Dodger2

<--------------- This picture is from Unit 29 from the 2010 hunt....this all burned...but haven't been able to get to it yet...still closed.

Gutpile, The Horseshoe 2 fire effected almost the entire unit. We lost our cabin in that fire and I have been down twice working on the cleanup (we have access permits for the cleanup/repair). There was a mosaic pattern to the burn. Some areas are TORCHED, others were ground cover burns, and there were others that weren't even touched. I was down two weeks ago and the areas that had a ground burn only were greener then any green that I have ever seen. Saw 11 deer on the main road driving out, saw 2 rattlesnakes as well. The unit isn't a total loss, but very little of it was not touched. I have the same tag that you have and have hunted down there for over a decade. There is definitely some promise, and almost every tank is completely full due to all the run off (flooding actually) since there isn't any ground cover. I am remaining as optimistic as possible about this season...there areas that I usually hunt aren't open yet and could be closed until October. Good Luck. I have found that the further you get away from the main roads the better.

"white gmc in the first spot at grayling cg" That was me...kids love that spot.

Here in Tucson we got the storm that caused all the dust. There was a constant rumble of thunder outside. Sounded like a jet flying over head. I stopped and just listened to it, thunder just wouldn't stop. It was pretty cool, never heard anything like it. One of the better storms we've had in awhile. We need some more moisture like that all over...just not all at one time like we had.

In the early 1950s my dad's father, my grandfather, built our family cabin (by hand) in West Turkey Creek in the Chiricahuas with my dad running around in diapers. My grandfather hauled the rocks in his 1941 International truck to build the cabin. As time went on, it eventually got to the point that my dad was then bringing my brother and I up to the same cabin. I grew up deer hunting and learning how to fly fish on Turkey Creek on rainbow trout that ended up in the creek. I can remember running around with my first bow and arrow, a tan fiberglass bow with cheap wooden arrows. My parents still laugh about the day I (I was about 8) came running into the cabin telling them I was going to shoot the turkey. Not believing me, they said go ahead. I came back in telling them again, I'm gonna get that turkey. At that point, my dad steps outside with me and then realizes that there really were about 4 turkeys on the hill across the road. That was before the Gould's Turkeys had been relocated. The turkeys lived to see another day....I remember watching my dad fall through the ceiling installing the plumbing. I remember having to walk across the road to use the outhouse before there was indoor plumbing. There are many, many more memories from my childhood as I "grew up" in that canyon. To be honest, I almost got to the point that I thought it was "my canyon." Of course, my brother and I got older, and now we have been able to bring our children up there and started creating new memories.... Unfortunately, we got the news on 06/08/11 that we lost our cabin in the Horseshoe 2 Fire. The memories will always be there, but right now I'm crushed, frustrated, more than furious, and I could go on and on.... Our cabin November of 2010...deer season... Our cabin as of June 8, 2011...

This is where we stand at this point...We got our permission letter to go into the canyon to assess and make repairs. We are only allowed to be there during daylight hours due to the hazards associated with falling trees and (now) flashing flooding. My folks went up over the weekend. On their way up they saw 16 deer and said that a lot of the burn was ground cover. Most of the ridge tops were burned pretty bad. The burn was a mosiac pattern in the canyon (W Turkey Creek). There are still a lot of green trees and the area around the creek below our cabin was not touched. Here is the kicker though, I have heard that our cabin burned due to a back burn that was done on a red-flag day with 60mph winds. There are a total of 6 cabins in the area where our cabin is. Ours was the only one that burned and the back burn was started right across the street from our cabin. The wind kicked up and blew embers into the tree tops near our cabin and then caught the roof on fire. According to my folks, the pine needles and grasses are still on the ground under burned trees. There were 2 firefighters left as "lookouts" on the day of the back burn and they had to escape the results of that by breaking into another stone cabin to get away from the flames. I really hope that this isn't the case! I know that my mom took some photos of the area and hopefully I can get those soon. Thanks for all the offers for help. Right now its gonna be just the clean-up process and since my brother and I work opposite days and my folks are in their 60s the large items (fridge, stove, hot water heater, etc) will be the first things we are gonna work on getting out of there.

Well, in southern AZ I'm just praying for rain right now...without it you won't be able to go anyways since all of the forests are closed...and my haunts (unit 29) are burned or burning right now...I'm hoping that I will be remodeling the cabin during the August hunt...but the bow will be close by during the breaks....

