Longwalker
AH elite
"Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influences of each. —Henry David Thoreau"
It’s dawn, on the last day of deer season. We’ve just picked up a fresh track, and now we have a focus for our attention and desires. But still the mind wanders a bit. It hasn’t been an easy season, or a quick one, or we wouldn’t be here for one more try. Friends and family have greeted us with “did you get something?” more times than is strictly reasonable in the past while, asking in the same friendly way that they might if your favorite team won or lost the game last night. But hunting is much more than a game, more than win or lose isn’t it?
Hunting can be an antidote for the symptoms of modern life. Consider that this same morning a city commuter, riding public transit to the job, will likely have eyes on their “smart” phone so they don’t have to look at others or at endless canyons and tunnels of concrete and steel. Their ears are either plugged in to their device or are bombarded by the clamour of engines and wheels. Smells of chemicals and combustion are masked by deodorants and perfumes. Food is dispensed by machines, and wrapped in plastic. Risk and reward are measured in decimals and compensated by a currency that has no substance. No wonder so many urban people who experience little else don’t understand what drives us, why we have such passion for what we do!
For me, no other human activity demands so much of mind, body and spirit. And no other activity offers such rich and varied rewards. A hunter is the most alert of humans, using all senses simultaneously.
To be a fully accomplished hunter requires curiosity, ambition, athleticism, and skill. Exploring new country or learning the deep secrets of a familiar spot, and figuring out how life works in that ecosystem – including our part in it - are all part of the “game”. Paying attention to everything - sights, sounds, smells, and interpreting those inputs with intelligence and intuition. Making decisions as simple as whether to keep going or turn back, or as serious as life and death. Hunting demands both rugged individual effort and close cooperation with our companions. I believe hunting is a big part of what made us human, and modern hunting returns us in a healthy way to our original and most genuine way of being. The rewards might be good meat to share with our loved ones, but always there are fond memories of a day well spent.
So when we turn towards home on this last day of the season, whether we have filled our tag or not, I know that we can answer their question “did you get anything?” with “Yes, we had a good hunt!”
part of this article was originally published in online magazine Western Woods and Waters Magazine, Nov Dec. 2018 last page.
It’s dawn, on the last day of deer season. We’ve just picked up a fresh track, and now we have a focus for our attention and desires. But still the mind wanders a bit. It hasn’t been an easy season, or a quick one, or we wouldn’t be here for one more try. Friends and family have greeted us with “did you get something?” more times than is strictly reasonable in the past while, asking in the same friendly way that they might if your favorite team won or lost the game last night. But hunting is much more than a game, more than win or lose isn’t it?
Hunting can be an antidote for the symptoms of modern life. Consider that this same morning a city commuter, riding public transit to the job, will likely have eyes on their “smart” phone so they don’t have to look at others or at endless canyons and tunnels of concrete and steel. Their ears are either plugged in to their device or are bombarded by the clamour of engines and wheels. Smells of chemicals and combustion are masked by deodorants and perfumes. Food is dispensed by machines, and wrapped in plastic. Risk and reward are measured in decimals and compensated by a currency that has no substance. No wonder so many urban people who experience little else don’t understand what drives us, why we have such passion for what we do!
For me, no other human activity demands so much of mind, body and spirit. And no other activity offers such rich and varied rewards. A hunter is the most alert of humans, using all senses simultaneously.
To be a fully accomplished hunter requires curiosity, ambition, athleticism, and skill. Exploring new country or learning the deep secrets of a familiar spot, and figuring out how life works in that ecosystem – including our part in it - are all part of the “game”. Paying attention to everything - sights, sounds, smells, and interpreting those inputs with intelligence and intuition. Making decisions as simple as whether to keep going or turn back, or as serious as life and death. Hunting demands both rugged individual effort and close cooperation with our companions. I believe hunting is a big part of what made us human, and modern hunting returns us in a healthy way to our original and most genuine way of being. The rewards might be good meat to share with our loved ones, but always there are fond memories of a day well spent.
So when we turn towards home on this last day of the season, whether we have filled our tag or not, I know that we can answer their question “did you get anything?” with “Yes, we had a good hunt!”
part of this article was originally published in online magazine Western Woods and Waters Magazine, Nov Dec. 2018 last page.
