The Darian shirt by Haeleum is a high-tech piece of outdoor apparel with excellent versatility and an affordable price tag. While moisture wicking and quick drying fabrics are virtually the norm in performance t-shirts, adding anti-microbial, sun protection and bug repellent properties make this a truly unique piece.
Over the last two months I've worn this shirt hiking and hunting all over the great state of Oregon. The Darian is soft and comfortable, and still looks new after a dozen washes. For me, the torso fit is perfect, but the arms are cut too short. I wear a large, and as far as I know my arms aren't unusually long. The Darian's sleeves stop well before my wrist bone, which results in me rolling them up when worn as a standalone piece.
The Darian really shines in the sun. Under a scathing September sun for three days on an early season bow-hunt in Central Oregon, I returned to camp every night dry. Credit the DryTru polyester fabric. I hate carrying sunblock and I hate wearing it even more. A 50+ UPF rating means that I'm protected, even in the hottest conditions.
Late in September I wore the Darian everyday for five days straight. All day long slogging up sloppy mountainsides and bushwhacking through dense drainages. After some big climbs and big sweats, I never felt cold or wet. The shirt performed flawlessly. It dried quickly and always felt new. Even at the end of the trip. The shirt was wrinkle free and didn't stink. I could have wore it for another five days.
Insect repellent clothing is always in demand, but in late summer and fall in central Oregon, insects are simply not a problem. It was the only property of this shirt that I couldn't test. However, having a disdain for insect repellent sprays nearly equal to that of sunscreen, I have used Insect Shield® clothing in the past during the height of mosquito season and found it highly effective. Combined with the UPF rating, you're looking at a seriously protective shirt.
Overall I am absolutely impressed with this shirt. If you picked up a comparable shirt at any major outdoor retailer you could spend upwards of $100. That's the real beauty of it. The $36.99 price-tag is unbeatable. I would like to see a camouflage pattern more applicable to west coast hunting, but this isn't just a hunting shirt. I would recommend it for any year-round outdoor activity. Especially for those who carry less but expect more from their gear. The Darian shirt can do it all.
In the high Cascades.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received the Darian Camouflage Shirt for free from Haeleum in consideration for a gear review.
Picking Bloody Basin for our archery hunt was an easy decision. Although close to Phoenix as the crow flies, the poorly maintained forest roads and rugged country keep the masses away. Plus, Bloody Basin is classic coues country: high desert creosote scrub lands with plenty of juniper, mesquite, palo verde and prickly pear cactus. Bloody Basin is vast but the people are few. After last year's failed mule deer hunt in the Cave Creek region of Tonto National Forest, we resolved to do plenty of scouting this time around. Our scouts in Bloody Basin revealed lots of deer. Glassing opportunities abound in Bloody Basin, and we spotted groups of coues bucks on multiple occasions. One such group was a bachelor herd of around 5 or 6 young bucks. We spotted them bedding and feeding on the same hillside on multiple occasions. It was this group that would be the focus of our hunt.
Glassing
From our camp at Red Creek we reached a position to glass the hillside at first light. We immediately spotted two coues does feeding near the same spot where we spotted the bachelor herd in our scouts. Since it was now the height of the rut, we assumed that the bachelor herd would be split up, which seemed to be the case since we never saw any herds with more than one buck. We watched the does for most of the morning, and when they were bedded, decided to take a closer look. They were bedded on a hill just below a ridgeline. This ridgeline would prove to be the focal point of our hunt for 4 of our 5 days in Bloody Basin. The topography at this location was challenging because on the ridge was a mesa that could realistically only be accessed from two sides due to the giant cliffs that surrounded it.
Red Creek camp
Early afternoon on the first day we spotted a large buck chasing a group of does at the base of our hill. It was the first time I've ever got to see a rutting buck, and I felt like I was part of something special having the privilege to witness it. We were chomping at the bit and the day was disappearing. We decided to put on a stalk. The wind was in our favor as Jim and I split up to find the buck. I climbed to the base of the hill while he stayed low, in the hopes that one of us would be in a blocking position if the buck spooked. I put on my best desert ninja impression. I walked carefully and deliberately. I glassed often. Jim spooked a doe. The sun set behind the mountains. We returned to camp.
