Trails

Hunting season started August 1 and that means my husband likes to go looking for a Moose some evenings.
We live right in an area that is open for Moose hunting and open for Sheep. Don has a tag for both.
Everything is totally regulated by the Government.
As we drive away, we agree when we see a Moose we let it be, but if a sheep would happen to come of the mountain we will get it.
For Moose it is too warm and too late in the day, we both work tomorrow.
I feel ambivalent about hunting, but we do live among the animals and I feel very good about eating of the land.

Last week we found all these wood cutting trails and today we decide to walk from one of them up the mountain.
From the highway we turn left follow that road for a while and turn left again on a smaller road, then take the first road
to the right. There is a tree over the road and Don steers his truck through the willows and small poplars.
Breaking a trail, chewing up the trees with our tires, which gives of a wonderful fresh wood smell.
After the tree we come out in the open and take the first left.
The Fall colors are very apparent here, the lower poplars yellow. The Fireweed that never came to bloom ,dark red,
The rose bushes; green ,yellow, orange and red.
Only some white Northern Yarrow still blooming. And here and there some yellow Goldenrod or a mustard.

By now we are in a maze of old woodcutting trails. We follow the ones going towards the highest peak.
When we are close to a ridge we park to continue on foot. Having crossed two ridge we come upon another trail.
On the way back we follow them all the way to the truck. We could have driven on staying to the right which would
bring us from one ridge to the other , higher and higher.

At our end point, we relax and Scan the surrounding area. We did see many animal tracks and scats along the way.
Probably Moose, Elk and maybe Deer. The only animals we see though are two coyotes