The Dave N bear camp had fresh tracks today......

[Bill Zent]

Dave N,

Four days of 45 degree weather and sun every day has spring bear season looking good. You know I can't get around like I did the first time you were here and my days of backpacking bait up hill are over. Are you still strong as an Ox? (hint hint) It should not take a week to fill your tag. A few trips of bait to the barrel, a couple days to rest your legs, then one more trip to bait can with your muzzleloader and the work begins. I will take a video of the adventure. How can you beat that?

You won't have to sleep in that hollowed log again as it burnt in the big fire. I have a small tent you can use, it is great in good weather. Just bring your fart sack.

 

[Bill Zent]

Maybe packing 50# of bait is more than the young guy can handle? Or could it be he is afraid my fair weather tent won't keep him dry in a storm? Maybe he does not want to dirty his ML?
I am getting old and these free bear hunts will not go on forever. Also there is a good chance to bag a wolf.

Bill

 

[Dave N]

Sorry, my feeble mind missed your first post. CRS must have kept me from recognizing my own damn name! Well, now that I've been retired I have plenty of time to do things. 45 degrees is even warmer than here! Too bad about that log. It was tucked in by that trout stream quite nicely! I'm going to reluctantly decline the most generous offer of carting off your food scraps for you. Even though the bear I got last time was a tasty one and looks good on the wall I just can't leave mama alone. No, not for that! I have turned from a dozer repairman into a home nurse. Plus, I wouldn't want to risk being involved in killing a wolf and having someone say it was their dog! Unless it attacked me first, of course. Thanks for thinking about me. I'll just keep my muzzle loader in the case and wait for deer season to come back. Hell, I just dismembered. I used Haley's gun last time! I didn't even have mine until I went back to chase the elk around!

 

[Bill Zent]

I was hoping you could get away for a well deserved break from nursing duties but I understand they come first. You are a good man! Hopefully it can happen again in the future.

It looks like another year with no pictures of unsuspecting bear and other game due to no bait packer. Ole Gobble Gut, Big Brownie, and Shaggy will be pissed again when they make the trek to the bait site and there is no grub.

Take care ole buddy,
Bill

 

[Dave N]

Yeah, it's pretty hard to do much anymore. Even if I left her meds in reach I still need to turn her for the wound care, refill drinks, make food, diaper duty, etc. I was able to get mornings away for deer hunting but had to get back home to do what needed to get done. We stretched it a little because I had to get some good deer meat for the freezer! To leave for a couple weeks is a no go. Can't even take off to see a concert with Haley. Oh well, it saves me some money!

Maybe you can find a strapping young lad in your neck of the woods to help feed the bears. You could always go sit up on the mountain with a camera and take pictures of all of the color phase bears roaming around. Might take you a while to find a black one! Wish I could get some mountain time in but I'm going to be stuck here in the flatlands from now on. No bears for me!

 

[Bill Zent]

Dave,
Geez, what could possibly happen when a local yokel knows where you have baited for decades? Duh.
I don't need someone to pack bait for me, it is a hunter packing bait for their benefit of taking a bear. Like when you came, someone who had not had the experience of bear hunting/watching animals from a treestand over bait 27 yards away. Also for those who could not afford a minimum $1500 hunt, have lockjaw when asked where they hunted, with who etc. I am open to those with your ethics and morals who do not live in Idaho.

The cost to enjoy this is absolutely nothing! Need a reference? I think you will know who to ask.

For others,
I guided in the past but am NOT a current licensed guide or outfitter. I try to pass on an outdoor adventure/hunt/ make a friend as my dad and grandad did going back almost 100 years. Only one bear hunter per year unless it is a young couple/family wanting a vacation of camping/hunting/fishing/adventure in Idaho.

ps........NO trigger happy hunters as the pet sows we see every year are observed only! We try very hard to pick out adult boars for harvest so you can have a special coffee stirring bone.

 

[Dave N]

I was just trying to remember what year it was when I went out that first time. It's been a while! Your ex was still there if that helps. I can't find the card with my bear's age on it to see a date.

Wish I could come for a visit and maybe a bear. I think we would probably spend more time hanging out catching up! For anyone interested or skeptic, he invited me out years ago to try and get my first bear. Nothing but friendship asked in return. He showed me the sights, showed me a couple bait sites he had established, provided a campsite in the mountains where I could stay, and we swapped lots of stories during the down time. I carried all of my bait, lots of which I brought out with me combined with some he had collected for me, and after the first showing he never went to the bait sites again. I managed to find the way all by myself! We were buddies just about from the first handshake. Every return visit I would try to help him out with some things to lend a hand around the ranch. Just the way I was brought up, and I also didn't expect a "free ride" for his helping me with my trip. I did some work and before I could do much more it was time to "take a ride" somewhere up in the hills. Happened more than once!

I ended up shooting the 2nd bear I saw. Too excited and nervous to stop and think about size besides it was way bigger than the little cub that stopped in at first. He wasn't lying about all of the color phase bears out there! I was a happy camper for sure. Anyone else who would pass muster to be invited would have a great time. I can't count the number of folks he told me about that he had helped only to have them show up the next year dragging along other people. Wouldn't make me happy either. I grew up learning to respect other people and their privacy and that seems to be lacking in most people any more.

Here's my first (and only) bear.

 

[Bill Zent]

If I remember right I shattered my left shoulder blade a couple weeks prior to your first trip here and that is why you had to pack all the bait. It must have been in the spring of 2008.
I won't start gathering all that good stuff behind the Scarf n' Barf Smorgie unless someone wants to have a real outdoor experience.

Bill

 

[Dave N]

Scarf n' Barf! The Chinese joint? Yep, your arm was slinged up. Made me feel bad about our Dukes of Hazzard run with the trucks up to bear camp. You had to shift!

Guess this shows you how bad I am with contacting people. Posting on a forum when I could just make a phone call!

 

[Muskeez]

Howdy Folks! I haven't been around HT as much as I used to be in the old days, but Bill and I have been chatting on personal email for several years. Our friendship would have never developed if it weren't for HuntTalk. I can say this of several other friends that I have gained over the years as well. I cherish their friendships dearly! Bill has extended this invite to me to come to Idaho for a bear hunt. I have only hunted bears personally for a week in WY. However, my daughter was able to shoot her first bear a few years ago thanks to another kind HT soul that has become much like a brother to me and an uncle to my girls. So, I am taking Bill up on this offer, to not only take a crack at getting my first bear but also to meet a HT friend in person. We will do this in the spring of 2024, as I have two daughters getting married this spring and summer. Thanks again to Randy and HT for the opportunity to meet good people and to learn from each other. I will surely report back after next year's hunt. Until then, Peace be with you all !
-Clayton

 

[Bill Zent]

In the past ten years Clayton is the first HT'r that responded to my posts of a free bear hunt/adventure in Idaho. Dave N did too, but that was prior to us being on HT. I expect Clayton hunting spring bear in 2024 will be more great times in the "sticks".
I won't be hunting, it is my guests hunt. I will have a 35 Rem auto in case the wrong kind of bear (Griz) shows up and gives us trouble.

 

[Dave N]

In the past ten years Clayton is the first HT'r that responded to my posts of a free bear hunt/adventure in Idaho. Dave N did too, but that was prior to us being on HT. I expect Clayton hunting spring bear in 2024 will be more great times in the "sticks".
I won't be hunting, it is my guests hunt.

Now you just need to keep from getting banged up before then!