My Top 3 Reasons I Look Forward To Hunting Season!

Many of you are like me as in that we are counting down the days (maybe even the hours/minutes) until hunting season begins.  Those who don't hunt they think we are just a bunch of crazy fools who have nothing better to do with our lives.  There are a lot of different reasons why we each enjoy hunting season so much and look forward to it every year just like a little kid looks forward to Christmas day.  While thinking about all of the different reasons why I look forward to hunting season I narrowed it down to my top three reasons and decided to share them with you.

The Adventure/Challenge - I love the outdoors and absolutely love the sense of adventure that comes with hunting season.  Even after hunting an area for 10 years straight I still experience different situations all season long.  Each season I have to remind myself that the animals I am hunting are always adapting so I in return need to adapt and advance my hunting strategies every year to keep ensure being successful.  This to me is a new adventure every time I hit my hunting area.  Using trail cameras and other scouting methods to keep up on the game is always an adventure to me.

I also enjoy the adventure of finding new places to hunt.  Whether it is because an old area isn't producing the animals you would like, or if it is because you just want to change things up, finding a new hunting area is always an adventure and challenge.  Going through the challenge of learning a new hunting area, where the animals travel, bed, feed, or flee to when they are spooked is one of my favorite yet frustrating parts of hunting to me at times. There are many times you put in a lot of work to find a new spot just to find out that the area is a dud.... but that one time you find an area that has exactly what you are looking for is worth all of those other failed scouting trips.

The Outdoors - This is similar to my point above but I think of it differently.  Words cannot describe how amazing it is to be sitting in a tree stand for hours until you watch a wild animal slowly make its way into the perfect spot allowing you to make the shot.  Even if you never see the "shooter" or the animal you are after, spending that time in the outdoors surrounded by nature is truly indescribable.  There are areas I have been that make you feel like you may be the first person to ever step foot in that area because of how majestic it is.  Times like that remind me that hunting is more than just filling a tag or bagging a trophy.  Simply enjoying the area you are blessed to be in is by far one of the greatest privilages we share as hunters! It doesn't matter where you hunt, every area has something unique to offer.  You may not have the Grand Teton's in view or maybe not some monumental landmark of some kind but as outdoors men and women you can find the beauty each area is hiding for those who seek for it.

The last reason I look forward to hunting season so much is because of who I spend it with! Family and Friends -  For me my hunting season is primarily with family but occasionally I get out with a friend or two and go on a hunt.  It doesn't matter if you have one hunting buddy or fifty, all of us who have someone to hunt with recognizes the joy that comes from sharing the hunting experience with someone else.  There have been times that I have gone hunting by myself and seen some pretty amazing animals and/or areas but trying to put those experiences into words so that someone else can understand what you've seen is extremely hard to do effectively.

Another plus that comes with hunting around friends and family is simply the joy of humor! Last year I briefly went out hunting with my brother and dad while we showed a friend how we hunted together as a family.  That friend filmed our hunt and put us on a video he called Elk Tour along with 3 other groups of hunters.  What I enjoyed the most about watching the video after it was finished was that no matter what group of hunters you were watching, you heard just as many laughs (if not more) than you heard elk bugling! Everyone's humor is not the same which important to remember while you're hunting and having a good time.  It is important that you not get caught up in trying to be someone you're not.  When you are being yourself and having a good time, naturally those around you will also enjoy the hunt.

 Here is the trailer for Elk Tour

As I mentioned earlier, there are times that I hunt alone and I enjoy those hunts as well.  There is nothing against hunting by yourself nor is it any less of an adventure/experience.  These are my three top reasons of why I look forward to hunting season so much.  If you have any other reasons please share them in a comment below!

Disclaimer:

As with all posts on Idaho Pursuit, the following  is my honest opinion.  I am simply writing to share my experiences and my posts are my own words and thoughts.  My posts are not meant to offend or insult any person of any nature nor are my posts designed to make any formal statement of any kind.  If there is anything on my blog you dislike or disagree with you are free to express your opinion by emailing me at kjones2626@gmail.com.  

Palisades Lake

Me sporting the Teton Sports Summit 1500 at Lower Palisades Lake

I know I've said it before, but I will say it again, I consider myself a lucky man.  My wife and I just celebrated our five year anniversary and every year we have done something outdoors for our anniversary.  I don't know many wives who genuinely want to go camping, fishing, and/or hiking for their anniversary but mine does so I consider myself to be pretty lucky.

My wife and I decided we would go over to Palisades Reservoir  and go camping, fishing, and hiking for three days.  We have been over in that area quite a few times but we have never spent enough time to really explore the area and enjoy what it has to offer.  We had heard that there were two beautiful lakes up above Palisades Creek which had native Cutthroat Trout in them.  We decided that on our first day of our three day get away, we would drive to Palisade's, set up camp, relax and do a little fishing in the reservoir.  To make a long story short, nothing went our way that day and we were both wondering how things could possibly get worse. We ended up having problems with our camper, problems with my jeep, a brand new anchor we purchased hours earlier got stuck in the bottom of the reservoir so we lost it, and about twenty other things all decided to go wrong.  So by the end of day one we were so frustrated and annoyed we called it a night and decided we would wake up when we felt like it and just play it by ear for the rest of our trip.

Gear oil from my Jeep :(

The next day we slept in, ate breakfast, and then decided we would still go on our hike to the Palisades Lakes we had heard about.  We didn't start our hike until 12:30 p.m. so we really didn't have any set plan of how far we would go or anything.