According to the site, there is a meeting June 15th in Tucson for public comment. That could get interesting.................

Thank you for all the replies and the offers to help. At this point we don't know what the plan is or what we are gonna do. One concern that we have about being able to rebuild is that we don't own the land, we lease (100 year lease) it from the Forest Service so I'm not sure if we will be allowed to rebuild. I'm really hoping they will let us. The clean-up process will be tough emotionally. I'm dreading that drive, but in a way I can't wait so that way I can start the process. I will say that I am thankful that I have the memories and that this wasn't our primary home. I know there are a lot of people being effected a lot more than we have been by the Wallow Fire and still some residents in the Chiricahuas that are being effected. They are in my prayers right now!!!

My wife doesn't know what to say to me. She knew it was important to me, but I dont think she knew how important. My parents lost their house 4 years ago to a fire. My in-laws lost their cabin in the Aspen Fire on Mt Lemmon. Its getting old. If you look in the lower right hand corner you can see another cabin that was spared. The ridge in the background appears to be green still as well....hopefully the fire is done in that area. The rancher that took these said the fire has been really spotty. A total of 3 burned out of 15...I guess it must be in our genes..........

This isn't Big Lake, but this is a picture of my son at Crescent Lake last June...I was planning a trip to Big Lake/Crescent Lake at the end of the month and my son asked me if we could go to Crescent Lake....that was tough question to answer.... This is the Chiricahuas before the Horseshoe 2 Fire...another one of my favorite places...this is my wallpaper on my computer screen.... Some tough times right now for sure.....

I've been checking on the Horseshoe 2 fire almost daily (and usually 2 -3 times a day). Its getting worse at almost 60K acres. I'm crushed. I practically grew up in the Chiricahuas. My grandfather built our cabin in W Turkey Creek in the 1950s and now my brother and I are taking our kids down there...thats 4 generations...and it could soon all be gone... This is our cabin and the fire is heading right for it.....they have structure protection crews in the area, but I'm still real nervous. The roads are all closed (which I understand) so we haven't been able to get to it to get things out. Lots and lots of memories....

This is a photo of my Grandfather and my Uncle with my Grandfather's mountain lion that he shot near Tyrone, NM in 1967. It was shot with his Winchester model 70 .270. My Grandfather bought the gun in 1952 and he was the second owner. In 1958, my Grandfather added his own personal touch to the gun and added some inlays below the receiver using black ivory from an old piano (or violin depending on which Uncle you ask) and ash from a pick handle. He also added a pentagon to the stock to repair a crack. Along with the inlay work, he jeweled the bolt himself. The scope on the gun is a Weaver 6x that was purchased in the 1960s. Few pictures.... This gun was always called "Grandpa's 270" by everyone in the family. He was very proficient with this gun and he killed many deer, javelina, rabbits, and coyotes with it. It was his "go to" rifle. My Grandfather passed away in the late 1990s, and this past Christmas I inherited the gun from my Uncle. My brother got his 8mm-06 Ackley Improved (that he built using a Nazi Germany mauser--it has the swaztikas stamped on the barrel). Just thought I would share this with people who would appreciate it. This is my "prized possession" in my gun safe.

My wife and I are planning a trip to Taos, NM for our anniversary. For one day, she is going to a day spa and she says I can go fly fishing. Works for me!!! Anyway, since I only have one day and will be very limited on time I am looking for a guide service. If it was just me and I had more time I would be able to figure where to go and what to use, etc. but thats not an option. Any suggestions out there? Figured I'd ask here....I've searched around but it all looks/sounds the same to me on the internet. Thanks

Thanks for the info...I will look him up.

BowNut, That shows some serious dedication/addiction to the sport! Looks pretty sore...that'll keep your elbows off the dinner table for awhile.....When I lived in Flagstaff (about 15 years ago now) I was an archery nut, but with work, family, lack of time, relocating, etc. it has gone to the back burner. I sure wish I was as dedicated as I use to be.........no tattoos....yet....

The wife and I are running the 10:30am leg....did the Columbia "Muddy Buddies" in the fall...had a great time.....

The wife and I were doing some work around the house when she tells me I need to come look at something in the side yard. I find a pile of feathers and our gravel is piled up in one spot like something has been buried. I get the rake and dig up a partially eaten bird, wings, etc. Its a large bird (pigeon sized) so I'm thinking its probably not a house cat. I've heard of lions burying uneaten meals, but this is too small for a lion. So I set out the trail camera on the hose bib outside the house....This is what I got Looks like he was coming back for his late night snack. Actually surprised me he came back so early. If I could only get him to take care of the pigeons that are living above my garage....

