Finally getting away

Jake and I finally got to go to some real chukar country. With the weather cooling down some and a little moisture on the way we decided to head west. Our timing was almost perfect. We set up camp Tuesday evening and woke to a 60 degree and cloudy morning. It was a little warm for 7 a.m. but that turned out to be the high for the day.

After hunting up hill from the reservoir for about an hour and a half, the breeze blowing on my sweaty back started getting a little stiffer and colder and we could see the approaching storm about to hit us.

The wind hit first and at times it was hard even walk against it. But that didn't stop Jake. He didn't seem to have a problem deciphering the different smells to figure out which ones to point.

He was proud of me for shooting so well in the windy conditions. I kept it to myself that the birds that dropped were usually 20 feet from the one I was shooting at. It wasn't long before the rain joined in with the wind and I was soaked. I've been wondering how Jake would handle the rain since he doesn't like swimming. I was pleased to see the water logged dog hunting hard all the way back to the rig. Oh, did I mention that I got a new utv to keep from beating my truck up on those rough roads. Golly Gee, they are so comfortable to ride in when you are soaked to the skin and you have 10 miles to travel in the cold wind before you get back to your enclosed truck. Jake just rolled up in a ball and kept his head hidden under my arm.

Day two was much kinder, 42 degrees and overcast. We had a strong breeze from the south that kept Jake's nose busy most of the morning. Jake finally stretched his distance out and has expanded his range back to about 300 yards. I'm pretty sure he busted a couple of covey's but usually he'd reward my struggling up the hill with a point.

What I did with the gun is left for only Jake and I to know. We had our best day on day two and Jake wanted to show off his trophies.

Knowing Jake and I can't take care of ourselves for more than two days, Barb showed up to take care of us for the next three days. Man, it was great to have a good meal. While I was cleaning some birds for Barb to cook a fellow chukar hunter stopped by and introduced himself. Kevin knew me and vice versa through Upland Idaho and we exchanged some dog stories and than he pointed out that the grouse hunting was pretty good. I took his advice and headed towards the timber edge for a grouse chukar combo which turned out well for Jake.

Not bad for me either.

The rest of day three and four were pretty much the same. Not tons of birds but enough to keep things interesting. Although the temperatures never got above 60 degrees, when there are no clouds and the wind is still,  60 degrees it soon chases you off the hill and with Jake favoring his right front leg we decided to rest on day five. In our four days of hunting, Jake covered over 78 miles and I did 26.