4:30 a.m. comes quickly. I admit to starting off our hunt rather tired and cold. We drove in the dark down the long damp road. The weather report told us to expect 70% precipitation. In the gray twilight that comes before morning, we hiked off the road towards the rising hills and mountains. My sense of adventure recovered. Excercise got the blood circulating. I realized how glad I was that I chose an early morning hunt.

Then, a flock of birds gave a wild scream from somewhere nearby. Birds normally do not scream and squawk unless something disturbs them. I slammed the clip of bullets into my rifle and settled it in my arms ready for whatever might lurk just beyond our vision. We crept like mice through the heavy brush. My heart settled in my throat. My eyes were wide. What would we find? A herd of pigs? A herd of coyotes? A mountain lion? Almost anything can appear so early in the morning. My grip tightened on my rifle near the bolt action in case I needed to slam the bullet into the chamber and react very quickly.

The noise grew louder and as we peered at the tree, my grip relaxed, and I sighed in both disappointment and relief; disappointment because it was not a pig; relief because it was nothing that would eat or maim me. I have not been tested yet as far as confrontation with wildlife. We’ve seen coyote, been stalked by a mountain lion, faced an unknown enemy growling fiercely in a tree, and had a irresponsible target shooter shoot a target in our direction on the road. But I have not been confronted by anything more dangerous than my own fears.

As we climbed the mountain towards our old hunting spot, the gray sky released its moisture. Snow fell and continued to grow heavy. The ground turned white. Rocks were slick. We continued to climb, unhurried, searching each bush, and eager with every step to finally get, “The Desert Ghost.” The clouds lowered over the mountain and visibility became impossible. An impenetrable white-out disguised familiar landmarks until we found ourselves temporarily unable to get our bearings.

Getting lost is beautiful. It’s just another hunting opportunity. I knew I could find the right road, even if that road was miles away from our car. Tony swore the valley wasn’t in the direction we were heading, but I smiled when we found ourselves on the other side of the valley and staring at a familiar mountain. The snow fell so hard and so thick that we crossed the valley without knowing we were in our old hunting grounds. We trudged to a low tree, spread out our emergency plastic hood to make a place for us to sit and watch the tree from a healthy distance where our salt lick once held residence. The snow continued to fall. Weeds were buried. Cacti were buried. Rocks were buried. We finally trudged back to another road on the other side of the valley and found our way back to a snow covered car.

As I reflect upon today’s magnificent (if unsuccessful) hunt, I am as totally in love with the wilderness and hunting as I was when Tony first introduced me to hunting. God knew how much I love hiking in the snow. There were no other vehicles or hunters for miles. The show He gave us today was just for our eyes. I wonder how many people miss this opportunity because of imagined fears. There could have been so many what-ifs today, like what if we got stuck; what if we encountered an angry predator; what if we got frost bite?

If we spent our lives being afraid, we will spend it forever indoors, afraid to take chances, and miss the most wonderful shows God could put on for us—a walk in the snow covered mountains with the snow falling all around us; wild life in their own habitat roaming at close range in front of us; and a pair of coyotes frolicking in their love dance across the road on our last day of hunting. I love it when people post quotes, but fail to act upon them. A wasted life is one spent in inactivity. Today we witnessed living art. You would not find this art hanging in some museum. It can only be experienced in person for it to be fully appreciated. So get off of your desk chair, turn off that computer, and get outside!

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xcbjmm_javalina-hunting-2010-1_webcam

 The wind scraped against my cheeks and nose. My eyes watered. My nose ran. As we climbed the incredibly steep embankment, we gasped at the clouds building all around us. The low white-gray masses hiding the peaks of all the mountain ranges from Prescott to Prescott Valley to the Mingus Mountains were beautiful. To our delight, the weather kept most hunters home today. Maybe to others this was a waste of time, but to Tony and I, any time spent in the wilderness is spectacular.

You have never met a silence like that of the wilderness. With the exception of the occasional droning of a plane’s engine, the rolling hills and stalwart mountains peered down at us intruding upon their land. To our delight, a group of antelope were playing near the tree where our salt lick had hung. Close up, the white and brown skin and boxy face caused Tony’s hands to tremble as he reached for his camera. I thought, “if the antelope are out, then perhaps today we will come across Javalina?”

We chose to walk and pause, instead of walk and sit. It is too cold for Javalina to wander. Most of the time, they will snuggle down beneath a bush or a juniper tree because, like humans, they love good weather. We walked six miles across the backside of hills, into the deep crevices of valleys, and over the vast open space beyond. The clouds gathered like an angry army and finally we pulled on our waterproof hoods as a fine mist assailed us. The sound of water hitting the ground was peaceful. Finally, we alighted upon a dry piece of ground beneath the jutting arms of a juniper tree. Here we sat and watched, and sat until the rain grew heavy and turned to snow.

Have you ever walked through a cloud? This is my second time. The snow fell and covered the ground in white. Our hands were cold and hurting. Our muscles were stiff and frozen. We hiked back slowly hoping to encounter more animals, but knowing all of them were hunkered down under cover. The snow became heavier. Soon, as we crested the hill, the white cloud engulfed us, chased us down into the valley and up another hill. When I turned around, visibility was nil, and I drank in God’s beauty. His handcrafted individual snow flakes fell all around me like a chapter out of a book. The hills were hidden. Our path was hidden. If we did not know this area as well as we do, we would never have found the car until the snow cleared and the clouds lifted.

 All I can say is, thank you, God, for this opportunity and for getting us home. The roads turned to mud. Our 4-cylinder Hyundai slipped and slid, and at times, dangerously close to a ditch. On the way home we drank in the details of our adventures. After we arrived home, the garage door closed, the wet clothes were discarded for warmer clothes, and we snuggled with a hot cup of coffee and a warm afghan on the couch in the livingroom to watch television and unwind. Of course, a girl trying to lose weight cannot just unwind. An hour later, I rise, put on my running shoes, and hit the Wii for an intensive hour work out until I melted into a puddle of sweat.

You Tube was not allowing me to use sound.  I uploaded to Daily Motion and this allowed me to use sound.  Enjoy!

It is bowhunting season in Arizona for Javalina and deer.  Tony has a tag for Javalina.  The season began January 1.  This episode shows pictures from January 1.  I am currently working on the videos from the hunt.  We did not find Javalina yet, but there is still plenty of time left.  Stay tuned…