Hiding
Day 2 was more of the same, minus the buck. We spotted a doe at first light feeding in the same spot we stalked the buck the night before. Thinking that maybe the buck was near but bedded down, we crept to about 130 yards from the wary doe. She eventually bedded behind a prickly pear in a thicket of juniper. We were in great position hiding amongst some junipers on an adjacent rise, and we watched her undetected from pretty close. I could have sat there watching her all day.
Next morning the buck we were after skylined himself on the ridge at first light. Wasting no time we scampered up the backside like we had on day one. We were moving quietly and the wind was in our favor as we passed some old ruins from a time when Indians hunted these lands. I felt like we had a real chance of getting that buck. Unfortunately we rounded a bend and found our route blocked by a herd of grazing cattle. Since they weren't moving and our day was wasting away, we decided to just walk calmly by them. The huge cliff that I mentioned previously prevented us from taking a more circuitous route. As soon as the cattle saw us moving toward them they spooked. There were probably only ten of them, but they thundered up that hill straight toward the area we spotted the buck. We were too committed to the stalk to just give up so we continued moving forward, but inside I felt like the buck was long gone... and it was.
Near where we spotted the buck from the valley to the left.
Jim glassing from the ruins on day 3
That turned out to be the closest we ever got. Day 4 was spent glassing from sun-up to sun-down without seeing anything but a couple red tailed hawks circling overhead. Our buck was seemingly spooked for good. The morning of day 5 we switched locations all together. We had glassed 4 bucks scouting this new location and caught a 3x3 in a game cam (the other 900 plus photos were all cattle), so we were reasonably confident we would see some deer. The new location was farther south, and the terrain radically different and vastly more difficult to hunt. Catclaw (also called "wait-a-minute bush") covered this area. If you've never ran into catclaw in the desert before, count yourself lucky. It is one vicious plant. It was so thick that it literally stopped us in our tracks on more than one painful occasion. It ripped our clothes and our skin, and made any attempt at stealth impossible. Where there wasn't an obscene amount of catclaw, it was instead thickets of scrub oak, which really aren't any better. Surprisingly, we spooked a bedded buck from about 15 yards away. It shot like a dart across a field of catclaw bounding over the thorny vines like some kind of desert acrobat. That buck literally covered 100 yards in the blink of an eye. It stopped on a catlaw covered hill and hid behind a prickly pear. We glassed it for a few minutes while trying to formulate a plan. Because of the dense catclaw and scrub oak, by the time we reached the hill that buck was long gone.
Jim and I on the last day. It's hard to tell but all those bushes behind us are the dreaded catclaw.
Even though we came up empty handed, we certainly didn't come out empty headed. I felt like I learned a ton about hunting on this trip. If you follow my blog, you'll know that this is only my second hunt ever. From what I've read, hunting coues deer with a bow is considered one of the most difficult hunts in the world. Maybe I was little too ambitious in planning this trip, but frankly, I still feel like I could have got one. I feel like I have what it takes. More than anything, it's about putting in the time, which is what I just don't have a lot of. This may be my last coues deer hunt ever as I am moving to Oregon in the Spring. That little whitetail taught me a lot in those 5 days, and I hope to carry on the knowledge... By the way. In 5 days of hunting in Bloody Basin we saw a grand total of 3 people, and none of them were hunters. We had the place to ourselves.
With archery deer season a month away I've been itching to get outside for some scouting. I returned to the spot in Tonto where I put a stalk on a large mule deer buck last season. There's so many places here that I want to explore, and Sugarloaf Mountain has been on the top of the list. This time of year the desert is so nice. The heat is a shadow of its summer self. This area is a favorite of mine, partly because of its location to my house, but also because Cave Creek provides a reliable source of water in the desert, which is a rarity. So, I was shocked when I reached the creek and found it bone dry. The usual clear flowing water replaced with a bed of sand and dry cracked mud. I've been here over 20 times in the last 3 years, and I've never seen it dry.
