Pennsylvania Game News - November 2013 - 16

during prior scouting trips to camp.
Picking out spots for others to hunt
all day on the first day of bear is
difficult proposition. J.J. Fenton and
Troy Tonkin would be hunting with
me in an area he had discovered just
prior to opening day. The spot was a
natural crossing created by a saddle
along a steep hillside overlooking
a trout stream that was surrounded
with fresh slashings. Visibility was
limited, so the three of us were all
within sight of each other in the
treetops, although if on the ground
we never could have seen each other.
J.J. was high on the ridge, right
along a forestry road.
Troy was situated at the base of
the mountain along the hemlockchoked creek bottom, with a good
vantage should a bear decide on
crossing the creek or running low.
I picked my tree 130 yards above
Troy and 60 yards below J.J. With
thick undergrowth and mountain
steepness, visibility was severely
limited. Troy knew the walk back
up the hill with a tree stand on his
back would be a tough one. If a bear
crossed the ridge, we believed one of
us would get a shot.
While getting situated in the early
morning, Troy dropped his radio,
so he sat without communication
or knowledge of what time it was.
At 9 a.m. we had a tree-to-tree
conservation as quietly as we could,
agreeing that I would yell down at
noon and 3 o'clock to keep him
oriented. Throughout the day J.J. and
I kept contact with the rest of camp
and each other via text messages.
The rest of our crew hunting back
toward camp was hearing plenty
of shooting and seeing lots of deer,
16

but no bears. On our part of the
mountain, the action had been slow,
although our stands allowed us to
hear shooting from far away.
Just past 1 o'clock, the first action
of the day occurred, as a high-racked
7-point came barreling through on a
mission. The buck offered all three of
us a good look before continuing on.
At 4:45 I heard Troy begin to unload
his gun and knew that the first day of
bear season was in the books. After
ascending the steep hillside, which
he seemed sure he had purposely
been picked to climb, he said, "That
was the first and last time I'll sit in a
tree all day."
The rest of our group consisted
of Eddie Deitman, Jesse "Jasper"
Deitman, Justin Matko and Brandon
Smith. They had chosen to surround
an extremely thick slashing closer
to camp with hopes a bruin would
head there when shooting started.
The thickness and vastness of the
clear-cut had us considering the
entire crew hunting it the first day.
However, by splitting up we hoped to
learn more about where bears were
jumped or killed. Unfortunately,
neither of our first-day spots produced
a bear sighting, although both groups
heard shooting and saw plenty of
hunters and deer.
After returning to camp, it was
nice knowing that the change in
the season's format would allow for
a day of rest prior to the second day.
Sitting in a windy tree stand all day
can quickly drain even the most
optimistic bear hunters. With a big
dinner of spaghetti, hot sausage and
garlic bread, it was tough to leave
the glow of the potbelly stove long
enough for the trip over to the check
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Pennsylvania Game News - November 2013

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