Call me the working man

[bigfish4me]

There comes a time in a mans life when he is in dire need of a break.For the past few years 60+ hr weeks have been the norm, can probably count on one hand the saturdays that i didnt work at least a half day.The boat was out of the water all summer...so i pissed it away with my back to the grind stone...these past 2 weeks have been working sun up to sun down and frankly i am burnt out.I got a call from my brother in law the other day, and he wanted to know if i wanted to head out to the mountains for a few days to hunt, fish and just blow off some steam. I was really not going to go with all the responsibilities i have going on at work...but you know what enough is enough....i am going on a much needed killing spree. Wednesday the 15th we are hopping in the truck and pointing her west...destination Junieta county pa, the land of no cell phone reception for miles and rolling hills and mountains as far as the eye can see. Never hunted there before, which excites me...the unknown, relying on my instincts, i will get to see the sun rise 3 times from the perch of my tree stand...waiting in ambush...i can feel the spirit of The nuge...terrible ted, i am thirsty, itching to come to full draw...eager to just get away. So the plan is hunting mornings and evenings, trout fishing in the mid days and hopefully some fresh back straps cooked over an open fire...man style. Gone will be the never ending phone calls, and the needs of others....some times you need to loose yourself before you can find yourself....an i am fully prepared to soak up every second of this journey,each critter that walks beneath me unknowingly....the sounds of the woods in the pre dawn hrs as nature and my surroundings come alive, and that magic hr of dusk as the sun slips over the mountain and the anticipation of what will enter the ring of death around my vantage point.It has been far too long, too many hours worked, too many things to do......Come wednesday i am going to stop existing and start living...need to re-charge the man batteries...no tv, no phones just a little hunting camp out in the middle of nowhere, good friends and memories to be made...there will be pictures and i will bring my journey to my sfc brethren.

[WAHOONBOX]

WOW AGAIN

WHAT WE HAVE HERE IS A GENUINE WRITER....I AM SPEECHELSS

ONE OF THE MOST ENLIGHTENING, DESCRIPTIVE AND HONEST SHORT STORIES I HAVE READ IN AMNY A MOON....

HELL I EVEN READ IT TWICE

NOW I LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR RETURN TO DA KEYBOARD






















BUT LEAVE YOUR CELL PHONE TURNED OFF ON THIS ADVENTURE!

[weekender]

very good intro, waiting on chapters 1 thru....

[bigfish4me]

Got my gear all packed up...and i am chompin at the bit to get on the road. Unfortunately i have to tough it out at work untill 3 pm .....then i am west bound and down. Got myself a dozen new arrows....easton 2315 lite x 30 1/2".....a 6 pack of muzzy 100 grain broad heads and a truck load of excitement.I made my list and checked it twice, been shooting all week...and i am ON. This day cant get over soon enough, a little over a 3 hr drive and ill be in the sticks,sort of a mini vacation from all of lifes burdens. My brother in law has an inline muzzle loader, and doe opens up for the smoke pole on saturday...with an abundance of doe tags ....i may just get a chance to take a deer with the muzz....i am beyond syched up for this journey.....have not shaved since i found out i was going...gotta get grizzly for the man trip.....look out Junieta county....bigfish is coming and i mean business, the trout are gonna feel the sting of that tiny little size 10 hook...and the deer are in trouble......i am hoping for surf and turf my way...backstraps and trout all harvested on the same day.So wish me luck fellas as i go to pay homage to this glorious wilderness mother nature has been so gracious in providing for us to play in.....it is my church, you have never felt so close to eden sitting in a stand as the day goes from grey light to the sun sneaking up over the hill tops...I shall return a better more relieved man...and i deserve it...we all do.

[cravertosu]

Glad to hear you're getting out away from the office! Well deserved and I really hope you're successful! Look forward to the pics.

[heykellymichelle]

I hear you BigFish. Before I worked at OTH I worked in finance (individual, not institutional), and you just get to the point where the responsibility, the stress, the constant demands just numb you. You realize you've been on the go so long that you almost don't know how to stop, and your insides cry for some freedom, some sanity... for a break. Now my world revolves around green crabs, ballyhoo and knowing where the fish are biting, and it's wonderful. But after living that way for so long, functioning and being forced to thrive in that environment for so many years, I'm having serious trouble slowing down. In trying to stop, it's disturbingly becoming apparent that I am unwillingly addicted to stress, to-do lists, perfectionism (and I was never like this growing up). It's pretty sick. So now it's a conscious decision to make myself stop, rest, relax, play, reflect, and learn to let life be, to take it as it comes. It's crazy the way we live, isn't it? I never wanted to be this way, but it just kind of happened when I was too busy to pay attention.

But I have to admit, if there's anywhere for me to learn to calm back down, it's working at a tackle shop, where I get to watch the sunrise every morning through the rigging, where I can wander the docks with the marina dog to check on everybody's boats, where my biggest responsibilities are bait and ice and fuel and the occasional power wash. Chuck and Mary and the whole gang here are pretty low stress and low key, and have really helped me to calm the heck down. And I appreciate it more than they'll probably ever know.

