Drove up the Hunter's Road for 12 1/2 miles early this AM, a drive that takes 1 1/2 hours because it gets pretty rocky at mile 7. Saw a herd of Mouflon sheep in the archery area. Hiked down to the waterholes I had seen a few weeks ago. 700 feet of elevation loss and really steep, grass that is 12 inches for the most part with clumps that go to 3 or 4 feet. Bushes are thick in some areas but there are meadows here and there with very good visibility. Wind was perfect, blowing gently up the mountain and into my face. Temperature was 55 degrees or so, and there were pockets of frost where the dew had frozen the night before. Whenever I stopped to rest I could hear flocks of turkeys gobbling from all directions, francolin making that weird teal-like call, quail everywhere [I saw several hundred on the road on the way in], and even saw a male ringneck in full plumage. Jumped a herd of 60-pounders 400 yards below the road and watched them feed. Then another herd 10 minutes later, some sows and a nice boar. Waited for the boar to appear from behind a bush but he never did. A bird in the hand, so I clobbered the first sow that offered a shot. She was about 125 pounds and flopped at the shot. I used my Ruger 77 in .300 Win Mag with 180 grain Failsafe handloads. I've killed a dozen hogs with that combo and it makes a nice neat hole on one side and a quarter-sized hole on the other, always a complete pass thru, even on shoulder shots. Dressed her out, boned the meat, let it cool, packed it into my Alice pack, and began the vertical ascent up a really tough hillside. Jumped two more herds, one with a couple of really nice boars. The limit is one pig per day and my limit is a 50-pound pack and a 700-foot climb, so I watched as they fed and wandered around. Stopped to glass behind me and a huge boar was out in the open grass feeding nonchalantly like he owned the world. I watched him for a few and then continued uphill to my truck. There are so many pigs in this place that I carried my rifle loaded and ready for a quick shot. Bumping into a big boar in tight quarters is not something I care to do with an empty rifle.
This was at about 7500 feet and pig sign was the thickest I've ever seen anwhere on earth. I couldn't walk 10 feet without stepping in pig poop, and a lot of it was spanking fresh with happy flies getting their fill. Well-used beds were under most bushes and well-worn trails crisscrossed this way and that. Unbelievable. This was the way it was for at least 100 acres, probably more. There are more pigs here than at my fabled Laupahoehoe. It's wide open country, sort of like the dry side of the Sierras out of Lee Vining. Not the place you'd expect to find pigs.
My camera broke so I used a backup. I'm having trouble with the photos but will post them as soon as I figure out how to. I'm too pooped to write more. A cold beer is in my hand as I type this. Rain is falling gently on our roof and the temperature has dropped down to about 75 degrees outside, really pleasant for Kona.
Aloha for now.
This was at about 7500 feet and pig sign was the thickest I've ever seen anwhere on earth. I couldn't walk 10 feet without stepping in pig poop, and a lot of it was spanking fresh with happy flies getting their fill. Well-used beds were under most bushes and well-worn trails crisscrossed this way and that. Unbelievable. This was the way it was for at least 100 acres, probably more. There are more pigs here than at my fabled Laupahoehoe. It's wide open country, sort of like the dry side of the Sierras out of Lee Vining. Not the place you'd expect to find pigs.
My camera broke so I used a backup. I'm having trouble with the photos but will post them as soon as I figure out how to. I'm too pooped to write more. A cold beer is in my hand as I type this. Rain is falling gently on our roof and the temperature has dropped down to about 75 degrees outside, really pleasant for Kona.
Aloha for now.
