SPORTS
East Oregonian
B2
Saturday, August 14, 2021
On the track of the bear
GARY
LEWIS
ON THE TRAIL
T
here was a time when
bighorn sheep were
numerous as deer in
these canyons. And more
recently, there was a time
when deer were too many to
count. In our corner of the
Pine Creek Unit, we saw a
lone mountain goat, a small
herd of elk, a precious few
mule deer, and bears —
maybe too many bears.
On this hunt with Pine
Valley Outfi tters and guide
Lucas Simpson, of Halfway,
it took three days before we
found the bears, all together
in one canyon feeding on the
hawthorn berries.
We had four hours maybe,
for this last eff ort. Out in the
August sun now, the tempera-
ture hovered in the mid-80s.
Up onto the hogback we
climbed, saving our strength,
going slow, one foot in front
of another. Hundreds of yards
up the rising plateau we
stopped. Sweating, we folded
our mountain-burned legs in
the shade of a grove of trees.
Here there was a spring and
some cooling in the shade.
Shadows lengthened, yet
the sun was still full on the
rock faces of the mountain.
This is how it happens, I
reminded myself. Sit in one
good place. Let the animals
move. Let them show them-
selves.
There comes a moment
in days like this when the
animals have to move. A time
for water. And there is no
giving up. Hunt till dark. Stay
at it. Believe in the process.
A bear. It was on a level
as high as the goat had been
the day before, and it strolled
a narrow ledge like it was
a sidewalk. Black. Almost
silver-black against the gran-
ite cliff s, its coat seemed to
glint in the afternoon light.
It turned and showed a white
patch on its chest. When it
reached the shoulder of the
ridge, it angled into a stand of
hawthorn and fed through it
and out into the open again. It
was on a course straight for us,
but when it went out of sight, it
veered into a side canyon.
We had found where the
bears were. They were in the
hawthorn patches and it did
not matter that apples, plums
and seven other kinds of
berries were on the bushes.
The bears wanted hawthorn
berries. And here were
hawthorns. And fresh piles
of scat on every trail.
In the last 15 minutes
of light, a dark chocolate
brown shape materialized
on the brush line and then
the bear stood up on its back
legs. Not the black one I had
seen earlier, a diff erent bear.
Watching its back trail, it
seemed to be looking for our
guide Lucas Simpson in the
canyon below. How many
other bears were in there?
In the scope, I could see
the white hair on the bear’s
chest. Under my thumb, the
safety clicked through into
“fi re” and the crosshair found
the white patch. Finger on
the trigger, three pounds of
squeeze, the punch of the rifl e
on my shoulder.
Down in the creek bottom
at sunrise, we found the bear
where it had cooled to 40
degrees, and skinned it for
a rug and for the burger and
steaks it would provide.
At this time of year in the
Blues, in the Wallowas and
the Elkhorns, a hunter should
prospect for bears in the high
Coach
Continued from Page B1
Gary Lewis/Contributed Photo
Oregon’s bear population is thought to number close to
30,000 animals, spread over approximately 40,000 square
miles of habitat. Plentiful, but not easy to fi nd. In the late
summer and early fall, a hunter should focus on the grocer-
ies to fi nd a bear.
MORE
INFORMATION
The fall black bear
hunting season opened
Aug. 1 in Oregon, and
continues through the
end of 2021. The deadine
to buy a tag is Oct. 1.
meadows and old burns.
Patches of hawthorn berries
are a favorite food source,
but not the only one. Where
huckleberries and blackber-
ries grow wild, a hunter can
fi nd a bear by watching trails
that lead from bedding areas
to feeding areas.
When the weather is
unseasonably hot, expect to
see bear earlier in the day and
again later in the evening.
But a person should commit
to hunting the whole of the
day; bears feed any time they
feel like it.
Berries are a food source
that can be counted on year
after year. Some seasons are
not as productive as others,
but when the berries are ripe,
the bear know it.
———
Gary Lewis is the author
of Bob Nosler Born Ballistic
and Fishing Central Oregon
and other titles. Gary’s
podcast is called Ballis-
tic Chronicles. To contact
Gary, visit www.garylew-
isoutdoors.com
Youth pheasant hunts planned this fall in Oregon
EO Media Group
SALEM — Hunters 17
and younger can sign up for
free pheasant hunts happen-
ing around the state this fall,
including events near La
Grande, Irrigon, Ontario and
the John Day Valley.
The Oregon Department
of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW)
and its partners stock pheas-
ants at these special hunts
that give youth a head start
on regular pheasant seasons,
which start in October.
Most hunts are at ODFW
wildlife areas in Septem-
ber, with some scheduled for
October.
