Sometimes the best trips aren’t measured by what you bring home.
This morning Jaylah and I were out the door just after 7am, heading into Belanglo State Forest to scout a few new spots for the coming deer season. It was a brisk 4°C, the sort of morning where the air is crisp enough to wake you up before the first cup of coffee has a chance.
Driving into the forest we spotted several deer bounding across the road, which was a pretty encouraging start. After reaching a location I’d picked out the night before on the NSW hunting maps, we quietly made our way along a ridge overlooking a deep gully.
There wasn’t much to hear besides the birds and the occasional breeze through the timber. After settling in to watch for a while, we eventually heard movement somewhere below us. Slowly working our way down the slope, we finally found the culprits—a small mob of feral goats feeding through the undergrowth. We spent a while simply watching them before marking a few promising locations on the GPS and making the climb back out.
By the end of the morning we’d seen deer, goats and rabbits, along with plenty of fresh sign and scat that tells us we’ll definitely be back.
As always, the little Hults Bruk Åby Forest Axe came along for the walk, although it stayed on my pack this trip. There was no need to cut timber today.
And that’s something I think people sometimes miss about axes, camping, hunting and hiking.
They’re rarely just about the gear.
They’re about the places those tools take you, the conversations you have while sitting on a rocky outcrop overlooking a quiet valley, and the memories you build with your kids when nobody is looking at a screen or worrying about what time it is.
Sometimes the best part of the whole day isn’t seeing game.
It’s simply sharing a beautiful place with someone you love.
Restore it. Use it. Pass it on.
