Up at 5:30, frost on ground, went out a small peninsula between Lost Ridge and Long Ridge. Hot, shed clothes, walked miles, saw nada. Getting frustrated. Worked my way up and down the creeks along the canyon, some were steep in places.

Steep gully with a creek flowing, even when the ridges are desert-dry.
This comes from one of the greenswards near Waterfall,
where I saw grouse doing the mating dance.

Slept on the ground several times, hunted past dark. Back at night, Bill and Craig are claiming to see > 18 bucks, most 4 pointers. Me: nada. Frustrated.

This lovely thistle creates a great symmetric pattern.

Thursday, Oct 11 Day Three

Up at 5:30, frost on ground. Head over to Box Canyon on Bird Gulch. I had accompanied Bill to this area once when he was hunting and I already had taken one, so I knew the area a bit, but this was my first hunt over there. Drove over in convoy with Bill dring his Bronco and me driving my rented SUV. Bill was going to hunt another area further along.

I parked my car about 200 yards from Box, hiked over (indicated as 1 on the map). Saw nada in the morning: not in Box, not at Cave Cliff, not along Bird Creek. I did see a set of does move from the furthest down the creek all the way to the highest point on the creek, and rather fast, like they really knew where they were headed. But nothing else. Decided to move down canyon to the next draw. Stood up, moved a bit (indicated as 2 on the map), then saw three bucks who had been hidden by a ridge from my previous vantage point. Dropped down behind a sage so they could not see me much, took some photos.

Can you find him?

Yeah, pretty easy: in bottom right. Not a shooter, but got my interest up! The first buck seen this trip, third day.
Now, go back to the upper picture and find the OTHER buck!

Did you miss him the first time?

I learned that if you partly hide, they do not know what to think. They are not sure what you are, whether or not they should run, etc. I watched this guy for 20 minutes. The other two bucks fed and then bedded, but he just stood there, wiser than they, looking at me. When I finally had to move on, I tried to move out hidden by a sagebrush, but it just wasn't big enough. He and one of the others bolted over the rim into the canyon I was headed to. What happened to the other buck, I don't know. The big guy had a very regal walk, you knew he was king of the canyon.

Walked along the rim to the east of Box Canyon (indicated as 3 on the map), dropped down into Bird Gulch (a first for me), hunting as I went. Rather hot in the sun, little of the Wyoming breeze. Took off outer layer. Skin getting burned. I put on sunburn lotion. Have to remember, even when it is cold, if the sun is shining, I get burned. Skin hurt in the sun, so I tried to shade my face. I could see Cave Cliff down on the Bird River, about 1000 yards away.

As I moved down, I found that there was a great plateau overlooking Cave Cliff and decided to see what I could see from there (indicated as 4 on the map). Great hidden approach, close to Cave Cliff. Not a large area to watch, but a classic, so I thought I would take a nap in the minor shade of a sagebrush, then wake up and make it my evening hunt. The sun was rather hot, my face felt burned, the backs of my hands felt burned, I shed layers, but it was uncomfortably hot. A rarity in Wyoming.

This is the sage that provided shelter from the sun.
I broke off branches and made myself a little "cave" under the bush.

Here is a shot while I am lying down, seeking some shelter from the blazing hot sun.
I am lying down, the camera is balanced on my knees.
Not a lot of room under a sagebrush!

Looking back uphill, I could see the downhill side of the cliffs that make up the east side of Box Canyon. They look very different from this vantage point. There were two eagle nests tucked into some of the wind/rain-hollows.

Box Canyon's cliff, looking uphill. The eagle nest is in the shadow on the far left (see below).

This mag view shows the eagle's nest.

The cliff has a lot of character and I enjoyed examining it through binoculars, as I hid from the sun.

Note that there is a free-standing column of rock, 1/3 of the way out from the left edge; you can see its shadow to the right. I show another one in a nearby cliff (see below).

I examined Cave Cliff from 150 yards with my binoculars:

Cave Cliff from a distance.
Note the sage-covered hills across Bird Gulch, seen meandering on the right middle ground.

Bill christened it "Cave Cliff" a few years ago, due to a cave on the far right hand side. He has seen deer taking shelter from the sun and wind in the cave. Here is a picture he sent me that he took through his binoculars:

Binocular view of the Cave in Cave Cliff. (Bill photo)

This is a magnification of Cave Cliff, showing a buck tucked back into the cave. (Bill photo)
(Bill has posted the picture below in his 2006 narrative.)

I also had a good view of a closer cliff that is next to Cave Cliff.

This is the smaller cliff, which was closer to my hideout than Cave Cliff proper,
which can be see on the upper right .

This shows another freestanding pillar of rock. Remind you of a particular piece of anatomy?

Here is a closer view of Cave Cliff proper, with the cave seen on the right edge, about 10 feet in.
Aspen were in glorious color, the rock had a wonderful and varied texture.

Here is the same view, later in the day, with shadows lengthening.

When the sun was lower in the sky and the heat was less, I came out of my hiding place and moved to a place where I had a good view, but was hidden behind a sage, with some large rocks around for cover as well. The aspen and sage in front of the cliff have lots of nooks and crannies for the deer to hide in, and I could see Bird Gulch and the far sage hills. I could also swing around and look back uphill, both to my right and to my left, and could cover a fair amount of ground.

Unfortunately, my depression only deepened as my buck-drought continued. I savored the buck from the morning, and hoped for better the next day.

I hiked out after can't-see, barely being able to see well enough to get to the top of the canyon. I used a flashlight to follow the road that snakes along the canyon's margin. I saw a number of deer on top, including several bucks, but not records, so I hiked along. Bill drove up at this time, checking on the duckling he had dropped off that morning. I appreciated the fact that he was looking out for me, and for the lift to my car. We drove back in tandem, Bill twice having to backup and look for another turnoff. It was late when we got back to camp.

Long day, but I enjoyed the big buck and the varied scenery: rather than miles of flat sage, I got to see new territory.

Next: Friday, October 12, Day Four