Coyote or lion?
The dry creek bed offered me a rare chance to experience the area's wildlife in a whole new way. I saw dozens of tracks dried in the mud as I abandoned the trail and walked north in the creek as it wound further into the mountains. I spotted plenty of bird and rodent tracks, but no deer. I also saw what I originally took to be lion tracks, I was sure they were lion as I followed them along the bed, but after I got home and studied the photos I now believe they belong to a large coyote.
Garter Snake
I slowed down as I reached the approach to Sugarloaf where I saw the buck last season. It's hard to be quiet in the desert, and my footfalls were crunchy on the loose rocks. I almost stepped on a snake that was crossing the ground in front of me. I love seeing any kind of wildlife in the desert, so even a common garter snake will cause me to pause and just watch for awhile. Climbing up a nearby mountain was slow going, The country here is rough and rocky, and full of all manner of cacti. My pace was slow as I navigated the terrain, while trying to stay quiet and watch for rattlesnakes. Finally I reached a good spot with views of the valleys and hillsides surrounding Sugarloaf. I sat on my pack and glassed the day away with my new binoculars. I picked up a set of 10x42 Alpen Wings to replace my old Bushnells. They looked great in the store, but out in the field they just don't seem to be as good as I hoped.
It was a fun and productive day. I didn't spot any deer or see any sign other than a few old tracks. Certainly, I didn't see anything to make me believe that deer of any number are in the area. I didn't even find any scat. Before I cross the area off my list as a potential hunting location I think I need to spend the night out there so I can glass at dusk and dawn. Such a trip is at least a week away however, as I am heading to Joshua Tree for three days on Friday. Stay tuned.
Some of you may know that I took up the bow recently. I can't believe how much fun it is. I can't believe it took me 36 years to pick one up. Archery deer season began in January, and with it a new reason to get outside. Some people evolve from backpacking to climbing or mountaineering, but for me, I'm evolving toward self-reliance. That's what I've always loved about backpacking: relying on myself for everything. That's why I chose a recurve. It's simple. It takes skill and instinct developed though practice. Hunting, I think, is the next evolution in that self-reliance concept that I'm pursuing.
Jim and I decided on the Cave Creek area of Tonto National Forest for our hunt. We both know that area very well, and that played a big role in our decision. That area isn't exactly known for an abundance of mule deer, but a trail cam nearby at Spur Cross Ranch Conservation Area convinced me that it would bear fruit. I follow Spur Cross Ranch on Facebook and they post regular photos from that cam on their Facebook feed. Besides coyote, bobcat, javelina and mountain lion, I have seen plenty of deer on that cam, including at least one large buck. We hunted the area just north of the conservation area.
Camp for the first 2 days.
It was exhilarating hiking under a full moon late Tuesday night. It was my first time backpacking that I've started at 9pm at night. The desert was alive with night sounds and the many creek crossings kept us on our toes. About 4 miles in we camped high on a saddle near Skull Mesa. The wind was roaring and I was concerned that my tarp would take a beating. I set it up in a simple windshield type configuration with the windward side nearest the ground. I didn't get much sleep with the wind pounding my tarp all night. I kept expecting it to collapse, but it didn't.
It was dark when we awoke. After a quick cup of coffee we geared up and hit a hillside that we expected would be a good position for glassing. We had great views into a large valley that the creek ran directly through. To me it looked like a perfect spot for animal activity, but we didn't see anything all morning. There was an even higher peak just to the south of us, so we decided to climb that to gain a different vantage point. Near the top we saw javelina sign everywhere. Holes in the ground. Half eaten prickly pear. Dug out beds under paloverde trees... And just like that javelina were darting about all around us. We saw big ones, small ones, and even babies. We walked right into a javelina herd that had bedded down for the day. Most of them just scattered, but one particularly large javelina stood 10 yards away from me staring at me. I clutched my bow waiting for him to charge me, but he didn't. Frankly I'm not sure he could even see me very well. I told James that if we had javelina tags we would have filled them the first day of the hunt.
