Vermont 2010

[Dave Suponski]

Dean,Jamie,Danny and myself spent a great weekend up in Vermont chasing Pa'tridge. Satuday dawned cool and sunny...a perfect day! Grouse numbers are down this year but we manged to scratch a few birds down. Saturday was one grouse and one woodcock. Sunday dawned cloudy with a threat of rain. A great day as we got into a flight of woodcock on a scrub apple hillside and Danny connected for his first bird in Vermont. Grand total four woodcock and a grouse. Great friends,great weather and good food priceless!Here are a few picture's.

[Dave Suponski]

A few more...This first one is for Chuck Bishop...Scrapple in the pan ...very tasty Chuck thanks!

[Dave Suponski]

more

[Dean Romig]

It was a special treat to watch Danny knock down his first bird there in Vermont. Those rascally little "russet fellers" just seemed to be everywhere on that high hillside cover and they weren't very accomodating in presenting easy shots so Congratulations to you Danny!

Dave kicked up that old horseshoe early in our Saturday morning hunt (a relic from the days when the whole area was tilled fields, hayfields and pastureland and a tractor was an oddity in a state where horses did the heavy pulling. He carried that horse shoe believing it would bring him luck and as luck would have it - he was the only one to kill a pa'tridge that morning.

I've read the words of several "experts" who have written that a grouse will not eat a yellow apple but here's proof that they will indeed eat yellow apples and make quite a meal of them at that.

[charlie cleveland]

what beautiful country side.. by your efforts with the camera i think a bunch of us fellas was on that hunt with yall..all i can think to say is WOW and thanks....charlie

[scott kittredge]

Good for YOU Danny!!! :bowdown: nice shooting Dave, Dean and nice pics! keep us posted about your next trip :corn: scott

[John Dunkle]

........... keep us posted about your next trip :corn: scott

:rotf:

____________ :rotf:

_______________________________:rotf:

Getting an invite with Dean and Dave to VT and the hunting camp is like getting a "White House Invitation" to the National Cotillion...

It doesn't happen..

But, at least we get to see pictures..??

:duck:

John

[Robin Lewis]

I don't know about that John, you are almost correct. I know both Dean and Dave and I met a person once that had been invited to the White House.:rotf:

[John Dunkle]

Yep - I was honored to meet Ronald Regan once as well.. Shook his hand and we had a short - but - wonderful conversation. He was absolutely wonderful.. President Regan was warm, inviting and went on to be President.

The White House would have been easier to access than wrestling a simple invitation to VT. :) In truth, Eric and Rich in MI have an open invite to us, though..??

JD

[Dean Romig]

Hmmmm.... I haven't had any presidential aspirations but that does give me some ideas....

It would be a fun few days.... I'm gonna give some thought as to where to dispose of your bodies and I'll let you know when I've decided (can't let you back into contemporary "civilization" knowing the coordinates of Grouse Camp ya know). :cool:

[Dave Suponski]

Not to worry Dean...Even if they steal my car I cleared the GPS so it won't take them there.....:biglaugh: I need to be careful here though they might figure it out from my avatar....

[John Dunkle]

Trust me - I have no sense of direction..??? It's probably as bad - if not WORSE - than Dave's sense of direction?? (He's the kind of guy who could drive a Ferrari around the inside of a donut hole for hours - and ask "are we there yet"?? :) )

If that helps???

It probably doesn't - but well - it's worth a try...??

John

[Dave Suponski]

Ok John...I give up....I'm gonna show ya exactly where it is...It's right under that full moon!

[John Dunkle]

Ok John...I give up....I'm gonna show ya exactly where it is...

:rotf:
___________ :rotf:

________________________ :rotf:

Best to ya' Dave!!!

:)

JD

[John Dunkle]

Hmmm....

Taking the Azimuth of the moon, the time date of the month, the time stamp on the image taken, the EXIF data contained in the image - as well as the time differential between GMT and EST - as well as the lunar progression (not withstanding the rotation of the earth given the pinnacle of the zenith..)..

It's here:

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Vermont+google+maps&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Vermont&gl=us&ei=8i3GTMu6JYT48Ab-l-As&ved=0CB0Q8gEwAA&ll=44.521968,-72.4823&spn=0.875328,1.675415&t=h&z=9

Just a guess, though...

