My big game hunting has been a bit abbreviated this year. My elk season consisted of one day shoe-horned between steelhead fishing and duck hunting. You can imagine how productive a one-day elk hunting season was. I did see a bull that was too far away to stalk and headed in the wrong direction. Actually seeing a bull during hunting season is rare for me, so I declared a small victory, didn't pound my bones with a long pack out, but didn't fill the freezer with steaks, either.

I am now off for the last three days of mule deer hunting. I planned on spending a whole week hunting them earlier in the season, but that got derailed and I got distracted with steelhead fishing.

It will be good to get back in the woods in a stout pair of boots, a pack on my back, and a rifle in my hands.

I know I am pushing my luck by betting my whole season on the last three days, but last year I killed my buck on the final day, so it only takes one opportunity to make a season.

Snowstorms are hitting the high country where I am heading, and the bucks are starting to rut.

We will see how it goes.