Last day of the '10 -'11 season.....

Today was the day I finally put away all my hunting gear for the season. Yep, the end. All the waders, extra shells, gloves and hats that had piled up in the garage had to go back into the shed, into the chest that holds all my gear for the summer. It's sad really, to know that I no longer will look forward to early mornings in the blind. No more dark drives to Anderson Lake. No more whistling wings in the pre-dawn darkness. The thrill of the hunt and the joy of a well placed shot. The End.

Last week I traveled to Portland for the last few days of the hunting season. I was able to spend some time with Co-Founder of the HOY7 Hunting Team and former "Expert" Fred G. Although the water was up well over the optimal levels for late season hunting we were able to have a great 3 days near our old spots on the banks of the mighty Columbia River. We walked great distances to find good spots to hunt and marveled at the ways our old spot has changed over the years. When it first began we were out in jeans and cotton layers, hoping for a shot at the elusive mallard. Now we are clad in comfy wool and camo gore-tex. Before the only ones busting through the brambles and fighting the shoreline were Mitch and the two of us. Now a gravel path leading out and a battle with others for the best spots awaits. Still, the basic reason we hunt has not changed.

So it was with great sadness that I put up all my gear today, knowing that a long 8 months of spring and summer stand between now and the time I buy my first box of shells for next year. Yet already the anticipation of next year looms large in my mind. Does it hold the first banded bird for the H7HT? Will we find newer and better places to hunt? Is this the year we take a trip to 'Limit Lake' or 58th & Federal? Who knows. That's the joy of being part of the HOy7 Hunting Team, the anticipation and the camaraderie of friends. That, and of course, shooting that French Canadian bastard Greenie.

GBCH