Last year I had my first successful elk hunt in WY. The previous year I went out with the assumption that hunting here was like hunting anywhere else. I was wrong.
Let me point out that I define hunting as the act of locating, tracking, and/or stalking animals with the purpose of taking that animal's life to provide for you and your family. (If the following statement offends you, it's not my problem, it's yours. I have my opinions, you have your's.) Sitting in front of a feeder waiting to take a shot is not hunting, it's trapping. Hunt is an active word for me. It means spending time with your feet on the ground moving through the target prey's habitat, and learning to be a part of that world. I have plenty of people I know that aren't physically able to hunt, but they can trap. I have no problem with that. Get out there as much as you can in whatever way you can. When I can no longer hunt, I will probably trap. In the end, for most it's about being out there and connected to the natural world. When you harvest your own food from wild or wildish areas, you gain a connection to this life that, unfortunately many in our society, don't and never will know.
After years of outdoors experience ranging from TX to NC, I have managed to end up in the Rocky Mountains. My first year hunting in the Snowy Range was a slap in the face. I had never hunted any terrain like this. Have you ever heard the phrase "god's country"? Well imagine that god is throwing you a test aimed at breaking you, and the landscape is the test. Fallen timber, loose rock, boulder ridden cuts, marshy valleys, steep terrain, and then throw in the elevation, this land can be very unforgiving and trying. That said, the pay off comes in views that take what breath you have left away. Open meadows framed by mountains, old glacial cut valleys and draws, mountain lakes, and wildlife everywhere, this place is about as close to my idea of heaven as I've found. It will take every ounce of mental and physical strength you can muster though. The rewards abound, but so does the work.
This year I have decided to do something that I haven't done since my days in the military. I will begin a full workout regiment. I've always been fairly active since those days. If it hasn't been physically demanding labor, it was training for half or full marathons, or hiking and backpacking. In other words I have stayed physically active. Still my physical condition feels left lacking for this area. Guys like Cameron Hanes are beasts when it comes to physical strength and endurance. They can be an inspiration, and then there are others that find it intimidating to even look toward guys like that. I find inspiration to some degree, but most people can't even imagine trying to be in even half that physical condition. I'm just a regular guy. I have some physical ability, but I am by no means what very many would consider a beast when it comes to physical strength. I'll hit my training, what I find and see for wildlife and hopefully share a successful hunt story with you this fall.
