I remember the time when I really began to
appreciate the number of hunting areas in this county, at least the eastern portion, when my son Clayton wanted to hunt but only had his learner’s permit to drive. I would drive to the places he wanted to scout, or accompany him so that he could drive to his hunting destination.
We traveled to remote canyons Northeast of Mojave off of Highway 14 to look for quail and chukar. We drove up and down the sparse canyons and when it looked promising, got out and walked. I remember on one of our journeys, Clayton stopped to look around and said “did you hear that?!” I heard nothing, but he indignantly informed me it was quail further up in the hills – a good spot apparently, as he later killed several quail in the canyon.
Around about that same time Clayton began to gain an interest in deer hunting. We drove up small canyons north of Mojave looking for deer and checking springs for tracks where they might have had a drink. We went west of Mojave, where sadly there are only huge windmills now, seeking out both deer and birds.
All this training with my youngest son gave me an appreciation to scout good spots to hunt. It paid off later in life when my husband Ed and I were camping in Mid Hills, part of the Mojave Preserve. While camping we took a drove to the Hole in the Wall Campground area and found Rock Springs, where early travelers had stopped to camp. As we approached the small canyon where the historical monument was, I froze as I saw a wild bee swarm using a crack in a rock formation for a hive.
We couldn’t go any further without angering the bees, but all of a sudden we heard a huge noise and I remembered my encounters with Clayton, as he taught me to recognize the calls of upland game. As we looked up the canyon, we were just in time to see the biggest coveys of quail and chukar either of had ever seen. The birds were calling as if to sound an alarm and as the birds flushed, the sound of their wings flapping echoed off the canyon walls as if a Blackhawk helicopter was entering the canyon.
When we got home I looked up the area and discovered that hunting was actually allowed in this area. This goes to show you never know where you are going to run into a place to hunt. From the arid desert canyons of Kern County, to lush mountain springs of the Sierras, Southern California does truly offer some exceptional places to hunt. So remember from Kern County and beyond, your little piece of hunting paradise awaits you.
appreciate the number of hunting areas in this county, at least the eastern portion, when my son Clayton wanted to hunt but only had his learner’s permit to drive. I would drive to the places he wanted to scout, or accompany him so that he could drive to his hunting destination.
We traveled to remote canyons Northeast of Mojave off of Highway 14 to look for quail and chukar. We drove up and down the sparse canyons and when it looked promising, got out and walked. I remember on one of our journeys, Clayton stopped to look around and said “did you hear that?!” I heard nothing, but he indignantly informed me it was quail further up in the hills – a good spot apparently, as he later killed several quail in the canyon.
Around about that same time Clayton began to gain an interest in deer hunting. We drove up small canyons north of Mojave looking for deer and checking springs for tracks where they might have had a drink. We went west of Mojave, where sadly there are only huge windmills now, seeking out both deer and birds.
All this training with my youngest son gave me an appreciation to scout good spots to hunt. It paid off later in life when my husband Ed and I were camping in Mid Hills, part of the Mojave Preserve. While camping we took a drove to the Hole in the Wall Campground area and found Rock Springs, where early travelers had stopped to camp. As we approached the small canyon where the historical monument was, I froze as I saw a wild bee swarm using a crack in a rock formation for a hive.
We couldn’t go any further without angering the bees, but all of a sudden we heard a huge noise and I remembered my encounters with Clayton, as he taught me to recognize the calls of upland game. As we looked up the canyon, we were just in time to see the biggest coveys of quail and chukar either of had ever seen. The birds were calling as if to sound an alarm and as the birds flushed, the sound of their wings flapping echoed off the canyon walls as if a Blackhawk helicopter was entering the canyon.
When we got home I looked up the area and discovered that hunting was actually allowed in this area. This goes to show you never know where you are going to run into a place to hunt. From the arid desert canyons of Kern County, to lush mountain springs of the Sierras, Southern California does truly offer some exceptional places to hunt. So remember from Kern County and beyond, your little piece of hunting paradise awaits you.