After I backed away slowly from the snake I met up with Todd and we decided that I would continue on and hunt this section until I hit the road while he would turn back and get the truck. As I followed the water's edge I came upon a thicket that just looked piggy. It was thick gnarly stuff that was 1/2 in and 1/2 out of the water, so I crept very slowly up to it. At about 20 yds away I think to myself "there is no way a pig could fit in there it is just too thick". So I made one careless step and my boot made a sucking noise when I pulled it out of the mud. Well that was all it took for the 130-150lb boar in there to crash through that brush and head into the next Parish. I do not know how this pig physically got into that thicket, but he got out of there like a small bulldozer.
When Todd and I got back to camp I got acquainted with our new arrival Rick and figured I had a little daylight left so I went for a quick scouting trip behind the camp where Daniel and I ran into a whole mess of hogs last year. As soon as the trail got close to the water I could see good fresh sign. I followed the water for a few hundred yards and saw that this patch of woods held at least one sounder of pigs. I sat for a while on a fallen tree to enjoy the solitude of the swamp and listen to the wood ducks when I saw something swimming in the flooded timber. I thought it was a nutria at first, but then it climbed onto a leaning tree and I could clearly see that it was a river otter. This thing was so cool. I watched it with my binoculars as long as I could, then departed telling the forest good night and made the long walk back to camp.
Back at camp I heated up my etouffee, made rice, warmed the garlic bread and had a very small nip of bourbon. We all had a wonderful time talking about the day's events, catching up, and formulating a plan for the morning. At about 8pm everyone apparently remembered that "Murder she wrote" was on and had to scurry off to bed. That just left Darren and I to converse about the great mysteries of hunting and life while smoking a good cigar and responsibly enjoying an adult beverage. You just can't duplicate the feeling of good meaningful conversation and cigar smoke.
The next morning after three of Randy's breakfast burritos and homemade salsa Rick and I hit the woods. We went in from the North side of where I had seen the good sign the evening before. It was a pretty uneventful morning and I was just starting to notice that I was hungry when three big black shapes appeared 50 yds to my left right in front of where Rick was. We both froze and two smaller pigs got up from behind the same fallen tree. I know they didn't catch our scent and were not overly spooked because they didn't tear out of there. They just kinda sauntered away stopping every 75 yds or so to check out their back trail. Knowing we were not too far from a busy road we tried to flank them but it was no use. Those things can really disappear into the forest. All was not lost however, because back at camp Darren had his chili heated and it was fantastic.
That afternoon Rick and I went to the middle part of the WMA, North of the headquarters intending to work our way South along the water. We followed the same playbook but these woods were thick and sign was scarce. We ended up making about 1 mile of the 2+ that we had planned before darkness set in and we headed back to the road to find the truck. That night we ate like Kings! Rick heated up his pulled pork and baked beans. I reheated my etouffee, and Darren's chili was still hot. Then Daniel and Randy roll in with two dead pigs and (more importantly) ice cream, and Tony shows up with Fatboy brownies and a whiskey that tastes just like a pecan pie. I was excited to see some pork (both pulled and on the hoof) and to get a fine night of camaraderie with this fine group of guys. It was nice to have Tony added to the late crew, as we stayed up conversing until the bad weather blew in. The weather got pretty bad that night and we awoke to a wet tent and the seemingly requisite mud in camp.
The next morning after another round of Randy's breakfast burritos I packed up my things and had one more march through the swamp before heading out. I did see a pair of hooded mergansers in the flooded timber (I had to pull up a chart to identify them). I don't know if they are rare or not, but I had never seen any before.
And thus, my saga ended. I am so incredibly grateful to be included in this hunt. I want to thank everyone who cooks, and everyone who had to listen to my snoring. And a special thank you to Daniel for hosting us time and again.
Topic: 4th Annual Boeuf Hog/Deer Hunt - Were back home! (Read 14238 times)
