We all have a lot of stories we could tell about hunting in the woods around St. Helen, MI. I have been hunting in that area since I was a young boy, with my grandfather, dad, uncles, cousins, close friends and my brother, Tom. It is down to just Tom and I now and we sort of joke about who will be the last man standing.
I know and love this area. I always enjoy being out in the forest alone to explore and take in the natural wildness of the northern Michigan landscape. It is a beautiful wilderness and you never know what to expect. There is something just spectacular about walking in the cold, deep snow where the only tracks are animal ones. Following the familiar trails and seeing wildlife up close in their natural habitat feeds my soul and calms my mind!
Once, I was hunting by myself inside a thick green cedar swamp. My dad was hunting in a heated box blind about a half-mile away. He was in his 80’s at the time and got cold easily. I would check on him frequently and use it as an excuse to go inside and warm up a little myself.
We had a foot of snow on the ground at the time. It began to rain hard. So, I got close under three of the trees and covered up with my army camo poncho. Only my eyes were visible and I felt like a sniper hiding in the brush waiting for something to appear. I began blowing my doe call to hopefully attract a big buck.
I waited about 10 minutes. Suddenly, I spotted movement on my left. For a brief moment, I saw a coyote in an opening between two trees about 30 yards away. He was big, with lots of thick gray fur and at first I thought it was a wolf.
In an instant he was gone out of my sight. A few minutes later, I saw movement on my right. It was the coyote again. He had circled me and gotten downwind. He looked straight at me and our eyes met.
In a flash, he disappeared so fast, I did not even have time to get a shot off. He must have thought from the noise I was a deer at first, until he finally got my scent.
It was one of those memorable hunting experiences, I call a teachable moment and always like to recall in my mind!
