MVP

Well, well, what a week it has been. Sorry to keep you all waiting for this posting but what with the holidays and all, arctic Blast 2008, chain requirements and even a minor emergency it's been a long time coming. So here goes.

Day 12.
We decided on the old new spot and set out early in order to beat the hordes that now crowd our style. We also needed to get out of town before the "Arctic Blast! 2008!" all the weather agency's were forecasting shut down the entire city. After a brisk walk out, the wind was ripping, we settled into our normal blind. The morning fly contained some mallards that managed to get by us but we did manage to fold the nice pintail and teal you see here. Shortly after it started to precipitate with some freezing rain and light snow. The hunt was called about 12:00 and we walked back to Lisa who somehow managed to get us back home even though all the news people predicted certain death to anyone cought out in the impending doom of "Arctic Blast! 2008!". That evening it started to snow lightly.

Day 13.
By now "Artic Blast! 2008!" was in full effect. The City of Portland was basically shut down. 24 hour news coverage from every highway and intersection in town included the words treacherous and dangerous with every sucessive media person. The TV weather men all looked frazzled. A record 8" had fallen and all residents were advised not to leave their homes, certain death if you did. Supermarkets were selling out of supplies, people were panicked. All for 8" of snow. And here's the capper: Chains required for all vehicles on any road, what a joke. Perfect for hunting.

So the night before I bought some chains for Ole' Black Betty. I picked up Fred at 4am because neithor of the citys 4 snowplows was able to clear any of the roads in town. 35mph top speed and of course the fore mentioned CERTAIN DEATH made our trip out to Sauvies Island a slow one. Even with only 2 wheel drive Ole' Black Betty was able to navigate the scetchball roads of the island and deliver us to the wait in line section of Sauvies. Interestingly enough there were other people there too. Perhaps they were also not afraid of the massive accumilations and treacherous road conditions the all news outlets had warned us about. Sick bastards.

So off we went to Mud hen #7 for some folding action. Snowshoes and heavy packs made the walk out less than super-fun but we made it alive. Fred broke up all the ice in front of our spot and did his best to clear a landing area for the ducks to come in. In the process I nearly had to amputate his hand at the wrist because of the massive frostbite he sustained. Many many ducks were flying that day but alas, none for the HOY7 hunting team. The only naturally open water in the area was about 150 yards to our right and 150 yards out. All the ducks would turn in to land in that stretch of water just out of gunning range. We called and worked the roto but few ducks wanted anything to do with us. Normally this would be the worst part but not today. The worst part was watching the guys in the blind 150 yards in the right direction spend the morning shooting our ducks. Damnit! I hate those guys. I called it at 12:00. Light snow continued to fall.

Day 14.
At this point the National Guard had been called in to assist police and fire officals due to the ongoing effects of "Arctic Blast! 2008!". Recently the highway had been reopened after a 3 day closure, another casualty of what I will now call 'AB08'. This also happens to be the highway we use to get to both the Old New spot and the Old Old spot. We had chosen the Old Old spot for the days hunt for a few reasons. The last walk on Sauvies with the packs and snow was just a pain in the ass. This time I got us bigger snowshoes and a pulk sled to bring the gear out in, good thinkin' eh? It sure would have been if it wasn't overloaded from the start and needed to be stabilized the entire way. Oh well, another thing learned-another thing earned.

After getting our gear to the river we were met with much frozen water and a stout eastern wind. Fred again cleared a small area of ice for ducks to land and severely aggravated his 'frostbite'. The snow was now driving so hard we set ourselves low to the ground and did our best to work the few birds that were able to find us in the foggy snow. With little success Fred decided to take a walk and I continued to call and look for some birds that weren't frozen over like our decoys were. At this point Fred returned with a disturbing story. While walking back to the site of the real Old Old spot he saw a massive shape in a small clearing. Thinking it was a lost Magnum size decoy he went in for a closer look and to his horror watched, what for all Heston's sake we believe to be, that bastard Greenie fly away. (We will find you, you French Canadian bitch.)

So after another bit of foul weather and 'AB08' we called it quits for the day again without a kill. The walk back to Betty was slow and my frozen over decoys and bag full of snow helped me to fall over 3 times on the way back which was no fun for anyone except the guy with a camera. I'm sure the photos will surface soon. Even with the low kill count we had a great time hunting the unusual conditions the Arctic Blast handed us. Stay tuned for more adventures and what will surely be the best X-mas eve fiasco since the B-surf incident. That story is for another time, so until then,
GBCH
(Christmas Day 2008, 3:34pm, Mix of snow and rain falling, Heston help us.)