Tenth Avenue Freeze Out

Todays title is the same as my favorite song from The Boss, Mr. Bruce Springsteen.  And, if there's one thing we all know, it's that Rock & Roll and duck hunting are eerily similar.  Rock & Roll is all about sex and drugs and, um, rock and roll while duck hunting is all about uncomfortable weather and disappointment.  See, one and the same.

Two days ago I set out with the best of hopes for a fantastic day of Greenie slaying.  It's been cold here in North Idaho, real cold.  The most amazing thing I ever saw happened on a day just like this one was supposed to be.  It was years ago at The Point and I was hunting on a very cold and clear day.  The channel was clear and I watched as a tornado of mallards tried to get into the only spot of open and protected water around and it just so happened to be right in front of me.  I didn't even shoot that's how stunned I was.  This would be the same kind of day for sure.

The picture shows a hardy temp of 0 degrees and the wind was already working it's best to make that feel warm as I headed out to Anderson.  I was planning to take the truck but the ignition cylinder was (and still is) frozen solid.  This would prove to be an issue later.  I got there and loaded a pack heavy with extra layers and a big white blanket that would either keep me concealed in the snowy backdrop or insulate my butt when I sat it on my chair.  I had no less than 7 layers of wool, neoprene and down on for the trek out not knowing what I might find.  I was overheating well before I got to The Tip even in the subzero temps. 

Had I been driving the truck with my million candle light powered spotlight I would have seen that the whole lake was frozen solid. The wind had driven frothy ice into the channel and frozen it solid as well and there was nowhere to set up at all.  Even after the sweaty walk back to the car I could still find nowhere to set up at all except for the parts of the river that were clear of ice.  Ducks were hiding along the shoreline but the river drops off so quickly that I would not be able to retrieve anything I shot, so I was in the aforementioned Tenth Avenue Freeze Out.  I drove home disappointed.  Again.

Clider did his best not to laugh at me when I told him about my day and Fred G. had some good advice about sitting in my backyard so I could at least enjoy a sip of wikki on my day off.  Rock & Roll and duck hunting.  One and the same.
GBCH