So drink it up Big. I hope you kill enough to fill your chest freezer; I hope each sunrise greets you with a deep breath, a big smile and the scent of deer urine; I hope your weekend refreshes and renews you and that it's everything you need it to be. From somebody who's been there and is trying to recover too, drink it up buddy, drink it up.

[bigfish4me]

Wow you know exactly how i am feeling....i am going to soak up every last drop....seems like ive been caught up in the rat race forever, this trip should be nothing short of therapeutic....i am about useless here at work today, a few more hours and work will be just a memory...as the miles roll by and i get closer to my destination the weight from my shoulders will lighten to the point of non-exist-ency....that right there is priceless....if i tag one or not just getting away and experiencing life on a much slower setting is just what the doctor ordered....and i am filling that prescription.

[heykellymichelle]

Been reading this book by Mark Buchanan called The Rest Of God, about slowing down and setting aside time (one day a week or a "sabbath" for yourself) to ditch the rat race and let yourself rest. It's a good book, well written with some laughs, and it's been pretty stinkin' straight-on. I don't know if you're a reading man or not, but definitely reccommend the book. Awesome concepts in those pages.

Have fun dude!
~KM

[bigfish4me]

Well i had one hell of a time running around up there in the woods. Thursday mornings hunt started out beautifully, i got to my stand about 6:15 am, sun dont come up until 7:15 over there....but the sun rose and a neat little red fox showed up under my stand, wanting to take a picture of it i took my new sony digital camera out to take a picture.....and proceeded to drop it from 18' up a tree...right on a rock with the screen taking the impact....yup its a gonner...son of a #**#^. Day one went without any of us seeing even a doe, i think the full moon played a part and had em moving late, but the wind was swirling something fierce any way. Day 2 started out at 28 degrees in the morning....brrrrrr it was a bit chilly, hunted a different area with alot more sign. Right after i got in i had some deer skirt around me while it was still way to dark to see em but that was it for thursday mornings hunt, i pulled out at 11 am to go get some grub. Friday at 2 i headed a little further down the funnel i hunted in the morning and put up a ladder stand that the guys i hunt with will hunt for rifle season....finally saw some deer...but at 150 yards they were a bit out of archery range...lol. Day 3....24 degrees, and blowing like i was suppose to go offshore to fish, i was still hunting archery, my buddies were muzzle loading since doe opened up on saturday....we all sat until 10 and no deer were seen at all.I had been hunting pretty hard and took the evening hunt off and manned the grill for dinner, started one hell of a camp fire...popped the top off a ice cold beer and grilled up some burgers and potatoes.....good living right there, the evening hunt was uneventful for the other fellas even with the muzzle loader range so we did a little howling at the moon...which means a bunch of boozin and had a good time hanging out just relaxing. I did notice how spooky the deer are in the fields at night, we went spotting around 10 pm friday night...and i am telling you as soon as you slowed down or turned the spot light on they were gone, didnt matter if they were 300 yards away from the road or not, heard a few shots around 11 pm thursday night which leads me to believe these deer get shot at all year long at night so i guess they would be spooky. So all in all i had a good time despite the lack of deer but it was nice to get away and relax and blow off some steam, sucks i busted my new camera.....but that can be replaced...memories of a good time with friends cant be...and thats what its all about.

[sportfishingusa]

Glad to hear you really enjoyed yourself and got to relax!!!

we are all proud of your ability to get away from it all and relax... sometimes being without a cell, without any care in the world you can just soak it all in and get into that groove of nothing can bother you!!!

i have tried many many times and i can not get away from anything.. i mean i even went to cabo for my honeymoon and of course... had my cell on my side and got those annoying office phone calls.

i need one of these vacations to just get away from it all but at this point i seem ot have given up the hope of it happening one day..

i wake up this morning, the chill is in the air, the damn wind is honking and i sit back in the truck, light a smoke, turn on the radio and drive to work wondering what i can do to just relax..

can i get away from it all with a baby on the way in 3 weeks?!? hell no.. i am stuck in town for the next few weeks doing nothing.. and to top it all off the truck is in the shop getting body work done from a previous accident a while back and i am stranded.

my normal peace of mind is around 7am when i pop the truck in 4x4 with 18psi in the tires and strut my way down the beach with the sun beginning to rise..

i get my smokes, my coffee, and i just drive halfway up the beach and park.. i lay there with the windows open and stare into the sunrise doing nothing but breathing in fresh air and the smell of fresh brewed coffee.

it takes me to another place for the big 20 minutes until it is time to go to work and be miserable again. lol

i hope one day i can get away from it all for a little bit like you and just hang with some good friends and fond memories!!

thanks for sharing your little trip with us.. i am sure it did more for you than any of us could imagine!!

if you ever need to let go and hang again let me know man.. it may be a little chilly but some fire on the beach and a nice striper isnt a bad way to spend a day either and i am all freed up anytime you need another relaxing weekend brotha!!