Perhaps the only thing more exciting than opening day of deer season is the opening day of firearm season. All the hunters that did not decide to tap into their ancestry and go out into the woods with a humble bow and arrow are given a chance to take aim at a deer with arguably the latest and most advanced tool in their bag. But for me there is something else that comes with the changing of the deer season; it is the time when I head up to deer camp.
The drive through Northern Michigan is a mystical one. You can almost watch the seasons change over the period of a couple hours as you drive through the remains of the fall color and into a blanket of white. You can sense a change once you cross the mighty Mackinaw Bridge. Almost like you have entered another reality where time is non-existent and responsibilities are carried away with the wind. Arriving at the beautifully constructed wooden lodge tucked deep into the woods of the Upper Peninsula you can’t help but share an unspoken appreciation of its beauty between those that are with you.
Getting settled into the cabin takes but a matter of minutes, having little more packed than a gun and a few changes of cloths, we like to keep it simple. I once was told if you ever want to know how long a hunter will be gone to deer camp simply count the pairs of underwear they have packed with them, and then multiply that number by two. After all, I hear it is the sheer aroma of ten guys packed into a tiny two bedroom cabin that brings in the biggest bucks.
The majority of a hunter’s time is spent sitting in a deer blind waiting anxiously, watching the earth come to life in the morning and then watching as a blanket of stars cover the sky. Everyone hoping they will be in the lucky spot where they see the monster bucks tucked deep into the swamp. Now what all happens from the time that you arrive at deer camp to the time you leave remains a mystery. Perhaps it is all the beer consumed that blurs a hunters memory or maybe it is the very essence of the spirit of the woods that prevents a hunter from explaining the activities that happened up north. After all, with any good secret, what happens at deer camp stays at deer camp.