Rusted out old Ford.
Our new vantage point on the mountain-top didn't reveal anything new. The valley appeared void of any animal life. We glassed until around 1pm, and not seeing any sign, we hiked down to the valley to get a closer look. Down at the bottom we saw some really cool Hohokam petroglyphs. Although I've seen them before, I always have to stop to check them out when I'm nearby. It still amazes me what the ancient people of the desert were able to accomplish in this dry, harsh landscape. We spent the rest of the day scouting the valley we had glassed all morning. We saw javelina and coyote sign everywhere. We saw bobcat tracks, and a rusted out old Ford that someone had dropped very purposefully over a drainage to presumably act as a bridge. But we didn't find any deer sign at all. We needed a new plan.
Jimbo glassing
That night I saw my first ever wild scorpion. It crawled out from underneath a rock when I was preparing to start a fire. It only took 2 and 1/2 years of desert dwelling to see one! The wind on that second night was even more viscous than the night before. But despite the 40 mph gusts I slept much better. I think because I wasn't worried nearly as much about the stability of my tarp. I just knew it would hold, and it did.
The next morning we moved to a spot that Jimbo had picked out from the map. It was closer to the conservation area, and we reasoned that maybe the deer were staying closer to the park because they just instinctively knew it was hunting season, and of course hunting is illegal in the park. Hiking up a hillside Jim spotted a large buck not 30 yards in front of him. He said later that it was the largest buck he'd ever seen in Arizona (and he grew up here). The buck was onto us immediately and literally the second Jim stopped and whispered "buck", it dropped into a wash and out of sight. We came up with a plan of action right away. I would flank high up the hill and try to drive the buck down the wash into Jim's position below. I nocked an arrow and crept up the hill as quietly as I could. It's hard sneaking in the desert with all the pokey plants everywhere. I was stuck by multiple cacti during my maneuver. I reached the top of the wash and spotted Jim below. We both looked at each other and raised our arms as if to say "where did he go?" We spent the rest of the day trying to track that buck to no avail, but the good news was that new spot we were in was full of deer sign. We decided to move our camp lower so we wouldn't have to make the hard hike up and down the mountain the next day,
Our new camp was near the creek and the wind was nill. Some critter made a racket in a wood pile nearby, and the entire area was covered in Javelina tracks. A spider the size of a mouse scurried through the sand near my tarp, and I was briefly concerned that I would be sharing my sleeping bag with it or one of its friends. We enjoyed the peaceful night as we sat by the fire and planned out the next day. Even though we had come up empty so far, we felt good about our prospects for the next day in this new spot.
It's me.
Early the next morning we were glassing from a hill at the same location we spotted the buck the day before. We spent all morning out there searching in vain. The desert mule deer is not easy to find, and we reckoned that the deer were even closer to the park then we originally thought. All in all, our hunting trip turned into a 4 day scout, as we only spent one day doing any real hunting. We simply could not find the deer. But it wasn't time wasted. I learned a ton... The desert is an excellent teacher.
Arizona is a state with some very interesting place names. I've seen Bloody Basin, Horsethief Basin, Hell's Hole and Hell's Canyon. Seen towns called Happy Jack and Tombstone. It's all reminiscent of the old west heritage of the state, but I've also noticed that these places get those funny names for good reason. Hardscrabble Mesa is one of those places.
Breakfast done right.
This trip was mainly for my friends Jim and Adam who wanted to scout a possible location for an Elk hunt. It borders the Mazatzal Wilderness, and is some really rough high-desert terrain dotted with juniper. What makes the terrain so rough is that the ground is covered in rocks and boulders. It caused us a bit of difficulty finding a good place to camp, as Adam and I were tenting it and needed a spot of land relatively flat and rock-free. After we spotted a few Elk hiding among some Junipers, we found a suitable spot and made camp. We spent the evening drinking beers by the fire (except Adam who doesn't drink), and chatting about the next day's hike.
