A cloudburst dropped over an inch of rain in less than 4 hours last night. My trail was transformed into a creek that would have been impossible to negotiate in the dark.
I was so busy negotiating the flooded trail that I didn’t notice the resident buck. We were within a few feet of each other when the wind shifted. I caught movement out of the corner of my eye and watched him race to higher ground before stopping to turn and look at me.
The first time we crossed paths, the buck didn’t even notice me. I’d been camping at the end of October and smelled like a campfire. I used the opportunity to practice stalking and watched the buck meander and browse in and out of the shadows.
This was the end of the warm weather. By sunset the temperature had dropped 20 degrees.