As I walk onto our porch the warm rays of the sun beckon me to the mountains for a hike. We had just concluded four days of rain, and by stark contrast, the sun's rays are more appreciated than usual. I cook and devour my heaviest meal of the day, gather my camera gear together, and hop into my car. I stop for a few minutes to talk to one of my neighbors, who is out in his yard blowing leaves around. "Where are you going?" he asks. I still don't know. We finish our conversation and I begin driving toward the mountains. Not having been to North Fork for awhile, I lock that in as my destination, even though it is evening already, and North Fork is behind the mountains so that I won't get that warm sunlight for very long anyway. I just want to go somewhere different, I am tired of the same old places out here on the front side of the mountains. 

I park my car and begin climbing the trail which ascends up and up without the relief of any switchbacks. Here on the shady side of the mountain more rain seems to fall and it evaporates more slowly, so those growth stunted maple trees that we find here in the western states close in on both sides of me. The brush is thick here, and I usually have a difficult time scanning through it trying to detect any wildlife that might be secretly hiding behind a tree watching me. But today there is a noticeable difference, most of the leaves have fallen and I can see much more clearly than usual.

I see two flourescent orange vests coming down the trail towards me. "Hmmm, they must be black powder hunters," I think to myself as they approach me. "Have you seen anything today?" I ask. They reveal that they have only seen doe, but thought that I, as a photographer, might be interested to know that they had seen a moose and her calf. Indeed I am, but I learn that their sighting was miles from here. When I notice that they are hunting with modern rifles, they tell me that today is the season opener. Nearly fifty years ago I was hunter myself, so a bit perplexed I inquire, "I thought hunting season opened on the third Saturday of October?" They didn't seem to have an answer, and we talked about how things are always changing.

Concluding our conversation, they continue down the trail, I continue up the trail. Then comically, I realize that it is the 17th already, and even though we are just barely over half way through the month, this is in fact the third Saturday of October.

Now a beautiful hiker is approaching me, long dark hair, probably about 20 years old, wearing a striking magenta colored top. I am a little concerned that it is hunting season and I am not wearing a color that will protect me from an accidental shooting. I call out, "I see you are brave like me, up here without any flourescent orange!" We chat for a few minutes about how far up the mountain she hiked and about what wildlife she had seen. I part her with, "Well at least you're wearing magenta, not too many deer are magenta colored."

I encounter three sets of hunters and three sets of hikers. That seems like a dangerous mix, especially since none of the hikers were wearing stand out colors. The beautiful young lady was wearing magenta, but if her head was sticking up above the bushes, all a hunter would see would be her dark hair. Fortunately, I do not hear a single shot the entire evening, which seems very unusual for the first day of buck season. In addition, all of the hunters I meet seem like kind, friendly people, who were conscientious and careful. Local people, who probably grew up hunting and know the deer, the terrain, and the nuances of the area, including the presence of hikers. But all it takes for an accident is one untrained, wreckless, or over zealous hunter, or even a few beers. For the next week and a half I will be more careful about where I go and what I wear.

I hike up the trail for about 80 minutes. It's a steep trail and carrying 30 pounds of photography equipment gives me a pretty solid work out. At first there were so many trees that I wasn't getting much of that warm sunlight that I came for, now the sun has fallen completely behind the mountain. In fact, it is cold now and my hands feel the air biting at them. I reach into my backpack and pull out my gloves, sliding them on, and feeling the warmth of their texture against my skin.

I was going to hike uphill for two hours, arriving back at the car well after sunset, but knowing there are hunters about and I am not properly attired, I decide I'd rather not be out after sunset. I have had enough of a workout, and I haven't had very much luck spotting wildlife in this area for the last few months anyway. As I turn around and start my downhill trek towards the east, I watch the sunlight climbing up the mountains on the opposite side of the valley from me. Soon it will reach the top of Powder Mountain.

I drive home, with fences, farms, and homes on each side of the road. Suddenly deer dart across the road in front of me and into the field on my left. I stop the car, roll down my window, and reach for my camera. There are about six of them, and one of them has antlers. I rotate the dials on my camera, adjusting my exposure, and fire a few shots. My ISO is a bit high, and my picture is a little grainy, but that's okay, I just wanted to show my brother and tell him that it is the first day of buck season, and then laughingly proclaim, "I got my buck!"

Since then, I have decided to share with all of you as well. True, I didn't bring the deer home and put him in my freezer, but wouldn't you rather see a photo of the buck alive and still running around, rather than dead with his antlers between my knees? Some might say I had an unfair advantage because I shot him in a "safety zone", an area too close to the houses, which if I had a rifle would endanger the lives of the people who live there. But that is the beauty of it, I don't need to buy a license, I don't need to wait for a season, I don't endanger anyone, and I can shoot anything I want. Those hunters who saw the moose and calf, had they been hunting with a camera instead of a rifle, could have had a very successful day!

 For my best written story about wildlife, hunting, and deer, and maybe my best story ever  (click here)