. . . To him who has once tasted the reckless independence, the haughty self-reliance, the sense of irresponsible freedom, which the forest life engenders, civilization thenceforth seems flat and stale. Its pleasures are insipid, its pursuits wearisome, its conventionalities, duties, and mutual dependence alike tedious and disgusting. The entrapped wanderer grows fierce and restless, and pants for breathing-room. His path, it is true, was choked with difficulties, but his body and soul were hardened to meet them; it was beset with dangers, but these were the very spice of his life, gladdening his heart with exulting self-confidence, and sending the blood through his veins with a livelier current. The wilderness, rough, harsh, and inexorable, has charms more potent in their seductive influence than all the lures of luxury and sloth. And often he on whom it has cast its magic finds no heart to dissolve the spell, and remains a wanderer and an Ishmaelite to the hour of his death.
Francis Parkman
Looking for Elk in the not so level Lochsa Country.
2 comments:
dear robert i was fortunate to take a bull elk in the lochsa this year with a rifle on the second day of season. im a bowhunter aat heart but thought id share a hunt with my father with a rifle. iam curious if a bowhunt would be worth the trip in september or if that rifle hunt is better in october? tony wintrip
Bow hunting can be good. The last few years the last couple weeks seem to be better than the opening weeks of bow season. The bulls seem to be rutting more towards the end of Sept than the first part. To find the vocal bulls and ones that will respond to calling you usualy need to get a few miles from the roads. The wolves seem to have the herds more scattered than before, so you may have to scout several drainages to get into the elk, and if wolves move in the elk move out quickly. We had an area scouted out last fall that was full of elk, then when we came back 2 days later to hunt wolves had ran the main trail and the ridge top, and not one elk could be found in the area, they had moved 5 miles away into another drainage. Good luck, it's tough hunting, but what good hunting isn't tough. That's great you got your bull, I have had a dry spell for a couple of years, probably because I spend half of elk season taking other people or helping my friends pack out their elk.
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