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What a long morning I had...
For several weeks I have been looking at a parcel of BLM land that I saw on BLM webmaps. I checked it out on Google maps. I checked it out on Google Earth. I checked it out on my phone. It looked good and I decided I was going to drive out (2.5hours) and see if I couldn't find some coyotes on it.
Now, mind you, I have never coyote hunted in my life. In fact, I haven't even hunted anything in over 20 years.
I looked at all of the maps some more. I even stitched together a lil something in photoshop and paid to have a large print made to have a hard copy map. I notated it with things I was seeing on satellite.
I decided that today was going to be the day. I loaded up the truck. I don't have a call, so I spliced together some calls and dead space into an audio track and burned it onto a CD. I planned on using a portable stereo do that work for me. I loaded up most of what I needed in the truck last night, and the rest this morning before heading out.
Step out the door. Holy Wind!
First stop: The Dalles. I planned on this stop. I knew I was going to need to gas up the truck and I needed batteries for the stereo. Got the batteries first and then swung into a gas station before hitting the freeway. Credit Card expired. Damnit. The replacement card has been on my desk for about 2 months. Fine, debit it is. Gas and go.
The fog starts creeping in, but I'm good with that. It keeps me hidden and makes sure I keep shooting distances short. I make my exit and start heading to "my spot" that I've never seen. I find the turn off. I know at this point, thanks to all the map studies I've done, that there are two ways to get to where I want to go. I also know of a couple other options for other areas since I had kept my mind open to the fact I might have to alter course slightly.
My first turn off is marked with an old plastic "private property" sign. That's fine. I had anticipated that being the case. It was mostly going to be a short cut. Since that was out I had just a short distance to go, and I can try out the other options on BLM land.
Then, through the fog, I saw it. It wasn't on any map or satellite image.
(image appears further away than real life)
Whoa. That's big. And there were a lot of them
(but, those tracks!!!)
None of these were on satellite. I knew there were about 10 total according to my comparisons to the BLM map and Google Earth, but those arrays were supposed to be 3-4 miles away. Instead the area is COVERED in mills.
And these blasted signs.
I was confused. Was not BLM land supposed to be public land? WTF is going on??
After driving around for a half hour I knew I had been beat. I ended up tucking tail and going home (back in Portland to meet my wife for lunch!) and whining about how well I managed to waste the day.
For several weeks I have been looking at a parcel of BLM land that I saw on BLM webmaps. I checked it out on Google maps. I checked it out on Google Earth. I checked it out on my phone. It looked good and I decided I was going to drive out (2.5hours) and see if I couldn't find some coyotes on it.
Now, mind you, I have never coyote hunted in my life. In fact, I haven't even hunted anything in over 20 years.
I looked at all of the maps some more. I even stitched together a lil something in photoshop and paid to have a large print made to have a hard copy map. I notated it with things I was seeing on satellite.
I decided that today was going to be the day. I loaded up the truck. I don't have a call, so I spliced together some calls and dead space into an audio track and burned it onto a CD. I planned on using a portable stereo do that work for me. I loaded up most of what I needed in the truck last night, and the rest this morning before heading out.
Step out the door. Holy Wind!
First stop: The Dalles. I planned on this stop. I knew I was going to need to gas up the truck and I needed batteries for the stereo. Got the batteries first and then swung into a gas station before hitting the freeway. Credit Card expired. Damnit. The replacement card has been on my desk for about 2 months. Fine, debit it is. Gas and go.
The fog starts creeping in, but I'm good with that. It keeps me hidden and makes sure I keep shooting distances short. I make my exit and start heading to "my spot" that I've never seen. I find the turn off. I know at this point, thanks to all the map studies I've done, that there are two ways to get to where I want to go. I also know of a couple other options for other areas since I had kept my mind open to the fact I might have to alter course slightly.
My first turn off is marked with an old plastic "private property" sign. That's fine. I had anticipated that being the case. It was mostly going to be a short cut. Since that was out I had just a short distance to go, and I can try out the other options on BLM land.
Then, through the fog, I saw it. It wasn't on any map or satellite image.
(image appears further away than real life)
Whoa. That's big. And there were a lot of them
(but, those tracks!!!)
None of these were on satellite. I knew there were about 10 total according to my comparisons to the BLM map and Google Earth, but those arrays were supposed to be 3-4 miles away. Instead the area is COVERED in mills.
And these blasted signs.
I was confused. Was not BLM land supposed to be public land? WTF is going on??
After driving around for a half hour I knew I had been beat. I ended up tucking tail and going home (back in Portland to meet my wife for lunch!) and whining about how well I managed to waste the day.