The Memories That Will Last a Lifetime

The Memories That Will Last a Lifetime

            As the alarm rings at 6:30 in the morning Ned Holdren rolls out of bed with excitement to start his hunting trip near Hughesville Pennsylvania to hunt ruffed grouse. One of Pennsylvania’s state symbols. Ned Holdren is my Grandad. Ned Holdren has been doing this for about 60 years now. “I started hunting at as young as I can remember, probably around 10 or 11 is when I started to be an avid hunter. It’s something my whole family has done for a very long time” . Hunting is a hobby or passion that people have been participating in since the time humans stepped on this planet. It was used more as a way to survive at the time but now it’s mostly a hobby for people that enjoy nature and like the outdoors.

            Ned walks out to the truck and starts his blue GMC pickup truck up so that it’s warm for when he is ready to leave. He begins to start and pack all of his supplies that he’s going to need for the hunt. He comes out from his bedroom in all kinds of warm clothing for the hunting trip. He has a rather big coat on and waterproof boots that will keep his feet dry. It rained a lot the night before so these become very useful. As he walks out of the house with his orange vest and orange hat (that are used to make sure people can see him while he’s hunting) he double checks to make sure he has everything he needs. As he glances in the backdoor  of the blue GMC ,checking to make sure he has his gun and ammunition he forgets that he needs his hunting license as well. Something that you will definitely need if you plan to go hunting. Ned isn’t a very talkative person he likes to keep to himself and he doesn’t show much emotion unless something really excites him. But with his age he has all the wisdom and information he needs to go on a successful grouse hunt. Not everyone in the world find hunting as a pleasurable hobby. In fact, some people would do anything to stop hunting. Ned finds hunting pleasurable in many different ways. “It’s a peaceful hobby. Being outside in the quietness of the woods, and being able to get away from everything, it’s nice to just find a sense of peace while out here”. Everyone has a different way of finding their sense of peace and this is his way.

            As Ned drives to Hughesville Pennsylvania you notice how you go from a rather populated town into the middle of nowhere, where no civilization can be seen for miles. Driving on the back roads that aren’t paved at all. And some roads even being a little sketchy because of the rocks and some ice on them. “Just going to put it in four wheel drive and take it nice and slow” Ned says as he drives. As he parks on the side of the road in the frozen mud, very few cars go driving by. Ned found it weird to actually see two or three cars going past at the time. He turns the truck off and proceeds to get out of the truck to get his gear around to start the trek up into the lands and fields of the hunting spot. As he looks over to me he says “You’re going to enjoy this walk, this is a pretty cool spot”. From sitting in the seat of the truck you couldn’t see a person or establishment in site. All you saw was different types of trees and brush large and small.

            As Ned and I pack up all our gear from the back of the pickup truck. the trek up to the hunting spot begins. Ned locks his truck up and starts to walk the trails up to the spot. As the walking starts you notice the ground is like a frozen tundra after all the rain froze from the temperatures. Also very rigid with lots of rocks and sticks.  The terrain was very tough to walk on. The wind blowing very hard making our noses run a lot and our faces very cold. As the walking proceeds you notice you can’t hear a thing. Being out in the woods creates this very spooky affect. Almost like something is watching you. Ned stops for a break from the walking. Ned is in his older age and is starting to slow down a little bit. Every now and then he has to take a break from all of the walking. As he starts going again he points out all the different trails and spots you can go. He is also very informative about everything that he sees. He stopped to look at some tracks on the ground that you could see in the wet mud. He points out that the tracks were coyote tracks which just adds to the spookiness of the forests. As the walk continues for a mile or so the trail begins to get a little icy from the cold temperatures and you must walk a little slower than normal. “You wouldn’t want to get hurt up here by yourself that’s for sure”. If you were to get hurt up there by yourself it’s a possibility that people wouldn’t find you for days. The fact that there is no cell phone reception up there as well doesn’t help either. The walk continues for a few more minutes until you come out into an open field with lots of brush and prickers around it. The trees surrounding the whole field. The field is about 20 acres. Time to start the hunt!

