Scouting

Agness and Illahe are located near the confluence of the lower Rouge River and the Illinois River in the Siskiyou National Forest. The one million acres of Siskiyou National Forest contains five designated wild and scenic rivers, the most famous of which is the Rogue. The 35-mile wilderness stretch of the Rogue River is one of the most sought-after whitewater runs in the world, both for the thrill of the whitewater and the incredible scenery through which it travels.

A small wooden sign reads Agness - population small. There is a store, library, a two room school house and the Agness Post Office that was established October 16, 1897 and named after Agnes, the daughter of the first postmaster. The area is popular for fishing, hiking, river rafting . . . and turkey hunting. Today we went scouting for wild turkeys. I learned where they nest and what areas they like (open meadows and shrubs) how to call in the big gobblers with a wooden box call that sounds just like a female turkey. The males hear this and gobble back at you and with any luck come running. We found two trophy birds at one site. Mature long bearded males that responded to the call and came right for us - competing for the unseen female lurking in the trees. Pretty sneaky but thrilling when they come to your call and ruffle their feathers and pump up their chests.

We scoped out several beautiful remote areas. Many with local Native stories of skirmishes, encampments and sweat lodge remnants. Indian pictographs adorn some rocks nearby but we did not get to see them this trip. Also several old pioneer cemeteries are here and I was curious to see if there were any zombie wood rat nests (or Sasquatch condos) near them. Maybe next trip when we are better armed!

Jock showed me his home away from home and his favorite swimming hole. Can wait to try it out with a big inner tube this summer. We practiced our aim at those nasty tin cans and I got two with one shot . . . seriously! We can all sleep better tonight.

My latest adventure in wild cuisine was rabbit. As a former bunny lover and long eared pet owner it was a tough meal to swallow but delicious and I thought more like pork than chicken. Hopefully I will be eating wild turkey dishes soon.

Another incredible adventure in this beautiful place that would not be possible with out Mr. Headlee - expert guide, wild executive chef and all around fun guy. Thank you yet again.