无毛视频

Mar 26, 2016 By Ben Moyer for The 6 min read

It无毛视频檚 not for everyone. But the small remnant corps for whom it is are fine with that. They get the night woods to themselves.

Hunting raccoons with treeing hounds, shortened to 无毛视频溛廾�视频榗oon hunting无毛视频� in common parlance, is a rural American tradition with roots reaching back to colonial times. It无毛视频檚 always done at night because, well, a raccoon sleeps through the day in some hollow tree. At night, when raccoons are active, they leave scent for the hound to follow.

Ralph McClain of Lemont Furnace called me last month and asked me along on what would be one of his last hunts of the season. I couldn无毛视频檛 turn him down because I无毛视频檇 hinted endlessly over years for an invitation. Anyway, I wanted to go.

I had an idea what to expect but learned a lot about 无毛视频榗oon hunting nuance. The first and most significant thing I learned is that 无毛视频榗oon hunting is ideal to do with kids. Ralph picked me up after sunset with his two sons Jesse, 15 and Alex, 12 perched abreast on the pickup seat and their Treeing Walker hound, Daisy, stowed in the dog-box in the bed.

When we reached a spot where the McClains had permission to hunt, the boys pulled their gear from a locker and started adjusting helmets and headlamps with a professionally competent air, impressive when exhibited by ones so young.

无毛视频淵ou wear a helmet because it holds your headlamp, which leaves your hands free to push aside the brush and briars,无毛视频� Alex explained. 无毛视频淎nd sometimes branches fall from above.无毛视频�

Jesse then pulled a battered little, open-sighted .22 out of the cab, worked the bolt twice to make sure it was unloaded and slung it across his back, where it remained all night. Coon hunters, satisfied to savor their hound无毛视频檚 skill at trailing and treeing, often let a raccoon go unscathed after a chase. But occasionally they无毛视频檒l shoot one off the tree 无毛视频� 无毛视频渢o keep the dog interested,无毛视频� Ralph McClain observed. Raccoon pelts have cash value 无毛视频� although the price is down at present 无毛视频� and the meat is delectable when properly prepared.

While the boys prepared for the night无毛视频檚 hunt their dad let Daisy out of her box. She nosed around and was gone into the darkness before I noticed her absence. The McClains were not concerned.

After that our hunt traced a pattern forged over hundreds of years. The boys, their dad, and I walked along a ridgeline trail through dark woods in the direction Daisy had gone. I listened for the hound无毛视频檚 baying but the hunters were engaged in walking conversation. Three abreast in the path, the boys无毛视频� headlamps darting up and down, their dad无毛视频檚 light steadier and directed downward, they talked about past hunts they无毛视频檇 shared, kids in school who thought this pastime was weird, and others who envied it. After a while we stopped and huddled. Ralph cocked his head and nodded southeast.

无毛视频淗ear her? She无毛视频檚 treed,无毛视频� he said, grinning.

I listened hard but heard nothing over my breath.

无毛视频淟et无毛视频檚 move out here a piece,无毛视频� Ralph suggested.

We walked to a rise of higher ground and I could hear Daisy无毛视频檚 无毛视频渃hop, chop, chop无毛视频� baying, insistent and sure, a long way out the ridge.

无毛视频淪he无毛视频檒l stay right on that tree until we get there. Doesn无毛视频檛 matter how long it takes,无毛视频� Jesse said.

We continued along the ridge, fending off eye-poking twigs in the darkness, as Daisy无毛视频檚 baying grew louder. Finally, we pushed through the brush to see her standing with front paws on the trunk of a huge chestnut oak, her head back and her muscular throat hurling bawls up the tree. Father and sons surrounded the oak and combed its branches with light-beams.

无毛视频淥ver here Dad,无毛视频� Jesse offered.

I thought he无毛视频檇 spotted the raccoon but he无毛视频檇 located a yawning cavity in the oak无毛视频檚 tree无毛视频檚 bole, doubtless where the quarry had taken refuge.

无毛视频淭hat happens. Late in the season like this 无毛视频榗oons will tend to den,无毛视频� Ralph explained.

The hunters pulled Daisy off the tree and we commenced another hunt. This time we walked to an inviting spot on the side of the ridge where Ralph signaled that we should sit down and wait. In some ways, this was the best part of the hunt. The night was mild and the stars were bright, more like stunning. It was the kind of lovely sky most of us miss almost always, watching television, sitting at a computer, but there it was 无毛视频� dark, soft and somehow reassuring. And the McClains were quietly marveling.

The boys pointed out stars and constellations, and at one point they noticed a distant car无毛视频檚 headlights cresting a hill.

无毛视频淭hat无毛视频檚 over on _____ Road,无毛视频� Alex opined, displaying an admirable knowledge of local topography.

Then we heard Daisy无毛视频檚 bawl down on the creek. I sat there watching father and sons take pleasure in her reporting her progress, gaining ground.

无毛视频淗ear that?无毛视频� Ralph beamed, pointing out that the pitch and intensity of Daisy无毛视频檚 baying changed when the raccoon climbed a tree and she had it pinned.

We picked our way down a dark, rocky ridge to the creek bottom where Daisy, this time, had treed on a big wild cherry.

But again the boys detected a cavity-den on the trunk, into which the raccoon had certainly entered.

They pulled Daisy off the tree and we began a round-about route back to the truck, which would moderate our climb up the ridge. But we hadn无毛视频檛 gone far before Daisy 无毛视频渟truck无毛视频� scent. We heard her dash across the stream and followed her bawling up a long ascent of the opposite ridge.

This trek was a long one, uphill through jumbled rocks. The boys moved carefully, feeling no need to risk a fall.

无毛视频淪he无毛视频檒l be right there when we get there,无毛视频� Alex reassured.

At the top Daisy again indicated the appropriate tree with her barks. And again the tree harbored a den hole.

无毛视频淭hree 无毛视频榗oons run and three in the den,无毛视频� Ralph wondered. 无毛视频淚 don无毛视频檛 know if that无毛视频檚 ever happened to us before.无毛视频�

None of my companions, though, seemed disappointed; except Daisy, who didn无毛视频檛 want to abandon the tree.

But it was late. Jesse leashed Daisy and we picked our way down the ridge, across the shin-deep creek and slogged up the other side to the truck.

无毛视频淐all your mom and let her know we无毛视频檙e okay,无毛视频� Ralph instructed. Alex made the call, Daisy climbed into her box and we shared a cold drink of water.

We tend to believe 无毛视频� because we are told it every day 无毛视频� that we must buy a lot of gadgets or go to faraway places to be fulfilled or inspired. But I have three friends who know that all you need is a dark night, some deep woods, a good dog, and each other. And, oh yeah, once in a while a furry masked mammal that climbs big trees.