Bow hunting and camp, a place to stay

Hello fellow outdoor enthusiasts

I don't know about you but I am getting anxious. The deer hunting bow season starts in just 2 weeks in my state. One of the things I love about hunting is the camping. We usually set our camp up the day before opening. Sometimes if we have the time, we will get there a couple days earlier so we can scope out the area and pick berries. In the area that I hunt in western Washington, the hills are literally covered with blueberries in the end of August. Some people call them huckleberries, I call them blueberries because back in Minnesota we have small red berries that grow on and around stumps that we called huckleberries.

Some years my wife,Sandy, will go along with us for a few days so she can cook us lunch and dinner and then pick berries while we're out bow hunting. We usually hunt within a 5 mile radius of camp and can take a few hours mid day to rest, reflect, plan and EAT. Sandy will make us bacon and eggs with blueberry pancakes. She uses just enough batter to hold the blueberries together and always cooks over an open alder wood fire. No, there is no alder where we pick berries at 4,500 feet elevation so we cut some on our way up. Some of the guys that have hunted with us in years past, still talk affectionately about those meals.

In western Washington, our opening archery season for hunting deer and hunting elk overlap. We don't hunt in the best of areas for getting a deer but there are many elk in the area so we target elk but we are always ready for that deer as well. We occasionally see bear when out so my brother always buys a combo license to harvest a bear or cougar if the opportunity arises. We very rarely see a cougar but we do see their sign quite often. It always feels eerie to me when I see cougar tracks on top of my tracks from earlier in the day.
Unless I absolutely had to, I don't think I would try to take a cougar with a bow and arrow with no gun and no backup by myself in the middle of nowhere. I probably would have when I was a young whippersnapper of 40.

We always set our camp up in the berry fields. We get a spot that has plenty of trees to give us a wind break. We take along a large tarp to cover the tent and surrounding area. We place a high value on comfort while in camp. I like to take those niceties like fold up tables and camping chairs that are comfortable. We used to be bare bones type of hunter/campers but sort of grew out of it. There have been years when I got my game on the first day. We don't have party hunting in our state so while everyone else is out hunting, I was stuck in camp. One big thing that I have learned is to always, always be prepared to handle the game. For us, the hunt is about the meat as well as the rest. The hunting and the camping are great but getting meat in the end really makes it worth while. I bring one 7 day cooler filled with ice, plenty of 1 & 2 gal. baggies, skinning knives , game bags, rope, cleaning rags, plenty of water, game hoist, meat/bone saw and a grateful attitude.

A side note: One of the camping accessories I don't forget is a pair of comfortable evening chairs. We walk many miles up and down hill all day while bow hunting and are quite exhausted when we return to camp. We usually cook something that we have ready to go and then relax for awhile around the campfire before turning in. The folding chairs have foot rests and a high back that allow us to relax and watch the mountains night sky. I call them my star gazing chairs. We bring along regular folding camp chairs as well and prefer the larger ones with cup holders in the arm rests.