I had to break the news to the guys that I would be skipping the hunt next week. Since I started my new job at Amazon I've had to cancel several backpacking trips (including a 4 day Superstition trip) due to the really crappy schedule I have. It really sucks, and goes to show why I got back into college. I hate living for work. I hate not being able to do what I really want to do. It makes me feel like a slave.
Adam
The next morning we hiked into the Mazatzal Wilderness. It was slow going because of the terrain. We talked about how difficult it must have been for wagons to cover this ground back in the day. This must be why this area was called "Hardscrabble". It was easy to imagine a lot of broken wheels, twisted ankles, and sleepless nights. We did see plenty of Elk sign throughout, and had a thoroughly enjoyable day despite all the beers we drank the night before. This area is just really pretty, with gorgeous views of the Mazatzal range throughout. I still haven't visited the Mazatzal mountains, but am eagerly awaiting the day that I do. From a distance they look so mysterious and foreboding and remote. I can definitely see myself backpacking there someday.
As I mentioned previously, I am missing the upcoming hunt. I have absolutely zero future plans for outdoor adventuring at the moment, which is quite depressing. On the bright side, this job is seasonal, and shouldn't last past January. I am going to need to do something epic to make up for the lost time.
Hardscrabble Mesa with the Mazatzal's in the distance.
After a hectic couple of months, I've finally made it back to the woods. I was invited by friends to help scout a possible location for an Elk hunt at the end of the year. The spot they were looking at was none other than The Highline Trail below the Mogollon Rim. We made a weekend out of it, camping on top of the rim near Woods Canyon Lake. The entire area was overrun by people, and it took over an hour to find a spot. We didn't set-up camp until 1am, and since we were so excited with anticipation for Saturday's scout, we decided to build a fire despite the late hour, and stayed up talking politics and quantum mechanics. By the time I crawled into my tent it was 3:30am.
We awoke at 5:30am to a bugling elk somewhere near our camp, and after a quick breakfast and a cup of coffee, we drove down to the Geronimo trail-head for our scout. This area of The Highline Trail is also part of The Arizona Trail, making it the most heavily marked trail I've ever been on. Between the white-diamond blazes of The Highline, the frequent Arizona Trail signposts, and the fact that the Mogollon Rim is always visible to the north, it would be extremely difficult for anyone to get lost here.
Arizona Trail signpost
The trail was a lot of up and down, but other than the heat, it was pretty easy going. Unlike further south, the Arizona rim country has tons of trees, and of an impressive variety. We saw big ponderosa pine, alligator juniper, and the alien-like manzanita, which I found to be really cool looking with the twisting red and white bark.
Manzanita
Since the goal of this hike was to scout terrain for a hunt, there was a lot of map reading, and looking through binoculars. I was definitely interested in the insights my friends were sharing about the area, and about elk behavior. The most knowledgeable woodsmen I have ever known have been hunters, and I am always eager to soak up any information they are willing to share. In fact, it made me want to take up the bow and give hunting a go. I like the idea of finding a good hide, and just waiting and watching. As a backpacker, it seems like I'm always on the go. Especially hiking in groups, I find that people tend to hike too fast, and rarely just stop and soak in the surroundings. I think that's why hunters can be so knowledgeable, because they are watching and studying their environment, instead of just hurrying through like hikers do.
Adam scoping out the area.
After returning to camp, the rain set in. I honestly didn't mind, especially after the hell-like weather Phoenix has been having. It rained all night, and we got to witness a spectacular lightning storm overhead. The next morning we fished Woods Canyon Lake. Other then a crayfish, I didn't catch anything. This was the second time I fished on Woods Canyon Lake, and although beautiful, its overcrowded and littered with trash. I don't think I'll be returning.
Overall it was a fun trip. The boys have invited me to any future scouts, and even the hunt itself in November. I am really excited for next week because I'll be driving to Spokane and spending 4 days camping in Farragut State Park for my family reunion, which is always an awesome time. Well, thanks for reading.
