Outdoor highlights of a Frantz family Christmas
Outdoor highlights of a Frantz family Christmas
By Tyler Frantz
I absolutely love the holiday season. With delicious meals, quality family time, and the true meaning of Christmas spreading holiday spirit to one and all, it’s easy to get a warm, fuzzy feeling about this special time of year. Add a young son’s Christmas morning joy, and the season really becomes magical.
Another perk is that I get the week between Christmas and New Year’s off from work to enjoy the many outdoor offerings our diverse state has to offer. Seldom being able to take personal days from fall’s busy academic calendar, the five-day post-Christmas break is always welcome, and I try to make the most of it. This year, my family took care of me in regard to outdoor-themed reading material. Erin’s brother Casey gifted me Philip Tome’s “Pioneer Life; or Thirty Years a Hunter,” a historical journal of Tome’s settlement of the Pine Creek Valley back in the early 1800s.
My brother Travis gave me “Dawn of American Deer Hunting: A Photographic Odyssey” and “Looking Back: Stories of Hunting, Fishing, Family & Faith.” Needless to say, I am really enjoying these excellent reads, along with all my other wonderful gifts from family and friends.
The Monday after Christmas began with our annual rite of passage, the “Flintlock Hunter’s Rendezvous,” for the opening day of the statewide traditional deer season. Although we had fewer numbers than usual, with only four being able to hunt, we still hit the mountain to try and make something happen.
In three drives, my electronic step counter calculated a distance covered of 8.52 miles. We moved deer on each push, but lacking the coverage we needed to properly space out our posters or prevent deer from breaking back into the drive, we simply could not get the deer to go to the stand.
Regardless, three of the four hunters at least saw some deer, and we were able to walk off the extra calories from the previous day’s meals. After all, climbing steep mountain ridges provides some outstanding exercise. Tuesday, I was blessed with a once in a lifetime invitation to join a snowshoe hare hunt in the Poconos. With slushy snow on the ground, and a thick wall of rhododendron covering much of the swamp we were targeting, the hunt was far from easy.
After several hours of beagle work with no chase, my host Ed Reed’s dog Tippi struck a hot trail and began to bawl. Ed’s son Rob missed a tough shot as the hare fled through the brush, and a more than half hour chase ensued.
To my good fortune, Tippi eventually brought the snowshoe right to me, offering a clean 20-yard shot that I made count. It was an exceptionally rare treat, as it was the very first hare I’d ever seen in my life, let alone hunted or harvested. I was extremely grateful for the opportunity. On Thursday, I checked the small trap line I run behind the house to keep predators in check while protecting my barnyard poultry flock, only to find a huge raccoon caught along the creek. The old boar weighed a whopping 20½ -pounds and measured 34-inches from nose to tail- much larger than the young coon I caught but released again late last winter.
Trapping remains a challenge as I continue to learn more about this vexing but worthwhile endeavor. Nothing beats the irony of seeing a bushy-tailed red fox frolicking across your neighbor’s pasture while walking to check your fox set only 40 yards away.
On New Year’s Eve, our flintlock gang once again assembled, albeit in greater numbers. We had ten hunters this time, which resulted in a countless deer seen, eight shots fired and only one kill. Mike Gross, of Cleona, took his very first flintlock deer, while I got to miss something like flintlock deer number 42 and 43. Yes, you read that correctly. I missed twice, and no, I do not shoot a flintlock muzzleloader well. Perhaps I should simply stick to my archery equipment.
Much of New Year’s Day was spent intermittently tending my electric smoker, creating delicious venison summer sausage from this year’s buck. Slow-smoked for 10+ hours over hickory chips, the savory coins of bologna and cheese will be enjoyed for months on end- if they last that long. Regardless, it was a satisfying way to end the break.
Looking back on the week, my only regret is not getting in a waterfowl hunt, as many friends were finding success with abundant migrators passing through our area, but there’s only time for so much. Nothing can replace time spent with family, and all my outdoor experiences could’ve been stories in themselves. It was a good break, and I’m thankful for the rejuvenating time afield. I’d like to take this time to wish everyone a safe, happy, healthy and prosperous New Year. May the memorable outdoor moments continue in 2017.
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