The Early Bird gets the Worm, or Buck
It’s a new year, full of new opportunities! Plan now, don’t wait! Seriously though, new outdoor experiences are often put off too long. It’s too far, too expensive, too complicated to make happen. Ever muttered those words?
Having grown up in the 49th state, with mountains, rivers and tundra to explore in every direction, in a lifetime one cannot see or do it all. Our family exploration slowed a bit with the birth of our son, but it didn’t keep us down long. You can’t let these life changes get in the way of getting outdoors, because the next thing you know, your knee or your back hurts too bad to get out there. There’s always next year, right?
Wrong! You never know what the future has in store for you. Look at this last year and all the crazy we had to endure. If you’re anything like us, we were out and about quite a bit this past year “social distancing”. Live it up, you might not have tomorrow.
One of our favorite outings takes us down to Prince William Sound several times a year. We play the weather and we always manage to bring home a cooler of spot shrimp, halibut and rockfish. Charter you ask? Nope, we just make it happen out of our 18’ Lund. Admittedly, it’s getting harder on the back every year (or maybe that’s just my kiddo’s boat driving skills), but it can be done on a budget. The morning views from the remote beaches we camp on are glorious, hands down. No excuses, just go. Rent or borrow a skiff if you have to, seriously, make it happen.
Ocean adventuring not your thing? So much to do and see outdoors, from day trips to week-long fun. Have kids? Afraid to take them outdoors? Don’t. Even the shortest trips when they’re young will help your little ones experience and learn to love the freedom nature has to offer. If you wait too long, they’ll be stuck to their phones, connected to the digital world in some insane way you never thought possible. Or they’ll just be disinterested in stepping out of their clean and comfortable lifestyle. Do it today, you won’t be sorry.
So what about this “early bird” thing? So, in general, I’m not an early riser. Up at 4am to get out to the goose blind, been there. Up at 5am to get up the ridge before the deer start moving, been there. Up at 6am to unthaw boots and make coffee before pulling out the binos looking for moose, been there. If it doesn’t pan out, you can always nap mid-day. I will tell you though, never once in all my years was I disappointed I got out of bed early to go hunt or fish. Never.
This year has been unlike anything else. The COVID-19 panic-demic has been damaging to so many, yet eye opening. Lives and loved-ones lost breaks our hearts, as it does every time someone passes. You know the feeling. Livelihoods and businesses lost is similarly crushing to the human spirit, something we cannot all understand unless we’ve lived it. Our spring bear hunters never made it up to Alaska, but thankfully most of our guide friends pulled off successful fall seasons, sending clients home refreshed and thankful. Way to make it happen guys!
Our family plans were similarly pushed back, as we traded a planned April trip to the southeastern states for a November adventure. If we had listened to the national media, we would have stayed locked in our home all year. Thankfully we’re not that easily swayed. Our spring and summer was chock full of outdoor family trips, and this fall, we had the great fortune to hunt and fish with family and friends from the Denali Highway to southeast Alaska to the southern states. I am still grateful for all those early mornings, they truly made the year.
For all the money in the world, I would not trade my time in the field with my family, especially now as my son is growing up. He’s learning how to be an outdoorsman, appreciating all nature has to offer, the warm, the cold, the guts and the glory. It took 3 different trips this fall to get him a caribou, but no complaints. Each adventure was unique and rewarding.
Once the kid’s success was in the books, we trekked down to Southeast for a week. Between family time, searching for Dungeness crabs, early morning waterfowl and deer hunting, we sure kept busy. Timing is everything hunting Sitka blacktails in big timber and high elevation muskegs. If we managed to get out the door before sunrise, we had plenty of time to get to great hunting spots. If you snooze, you lose in this country as nightfall comes swiftly. On the 3rd day after a full 2 hours hiking up through thick wet timber and residual snow, the calling paid off. I wish the first buck had stepped out in front of my boy, but I had the shot and wasn’t about to pass it up. While my kiddo put in the time, getting up and out in the dark (and in the snow) for both deer and waterfowl, he’ll have to wait till next fall for another chance to harvest a blacktail.
As much fun as southeast blacktail hunting is, the culmination of the season had to be the whitetail hunting! What a great blessing for these Alaskans. This was an opportunity we rarely considered as it seemed a world away. Leaving -25F temps was not difficult. We gladly traded away the bitter cold for the crisp and refreshing 35F mornings walking through the open oak-hickory hardwoods guided by vague directions and the thin beam from our trusty Petzl’s. Our quiet early mornings were filled with anticipation and the unknown. While success was not easy to come by, the two bucks I was able to harvest were swiftly dispatched with a steady hand but pounding heart.
Never having hunted whitetails was surely a disadvantage. A small movement here and a sniffle there proved detrimental to our prowess in the field early on, but after a bit, these Alaskans slowly figured it out. While luck was not overwhelming, we all had a great time in this new adventure. Hunting with newbies and two 11yr old kids surely isn’t the traditional deer hunting scenario - but what a hoot! Throughout, we pondered what had taken us so long to get down there. It wasn’t the spring turkey hunting and fishing trip we had planned, but it turned out to be an amazing experience, one we will be repeating soon.
As 2020 fades away, we’re glad to be done with some of the challenges but forever grateful for the outdoor family time. It’s a good lesson, never sit at home feeling bummed you didn’t go do something. Sometimes we all need a swift kick in the ass to get moving, but it’s always worth it. Get out there this year, go explore those places you’ve been talking about, plan that hunt you’ve been dreaming of. Take the kids if at all possible. Time is precious.
2021 is a new year! New adventures await. Make that phone call to the friend of a friend your brother mentioned that might know something about that place you’ve been considering. You never know when or where that great piece of advice or support will come from. We’re pulling for you and yours! Don’t delay, the time is now.
Sleep in and you might miss the boat.