When you live in the Adirondacks and hunt and fish, you become a de facto guide simply by the number of friends from outside the region who want to come up and visit and experience the outdoor opportunities this spectacular place offers.
I can usually accommodate them, especially if we're talking about spring gobblers. Maybe even deer; I did, in fact, lead a Pennsylvania pal deep into the bush a few years back and he even got a crack at a big buck, the kind that tend to grow old in the backcountry and produce gnarly racks.
Lake Champlain smallmouths and ice fishing on Schroon Lake for lakers and landlocks is easily handled, as well. Ditto for trout on the West Branch of the Ausable.
But when a couple buddies from northern Pennsylvania wanted to come up and pursue varying hares – we call 'em snowshoes – I hesitated a bit. I run Labrador retrievers on pheasants, but my dogs are way too hot for the big white rabbits. And while I know a few spots (even around the house), where they regularly trip our motion detector lights at night) I'm not totally in tune with the hare hot spots.
No worries, they said. They just wanted to run their beagles on hares and see how they performed. And kill a few, as well. And how hard would this be, anyway? You look for hare tracks and turn the dogs loose.
So there we were, as the two boys rolled into town on a Friday night for a weekend of hunting. Our three Labs weren't impressed when a pair of beagles pranced into the house and made themselves right at home, but they did enjoy the pizza crust handouts from Ethan and Derek.
After a hearty breakfast on Saturday morning (something you could find at any one of these Schroon Lake establishments), we hit a promising spot loaded with the kind of low-hanging cover favored by hares. The dogs worked well, and it wasn't long before we were serenaded by a pair of bawling beagles, hot on the trail of a big-footed bunny. Conditions were ideal, even for Derek's diminutive beagle Bonnie, who would have struggled had there been any significant snow depth. Even so, the deadfalls presented their own set of challenges.
That trail ran cold, which was surprising: unlike cottontail rabbits, hares don't "hole up" and are always available for tracking.
That's the way the day went, and when it was done we were hare-less. And to top it off, one of the beagles was lame.
This guiding gig was coming unraveled.
But both dogs did take to the field the next day, and we managed a good run early. I carried my Browning A-5 but had no intention of shooting; this was the boys' hunt. So when the hare bounded past with impressive leaps, I simply watched – and listened.
It was Derek who sealed the deal, and the boys admired the hare with appreciation. We called off the day when we noticed the gimpy beagle was still struggling.
But we vowed to get together for a rematch in the big woods.