;)

John

[Dave Suponski]

Perfect.....:rolleyes:

[John Dunkle]

Perfect.....:rolleyes:Says the man who needs a GPS to not only get there - but drive home???..??? :rolleyes::shock::corn:

;)

JD

[Dean Romig]

:shock:John probably has no idea of how close his dead reckining actually comes to the exact location:shock:..... but, Hey Buddy.... this ain't pin the tail on the donkey.... we're going to have to blindfold you and spin you around a few more times before we show you any more pictures :smiley7:

[calvin humburg]

Looked like a grand time thanks for the pictures. Was that stone wall a correl or a old farm sted wall. that horse shoe was diffently from a big ol workhorse. Dave you got a fine lookin son. thanks ch

[Dean Romig]

Calvin, that is the stone base to the central fireplace/ovens and dutch ovens that were on the (absent) floor above. This place is what remains of the "old Hall place" a late 1700's farmstead which had all but disappeared into the earth decades before I was shown the place probably fifty-five years ago when I was about eight. The grown up pasture land surrounding it is laced with scrub apple, thornapple, spruce and pine and is some of the best deer, pa'tridge and woodcock cover I know of.

[John Dunkle]

Hey Dave!

Many, many thanks for the phone call earlier! I'm really looking forward to hooking up with you and Danny this Friday evening and spend a few days at the camp. Want to meet at the Holiday Inn Express in Brattleboro (exit 3 off of 91) - as it's on my way (coming across NH on 101)? Briahna and I could be there about 5:30 PM, if that works? As we discussed, we can try out Brie on woodcock, but I know she'll be fine. She's a great dog (but, I'm biased ;) ).

Thank again - and great chatting with you!!!

:cheers:

John

[Dean Romig]

Walking (huffing and puffing) up out of the "old Hall place" cover. Over my right shoulder and over the horizon is your house John.... on a clear day we can see the bridge over the Piscataqua River :smiley7:


Hmmmm.... picture wouldn't load. I'll post it later from my laptop.


.

[John Dunkle]

Hmmm..... So - if you were "huffing and puffing" and might see the bridge directly over your right shoulder - you'd probably have just finished a climb of about 3,940 feet..??

:smiley7:

;)

JD

[Dean Romig]

Actually... no.

Mt. LaFayette having an elevation of 5,249 ft. and Cannon Mtn. having an elevation of 4,100 feet leaving Franconia Notch, through which I can see your house, between these two mountains has an elevation of only 1,931 ft.

....so, as you can see, it wasn't much of a climb at all. :whistle:

[Jack Cronkhite]

John: I tried to re-calculate from your precise examination of the moon shot. Dean said you were pretty close. If you had the pin set just a bit more to the North West, I'm wondering if that would be even closer.

As for the "huffing and puffing", here's my climbing experience. From the Pile o' Bones Ridge vantage point, I was able to capture an image of the "bridge". If I remember correctly, I had to climb at least 12 feet to be able to get the picture. Pretty much tuckered me out for the day.

Cheers,
Jack

[John Dunkle]

Well - if you are not pulling my leg (which is highly likely..?? :D ) and given the proximity to the major N-S highway...

Just as an FYI - I spent many summers in Glover and Barton... The major town would be Lyndonville where the line-of-sight between the 2 peaks would fall... However - just south of that - St. J. might be a possibility... As well - since D=R*T and it's a tad north of a 4 hour drive from So. CT - I'm guessing that the answer is....

Somewhere in Vermont...!!!

What did I win????

;)

JD

[John Dunkle]

John: I tried to re-calculate from your precise examination of the moon shot. Dean said you were pretty close. If you had the pin set just a bit more to the North West, I'm wondering if that would be even closer....

:rotf:

Actually - you MAY be a lot closer than I am in my guesses!!

OK - here is my "treasure map"....

[Dean Romig]

Hmmm.... maybe that house we saw wasn't yours at all. :rolleyes:

Move your line between St. J and Lyndonville (closer to St. J) and.... fly straight on until morning.... and you'll find the land of the lost boys (me and Dave and Danny) :shock:

[John Dunkle]

If that is really where your camp is (in that region) - it is stunning..... Almost killed myself on a motorcycle on Rt. 16 (the first time I ever drove one - and the last time I ever drove one, either..? :eek: Long story..).. Can't say as though I blame you for keeping your "hideaway" private, either. There is a lot of land up there, and when hunting in years long ago since past in that area, it was rich with birds and deer - and I'd hardly ever bump into another bird hunter...

I guess those days are long gone, though....