Register by logging in to
the youth’s account at MyOD-
FW’s Licensing page. Then
go to “Purchase from the
Rick Swart/Oregon Department of
Fish and Wildlife
Hunters 17 and younger can
sign up for free pheasant
hunts around Oregon, in-
cluding in Irrigon, this fall.
Catalog” and look under the
Category/ Class/Workshop
/ Outdoor Skills. Hunts are
listed alphabetically by city
name. Registration is only
online; it is not available at
license sale agents.
These events are open only
to youth who have passed
hunter education. Volunteers
bring their trained hunting
dogs to some events to hunt
with participants. Some
events also host a shooting
skills session before the hunt.
The hunts are free, though
participants need a valid
hunting license ($10 for youth
12 and older, free for age 11
and under) to hunt.
Yout h hu nt e r s age
12-17 also need an upland
game bird validation ($4).
Purchase before the event,
online or at a license sales
agent (reminder that ODFW
offices remain closed to
public access until Sept. 1.)
Licenses and validations will
not be sold at the events.
Some areas will host the
event both Saturday and
Sunday. Youth who register
for one day may hunt stand
by on the other day.
“Youth pheasant hunts
are a great chance for young
hunters to fi nd early success
and put the lessons learned in
hunter education to work in
the fi eld,” said Jered Good-
win, ODFW hunter education
coordinator.
For help signing up,
contact Myrna Britton at
503- 947-6028 or by email,
Myrna.B.Britton@odfw.
oregon.gov.
Event dates and locations:
• Irrigon Wildlife Area
( bet ween I r r igon and
Umatilla), Sept. 25 and Sept.
26. Sign up for morning or
evening hunt (morning only
on Sunday).
• John Day Valley, Sept. 18
and Sept. 19.
• La Grande, Ladd Marsh
Wildlife Area, Sept. 18 and
Sept. 19. No advance regis-
tration required.
• Ontario (on city prop-
erty), Oct. 16 and 17.
“I’m excited to take the
job,” Ashby said. “The
kids are great, they want
to come out and work. I did
two years as the off ensive
coordinator. Boor gave the
program everything he had.
He did a great job.”
Ashby grew up in
Pocatello, Idaho, and
played basketball at East-
ern Oregon.
“I got my masters in
teaching there,” Ashby said
of EOU. “I met Boor at a job
fair, and here I am. I teach
weights and I love it. It’s
a great job. We got a new
weight room two years ago.”
After Boor stepped
down, Ashby threw his hat
in the ring for the job.
“When I found out I
had the job at the end of the
year, I had about 30 kids
tell me they were going to
come out. About half of our
kids, maybe 10-15, have
been showing up and work-
ing out. They seem pretty
excited to play. A lot of them
work and they put in long
hours at their jobs. They are
hard workers.”
Ashby will get help from
Florida native Tyler Volpi,
who will coach the off ensive
line and will be the defen-
sive coordinator.
“He played college ball
and is pretty knowledge-
able,” Ashby said. “He’s
great.”
Ashby will have a hand-
ful of returning players with
experience.
“I know for sure we will
have two seniors, Nate
Graham (running back/
wide receiver/outside line-
backer) and Nathan Ellis
(safety/running back),”
he said. “They are a big
part of what we do. I have
young quarterbacks in
Riley Lantis and Anthony
Lopez, and Tyrese Boyd
at wide receiver. Once
they are there, they work
hard. The problem is
getting them here.”
PENDLETON
LINEBACKER’S CLUB
HALL OF FAME
CELEBRATION
HALL OF FAME BANQUET
Friday, August 20th at the
Pendleton Convention Center
5 PM- 9 PM
Tickets available at the Door, $35
In spite of not having our annual Hall of Fame event last June, Linebackers
continued to honor all of its scholarship commitments which amounted to
$25,500 including the Shindler-Bunch Scholarship. We have continued
our scholarship support in 2021 in spite of limited competition, fewer
home games, and the inability to actually watch athletes compete.
The Buckaroo football team went 5-2 this year and with many young players
the future looks very bright. This year’s Requa Scholarship goes to
Tyasin Burns; the Alex Stuvland Memorial Scholarship goes to Sam Coleman;
and the Schindler-Bunch Scholarship goes to Blake Swanson. It should be
noted that Mike Schindler and Dick and Anne Bunch have graciously
increased the amount of this scholarship to a $15,000 one time gift.
Congratulations to all of our scholarship winners and thank you
Mike, Dick and Anne for your continued support and generosity.
We look forward to seeing you at the
Hall of Fame Banquet!
We will be honoring those inductees who were actually selected last year.
Jim Malcom • John Vorvick • Nicole Osborne-Stewart
Shawn Flanagan • Bobby Jones • Brent Merriman • Debbie Kishpaugh
Steve Richards • Craig Christianson
Rob Burnside
The 1954-55 Buckaroo Football Team
The 1964-65 Buckaroo Football Team