Pennsylvania Game News - December 2024 - 27

we began pushing some of the ridges and
fl ats to move deer. We effi ciently covered
most of the huntable areas by day's end,
all the while moving plenty of deer past
the posters. But none of that brought out
the high-racked buck.
That night, as most in our group
packed up to go home, unable to return to
camp until the weekend, we debated the
best condiments for burgers - ketchup or
mustard - and obsessed more over the
giant buck, presumably still roaming
free. Someone compared him to Walter,
the legendary 10-pound rainbow trout
- known to all but never caught - that
served as Henry Fonda's nemesis in the
movie " On Golden Pond. "
By 8 p.m. only dad and I were left in
camp. We were staying one more day.
The weather was predicted to change
abruptly, and we hoped our luck would,
too.
Wednesday brought sunny skies,
but brutal cold. The temperature never
reached 20 degrees. We stayed under
the covers an extra hour before heading
out, fi nally reaching our stands around 9
a.m. With only two of us, we alternately
walked and posted in some smaller
woodlots and on ridges bordered by
logging roads and streams.
My fi rst walk to my dad produced
no deer. For the next drive, on the
side of the hill near where Chuck had
missed the high-racked buck, I posted
atop a spoil pile in the valley bottom
where I could see a long way.
I saw the unforgettable antlers before
I saw the deer. He was angling down
the steep grade, frequently stopping to
look behind him. It was our legendary
buck, and he was much bigger than I
had imagined. Concerned solely with
my dad, who was unknowingly pushing
him, he never realized I was there.
DECEMBER 2024
27
When the buck reached the bottom
of the hill, about 50 yards below me, he
turned and began walking in the opposite
direction to double back on Dad.
Smiling, I raised my gun and laid
the scope's crosshairs on the big buck,
which fell at my shot.
over the radio.
" Yes,
" Well, did you get him? " Dad asked
I
got Walter! "
I
answered
excitedly.
We tagged the buck, dressed him out
We tagged the buck, dressed him out
and got lots of pictures, then dragged him
to the nearest ATV. As we lifted him onto
the front rack, the antlers swung around
and smacked the back of dad's frozen
hand, with the impact breaking the skin.
The buck drew last blood.
He was, and still is, the largest buck
taken from our camp in more than 50
years. Dad encouraged me that day to get
him mounted and I did, already knowing
the perfect spot to display him. He
hangs in our family room, high toward
the vaulted ceiling, creating a striking
shadow courtesy of the nearby spotlight.
He's the centerpiece of the room.
And these days, when my grandchildren
ask about the day Walter fell,
I'm as proud and excited as ever to share
the story.
Mark W. Routch and the impressive 12-point
he harvested in Clearfi eld County in 1999.
Pennsylvania Game News - December 2024

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