You might notice it in the valley, the morning air is cooler, and a few leaves here and there are changing colors, maybe a few are falling too. Climb in elevation, even ever so slightly though, and the presence of autumn is more apparent than a few leaves and a change in the air. By the time "autumn" really hits here in Boise, it'll hit like a hammer, and up in the mountains it'll already be what we think of as winter here in the valley.
A few days ago I drove my camper up to the base of the trailhead we intend to hunt. The season opens in a few days. Me and the family drove up again last night to check on the camper and the activity in the area, and for what will likely be our last family camping trip this year.
Those leaves are more abundant up high. The air is even more cool and crisp. There are too many 4 wheelers for my taste going up and down the roads, each rider, likely with the same hope I have. To put some meat in the freezer. With a looming opening day and the knowledge that we did not scout as much as we should have, I am not sure how this season is going to go. I feel lucky that I was able to kill the bear I killed a few weeks ago, and I am incredibly grateful for the meat in the freezer, but I do hope that either deer or elk will be successful this year as well.
Hunters wait all year for fall to roll around. Here we are. Gonna give it everything I have got from now till November.