Were you at the G&F office at around 1230? Saw a white jeep with a CW sticker across the front window there today. I was in the white GMC.

I would suggest pepper spray. With the taser or stun gun you will require composure and discipline in a very stressful situation to insure that it will have the full and appropriate effect. Pepper spray (OC spray) is much easier to discharge and needs to just be "close." A cloud of pepper spray may effect the person using it, but it will also effect the intended target and if the intended target is deterred long enough for the victim to get away (even if there is some exposure) the OC can be washed away. The results of an attack my take years to "wash" away if the victim is unable to operate a taser or stun gun appropriately when its needed. I will also advocate for the self-defense training and also encourage just general situational awareness.

Looking back at it I thought I would share my "successful" November in the Coues mountains that I love. Its a little long winded, but its an entire month deer hunting....... My November 2010 season started off with my early November hunt that I spent in the mountains in southeastern Arizona. I was able to hunt for six days and even though I didn't shoot a deer I was able to spend the time in the mountains that I love with my son, my brother, and my father. I was able to sit on the side of a quiet mountain (when the 8 year old was quiet) and not worry about life's stressors and enjoy what the mountains have to offer. My son "glassing" the cows..... One of our hillsides "Camp" - Built by my grandfather in the 1950s... Our front "yard" for six days.... Now I didn't just sit and relax...I was there for a purpose. We were glassing up deer everyday and seeing bucks every day, just not the ones that we were looking for. We did locate a nice buck on the last morning, and since I shot a deer last year he was offered to my dad first. My dad is getting up in years and getting around isn't as easy as it was in the past and the buck was about 900yds away so my brother got a crack at him. My brother took off and I stayed on glass watching where I last saw him. My brother worked his way across the canyon until he got about 350yds from him. At that point, the two unseen does worked their way up the hill to the exact spot where the buck was and he exited stage left. Oh well...that's why its called deer hunting. After seeing close to 100 deer and numerous bucks our season was over, but it was successful and I learned something new again. After a couple of weeks of rest, I was back out in the hills. This time I was out helping a fellow member on his son's first coues deer hunt during a junior hunt. My son tagged along as well. I wasn't able to get out to help until their last day, but at 9:30am we had his son's very coues deer on the ground! Then a co-workers hunt started on the late November hunt and he asked my brother and I to come help him out. We were only able to make it out for the last day of his hunt. The wind was howling that morning and it was cold (cold for southern Arizona). At about 8:30 that morning my brother picks up two bucks working their way across/up a hill at about 1000yds away. My co-worker and his buddy set out to get closer. As my brother and I continue to watch the bucks we bed them down near the top of the hill. While we wait, I pick up movement above the two bucks. I immediately noticed the antlers...this buck was one of the biggest bucks I have ever seen. We were able to get my co-worker on the radio and after several frustrating minutes of trying to tell him where the buck is at he finally finds him. Then the waiting begins....shoot....shoot...shoot....thats all that was going through my mind! After what seems like an eternity..."BOOM"...dust.....the buck just stands there....then "BOOM"....more dust...the buck then decides to leave the area. My co-worker checked the area...nothing...clean misses. Three different hunts and one deer (a first deer) down and a lifetime of memories. Thats what I call a successful November 2010.

I showed this to my 8 year son....his response "What the heck is that....If we see that we are gonna shoot it...."

Great pics! Brings back some memories of the float trip I did on the Madison River out of Cameron, MT in 2004. It was awesome...caught fish all day long. That was a trip of a lifetime for me!

My son stepped on one last summer...got him on the toe. He ended up in UMC about an hour later. It was weird. He came in screaming and we couldn't figure out what was wrong, couldn't see anything wrong with his foot. About 15mins later he starts complaining of stomach cramps and nausea. While at UMC the doctors started showing us other symptoms. His tongue looked like it had worms inside it...he got two doses of anti-venin. They are nasty critters...hate them more than anything...he does too....

My brother and I were out scouting in 29 last week. Every ditch we crossed was running and the tank below where I shot my coues last year was spilling over. While glassing it seemed like every rock face had water running out of it. So there is lots of water down there right now.... On another note...we also found a rattlesnake that wouldn't buzz....I'm just glad he was out in the open and not hiding in the tall grass that was everywhere.