This writer is on an extended upland hunting trip with my two companions, French Brittanies Dinah and Laney. Traveling with “the girls” is never dull and they really have been “living large” at Bruce Bennett’s On the Wing Grouse Camp in Ellenburg, New York. Last week we had a visit from turkey hunting guru and upland fanatic Steve Hickoff from Kittery, Maine and his young English Setter Alphie. They were great hunting companions and we enjoyed some wonderful time afield, despite temperatures that were well above where we would have liked. With no killing frost, the understory was still lush and green and way too thick, making scenting conditions very challenging for the dogs and providing excellent cover for the birds to escape detection.
That being as it was, we still had some good hunts and on the final day, Thursday, we had four points with the second dog backing or “honoring” the dog who was staunchly pointing a bird. We missed all four birds. Did I mention that the thick foliage, still on the trees until the frost and wind do their thing, makes shooting most times impossible and most birds escaped without a shot being fired. But that is why we call it hunting and not killing.
Steve’s visit also included a memorable breakfast at Filion’s Diner (where no one leaves breakfast hungry) and dinner at Donovan’s in Malone where the food is always excellent. The camp has gas lights and hot water for the shower, a gas refrigerator, and solar panels that power LED lights so most of the comforts of home are right there, in a spectacularly beautiful setting with great vistas and bird grouse and woodcock hunting that is as good as can be found anywhere in the country. There was very enjoyable conversation about various hunting pursuits as Steve grew up in rural Pennsylvania and is a very talented writer with a book on the Pittsburgh Steelers (Go Pats!) and a plethora of magazine articles. His main focus is as the manager of RealTree Camo’s media relations and he is very well known around the country in outdoor circles. It was back to the solitary cabin life when he left Thursday but Bruce returned from the Ruffed Grouse Society National Shoot Saturday.
The dogs have been quite good handling birds and have gotten very good as the days have passed. My shooting has been very good, very poor and I have all the excuses but all said by ration of shots per bird downed is right where it usually is and that is fine as my eyes and reflexes are not getting any younger. I must give a shout out to the Decot Hy-Wyd shooting glasses, I am seeing well and they stay on through the thick brush.
Now for “true confessions.” In today’s world, we are entirely dependent on our cell phones and our contacts, calendar. Schedule and window to the outside world are all in those devices. Imagine my chagrin on Monday afternoon, after returning from a hunt, when I realized that my phone and its Otter Box were no longer clipped to my belt. My stomach sank and I roared back where I parked and attempted to follow the path through the brush but it was futile. Even if I walked right up to the phone it would be unlikely if I could see it in the thick brush.
Having a moment of clear thinking, I drove to Bruce’s lake house and asked if he and his wife could go online to the “Find My iPhone” web page. Deb did on her iPad and I entered my ID and password. A map appeared and it showed our location AND the location of my phone off Bigelow Road, where I had been hunting. Bruce called it up on his laptop and it showed the satellite view and the phone was near a cluster of trees in a clearing he had created as part of the extensive habitat work he does on his lands. We drove over, walked into the spot and Bruce called my number. There, from 10 yards away, came my ringtone and the lost phone was found. A real miracle that saved me so much grief and aggravation! Thank God for technology!
The weekend found me guiding a group from Massachusetts who happen to have a family camp on Chateaugay Lake. Darrell Chase, Jim Carmichael and his son Jim had two great days with Dinah and Laney with lots of birds moved and a few bagged. This weekend is the big Ruffed Grouse Society New York Grouse and Woodcock Hunt and we will be guiding for that as well. The weather could be snow as it changes very quickly but we will be out there regardless and then two tired dogs and one tired old dog will be headed back to Massachusetts, and reality.