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Finding Answers
Spike camp was two miles from base — as the raven flies not really that far in this expansive National Forest. But as flatlanders taking on the thin air of elevated places, two miles is a decent gap to begin separating yourself from those less prepared to depart known trails and the easy-breathing comfort of…
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Perspective from the Road
The alarm starts chiming, but it feels like I just laid my head down only minutes ago. It can’t be daybreak yet. I must have set the alarm incorrectly. I pick up the phone to turn off the now blaring Alice in Chains’ “Rooster” and the clock reads 5:15am. Ugh. The bird hunters’ alarm doesn’t…
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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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Making it Count
When I hunt alone, which is often the case, there’s a certain ritual to leaving the truck. It’s become habit without much thought anymore. This invisible checklist guards against hiking miles from the truck and realizing I’m without shells, water, remotes or worse. It’s this same reason everything has an assigned place in the truck,…
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Upland with Friends
It’s easy for me to get caught up in this solo pursuit. The rhythm of walking to the horizon with shotgun in hand appeals to my obsessive nature. Shut out the world and follow the dogs. Simple. Quiet. Rewarding. But decades ago I came to be a bird hunter because of friends sharing their experience…
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Hunting in the Shadow of Roosevelt
When I hunt in North Dakota, my thoughts often drift to Teddy Roosevelt’s days at Elkhorn Ranch — He named his Dakota home for a pair of locked elk skulls he found at the site. Today, centrally located within the million acres of the Little Missouri National Grasslands, Elkhorn is a great place to visit…
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Way Upland Season II Episode 3
Faced with crazy hot weather and very little surface water, we’re lucky to run into some horseback riders on this trail who share info and h20. The Maah Daah Hey is taking its toll and doubts begin to set in, distances are longer than we’ve planned and the dogs are using more water than we…
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Getting to Know the Rubys a Foot at a Time
Going from barely above sea level to over 8,000 feet in the span of a few days is challenging. So I’ve elected to start this hunt just focusing on the next step. Sure I’m here to bird hunt. But right now we just have to get legs and lungs acclimated to this new environment. I…
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Kansas Bird Hunting in Perspective
I make the annual pilgrimage to Kansas to reunite with old friends and family. It reminds me of where my passion for bird hunting was first kindled. Because this year was no exception to the rule, Kansas seemed like the right place to bring together our young Jornada Llewellin Rio with our veteran flusher Wyatt…
