“Rough Run” is a hardscrabble
forest road near Ft. Seybert, West Virginia that is home to a row of old
hunting cabins. You only have to drive a
quarter down Rough Run before you hit
the George Washington National Forest and enter the home of Appalachian Black
Bear. Most people come for a few days,
maybe a week, before going back to civilization. Sprinkled amongst the shingled-sided cabins
and weather-worn mobile homes are a few hardy souls who call Rough Run home.
Of the handful of year-round homes
on Rough Run, the Davis clan claims
three: Jerry Davis, Sr. keeps watch at
the entrance to the forest, Scooter Davis lives across the lane, and Jeff
Davis, the king of local black bear hunting, lives at the bottom.
The dedication required to this
pursuit means that if you get the hound hunting/bear-hunting bug, you’ve become
a part of a brotherhood (and sisterhood) of like-minded kooks like no
other.
For those of you unfamiliar, West
Virginia is a hound hunting state. If
you want to get yourself a black bear in West-By-God, there is no baiting. The only allowable way to hunt is to take a
pack of hounds into the forest, find a track, and have your dogs chase that
bear up a tree.
Not that there is anything wrong
with baiting, but hound hunting requires a bit more dedication to the
craft. Dogs need to be fed, cared for,
and trained 24/7. There’s no such thing
as a part-time hound hunter. Either you
spend most waking hours away from the job working with your dogs or you’re
wasting your time and money. And this
whole thing costs a ton-of-dough.
Between the tracking devices, the vet bills, the trail cameras, dog
food, tricking-out the pickup truck, and vehicle maintenance… you get the idea.
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