When old timers talk, do you listen?? I met Joe 14 yrs ago. I work as a nurse on a rehab unit. Joe came to us with a broken hip. I remember Joe well...about 77 yrs old, he made his living under ground working the iron ore mines in northern mn. I remember shaking his hand, his grip was as solid as the steel he pulled from the ground. Joe spoke few words and offered fewer complaints...I suppose at that stage of his life he earned the right when to talk and when to stay silent. I recall when his daughter came to the hospital to visit. She told me that he loved to hunt and trap and was full of stories..."ask him about bows-n-arrows and you will get him to talk". "Hey Joe, you ever go deer hunting"? Joe turned his stare to meet me as i entered his room. "Sit down boy"....and the stories began. For the next 2 weeks it was a daily routine that i would spend time in Joe's room talking hunting. "I suppose you are one of them guys that shoots a high tech wheeled contraption with skinny arras"? "No Joe, i shoot a recurve". Joe's smile confirmed his approval. Joe knew how to hunt and the pictures his daughter brought in showed me that this man was a seasoned woodsman. Pictures of deer with big racks and even bigger bodies. Its been 14 yrs since i saw Joe. I wish i would have been working the day Joe was discharged from the hosital to say goodbye, shake his hand, look him in the eyes and thank him for the stories. I wasnt able to work those last few days. My wife was scheduled to be induced to have a baby, our first..a boy we named Joe. 14 yrs later this past winter i remembered a conversation that Joe and i had about his favorite hunting spot and a promise i had made. "Go to scout landing and paddle across the flowage about a quarter mile. there you will find the feeder stream that dumps into the flowage. the stream snakes behind the high ridges. paddle up that stream another quarter mile and you will see where i set my camp. You have to take a canoe because the feeder stream is too shallow for a boat and thats why nobody goes in there. I made a picnic table out of scrap lumber where we set up camp, you can see it from the river. From there climb the high ridge until you get to the top. The rigde top funnels to a narrow spot about 100yds wide and thats where you will find my stand, or whats left of it. Its been 2 or 3 yrs since my son and i paddled into the camp site, the ridge was too steep for me to climb. Go in there boy and find my stand, go in there and hunt it". I promised Joe that i would go in there and find his spot. This past winter i studied the maps. This particular piece of woods is huge...about 10 miles both ways with no roads....big woods deer with no hunting pressure. This spring I have been waiting impatiently for the ice to melt. Today was the day that i made good on my promise to find Joes stand. Remember to listen to the old timers. pics to follow.
Topic: When old timers talk....a kayak "bow hike" scouting journey w/ pics soon (Read 13310 times)
