GOING BACK HOME

Just less than a week ago, my family and I returned from a trip to my childhood home in northern Minnesota. We saw family and friends that we
hadn’t seen in two years, visited places that I hadn’t been to in a very long time, and did a few things that I truly missed doing. The eight days we were there went by very quickly.
But as we visited, traveled, and participated, I slowly began to notice something. Even though the people, places, and things were familiar, I realized that things had changed.
The people were basically the same but everyone had aged a little bit and there were new issues in their lives that hadn’t existed the last time I
was home. The landscape of the area hadn’t changed but there were new buildings where none had existed before and a few old haunts of mine were
leveled or replaced with a whole new enterprise. Some of the things we did were about what they used to be but I found myself enjoying adventures that were more laid back…I have a feeling that my age has something to do with
that.
After getting back home and returning to my regular routine, I found myself
thinking back on that trip and the sense of peace I had while I was there. I truly enjoyed being back to a place I called home.
We all have hunting places that we call home too. All of us have that special spot that holds some memory or experience that gives us a sense of peace whenever we think about it. We may have found other stand locations
that hold greater promise than our “home” spot or we’ve developed other stand locations to give our favorite place a rest, but every once in a while we find ourselves thinking about going back home again.
Our family had been planning our return trip to Minnesota for almost a year. We planned on how many miles we would drive each day and make the
appropriate lodging accommodations. We estimated mileage and planned on the
gasoline budget, we bought food and provisions in advance of our trip for our traveling comfort, and we even allowed for things for the kids to keep busy while we spent all those long hours in the van.
But even though we had plenty of time to plan for this big trip, things were different once we arrived, like I said. The trip was a success and we
all had a wonderful time but just a little bit more planning on our part would have made it that much better.
The same kind of planning should go in to your hunt when you are going back to territory that is very familiar but you haven’t been to in a while. You can have your bow all sighted in, have your climbing stand in excellent working order, taken the appropriate days off from work well in advance, and checked all the weather and wind reports. But if you don’t physically check out the area even with a cursory look before you plan to hunt it, you might be in for an unpleasant surprise.
Remember, things continually change. Big changes you might encounter are new buildings or roads where none existed before, the farmer who gave you permission to hunt his property before may not be in the mood to do so now or he may even have sold it, or the neighboring farmer has leveled a stand of trees to extend his fields…and it was right where the deer liked to travel, or a family of beavers may have moved in and now you have to
contend with flooded areas.
And there are subtle changes that may have taken place too. A crop field may have been rotated and now the deer are using different entry and exit
routes, the acorn conditions may be poor and the deer just aren’t using the oak ridges like they used to, or bedding areas have changed.
There are a whole host of things that could possibly have changed since your last visit.
What I’m trying to say is this…when you are getting ready to go back to that old familiar stand again, don’t plan on just the trip there and the trip back. Take the time to get information about any changes that have
occurred in your hunting area since your last visit. Call the landowner and
pick his brain or contact the local wildlife agency to check on deer feeding patterns or changes in the area you plan on hunting. The very best
way to get the info you need is to physically check out the area BEFORE you plan to hunt it.
Your trip back to that old familiar stand location may be a success but with just a little bit more planning on your part, you can ensure that your favorite stand location will remain a place you’ll want to go back to again and again.