The Deer Hunters

On our drive very back from South Lake this past weekend we coincided with the opening day of deer hunting season over Sonora Pass. Suddenly those clearings in the forest along Highway 108 we're full of groups of grown men dressed in camo....and they were not from the Marines' Mountain Warfare Training Center. They were loaded for deer. They were everywhere, although most seemed to be within a few yards of the road by the time we drove by before noon.

Given the massive fires this summer, you have to assume that the deer range is a lot smaller than it used to be, and the hunters were stacked in pretty thick. We were glad we weren't hiking in this area.

At the same time, we noticed a check point for successful hunters on the way down the hill. There was only one truck with a deer in it at the checkpoint...so the deer were holding their own, apparently.