I hunt 90 o/o of the time with my nephew or 1 or both of my sons and sometimes i take guests with me,very rare do i hunt alone.When we hunt all the ginseng that we dig is one bag,one day i may dig a pound or more and one of them get 8 or 9 ounces and the next day that might reverse but at the end of the day there is one bag.Of course it is simpler for us because I am a dealer and whatever there part of the bounty is i pay them for it,unless someone is drying some and then we just weigh that part out for them...
I do not use a gps but highly recomend that any one hunting in the woods should use one just in case they need it.The Lord has blessed me very good in directions of the Mountians,I do not know how to exsplain it but I know my way in the woods and out without help,just the mountians and the sun with observation is all that i have ever needed,but my sons and my nephew do not go like that without me,if i am sick or not able to go when my back is bad they would take a gps.My nephew has often told me Uncle Bill i do not know how you can remember so many places.
I/we always take more water than we need,we also take crakers potted meat or something of that sort in a backpack.I also no many things in the mountians to eat from berries to roots to leaves and mushrooms we enjoy mountian food nearly every trip in the woods some of my favorite are ,berries,crows foot,bears lettuce,wild peaches,apples,and many more.Our Mountians have many water supplys as well.It is not unusal to come across a natural spring from time to time.I know where many such places are.
I have about 60 different areas that I hunt changing every year and not returning to a spot/area till the 3rd year and if all is well stay there in that area and if some poacher or unwise digger has ruined a area i plant seed,then i move to the next area,i remember all of these areas in my mind and do not have them wrote down or in a gps.My sons and nephews have learned alot of these places by heart but Johnny does have a list just in case.
I think the worst thing that ever happened to me in the woods was once i walked up to place in the mountian where it was divded by a big wash out/drain it was about 10 ft deep and 10 to 12 foot wide,well i was decideing where the easyer/better way to cross was i saw a spot that seemed good and i was walking up to the edge to look down and cross when all of a sudden the earth gave beneath my feet the water at some time had got to the top edge and had washed out the ground under the bank and there was some roots that had kept enough dirt in place to have weedsplants still growing on the top of the root,but when something heavey as a man steped upon the roots the earth just went.There was a big oak root and my leg wenbetween the root and the ground behind me and i stoped going dow when my feet caught ground beneath me about 2 1/2 foot below,my weight shifted me from the fall towards the drop down of the washout,i give the lord thanks for helping me because i do not know how that i did it but i forced myself tobalance and pull my weight back towards the bank behind me ( thank God for the root being strong enough to support my pull ) all the fall and the weight and pressure was on my right leg about the knee area.It should have broke my leg into literaly and let me fall into the washout,but it did not.I was able to get back up on the bank behind me,but i was sevearly hurt,it messed my knee up from that time on unto this day,that has been about 4 years ago now.I was able to get out of the Mountian but it took me awhile and I couldnt hardly wak for about 2 weeks.
Other than that bee stings,ticks,nats,skeeters,briars,snakes etc have always been on my non desirable list
but not one or all of those things have ever moved me not to hunt ginseng,and not only ginseng but all of the other herbs that i love to hunt and just being in the mountians alone is enough in ts self with all of the beauty there is no better life.
Billy.