My wife and I on the Trail

The Trail

The first thing I liked about the hike was the fact that the trail was right next to Palisades Creek.  There were multiple places where a person could stop and fish in the creek for a bit or even just put their feet in the water to cool down.  With us starting our hike as late as we did, the creek provided a nice cool breeze, which kept us moving up the trail.  Also, another major plus about this trail being right next to the creek was that I would guess about 75% of the time, the trail was covered with shade which also made it nice for our late start.  The area was beautiful and full of a variety of views including mountain sides, valleys, cliffs, and the beautiful stream running down the bottom of the canyon.  Many people see mountain goats and other wild life on this hike including bear and cougar. The only wild life my wife and I saw was a mule deer doe, which was just walking on the mountain side.

Ribz Front Pack

Teton Sports Summit 1500

Due to our late start we decided we would head up to the lower lake and then make the call if we were going to continue to the upper lake or if we would just spend the rest of the time fishing.  Before I go on, I have to give a shout out to Teton Sports for my awesome Summit 1500 backpack which I have used almost every weekend since I've gotten it.  I also used my Ribz Front Pack to pack some of my fishing gear my wife and I would need on our hike.  I love these two items and wouldn't go on a hike/fishing trip without either of them! Be sure to click the links and read my reviews on these two items!

Now back to our hike... The hike was honestly a fairly easy hike. It never had any crazy incline or scary switch back that I would consider difficult.  The only switch back to the lower lake was quick and simple.  We even passed a group of older ladies on the hike who were around 65 years old. There were all smiles and enjoying their adventure.  When I say that this hike was easy in my eyes, remember that I am used to hiking in the back country chasing elk and deer.  The last thing I want someone to do is to read this and go on the hike expecting it to be a walk in the park.  There were some areas with loose rocks which could be a little dangerous.  The trail does side hill along some pretty steep mountains which puts you on some fairly dangerous drop offs.  These areas were ones that I felt gave the trail its variety and kept us entertained on our hike. I liked how the trail was never the same scenery for too long; it kept us entertained the entire time on the hike. 

Camp site at Lower Palisades Lake

Lower Palisades Lake

When we got to the lower lake, the trail lead us right into a small camp site which had a few backpackers camped out in it.  The camp site was nice and clean and very peaceful.  I would totally come back and camp there some time now that I've seen what it is like.  The lake was amazing! The water was crystal clear blue and surrounded by beautiful scenery.  My wife and I hiked around the back side of the lake, threw out our fishing poles, and sat down to rest.  Because we slept in and had a late breakfast we had planned to eat a late lunch when we got to the lake.  I had packed a few Mountain house meals but soon realized that I forgot to pack something to light my backpacking stove to boil the water on...  So we just chilled out for a while at the lake and ate some of our light snacks we brought with us.  We took a short break and talked about whether we should head up to the upper lake or not.  The upper lake was only just over two miles more of a hike but we decided with the time that we would just fish on the way back to our vehicle and cook ourselves some dinner at camp. 

Releasing a beautiful Cutthroat Trout

My wife with her first catch

Small Cutthroat

On the way back down the trail we stopped in multiple places and fished.  We were catching fish, or at least getting bites, pretty much every cast.  I was using a Mepps spinner and my wife was just tossing a worm in and letting it float through the deep sloughs.  The fish we caught loved to fight for the size they were which made it fun.  The bigger fish were colored up real nice and made our trip worth it.  On our way down, we took lots of pictures of the small water falls and other scenery provided by the creek.  We heard that the upper lake had some good water falls to see around it. I would assume that by looking at the smaller ones around the lower lake, that the upper water falls were worth seeing.

Another Cutthroat Tout

Native Cutthroat Trout

With all of the fishing we were doing, we took a lot longer walking out than we did walking into the lake.  We both decided that next time we would wake up a little earlier and be sure to bring everything we needed on our hike so that we could make it up to the upper lake and see what it has to offer.  We are planning on backpacking to the upper lake and camping there either later this summer or it will be one of our first trips next spring.  I've already recommended the hike to a few friends who are always wanting to get outdoors and see what Idaho has to offer, and I would encourage anyone who may be up in this area to do the same!  This hike was definitely a nice relaxing hike with plenty of rewarding adventures on the way.

Small water fall on the way down the trail

National Elk Refuge

Great View of the Grand Tetons

Today was a fun day to get out and enjoy the area we live in. About a year a go my wife and I went over to Jackson Hole Wyoming and went on a sleigh ride through the National Elk Refuge. At that time my wife was pregnant with our daughter. Today we both had work off and decided why not go over and see the elk before they drop their antlers.
















We took the 1 1/2 hour drive over the Jackson pass and showed up at the visitors center. We snapped a few pics of my daughter in her Button Buck hat enjoying the displays.

Elk sparing on the refuge

Later we went out on a horse drawn sleigh ride in 29 degree weather and checked out the elk! Our tour guide took us to the bulls because that is what everyone wanted to see even though the larger group of elk were in another section of the refuge. We were able to see some nice bulls, including one that would have scored around 360-370. Even though it was quite chilly, we enjoyed the sleigh ride an had a blast.

My daughter catching some Zz's

 As you can tell by this pic, my daughter was exhausted after the sleigh ride!


Jackson Hole has had this elk refuge for over 100 years and is a winter home to over 7,000 elk and around 900 bison. The refuge is over 25,000 acres of devoted elk habitat specifically protected and managed to allow elk a safe environment for the winter. To learn more about the National Elk Refuge be sure to visit their website at http://www.fws.gov/nationalelkrefuge/