A few weeks ago, Troy and I were scouting the forests south of Edson for a new hunting spot. We looked at the iHunter app and saw some promising features on the land: a lake, accessible roads, cut lines, and plenty of green crown land. We decided to get up early in the morning and go for a hike in the area to see what it looked like on the ground. We purchased our game bird licenses, in case we spotted some grouse while hiking. We loaded the car with supplies and hit the road early Sunday morning.
It had rained the night before and the day promised to be chilly. We drove the car thinking we could save some gas money, and if the car couldn't get in the area than there would be no way to bring the camper in anyway. It was a wonderfully quiet drive. Shortly after turning south we drove over a lovely river. Everything looked promising.
The gravel road had turned into wet mud from the night before. Before we knew it, the roads were so slick with mud that if we stopped the car, it might not be able to get moving again. We tried to find a decently dry patch to pull over, but before we knew it we were at the bottom of a muddy, slick hill. Finally, we found a gravel patch to pull over and parked the car. We had to make some decisions. Neither one of us had reception at the moment. We could spend the day hiking and hope the weather would dry up the roads or we could start walking back to the main road and try to make a phone call. Worse case scenario, we would have to stay the night. We had packed enough food and water to spend the night and we could stay warm and dry in the car. We even joked about practicing some survival skills like building a lean-to shelter. We decided that we would go for a hike and scout out the area.
We trudged through the mud looking for grouse and tracks. At first, we were a little on edge and twitched at anything that moved. Alex even found few ghost grouse. But, it didn't take long to settle into the environment and calm the nerves. The closest we got to grouse were droppings on a perch. We even experimented with throwing some rocks into the tree line to see if we could startle the grouse out of hiding. It didn't work. After several miles, Alex's heels started to ache. She wore the wrong socks and large blisters were forming on her heels. We decided to take a break.
We pulled the first aid kit out of the backpack and Alex put some band aids on her heels. We had already walked many kilometres and planned to walk more. This incident highlights three really important things. First, anytime you go out into nature it is important to be prepared. Even the little things like band aids can offer comfort and help you continue to enjoy the outdoors. It is better to take care of the little pains or discomforts so that you have the energy and focus to keep the adventure going. Being prepared is the difference between a crisis situation and an unplanned adventure. The second is attitude and the ability to embrace those misadventures. Going out into nature is a mutual experience. We act on the environment and it acts upon us too. A willingness to go with whatever happens adds to your resilience outdoors. The third important thing is having a companion who respects your limits and knows their own. Pride has to be left behind when going into the wilderness, because knowing how much you can handle is vital to surviving and enjoying the outdoors.
Although we didn't get any grouse this trip we still had an enjoyable hike. There was plenty to see. Troy spotted some wild blueberries when we were resting. More often, Alex is the one stopping and pointing out local flora, while Troy's eyes are fixed on the ground looking for fauna tracks. So, Troy's identification was a delightful surprise for both of us. At the time, Alex was sitting on a convenient rock to rest her mud logged legs, so she hurried over to take a look. Alex popped a delicious blueberry into her mouth. Troy's teased her that she was eating the bear's food. Another of Troy's great finds was the fresh black bear tracks. That made us tense up a bit at first, but overall we knew we were sharing the space with them, and we were prepared with bear spray. Besides, even the bear was sliding around in the mud.
We walked almost 11 kilometres to look for a camping site and try to spot a place where we could set up a blind. Unfortunately, what looked like access roads on the iHunter app turned out to be a cut line and there was no way we could get a camper through there. We tried to spot some alternative sites, but came up empty handed. The area looked promising for moose and elk, but didn't have the accessibility we wanted for our equipment. Armed with that knowledge, we didn't leave there empty handed. After all the misadventures of the day, the mud did dry up enough to drive out of there. In the end, we had a very enjoyable day outdoors. We may not be hunting deer in this area come November, but we tested our resilience and passed with flying colours.
If you like our stories of hunting and foraging in Alberta's backyards, like and share our blog on facebook! If you like our story, others might enjoy it too! Until next time:
Stay Wild!