The Grouse Hunt 2012

A year ago I wrote about our annual grouse hunt and the near tragedy that occurred.  The hunt has been an annual tradition since the 1970s and includes old high school friends, family members, our grown children and many others.  Almost 100 people have camped and enjoyed our outing in Northwestern Wisconsin over the years, and the core group had always remained intact.  This year we held our hunt and camping outing, with a different mix of participants.  Last year I was leaving to move to Taiwan and announced to the group that the hunt would be my last.  Others also suggested it was probably their last time as well, for a variety of reasons.  I am back in the U.S. after living in Taiwan for seven months, and my son organized this year’s hunt.  The older participants didn’t return, but the new group was very enjoyable.  We actually barely hunt, but rather cook food, drink beer, fish a little, tell stories and enjoy a long weekend in the woods, before winter begins.  The site is a beautiful cliff situated above a waterfall, on a scenic river.

The old group had a legacy breakfast maker.  He didn’t want to be known as Mr. Breakfast, but he served us well over the years.   This year one of the young guys made his hangover burgers, which in addition to a burger, included jack cheese, an egg, bacon, corn beef hash and Korean chili sauce on a roll, served with hash browns.  Mr. Breakfast we would love to have you return next year, but you can relax and enjoy the great food these young guys are making.  My son made a fantastic gumbo made with shelled crawfish tails and Andouille sausage.  There were midnight bratwurst served, which makes so much sense; I’m surprised we never thought of that before.

My son pitched one of the largest tents you will find, affectionately known as tent city.  You can see about one third of the tent in a picture below.One of the highlights was the frequent flybys of eagles, up and down the river, just yards away from our campsite.  We saw numerous Bald Eagles and another eagle we couldn’t identify.  We debated whether they were Golden Eagles, but concluded there were no longer any Golden Eagles in Wisconsin.  Actually after research and some picture comparisons, I can say they were indeed Golden Eagles and there are at least 100 located in Wisconsin.

I hope some of the old participants return next year, however regardless of their involvement, the new group was fun and they seem eager to continue this long tradition.