Snowballs in Spring
Spring Bear Scouting
Yesterday I was finally able to get out into the woods to start getting prepped for the spring bear season which kicked off on April 15. Thankfully, my late start should not be too much of an issue as we just finished our fourth winter and are gearing up for fifth winter today (a running joke in Idaho for late March and April snow showers), leaving our bears in a state of lethargy before the berries, grass, and mushrooms pop up after the final snow melt.
Nonetheless, I had plans for two different baiting sites which require some athleticism and blind determination to get a metal 55 gallon drum out to. Yesterday, I packed a bag full of sweet treats, stinky sardines, trail cameras, and chain — then I donned a pair of thick gloves before wrestling my first bait barrel and headed out on the trail.
As I set out, the spring snow felt like wet concrete and my progress towards my final destination was painfully slow. For around a mile I carried, pushed, and rolled the empty barrel, which quickly turned into a heavy snowball that would only move a foot or two at a time with some awkward kicks as my dog and I moved down the trail.
After an hour of sweating and cursing I finally got my first barrel to its final resting place — a spot at the bottom of a knoll which has three high hill sides surrounding it and one flat entry point to funnel the bears into. I made quick work of securing my barrel to a tree with heavy chain, attached my baiting license to stay kosher with the state, threw in all my goodies, and then set up trail cameras to capture any activity.
Once everything was done, I wiped the sweat from my brow and took off for home with my dog. On the way back I began to strategize how I would get my second barrel to my favorite honey hole — With 1500 feet in elevation standing between me and where I wanted to set that barrel, I knew I would have to wait a few more weeks for the snow to melt to hand-carry* the bait barrel up those steep ridges...
*In Idaho it’s illegal to use motorized equipment to carry a barrel onto public lands.