“The cut’s and bruises have healed, the emotional high remains…let’s do it again!” The short note came from my father roughly two weeks after we finished one of the most challenging, rewarding and fun elk hunts either of us has ever done. Our mind has a funny way of remembering things. Over the epochs, Read More
Over the course of 6 trips, in and out, and nearly 40 miles, I question whether or not it’s worth it.
Glassing up hill I strain my neck to view through dead timber. Like a bunch of intertwined skeletons the trees offered little respite. Out of nowhere an ear and antler fills my view. A double take confirms it’s not an aberration. A third look and a glimpse of a royal tine the size of, Read More
Ping… Whack… THUNK. “Whoa, hey! No throwing rocks at the house!” I yelled to my four year old through the suddenly vulnerable window. “I’m NOT Dada!” he shot back with an eye-roll that would make a fourteen year old proud. WHAP. “Dude! What was that?” “I’m throwing rocks at the SPIDER!” he explained, exasperated, Read More
With light beginning to fade our only option was a last ditch effort to circle the bunch and get down wind. We forced our hand.
Summer is in full swing. Runoff is over and water is shaping up in most parts of the country. Early morning tricos, attractor dries and hoppers will be the name of the game for the rest of the season. In short it’s a good time to be fishing. But something else is afoot. I stopped, Read More
Shuffle… shuffle… drag. Mr. Teavendale, my sixth grade science teacher, taught me that movement is one defining characteristic of life. Shuffle… shuffle… drag. Inching through the bowels of an airport qualifies, I suppose. Shuffle… shuffle…drag. But it’s not my ideal form. Step… step… glass. Slinking through broken timber is movement too. Step…step… glass. The, Read More
I was about to step haphazardly into the run and throw a few half-hearted casts. Although it was as nice of water as you could imagine we had seen little sign of life. It was early in the season and the water was frigid. As I let the ice-cold liquid wrap around my ankles my, Read More
I’ll admit, I struggle to take my kids hunting with me as much as I would like. It’s logistically challenging and not all situations are well suited for children under the age of five. Winter is tough and so is anything that involves a lot of hiking or long days. In the absence of, Read More
“Dada… um… is that elk dead?” asked Everett, peering tentatively from the garage doorway, eyes pinned to the hanging animal. “It sure is.” I answered from my seat at the butchering table. “Want to come in and see it?” “That means it can’t move anymore” he said, either reminding himself or seeking confirmation before, Read More