I heard two birds down in a hollow and knew that I wanted to try and roost these birds on Saturday. I get up to leave, and look down and see a white "rib bone" so I thought, laying in the grass. I wanted to see if it was actually a carcasss or not and walked over to it.
It ended up being a spike antler about 6" long or so. I was very pumped as I have never found a shed by myself before. Lilly has found quite a few skulls and dead heads but never got a chance to find a true shed.
I walked back to the car, and planned on coming back to the woods on Saturday evening.
Well Saturday evening comes around, and after a day of Easter Egg hunts, clothes shopping, and other things I told Momma I needed to go try and roost some turkey. I got up to the field around 6:30-7 and walked down into where I figured the turkey would be. I didn't hear anything and really wanted to check on the first bird I had located this spring. I walked down through the woods about a quarter mile or so, and decided I would just sit and listen until it gets dark.
All the way to this spot, I kept thinking, MAN these leaves are really dry, even more dry than November.
So I sit down about 200 yards from where the "target" gobbler is, and knew that I had heard another bird in the general area I was sitting. I plopped my but down and just enjoyed watching the colors start to emerge from the sunset.
I noticed that a plane had kept circling me a bit, and really got annoyed as it was pretty low, and was just killing my ability to hear anything from a distance.
I then hear the fire whistle start going off. Nothing unusual. Then a fire whistle goes off from a near by town. "HHHmmm" must be a bad wreck.
I started hearing some yotes on the opposite hill side starting to carry on at these wild sounds. I also began to hear some pretty large diesel engines on a tram road about 100 yards away with a lot of quads. Not really uncommon in the sticks to have people partying in the woods. So I chalk my scouting trip as a loss and start walking down towards a trail that would take me back to my car.
As I am walking down the hill I start to notice that these trucks that are going up into the woods are actually fire trucks, With lights on and everything. HOLY CRAP I need to get moving here. I felt the wind at my back so I was hoping that if it was a forest fire, it would keep going the opposite way from me. I beat feet to run down to the area of the field with greenery, as I assumed it would offer a bit of protection.
I could see some quads coming up the path and asked if they knew what happened.
"Brush fire on top of the hill bud."
"Can I help with anything?"
"Not really, we need to get up there though."
I decided that I would walk the trail out and take the long way back to my car. I was walking up the hill and snapped a photo of the fire truck up in the mountain.
In this picture you can see the red lights of the brush truck. I was only about 150 yards or so from it, right about where the y of the tree on the right of the lights is. Spooky for sure.
On my way back to the car another brush truck was coming down the trail I had just walked up. I was hoping he wasn't going to attempt the trail, as it is quite rocky and steep, and the huge tank on the back was not going to be easy to handle going down the hill.
I get to my car with a sigh of relief as I know just how close I came to a real dangerous situation. I take off my camo light weight jacket, get out a water bottle and relax for a few seconds. I see the fire truck coming back up the hill.
"Buddy, do you have any idea where you are at?"
"Yes, do you?"
"No, I am lost up here."
"I can get you where you need to go"
He then radios in to the command center, and says "I am here with a....(turkey scouter, I interrupt ) turkey scouter, who knows the area, where do you need me.
The dispatcher tells him where the meeting place is. "Ok bud how do I get there"
"Ill just jump in an show you."
So I jump in the truck and take him down the coal mine strip roads, out to the hard top. I take him up to the stand by location.
Man what a scouting trip this turned out to be.
Easter morning comes, and we had a nice easter egg hunt, and Lilly and Corbin had fun finding their baskets. I wanted to go up and see how much area got burned and how close I actually was to the fire.
Here are a few photos of the fire zone:
I found this one still going. It was a standing dead tree, with a stump under it still on fire.
I cleared out all of the leaves and such around it, and separated the woods. I dumped what was left of my water bottle on it , and packed the wet dirt into all of the smoldering areas. I left once the smoke had stopped.
This was a crazy event as I was only 150-200 yards away from this fire and didn't really know. The wind was at my back, so I could not smell the smoke. I shudder to think of how dangerous this position could have been, had the wind been going the other way. I am glad I got to help that lost fire truck get to the fire, and even more glad they got it pretty much under control.
The only bad thing is that there was a gobbler roosting right in that area. I imagine he will be back and the turkey will be hammering this area once the new growth starts happening. No word on how the fire started but please remember, anything can happen out there in the woods. You must keep your wits about you. And be safe with tossing your cigarettes and such as with these super dry conditions it wont take much to start a fire.
Thanks for reading. I will be out tomorrow for PA's Youth turkey hunting day, then it is on like donkey kong starting next Saturday.
you have some crazy things happen to you up in those hills! glad you weren't on the business end of that fire!