BTW - can you still buy VT hunting licenses at the general stores in that area? As well - I'm guessing "JJ Newbury and FW Woolworth" both failed about the same time -but they were neat "old time" stores. I think J.J. Newberry was Hardwick and F.W. Woolworth in St. J..?

Best to ya'!

JD

[Dave Suponski]

Sure John, I'll meet ya in Brat at 5:30 Friday but when we get to White River I'm gonna have to blind fold ya.....That should make for an interesting last part of the trip....:)

[Dean Romig]

Our dear friend and host, Hubert Simons, http://www.stjohnsburyfire.com/history/Fire%20Chiefs%2008.htm was the fire chief in St. Johnsbury and the town offices were in the same building as the central fire station. He would pick up Dad and my licenses and have them just waiting to be signed when we arrived just before midnight on Friday nights. There were no super highways in those days, just primary, secondary, and dirt roads.
Times have changed drastically - Hubert as well as all those old traditions are long gone now. These days we buy our licenses at St. J Hardware.... we've been doing that for twenty-five years now.
Yup, Woolworth's was on Railroad Ave in St. J. Do you remember the checkerboard-painted Purina Feeds elevator in the freightyard just down the street from Woolworth?

[John Dunkle]

Oh my gosh.. You mean the large building down at the end of the yard? It was three "tiers" - and there were always RR cars parked there at the St. J Yard. There was also a big lumber warehouse loading facility on a sidetrack, as I recall - Allen or Allan or sumthin'??

Thanks for the walk down memory lane Dean..! Yep - last time I went up there, it had all changed..?? Even the rustic village/town of Barton looked a whole lot different..

I dun'no - it all just seemed so much simpler then.. My first pair of leather-lace-up hunting boots I bought at the Glover General Store for the whopping price of probably $15..

JD

[calvin humburg]

Dean, Thats a really neat spot is the central fireplace still so u could build a fire and cook something, that would b neet 2 cook in a 200+ year old fireplace. good day ch

[Dean Romig]

Calvin, I'll get a better picture of the remains of the Hall Place this weekend and post it so you can see just how far gone back to the earth it is.

[Rich Anderson]

Somebody needs to invest in a good pointer, Dean looked a little haggard and I bet he chases Deer.:whistle:

[Dean Romig]

Rich, I was a little haggard for sure - it wasn't easy walking.

I can only imagine how many woodcock we could have put up if we had a good dog.

[Dave Suponski]

We ended our grouse season this weekend.We hunted hard in on/off snow squalls Saturday and Sunday. Moved a few grouse who flushed far out and received a few "Hail Mary's" Dean and Danny managed to scratch down one woodcock each.A great weekend and a privilege to hunt our New England cover's. Only problem is that next October is so very very far off...
First picture...Dean's 16 gauge hammergun and woodcock
Second picture..."Cranky ol Pa'tridge Hunter"
Third....Romig having a heated discussion with a red squirrel
Four....Saturday night
Five....Me working my butt off fixin dinner.

[Rich Anderson]

The end of Grouse season:shock: Say it isn't so. Ok so is it the snow thats bothering you or is Dean chaseing Deer again?

We have two weeks of regular season then it closes for the 14 day firearm Deer season and opens back up in December.

It looks like Dean was after a little mixed bag of Squirrel and bird. I'm surprised there are still Woodcock up there. Gives one hope for the next two weeks:)

[charlie cleveland]

those are some good lookin photos...that sure was a large tre that squirl went up...and i know how to fix supper now...over all looks like yall had a good hunt... charlie

[Dean Romig]

The down cycle of the grouse, the windy weather causing the few available grouse to flush at 30+ yards, the fact that I have to haul my boat to storage next weekend, and the firearms deer season that begins at 0'dark-thirty on Saturday, Nov. 13th are the various reasons that our 2010 grouse season has come to an end. Of course, if I happen to kill my buck on the first weekend of the season I'll be totin' a Parker for the rest of the season.

A sizable filght of woodcock came into our hills with the October full moon and have apparently stayed the week. I think the snow squalls this weekend will give them the incentive to join the highballing flocks of Canadas we see winging their way southward. The unusual arrival of woodcock to our upland Vermont hills surely saved our bird season up there, the grouse being as scarce as they were.

But we have plenty of fodder for memories and a few good stories from this great season and Danny has promised to grace an upcoming issue of Parker Pages with his own story of a traditional "Grouse Camp" and his own memories.... right Danny?
It was sure hard to leave that place this afternoon but the knowledge that we have many more seasons ahead of us makes it just a tad easier.... but the wait is a killer.




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