A quiet Wisconsin hike in the woods

If you have been following my blogs or Dan Block's blogs, you know we are cousins and are both originally from WI. It is there in Northern Wisconsin that our fathers and grandfather helped instill the love of the outdoors. We have a hunting cabin in Northern WI. It is here that we learn from our elders. We learned to respect elders, to have strong morals and ethics, to love God, to respect firearms, and to enjoy the comradaree of family and friends. It is the last one that keeps me heading back every year during Thanksgiving week. The deer population in our unit was 7 deer per square mile. To put that into perspective, in 1990 the DNR stated it desired to reach 20 deer per square mile in our unit. Therefore the population around our cabin is significantly below desired management levels.

As you can imagine, with this type of preface, I saw very few deer (7) and ended the season with tag soup. But my season was far from a disappointment and during my 20th season toting a firearm in the northern Wisconsin woods, I even had a few new experiences.

How was I not disappointed after seeing only 7 deer in 8 days of hunting and hours, upon hours of scanning the woods? Well, first and foremost, our cabin had a new hunter this year and all 13 gentlemen made it through the season without an injury or mishap. That is always the most important thing for us. Next, we had 1 small buck harvested and we were able to eat fresh venison (after registration of course) throughout the hunting season. It was cooked to perfection as well (Dan and I were the fry cooks for the venison meals). Finally, I had 9 quality days with my father, uncle, cousins, and friends. This is why I pay for out of state licenses knowing I have limited chances of harvesting a deer. There is a special bond between family and friends who have been hunting and experiencing the outdoors together since the late 1930s.

What about my new experiences

In 20 years I have hunted out of an elevated ladder stand about 10 times during firearm season. I spend a great deal of my hunting during "prime time" (early mornings and late evenings) sitting in ground blinds at elevated locations (ridges, mounds, hill peaks, etc.). The rest of my time is spent still hunting, track hunting/scouting, sneak driving, etc. It is not because I am afraid of heights, as I have hunted from hang on stands anywhere from 10 to 30 foot high for bow hunting. However, I do not feel comfortable when carrying a firearm to be elevated. It limits my movement and ability to have full range to quickly react to approaching deer. That was until this year. In an earlier blog, I mentioned my friend's success on my private property in MN. He was hunting from a very comfortable style climbing stand and I sat in it the remaining part of the season and became familiar and comfortable with hunting from the elevated location. That led me to purchase a Summit Viper SS climbing tree stand. I utilized this stand in a location I have been hunting opening weekend for all 20 years with much success. By utilizing the flexibility of a climber I was able to increase my visibility and also my opportunity to see more deer. In fact, if I had not been in this stand I would not have seen the two deer I did see on opening morning. And had I used this stand the previous season, I would have potentially harvested 2 different 6-8 point bucks (instead of the small spike I did harvest).

I mentioned the use of a ground blind. Now Dan can probably better describe my typical ground blind. For many years it consisted of eight 4" diameter logs, 2 on each side, with a large tree for my strap-on seat. My blinds were not for concealment, but rather a sign to other hunters that a hunter already hunts this area. That is important when hunting public land. Yes, it is public land and anybody can hunt there, but ethical hunters also do not intrude on other hunter's spots. Unwritten rule which our group holds sacred when considering someone else's hunting spot. Yet we will readily abandon our area to avoid unnecessary conflict. After all, there are thousands of acres of woods and it is only a deer. Not worth an argument or injury. Well, back to my new experience. This year I purchased a manufactured ground blind and I utilized it for the first time while hunting in WI. Having the ability to "move" around without worrying about an unknown deer seeing my movement was "cool" and somewhat unfair the the whitetail. It was because of this that I saw another 3 deer (2 does and a fawn) at 20 yards mid-season. Had I been in my traditional blind, I would have been burnt well before 20 yards.

Another experience was a pine marten which decided to "stalk" me in an attempt in having a food supply for the entire winter. I watched this little guy run back and forth in front of me, looking for food, etc. Eventually he noticed me and made a very "sneaky" stalk on me in an attempt to get position and a better look. I was in my cousin's ladder stand, and this pine marten was very curious and almost climbed into the stand with me.

The last notable experience occurred opening morning. A very heavy fog moved in. I watched it from my climber as it crept in on me. In the location I was hunting in open hardwoods, I can see 200 yards to my north, 300 yards to my west, 400 yards to my south, and 250 yards to my east. That's about a 40 acre parcel of woods for those of you doing the math. But at one point in time, my visibility was literally only 25 yards in any one direction. The temperature dropped and the sky became an unique shade as the sun was rising. It was very interesting experience. To best describe the density of this fog, my father, who was hunting a poplar thicket, said he had seen a doe during this fog period and at one point all he could see was the face and ears looking at him, but not the body.


All in all the season was an enjoyable experience and memories were made once again in the outdoors. I was able to spend many days taking a walk through the quiet woods of Wisconsin, reflect on the year's events and look forward to the upcoming year and activities. The quietness of the woods is a hot topic by many "hunters" in Wisconsin, but I think these individuals fail to see the true reward nature provides to us.