The coronavirus pandemic has had a profound impact on the world, bringing life as we know it to a screeching halt. As we look at what has happened to China and Italy, we fear and wonder if that amount of sickness and death could happen here.
Our situation changes daily, and many states are talking about statewide “shelter in place” orders.
For now (and this could change tomorrow) I’m still shed hunting. I could be wrong, but I think it’s a good idea. I’m getting exercise and I’m getting out of the house — two things that may go away if we’re forced to shelter in place. Plus, I’m completely avoiding human contact.
With many people out of work now, and students out of school, I expect an uptick in shed hunting pressure this year. More people will have more free time on their hands. Getting outside and walking in the woods is a good way to avoid human contact, and personally, I find it’s a good way to clear your head — especially when we’ve got something as heavy as a pandemic weighing on our shoulders.
Over the weekend, I took a shed hunting trip. I wanted to head south to get out of the snow and do some shed hunting on bare ground. I packed several days’ worth of food and drinks. I put a twin-sized mattress and a sleeping bag in the back of my truck. And I paid at the pump when I bought gas. I completely avoided human contact. Walking in the woods gave me an eerie feeling. I felt like the sole survivor after Armageddon in a doomsday novel. And I couldn’t help but think back to the days following 9/11. After all flights had been grounded for days, I remember I was goose hunting when I saw a plane fly over. Seeing that plane was profound. It made me realize life was getting back to normal.
We’ve got a long way to go with this coronavirus, and it’s going to get worse before it gets better. I hope you’re taking the necessary precautions to protect yourself and your family, and I hope you have plenty of venison in the freezer. But we will get through this.
In case you’re wondering, my shed hunting trip was mostly a bust. I couldn’t gain access to one property. Another had been logged. A third place still had a lot of snow in the woods. I finally broke through and found one small, old, slightly chewed antler. It’s not a very significant shed. But I wonder, when this pandemic is all over and life gets back to normal — or at least as normal as it can be — if someday I’ll look back at that little shed and remember the dark times the world experienced during the coronavirus pandemic.
— Joe Shead is a hard-core outdoorsman and a dedicated shed hunter. Professionally, Joe is an outdoor writer and a former managing editor of Deer & Deer Hunting magazine. His years of shed hunting experience inspired him to write the first full-length book about the topic. “Shed Hunting: A Guide to Finding White-Tailed Deer Antlers” is recognized as the ultimate guide to finding whitetail sheds and can be purchased on his website.
