A recent trip to my old deer camp brought back some good and bad memories. I have hunted, trapped and fished enthusiastically my whole life; after returning from Vietnam it was only natural that those outdoor activities would again consume my spare time. Deer hunting around home wasn’t that good so I headed to the Southern Tier, choosing a state Forest Area near Belfast, Allegany County. For a number of years I camped and hunted at the end of an old trucking trail there. After getting my buck I would “push” from the back side of the area up to that trucking trail when I had my Dad on “watch” in hopes of driving a deer to him.
One year I unknowingly went pass that Forest Area’s boundary on to private land and ran into the farmer who owned it. John was working on his Christmas tree plantation which was near the back side of the Forest Area. He was not too happy with me being on his property. After much questioning of me, he said I could hunt there — but only me and my father. I really didn’t do any hunting there as it would have been a long, uphill deer drag back to our camping spot, but I did make it a point to swing down there every hunt when I heard John’s chainsaw running, just to say hi.
Then one year at the beginning of a week’s vacation to bow hunt in the state area, one day I returned to my van and found several guys trying to breaking into my vehicle. They took off but now I was concerned about them attempting this again during the week. Even though he did not live on that 300-acre farm John had a cabin and a roadway up near the area where I was hunting. I had his phone number so I called to ask for permission to camp near his cabin and not have to worry about the thieves. His wife said he was not available but if John had given me permission to hunt there it was OK to camp there.
At the end of the week I ran into John by the barn and thanked him for his kindness. I also asked whether it would be OK if Dad and I camped by his cabin for gun season. Sure, he said. We did so, and the following year when I took my bow hunting vacation I used that cabin area again. The year after that John told me it’s silly to live out of my van, and he gave me a key to his cabin.
Dad and I used that cabin for a few years, now hunting only on John’s farm. Then an opportunity came up to buy a seven-acre, land-locked lot on his farm, owned by one of his neighbors, and it was perfect. The roadway up was a seasonal road with no thru traffic and John’s farm surrounded the lot. Hunters from the state Forest Area pushed deer down to us and we didn’t have to contend with other deer hunters. The spot was near the top of a hill, surrounded with forest, and there was an open meadow down the hill. I bought a camping trailer and placed it just inside the woods under some mature white pines. There was a large meadow out front and the view across the valley to the north was breathtaking.
Then tragedy stuck, as John was killed in a tractor accident. Eventually I bought another 55 acres from his daughter across the roadway from my lot. I kept three acres or so in front of the trailer mowed, and the spot became an often visited area during the summer too. In 1998 a pond was built in that meadow near my trailer and the finished project really set off the spot nicely. The pond was stocked with fish, and cattails and yellow flag plants were planted in it along with some other marsh species like bottled gentian and cardinal flowers. Then in 2001 I designed and built a nice cabin to replace the trailer. I was now spending a lot of time there throughout the year. I planted clover in an adjacent meadow for the deer and turkey. I cut firewood for the wood-burning stove in the cabin and for home. I had a very small plot of lawn to mow at home, and three acres and several meadows to mow at camp!
Deer hunting was great and there was a very peaceful atmosphere the rest of the year at camp for me and my wife. Then in 2010, tragedy stuck again when my wife had a spinal stroke that greatly affected her ability to walk. Now I was heading to camp for maintenance for a few days and then having to head home to take care of things there. It was wearing me down but I carried on and was still able to enjoy deer season there. At other times of the year the peaceful atmosphere of nature refreshed my spirit.
In 2017 my wife had a fatal heart attack while I was at camp, hunting on the first day of deer season. I quit hunting early that day as I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong at home. After that, I quit hunting altogether and quit going to camp. I have been down there a couple of times the past few years but only to gather things to bring home. Paradise had lost its charm.
Recently I returned to camp to gather more things, and what a change to the area, but there was joy in being there again if only for a day. Check back next week and I’ll tell you all about it.