Mr. Courtemanche's Hunting: A Walk In The Woods

The sun disappeared behind the trees in the west as we sat in sloped lawn chairs admiring God’s creation. The weathered wood of the house matched the brown of the trees from which it came, a stream rushed through woods behind the house. We looked into the forest where his memories came to life so clearly. He slouched into his chair while recalling stories and memories made within the woods. He is a short, heavy built man, hands and body worn from years of work, and gray hair expressing wisdom and knowledge of the woods and hunting. He started to recall when his passion sparked and took life, nearly five decades ago. Ed Courtemanche started hunting at the age of 12. He grew up on a farm in Vermont where he learned how to work hard and enjoy the outdoors. For the first 18 years of his life he learned a lot about working the farm, hunting and tracking. While on the farm he and his brother had a BB gun which they hunted rabbits with. When they brought back their first kill, their dad decided they could use a nicer gun. He removed a little 22 rifle from his back closet and taught them how to use the the gun. Because they lived on a farm his dad stayed …show more content…
Courtemanche has learned to track deer and this method quickly became his favorite way to hunt. He has learned to distinguish between a male or female and the age of the track found. Mr. Courtemanche said, “I learned a lot about how to track from simply going out and doing it.” His father also knew a man who had mastered the art of tracking deer and had become widely known by many hunters across the United States for his abilities. Because of this, Mr. Courtemanche learned some tips and tricks from him about the best ways to track. His favorite time to track comes after fresh snow has fallen and everything stands still in the forest. He enjoys these times because of how beautiful the world looks and because the snow brings the deer tracks to life, the perfect atmosphere to pursue the final