I built my camp 30 years ago. It is situated on a “seasonally maintained” road. There are several camps on this road, some still being utilized and others in various stages of decrepidation! It didn’t take me long to recognize that one particular hunting camp located about a mile up the road from me seemed to enjoy particularly steady success. After several years of driving by on my way to my hunting ground, and noticing that they ALWAYS seemed to have a buck or two hanging from their beam, it was obvious that these guys really knew what they were doing!
One day, years ago, I was still hunting a sliver of a hardwood spine bordered by a large swamp on my left and a long steep decline down to the “big” river on my right. I first met Charlie on that spine that day. He was as surprised to see me there as I was to see him. This was a “long way from anywhere” as he said. We introduced ourselves, exchanged some small talk and wished each other well. It turned out Charlie and his brother, Mike owned the camp with the beam that was always strained by the weight of those bucks! Over the next 15 years or so we would occasionally surprise each other with a chance encounter and always it would be far from any other boot tracks other than ours.
Charlie and Mike have very private and quiet personalities. But over the years our relationship has developed. It started with a friendly honk of the horn as we passed each other’s camps. A few more chance encounters in the woods, and some conversations on the road if by chance one of us would drive by when the other was at their vehicle. All through these years, those big bucks kept bending their beam! During one of our talks, I mentioned to him that he’d become somewhat of a local legend to all who frequented my camp. Everyone always slowed down to glance up to see if anything was hangin’ up at Charlie’s. During phone calls or when texts were being exchanged during deer season, somewhere there’d always be the question, “Anything hangin’ up the road,… YET?” By now it had become apparent to all, putting bucks on the beam wasn’t a matter of if, but when. Charlie surprised me when he told me that everyone from his camp slowed down to glance at our buck beam!
A couple of years ago Charlie invited me to stop at his camp one evening. But for two seasons I just didn’t make it up. Either I was out of the woods late or all the lights were out at his camp when I got there. We both understood that long days in the woods required an early turn-in just to have the energy to keep it going. But this year I met Charlie on the road and the invitation was extended again. He’d taken an 8 pointer yesterday and would be in camp all week with his son, Jason. We received a lot of rain that evening and the following morning. I couldn’t cross the river in waders to hunt my favorite area. I hunted elsewhere for a day. The next morning I hunted behind camp. Before I made lunch, I decided to check the river to see if I’d be able to cross yet. On the way I had to pass Charlie’s camp, and a truck was pulling in. I immediately saw there was a buck in the back. A big one! I followed the truck up to the camp and Charlie was coming out to see what his son, Jason was bringing in. His eyes lit up when he saw me and proudly introduced me to his son. I walked around to check out Jason’s buck, a great 10 pointer! This was an old buck, very heavy, dark hair with gray tips. What a dandy!
We listened to Jason’s story of the hunt and finally I got to go in Charlie’s camp. He was so proud of that camp. He’d built it himself and he had a story for every set of horns and picture in there. I enjoyed a cup of coffee and visited for over an hour, just soaking it all in. A great visit. As I was leaving I promised Charlie I wouldn’t be so long till the next visit.
I drove down the driveway glancing back through the mirror at Jason’s buck and the pair of them waving. I’m pretty sure that beam will be straining from the weight of bucks for quite a bit longer. Again,… I thought to myself, “There is nothing, NOTHING like an Adirondack deer camp!”
Adirondack Camp Journal 