Went out yesterday afternoon for the last day of the "Holiday" hunting season. I've done this for the past few years, since they added these late season days. It's typically a good day out, and I've always seen deer, though never decided to shoot. I'm typically out until sunset, squeezing in the last few minutes of the season.
Well I didn't even make it to 4:00pm yesterday. Just couldn't deal with the cold and the wind. It was 14° and with the wind and overcast, felt much colder. I posted up in a spot that gets a lot of travel for the deer, deep in the woods and at the northern edge of a wetland. The snow showed lots of tracks, with some pretty well used trails through the snow, but I only saw a couple of very chunky looking squirrels. I could hear all sorts of crackling from dead trees when the wind blew harder, and a couple leaners were squeaking loudly against other trees as they moved, not the quiet you get most times with everything snow covered. Even walking in and out was loud, as there was a layer of crust on the snow, and I'd punch through it with every step. Not sneaking up on anything like that. By the time I walked back up to the house, only about a half mile walk, I was breathing heavy and my fingers were stinging. Felt like leaving early was a good decision.
Glad I went, but I'm going to have to find a better way to deal with the cold going forward. I don't seem to be able to tough it out for very long anymore.
