The $450 Shed

Prior to this weekend, I had been able to get out and shed hunt twice so far this spring, and neither were in great conditions. I took a drive up to camp on February 19 for a day of shed hunting, hopeful to get back on the government road. While I was able to hike about 4 miles, the government road was ice covered and I had to hike behind camp. Additionally, there were still a few inches of snow on the ground, making an already difficult task even more challenging. Not exactly what I had hoped for, but a good day nonetheless.

I did another 5.7 miles on February 27 on some public ground by Shenango Lake, but once again there was still some snow cover, and I was on unfamiliar land.

Needless to say, when the snow melted last week I was eager to get into the woods in prime shed hunting conditions.

Well, let me just start by saying this past Sunday’s shed hunt was anything but “as planned”. I headed up to camp Sunday (March 6) morning at 6:45 AM in hopes of a full day of hiking in the ANF.

I arrived at the government road around 8:30 AM. The snow, aside from a few shaded spots, was melted and the leaves were dark and wet. A perfect shed hunting day. Now, the government road usually remains iced over late into the spring as snowmobiles cruise it all winter, packing down the snow creating a mean layer of ice.

When I arrived and assessed the road, it looked “slushy” but nothing I didn’t think my truck could handle. I decided to give it a go and pulled up onto the road. After about a half a mile of slush, some bare spots, and a few minor ice patches, I came to a long, downhill, pine-covered stretch. As I began down the hill, I noticed the ice hadn’t yet melted in the dark shade provided by the overhanging pines. It didn’t take long before I began to slide.

I began pumping the brakes on and off and slightly fish-tailing each way. I slid my way to the bottom of the hill when I finally got the truck under control. Phew.

Immediately, I began to slowly turn the truck around deciding it was (obviously) wise to head back out and just shed hunt behind camp. As I began to drive back uphill, I made it about half way before I felt the tires begin to spin under me.

Soon I didn’t have any traction and began sliding back down the hill… backwards. As the bed veered toward the bank, I saw some trees in truck’s path and braced for impact. I thought there were two likely outcomes: I was either going to hit a tree, or roll the truck.

To my (somewhat) pleasant surprise, as the passenger side of the truck fell down off the edge of the road, the truck neither rolled nor hit a tree, and was somehow held up from doing either by the driver side tires. Unable to easily get out the drivers side door, I shimmied out the passenger door.

Still in shock, I got my phone out to call for help but… no service. Great.

I decided to hike to the top of the hill, where I thought I would have enough service to make a call.

I was able to get ahold of a local towing service that was willing to come try to get me out. Two hours later I could hear the engine of a tractor coming down the road. They proceeded to pull me out, chain the tires, and we all drove out. As a side note, two other trucks had shown up since I got “stuck,” so I wasn’t the only one thinking the road was okay.

After getting to the end of the government road and back on the hard road, the gentleman from the towing company said, “well, pay up and we’ll get ya out of here.”

“What’s the damage?” I replied.

“Well, you’re not gonna like it… it’s gonna be $450”.

“Geez!” I said to myself, but understood that they came out on a Sunday with lots of equipment to get me out of a tough situation. I paid up and was on my way.

Now 12:00 PM, I debated calling it a day multiple times but decided to try to hike a few miles behind camp to clear my head before heading for home. I talked to Kelly on the way back to camp and she said, “I have a feeling you’re going to find something awesome”. “Well, if I do, it’ll be the most expensive shed I’ve ever found!”

I made a swing down below the “graveyard stand” before looping back to where I did a lot of hunting this fall. I was 1.7 miles into my hike when I looked right below me at about 10 feet and saw a nice white 4 point side laying perfectly, tines-up, beneath a pine. I was ecstatic, and there it was. The $450 Shed.

I looped around the shed and got a few pictures before picking it up.

As I picked it up, I noticed it had a cool knot/hole on the outside of the main beam. An ANF trophy for sure. One that I think will soon sport “$450” in sharpie somewhere along it.

I ended up hiking 4.2 miles on the day, far fewer than I had originally anticipated, but at least with one shed to show for my efforts. While $450 is a high price to pay for one shed antler, it is much less than the damage that could have been done to the truck or myself. It was a lesson learned the hard way, and one that I won’t soon forget with an antler now displayed for a long-time to come.