The morning of the fourth day started with a search for the “big bear” that The Old Man stuck the night before. They didn’t find much blood that night but the stick looked good on video. That site requires a 20 minute boat ride followed by a back wrenching 40 minute 4-wheeler ride, so they headed out early. For a while they saw no sign of the bear but eventually some blood was stumbled upon and the bear was found a few minutes later. He’d gone 50 yards from the stand but it’s amazing how easy it is for a bear to disappear in that thick bush. The night before they had apparently passed within yards of it without knowing. The Old Man was true to his claim; it was a big bear. It measured better than 20 inches and seemed to weigh twice what the P&Y sized (18 inch) bears did.

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Tred gave an audio interview with Pat Lefemine from Bowsite yesterday about his recent injury and the way it has changed his outlook on life and hunting. Everyone who knows who Tred is should take a listen here.

First, the absurdly convenient, “Post-Traumatic Embitterment Disorder”. Apparently if you get dumped, and you’re mad about it, you now have an official illness. Learn more here. Immediately after learning of this wonderful new disease I diagnosed myself and started texting The Wife about various things I’m bitter about so that she could start fixing them for me. For instance, I’m extremely bitter that the grass grew last week and I don’t think I can get over it. She needs to mow for me. She was not as amused by this as I am.

Actually now that I think about it, there have been some commenters here in the past month that might really have some bitterness they can’t get over. I wonder if there is a treatment available yet?

The second, and far more real disease, is currently called the Lujo virus. It was discovered, like most scary diseases, in Africa. While it initially presented with some similarities to Ebola, it is more closely related to Lassa virus and other Areaviruses.

The first known outbreak killed the initial presenting patient and 3 of her 4 infected healthcare workers. Like other diseases in the undeveloped world, it’s hard to know exactly how long this has been around, or where it really started. None-the-less I’ve been reading the CDC study with morbid fascination. Find more here.

Things like this make me wish I’d stayed in science.

The basic routine from the first day was the same except instead of raining it snowed. It was cold and windy all day but no worse than a Midwestern deer hunt. Once again everyone got on their various stands from 4:00-5:30 depending on how far they had to go. I was sitting alone so I got my camera set up and then sat and tried not to get too cold.

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The infamous TV hunter Tred Barta apparently suffered a relatively rare spinal stroke a few days ago. I’m not what you would consider a fan of Barta but you can’t question his enthusiasm or love of life. I hope he has a complete recovery; the hunting world will miss him in the meantime.

You can follow updates from his co-host and friend Dan Harrison here.

I caught a flight out of KC on Friday morning. After stops in Denver and Edmonton I arrived in Fort Mcmurray around dinner time. Amazingly, my bow case and bag were on the same flight. We were greeted by Brian and Pat Garrett, the principals of Garrett Brothers Outfitting, who made sure everything was proceeding smoothly and on schedule. The next morning we loaded up in two jet boats for a roughly 1.5 hour ride upriver to their hunting camp. We arrived in time to meet the other hunters (8 in camp including us), get a briefing on what to expect and how to judge bears, grab some lunch, check our bows, and head to the stands.

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I’ve been home long enough to shower and put on some refreshingly clean clothes. Now I’m headed out to watch tonight’s UFC with friends. Pictures, videos, and bear stories will have to wait for at least a few more hours. For now, imagine this guy staring up at you and growling, then wandering around behind your tree and starting to climb up…

The librarian at the courthouse knows I hunt and we swap stories occasionally. Her son hunts not far from me. Anyway, she passed along this link to me a few days ago. Take a look…