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The Acreage Trap
Bird Hunters May Find Far Less Huntable Ground This Fall On paper, it can look like a great year to hunt birds in the West. The maps are full of public access. Walk-in programs advertise hundreds of thousands — in some states, millions — of acres of private land open to hunters. CRP still covers…
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Life Lists
Jon and I have been here before—heavy legs and burning lungs. We’ve circled this peak, crossing boulder field after boulder field. It’s taken nearly four hours to complete the circuit around this 12,000-foot Uinta peak. I’m drained. Ida’s standard Lab trot has surrendered to a nearby amble. But then I see it—for most, it would…
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Rio Flufferbunny
It was fall when she came to us on a plane from New Mexico, all legs and ears and sharp puppy teeth. She pointed from the womb — butterflies, song birds, turtles, tufts of grass stirred by a breeze — nothing was safe from…
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Escape Velocity
I’ve been feeling uneasy. It’s been this way, more or less, for over a year. I went into last upland season feeling rushed and underprepared. It didn’t really pan out that way; things went fine. But in my head I always felt a half-click off. I’ve been battling, trying to get through it, pin point…
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Way Upland Season II Episode 1
Starting at the southern trailhead, we begin an overland journey across 160 miles of the the Little Missouri National Grasslands of North Dakota. The Maah Daah Hey starts at Burning Coal Vein Campground. The lab Ida, the setter Rio and I push our gear and bodies to the limit on this thru-bike route. Alex from…
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Picking Up Right Where We Fell Apart
Bird seasons come and go. Most of the time I try to not think about the start and end dates because there’s always a half-year where we won’t be chasing birds. To focus on the beginning and end always seems like so much longing, instead of just embracing the moments afield that we actually get….
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Depths of Cold
There seems no bottom to the depths of cold. It’s one of the few solace for hunting in frigid condition: could be colder, windier, at least it’s not…more miserable. I’m assured by medical science that freezing does have a lower limit in terms of the human body. Paradoxical undressing: the point at which humans experiencing…
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Bird Hunting Karma Exists
The idea that what goes around comes around can be captured in the simple word Karma. Go ahead and scoff if that hocus pocus doesn’t sit well with you, but Karma isn’t magic and bird hunting karma is definitely real. I believe that in the field, if you opt for what is right, even though…
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Way Upland Season II Episode 2
We pack up camp and head back on the trail, but water is starting to become an issue. Even though we are running dehydrated we manage to close in on some birds and Alex from APT Outdoors gets his first look at Hungarian Partridge. The Maah Daah Hey is kicking our butts — all our…
