home for too long and will spend the second week of my vacation looking for work. One way or another, we will return to Oregon. Not being able to just head out the door and go hiking/scouting anytime I want to, is probably one of the hardest things I've given up.
Until you've lost it, it is hard to understand how important the times you get to be in the woods are to you. Never take those times for granted, and know that there are other parts of this country that don't even know what those from the northwest have at their fingertips. I for one know what it is like to loose those times, and refuse to spend the latter part of my life only having only the memories of my youth.

I know exactly what your talking about. Because of health reasons I'm in somewhat the same boat. Got heart problems that crippled me up so I can't get around in the woods near as much as I used to.

Nice thing about being retired is now that I have the time to do anything I want the means have kinda went out the door.

Here in Idaho the fish and game and forest service has made some nice concessions to handi-capped hunters. I can now hunt from my vehicle, following the appropiate rules of corse,. The Forest service has made available gated closed off roads open only to one hunter and an aid in four day blocks. These areas are still open to foot hunters, but their the kind folks that get the elk up and moving for us slower moving critters.

I hunted one of those last year and though I did not get my elk it gave me a great hunting experience.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do this year, but my old hunting buddy just bought my elk tag for an early birthday present. I got a feeling I'm tagging along with him this fall.

Here's some pix to keep your juices flowing