A friend recently sent this trailcam photo from one of his hunting spots.

I suspect a lot of mentor/youth hunter groups will be in ground blinds tomorrow, the debut of Virginia’s youth deer hunting day. A lucky few may even have a buck like this walk by their blind.

Blinds are great for younger hunters because kids tend to move a lot. Tomorrow, with rain in the forecast, a blind will have the added advantage of providing some protection from the rain.

I won’t be hunting tomorrow. I think it will be a couple of years before my kids are ready, should they even want to hunt deer.

Instead of hunting, I will spend the morning at Smith Mountain Lake at the Big Lick Triathlon. And, for a change, I won’t be covering it. I’ll actually be doing it.

The race at Smith Mountain Lake State Park, is basically a mile swim, 25-mile bike and 6.2-mile run. When I was doing these in my mid 20s that distance wasn’t too scary. But I haven’t done anything that long since, well, my mid 20s. But I’ve been training a fair amount so I should get through it. The rain will make things interesting, especially on the bike.

It will likely take me just short of three hours to do this race. I won’t be able to go home and veg the rest of the day, either. Another couple invited me and my wife to the Tech-Miami football game. The guy is a triathlete, so I talked him into racing. After the race we’re going straight to Blacksburg to meet our wives, hopefully with enough time for a little tailgating before kickoff. (Here’s hoping the showers at the park beach are open tomorrow!)

Anyway, tomorrow has potential to be a mini-epic!

Good luck to everyone heading out tomorrow with a youth hunter. Be careful, have fun, and send reports and pictures!