The deer seemed to have moved on. I read that they will move to higher ground as the Spring progresses. I haven’t seen them in almost a week. And the last piles of food I put out have gone uneaten (I guess the birds don’t care for it). The last time I saw them was when we got that last bit of snow. I thought it was because of the snow, but perhaps that was coincidence, and they were on the move, because all the groups I have observed over the Winter were together.

Went on my first camping trip here in Colorado a couple of weekends ago. Got invited by a friend I have met up here, J, and his dog, P, to join them. J lives just down the hill from me, about 15 minutes away down a very rough Indianland road. From there, and this was the coolest part, we hiked out from his place, crossed 160 about 10 minutes later, and then headed up a wide, well maintained county/forest road.

Checklist for Overnighter Shelter tent trekking poles stakes Sleep System sleeping bag sleep pad pad cover air pillow Hammock roo single cobra straps Camp Chair helionox Knives fixed blade - anza pocket - old timer Lighting luci light head lamp Utility Bag compass head net leatherman fire starter aaa batteries med kit consumables Kitchen billy pot utensils Food ramen tuna dehydrated meal cliff bars gu Clothes shorts bound lined britches socks x 2 250wt long sleeve 150wt long sleeve buffs sun hat beanie long underwear

Got a dusting of snow early this morining. Just enough to turn the bare ground white again. It warmed up quickly as soon as the sun got above the trees, and whatever had fallen was gone by noon. Late in the afternoon got some rain for just a spell. Been a while since I have seen rain. There was a bit of graupel mixed in with it. Not many critters around today.

The deer have gotten a bit full of themselves. Over the last couple of weeks they’ve destroyed one bird feeder, and I have had to rearrange the remaining feeders. I had already hung all the feeders because they were emptying them in one night when left on the stumps. Even then, they weren’t up high enough. I caught a couple on the camera rearing up on their hind legs trying to get at the bird feed.