2020 Hunting Season in the West Canada Lakes Wilderness..

[Thebluesman5748]

Somewhere Deep in the West Canada Lakes Wilderness

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Somewhere Deep in the West Canada Lakes Wilderness:

We spent a total of 28 days at hunting camp, coming out 3 times for supplies and a well needed break from hunting. We broke camp the day before Thanksgiving in anticipation of heavy snow which would have made our departure somewhat difficult...and we were beat.

The season started off slow with mild temperatures. Lots of sign but not much for movement during the day... About 10 days into the season we got hammered with a foot of snow and ice... We thought for sure that this was the big opportunity we were looking for. Unfortunately, the pines in the swamps were covered with snow and ice which made visibility difficult... Then, thanks to global warming, we got about a week straight of 65 degree weather. Needless to say, the snow disappeared over night and we were back to square one. No snow and unusually warm... It sucked but we persevered.

We teamed up the day of the snow hoping to hook on to fresh tracks.. My God, we walked over 4 miles in the snow and "never found one pair of tracks"... We think they just hunkered down during and after the storm... Once the snow was gone of course, the sign, tracks and runs were endless...but were they moving during the day....Not the bucks, that's for damn sure....

In total, we saw 13 doe, but never got a glimpse of a buck... We all still hunt and go off on our own covering a lot of territory. We didn't score, but it was definitely a great adventure...painful at times but well worth it. The meals and comradery were great.

[rachunter]

I've been hunting up there for about 8 years.I shot one small buck the first year seen a few small bucks hear and there,got a doe with the muzzle loader last season.I'll be moving up in the beginning of next year and plain on doing a lot of scouting.

I see more bears during the early bow/muzzle loader season.I even shot a long beard one fall with my bow.It's beautiful up there for sure.

[Whitetailhobo]

 Man the mountains have their way don’t  they .  It’s amazing the amount of time you can spend in the woods And never actually see what you come for . I remember the first couple years hunting the Adirondacks coming up empty seeing a deer here may be there..  I have followed some of your post bluesman  over on the ADK forum.  It’s been slim pickings when it comes to backcountry hunting partners . staying out in the bush for more than a week is hard to  handle for some .  The mental toll gets to be too much for many . Did you guys paddle in ?