Today was clear and cold, near freezing, but much too nice to stay inside all day, so at about noon I put my rifle in the truck and headed for the hills. Deer and bear are still open here until Dec.15th, which was a good enough excuse to burn up some expensive gas. I headed for a nearby watershed I was familiar with on the south side of the Fraser River, that extends nearly to the US border, and where I had seen blacktail deer during the summer. The old logging trail was badly potholed, so I aired down to 20 psi for increased comfort and traction, expecting to hit snow at the upper end of the road, but the snowline didn't extend down that low, just lots of frost in the shaded areas.
When i reached the end of the road and the clearcut I had planned to hunt, I found a group of 5 rednecks with a campfire going, shooting ***** and target plinking, so there was no point in trying to hunt there. Since I'm pretty much a redneck myself, I stopped and joined them for a chat and a drink. They were new to this spot, so I filled them in on the local landmarks and lore, showed off my Browning BLR, helped them clean up their casings and empties at dusk, and headed back home to make supper for my wife. I saw no game or sign on this trip, but it was still worth it to get out there for the fresh air and scenery. Maybe next weekend I'll get more than photos to bring home.