Day 1 Turkey Airgun Hunt

When scouting some areas a couple weeks earlier, Chul received some insider info from a guide he met out there on that trip.  On the weekend we decided to check it out.  The trip would require us to backpack it in.  I'd use my Beeman RX airgun and he would use his Abbott Longbow.  While on that scouting trip Chul also was given some info that the area held trout so we packed our flyrods in case the hunting was slow.

We arrived late morning on Friday and headed down the mountain.  I'd be humping about thirty pounds on my back in addition to my airgun which is probably about 11 pounds.  Going down shouldn't be a problem but coming back was going to be a chore.

Within a quarter of a mile of the trip, the sole of my right Lowa boot came apart. I haven't worn these boots in over a decade as I rarely backpack anymore.  Soles nowadays are rarely stitched on but rather glued, it has always been my concern that these glues will eventually deteriorate.  Of course it will always happen in the most inopportune time.  I tried to figure out how to booty fab a repair but without any duct tape or glue or anything I decided to just rip them off and see if I could continue.  After a few more steps my left sole came apart.  As we thought there'd be trout in the water we packed in Teva river shoes and Chul graciously offered me his boots (luckily we wear the same size) and he would wear the Tevas since he is used to hiking and backpacking with them when he goes into the Kern.  This helped me big time.

After descending about 1000 feet we made it into the valley.  We checked the water and it was green an low.  Other than frogs we saw no fish.  After resting a while we dropped the pack and scouted the area around the water for both turkey and trout. 

We saw no fish but heard one lone hen calling in the distance over the other ridge.  The water at one point may have held fish and it still might but we saw no sign of trout this trip.  Such a same both Chul and I figure fishing could have been our fallback if the hunting sucked.

The wild flowers are in bloom now and Chul pointed out each variety to me.  It's nice to have this knowledge in the field with you as it makes the outdoor experience more holistic.  Though it's a shame I can barely remember any of the names of them.  I do remember the important stuff like plants that counteract poison oak.  We headed pack and looked for a camping spot.  Once we found our basecamp we went about looking for more meadows to hunt tomorrow morning.

We headed back to camp to prepare dinner.  On the menu mac and cheese with salame.  We hit the sack early, Chul passed out within minutes.  I'd be stuck hearing him snore all night.  I was awaken around 10pm when another group of hunters rolled in and set up camp across from us.