Lucky to spend the weekend in Hells Canyon, and lucky to be able to hike in great weather in that awe-inspiring place. We didn’t find as many birds as I thought we might, but we found some. The lack of moisture has so parched the earth and all its vegetable accoutrements that it feels like walking on talcum powder. Springs, the ones I went to anyway, didn’t yield any good numbers (or any at all) of birds. They’re out there somewhere. We just didn’t find many, except very high, and scattered in ones and twos in rockpiles. It was, actually, good chukar hunting. The tarnish on all this, which gets worse each passing year, is the uncontrolled, rapid spread of medusahead rye. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s completely taken over every surface in Hells Canyon within the next ten years. At that point, it will be truly unhuntable. So get out there and enjoy it while you can. We are.
The light patches of grass in the background are medusahead, which wasn’t in this area just last year.All medusahead, crowding out even the cheatgrassLight-colored medusahead patches on the Oregon side are spreading, too.Peat retrieves one unlucky chukarI’m down there somewhereJust add water, then we’ll have something.
It’s a small world, after all. Leslie and I spent last weekend downstream in Hell’s Canyon. I was excited by the idea there would be loads of chukar there since it’s similar terrain and elevation to the Main Salmon, where we did find loads of birds. Alas, we did not find loads of chukar there, but not for lack of trying. Still, we’re not in this for the bagged bird count, so it was a wonderful experience.
Steep canyon
One of the things that made the trip wonderful was the random encounter with two readers of this blog – a first for me. The first arrived with his camper and jet boat on our second night there, and his friend came later; I met him the next morning as he sported a blaze Chukar Culture hat! Even stranger, one of them had worked with my brother (also a fish biologist in a different state) for years. I weaseled my way into my first jet boat ride ever; I loved it, but Peat puked immediately and was glad when we landed and started hiking.
They hunted on the Oregon side, but dropped me in Idaho and picked me up after I humped it up the slope, vainly searching for birds on the steep, cactus-infested terrain. I finally encountered my first chukar, Peat-pointed, near the bottom of a brushy creek bed, and managed only my second triple ever. Hard-earned birds. I was really touched by the generosity of these two guys in altering their plans to let me come along.
Cactus cactus everywhere
One of the negatives about this terrain was the cactus. It was everywhere, and often mostly covered by cheat grass, which made it hard to avoid. Angus and Peat seemed to have figured out how to dodge most of it, but each still has many tiny spines all over their legs. It makes me wonder how Arizona quail hunters deal with this; you can boot your dog, but spines still stick in their legs. Another negative was the rattlesnakes. We only saw two, but one’s more than enough, especially when it’s in the middle of a huge grassy flat your dogs are bounding through. Peat stopped and looked very birdy, and then suddenly recoiled (better than attacking it). I had to walk right up to the snake even to identify it, that’s how camouflaged it was. I would’ve taken its picture, but the thing freaked me out. I don’t like snakes, and feel grateful neither dog got struck.
Public Land Owner
So far it’s been an excellent bird season, thanks in part to the proliferation of grouse and the proximity of chukar to grouse habitat. I don’t recall ever seeing as many dusky or blue grouse as I’ve seen this year. Mostly, though, this season has begun with lots of new things that have changed things up for me and my appreciation of chukar hunting: my wife hunting for the first time; shooting a lot more at clays and figuring out how to mount the gun properly (it really does make a difference!); trying new spots farther afield than we’re used to. I showed the video below to some students today, and one of them who’s hunted with me and watched lots of our videos asked, “Are you taking more video yourself these days?” In thinking about his question, I realized that having Leslie hunt with me has made me relax a little more about pressing for birds. When she carried only a camera, chukar hunting was mainly about getting birds on point, hustling to pointing dogs, getting in position, damn the torpedoes! Now I want her to experience success and get her first chukar, so when the dogs go on point I pull out my iPhone and take video of her getting into position. That excites me now as much as doing it myself. I like the result. I like more calmly enjoying my favorite activity (plus, if I get into position myself and don’t hit any birds I’m likely to get angry, which makes the experience much less enjoyable for my wife and dogs).
So I guess what I’m really enjoying about this season, compared to past ones which have featured higher bird counts, is learning new ways to appreciate chukar hunting. A friend who doesn’t hunt, and doesn’t really approve of it, asked me recently when I’ll have had enough of the killing and begin carrying only a camera. It’s not a question I haven’t asked myself many times before, but the answer always eluded me. I don’t feel I’m making a transition from gun to camera just yet but wouldn’t rule it out, although it’s hard to imagine doing the physical work required by chukar hunting “just” to take photos of dogs pointing birds. But I am spending more time capturing images than I have in the past, thanks to Leslie joining the armed practitioners. So here’s a record of the first month of the season, for what it’s worth. Enjoy!
Last Saturday’s hunt brought clarity to me on the real reason why I enjoy chukar hunting. I was a bit under the weather but didn’t want to miss a chance to go down into Hell’s Canyon with Bob and our visiting friend Greg and his dog Ava. We picked up “the kid” and his older brother along the way. It was the older brother’s first time chukar hunting. We also met our other friend Sam and his dog Hannah down at the bottom of the canyon at the designated meeting place. We set out walking slowly together on a gradual uphill road for about a mile before splitting up into three groups heading into different directions. It’s big country down there in the canyon; you can hunt for hours before running into your hunting partner or partners.
Our group of four and Angus headed uphill. We went up and down, the kid and his older brother following Bob closely. Angus, nose to the ground, was having a hard time pin-pointing the bird scent in the changing winds at the top. Angus did manage to point a couple of coveys, but the shooters missed after busting them. You never know where they’ll come up. “Pointing” is a relative term.
We chased Angus around, back and forth, and then back again like he was leading a parade. Tired at the top, we found a couple of nice spots blocked from the wind to take a break.
This is where the clarity part comes in. Admiring the view from the top, spending time with super nice people, recounting all our own hunting experiences afterwards, and sharing some good laughs watching Sam feed the dogs vienna sausage with a spoon to thank them for a good hunt. That’s what it’s all about.
