Pennsylvania Game News - September 2024 - 22

tree stand from before sunrise until dark,
content to eat a packed lunch. Many
days I would venture close and see him
shivering from the cold - but doggedly
sitting things out - beneath his red-andblack
Woolrich jacket.
Over the years, we came to learn that
any shot late in the day likely came from
his stand. Many a moonlight drag followed.
But
now, on the fi rst day of his rookie
season at camp, shooting a buck was the
furthest thought in Russell's mind, as the
late afternoon shadows descended into
the cold and silent valley.
The season began as expected, given
the abundance of scrapes and rubs revealed
by our preseason scouting. Our
crew of about 10 hunters saw many deer
on opening morning, but either didn't
see antlers or couldn't get a decent shot.
By mid-afternoon, we were all exploring
diff erent areas, hoping to jump a
big buck from under a tree fall or spoil
pile. That's when I ran into Russell, sitting
on a log with his back to the hill.
He was quite animated and wildly
waving his hands upon my approach.
Apparently, I had pushed a whole
herd of deer off the top of the ridge. They
streamed down the hill past him, some
jumping logs, at breakneck speed. They
were so close he couldn't fi nd them in
the scope to identify any antlers.
Now, he was anxious to follow them
down into the valley to get a better look.
Given that he'd never gone there, I
provided some basic directions.
" Listen carefully, " I emphasized, " the
powerline next to our camp stretches
north and south, and all the streams run
from the powerline, through the valleys,
to the river. So, if you get lost, head upstream
and/or go east, and you will come
to the powerline. "
22
I gave him my compass, verifi ed he
had his walkie-talkie, then gave him
some fi nal advice.
" To get back to camp, keep the stream
to your right, and give yourself enough
time before dark to walk out of the
woods, " I said.
At 5:30 p.m., and with no sign of Russell,
we all sensed something was wrong.
Grabbing radios and fl ashlights, we
headed to the powerline and began calling
for him. Within minutes, we heard a
very faint, crackly response on the radio.
" I've been following the stream,
keeping it to my right, but I haven't
reached the powerline, " he said. " I think
I am lost. "
A couple of minutes went by before
the next broadcast, which was even more
faint and broken.
It seemed clear Russell was going the
wrong direction, farther into the dark forest.
" Russell,
are you heading east? " I
implored. " Look at the compass I gave
you. "
Since the stream was on his right, he
said the compass must be wrong.
I then asked if he'd crossed the stream
at any point. There was a long delay; he
wasn't sure, as he'd been following the
deer and couldn't remember.
I told him to trust the compass and
head east, going upstream. When he
asked me which way was upstream, I
knew we were in trouble.
It was then I off ered a resolution that,
to this day, I deeply regret. Sarcastically,
I told Russell to lay down in the stream
and open his mouth. If the water ran in,
he was facing upstream.
I'm still alive today, so I guess he forgave
me.
With his radio battery about exhausted,
we off ered another option. We would
Pennsylvania Game News - September 2024

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