Pennsylvania Game News - October 2021 - 30

ANOTHER YEAR
BRIN G IN G
UP
D EER
Once again, Game News subscriber Gilbert Snyder, of
Linglestown, shared summertime trail-cam photos of an
easy-to-distinguish doe with an apparent leg deformity. The
deer first showed up on one of Snyder's cameras in 2013,
meaning she's at least 9 years old. And in that time, she's
raised 17 fawns, including the two from this year. Neither
Snyder nor anyone who hunts the family's property near
Fisherville has ever seen the doe during hunting season.
And since this is one of the better photos Snyder captured
of her this year, maybe she's becoming camera-shy, too!
Down it went, and I followed up with
another shot when it got back up.
Rob called immediately to find out
what had happened. All I remember
saying was " Bear down! "
I knew it was a big bear, too. But not
until Rob came over and we walked the
final 25 yards to the bear together did I
realize just how big.
I'll never forget the look on Rob's face
or his comment as we looked over the
giant trophy of a lifetime.
" How the heck are we ever going to get
this bear out of here? " he asked.
That was a question we'd have to
figure out. But first, we'd try to savor
every moment of this unbelievable day,
taking photos and letting family know that
Dad finally had bagged his bear - and an
incredible one, at that.
As we field-dressed the huge bear, we
continued talking about how we'd ever be
able to move it. We had a game cart back
at the truck that's rated for 500 pounds.
In 2014, I'd used the cart to haul out a
Pennsylvania cow elk I shot, and it tipped
the scales at 507 pounds.
But the bear looked even bigger, and
we weren't sure we even could get it on
the cart, much less wheel it out.
We started toward the truck - about a
mile away - to retrieve the cart and drop
off our other gear. We also placed several
30
calls along the way to see if we could
round up any help, but it was one of those
days - everyone was busy.
At the truck, Rob saw three hikers on
the nearby West Rim Trail and said he
was going to ask if they'd help. I wished
him good luck with that. Well, to my
surprise, they came back with Rob, put
all of their hiking gear down next to the
truck, then followed us to the harvest site.
Now remember, we are all perfect strangers.
And also remember, Rob and I had
a few choice words about hikers earlier.
But these three, who were about halfway
through a weekend hike, literally dropped
everything to help us.
Once we got to the site,
we decided we'd drag the
bear downhill a bit to a spot
where we could get it onto
the cart. This is when the
bear's size started to sink
in. It surely was bigger and
harder to move than my elk,
and even with all of us helping,
it wasn't easy to get it
onto the cart or keep it there.
Then, not long after we
started moving, the spokes
began blowing out of the
cart's wheels. One axle soon
bent, but we kept going and,
fortunately, the cart held
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2021

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