It dawned on me recently I have only been hunting a mere ten years. While this seems like a short amount of time in some respects, when you dedicate your life to something in such a literal sense, you sure come to the conclusion that a decade can make a difference. A decade is a lifetime for some animals on this earth, like the cervids we chase in the mountains every year! A decade can seem short in regards to any passion or pursuit, and enough time has elapsed that I now feel confident in my abilities as an outdoorsman.
Confident as a survivor, confident with things such as mountaineering, navigation, basics of carrying capacity, biology and outback logistics. I am now very certain of what I can accomplish and how realistic my goals are. I recently had a conversation with a friend of mine about the technical difficulty in bow hunting and why I choose to bow hunt. I told him, “First, bow hunting is not difficult if you practice your craft religiously.” Difficult is a frame of mind. I continued, “I knew with certainty it wasn't a matter of “IF” I would get a buck with my bow, it was a matter of whether it was the buck I wanted OR I elected to pass on opportunities because of age class, in combination with characteristics I wasn't after during that particular hunt.” He almost went sideways on me. Stating that was a bit cocky or even arrogant! I simply replied, “I know my ability and I put forth the time.”
After saying all of that, I will eat some humble pie! Yes, bow hunting is difficult and uncertain, but life itself is uncertain. We can prepare, work, apply, and struggle to succeed. In the end, the stars do need to align in order to achieve that perfect synch with nature to come out heavy. I have left the mountain empty handed before. I have an opportunity to harvest animals during every one of my hunts, however I’m not always excited to notch a tag on a buck that doesn’t excite me. Taking life for the euphoria of success isn’t why I hunt. There are many times I have thought to myself, why did I just end my hunt with this buck? Is he what I wanted? Was he what I came to the mountains for? Did I spend my entire offseason dreaming about this particular animal? It’s a double edged sword. I think in the back of my mind, I always want to push the envelope and take my level of accomplishment to new heights. I am the one who decides whether to take the path of growth. This particular season, which I spent with my great friend Chad Roberts, was one of those defining moments on the mountain. In that moment I knew what it felt like and I wanted to continue on that path of growth. Those three days were some of the most memorable of any in the field.