            Ned starts to load up his camouflaged 20 gauge shotgun with ammunition and starts to come up with a strategy for hunting the grouse. The pumping and clicking of the shotgun create a sense of excitement between us. “You walk over there in that direction and I’ll be about 20 yards from you walking the same way and then will meet when we hit the next trail”. As the walk starts you notice how tiring it is to walk through all the brush. The pricker bushes constantly getting stuck to you and constantly having to go around big and small trees. Not a sound to be heard until all of a sudden you hear the sound of wings fluttering very loud. A ruffed grouse goes flying out in front of Ned and he takes a shot. The shot echoes throughout the woods, you wait to hear a response to see if he got it or not. “I missed” he yells. The speed of the ruffed grouse was incredible. You almost can’t make out what the bird looks like it was moving so fast. Ned continues to keep walking in and around the brush hoping to chase out another grouse.

           Eventually meeting at the end of the trail we decide we should head down to another spot to hopefully chase out a grouse. Ned stops to take a break and set down his gun and his fluorescent orange game bag. He pulls out a few Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and starts to snack on them. “You know there used to be a lot more ruffed grouse in the area, they’ve really slimmed down over the years. Me and my brother used to hunt them after school every day. We would always each get two and go home. We would have a blast” said Ned. After Ned told his short story he decided to take another trail through the wooded area. The walk started and again it became hard to walk through all of the brush and trees. With the occasional pricker stabbing you in the hand and then having to pull it off of yourself or your clothes. Suddenly you begin to hear the fluttering noise that was heard the first time. The grouse flies out in front of Ned and he shoots and this time he gets it. Ned is usually a very quiet person but you could see how the excitement came out of him when he got it. Ned walks over to pick the bird up. The grouse was a very pretty brown color. It almost looks like a miniature turkey with the tail feathers that it has. Excitedly, he asks me to put it in his game bag that is used for holding the animal.  

Ned decides that we will take the last trail all the way down to the truck and then head on home. It was beginning to get dark and the temperature was dropping. We went with the same strategies as the other trails and just decided to meet when we hit the trail that led to the truck. The sun was no longer in sight due to it going down and the very large pine trees above. The trees must have been very old because they were very high up and very thick as well. There wasn't  just pine trees here though. They had all kinds of trees. It was weird to see so many different trees all together in one area, it’s not a very common thing to see. While walking down through the trees you could hear the sound of the fluttering grouse up in the trees. Nobody could get a shot at them though. This created a little bit of frustration in Ned but he knew that there was nothing he could do about it. As the walking continued we realized that the hunt was mostly over and there wouldn’t be any more shots at some of the grouse so we jumped back on the trail early. Walking down the trail it began to get more and more slippery with the temperature dropping. As we walked there was still nothing but silence in the wooded area. The only things you could hear at the time was the creek water flowing and a mild wind. “Not a bad day buddy, still got some shooting in”. Said Ned. As we got back to the truck it was nice to be able to feel the heat coming out of the vents and the heated seats warming your body up after being in the cold weather for 2 to 3 hours. The heat made you feel tired and want to sleep.

            As we started up the truck and head home we went back through the town where there was civilization again. You can’t help but love the peacefulness you felt while being up in the wooded area not being able to hear or see anyone. As we sit there I had to ask “Do you hunt to find a sense of peace and get away from the real world?”.  “Being alone is fun because it’s peaceful and all but it’s also fun to do with family and friends as well. It’s a great way to bond and it creates stories and memories that will last a lifetime.” said Ned. As we head back to the house we didn’t even take our supplies back in the house we were so tired. Instead we just left them in the truck and headed back in the house and decided to take a nap.

            The trip and the experience of being with Ned on the hunting trip makes you realize that hunting isn’t all about shooting animals. In fact that's the last thing it's about. It’s about spending times with friends and family and that the outdoors provide a great sense of peace. It’s a hobby that can be enjoyed by all.