Crunch crunch…frozen snow makes a noise similar to a five year old with a bag of Doritos. We sounded like three five year olds with 3 party size bags of Doritos this morning as we made our way out into the frozen woods. There would be no sneaking up on game this morning. Lucky for us we were planning to simply glass from a vantage point and try to spot some rutting bucks a long way off. The morning was chilly but not too bad. The toe warmers in my boots were welcomed but I didn’t feel the need for a face mask. The baby blue sky had a thin strip of clouds hugging the horizon. They turned a beautiful coral orange hue as the sun made its debut. Sun streaking through shadows onto spotted snowy underbrush made an interesting backdrop for glassing. The hours ticked by. We saw mule deer and whitetail does in abundance as well as three little juvenile bucks. It felt productive and rewarding but eventually the promise of steaming cocoa and grilled breakfast sandwiches lured us back to the homestead. Feeling the warmth seeping back into our bones has us suiting up to battle the chill once more. Somewhere out there in that underbrush is a large whitetail buck…nose lifted in the air stirred by the scent of a doe. I hope he sits tight for a few more minutes…we are almost there.