After wrapping up Cole’s hunt at the end of November it was time to go home for the first time of any amount for more than 40 days. I loaded my truck back up with enough gear to make Jed Clampett jealous and headed west.
It was kind of weird. I was doubtful whether the cats and horses would even know me, much less want anything to do with me. My family has already accepted me back, but I can tell from their independent spirit they’re not a needy bunch. They learned long ago that dad wasn’t always around to help so they’d better roll up their sleeves if they needed something done.
They real issue with returning home is getting back into the swing of normal family life. For more than 100 days I’ve been hunting, photographing and working in the field. Many days I’d sleep in a different bed every night.
Some of those beds were just sleeping bags on the ground or even in my truck. Now I have to readjust and move back into family life away from my bachelor existence. I also have to try and get my body back into the schedule of a family routine, not a hunting routine. For instance, I generally get up at 4 a.m. throughout hunting season, but that little quirk is nothing more than a disturbance to my family. The cats don’t mind since they get their milk a little earlier. I also have to try and sit behind a computer on a daily basis, not hang new treestands or cape deer.
Sure there's room for Granny. She can sit right on top of the ATV!
As I unpacked my Clampett-style truck from a long fall I felt both a sigh of relief and some sadness in the end of a long hunting season. I still have one deer hunt in early January to look forward to, but the nonstop run of the rut is over. Yes, coming home after a long fall is difficult and weird at times, but I look forward to sleeping in my own bed, putting up Christmas decorations and just staring out at the mountains dreaming of next season.
Mark Kayser
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