hunting – Catharsis of the Bogue

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This last weekend was the general Deer Hunt here in Utah. We don’t have a huge season here like in other parts of the country so it is kind of a big deal. I haven’t been hunting for several years and I was thinking about that this weekend.

I was sitting in the rocking chair feeding my 3 1/2 month old son and I started to wonder if I was being a good parent to my kids, not getting them out and into the woods for the deer hunt. I wonder if I am slacking on my fatherly duties to teach my kids about the animals and what to do out in their environment.

I have written before about taking the kids out and teaching them to shoot, to pass along those traditions. (Part 1 and part 2)I would truly like to see them love the outdoors as much as I do. But, then there is the quandary. It is really hard to take kids out where there are people with guns. It is hard to take a 7 year old boy who is almost convinced he is a racecar (complete with actual volume sound effects) out into a place where you REALLY need to be quiet.

It is inconceivable to me to take an infant out into the cool October weather. My sister got roped into a camping trip in October with her last baby and spent a week in the hospital with him. Not pleasant. All of that being said the argument can be made for “Why don’t you go by yourself?” Here is my take on that.

The deer hunt is more than just going out and shooting at deer. There is a whole social dynamic of being in a deer camp with others. A deer camp can iconically be thought of as a group of men getting together and having a party before getting up early to hunt.

Now, there are women who hunt. There are lots of them. My Grandma was a better shot than my Grandpa, and he was damn good. My aunts shoot and hunt. Back in the day, it was necessary for food, not just sport. But they still had a good time. I am not taking anything away from women hunters, I would never try and stop a woman from being in a deer camp where I am. I wish my wife would come hunting with me.

I know anyone can enjoy the outdoors. But still, the perception is men. Men bringing their sons to the woods for rights of passage. I keep thinking I am slacking for not doing that yet. I came to realize that I am not slacking, my sons just are too little to go right now. I am impatient.

I was reading an outdoor magazine this last week and saw these 9 and 10 year old kids getting their first deer. I thought, my daughter is 10, just like this girl who was in the magazine. My daughter didn’t really care for shooting though. Ok not her, but my 7 year old can come with me and get his by 8 right? Wrong. I have spent 36 years in Utah and didn’t realize that the law says you have to be 12 to hunt here. I feel better now, I have 5 years to get him trained, and 12 to get my youngest trained. If the girls want to come, they are welcome as well.

I would live to see a time when the whole family goes out and camps, the boys heading out for deer, the girls playing around camp and all of us perfectly happy. But I have time for all of that later.

I came out of this reverie and realized that what was important right now was taking care of the kids. There really is nothing better in this world than holding an infant, your infant, in your arms until they fall asleep. They love and trust you completely. I carried him to bed and while looking in his little face I knew that this was the time to be HERE, there would be plenty of time for the woods later. I then looked across the room at his brother, and realized that I had work to do on him, but the imagination and fire of a 7 year old is nothing to put on hold. He will only be like this right now. It is something to embrace.

The woods will still be there when they get older and if we vote right, the politicians will not be able to stop us from carrying on the traditions of the past. Open warning to all bucks in Utah, I am coming, and I bring the apocalypse, errr Cameron and Tristan. Wait for us and grow big, so we can have a picture like the ones my grandparents had of their deer hunts in the ’40s. I realize that I am doing just fine, there is plenty of time.

Now, if you will excuse me, I think I will try to go fishing. They all like fishing.

Hello All. I really need to get my prewriting done so that I can post at the same time every day. This has been another day of labs and running. I haven’t decided if it is a good thing or not that my 3 year old is so good for blood draws. with the help of some numbing cream she doesn’t flinch or even cry anymore. She is amazing. My wife works in an ER and she comes home with stories of football players and “manly men” that cry and blubber over the sight of a needle. And my 3 year old puts them to shame. I am so proud.

She is small but a great example to me of Inner Strength. The part I am focusing on here is just doing what needs to be done, no matter what. She put up with 9 major surgeries and 2 years worth of 4x per week dialysis (about 4 hours per session) and didn’t complain much. She puts out her arm for blood draws and puts up with more prodding and poking by doctors than should be legal. And then she comes home and plays like a normal kid. I only hope that I can be that strong inside.

I am not actively working on inner strength. I am working on Functional Strength. My motto has been “I don’t care how big my arms are, I want to lift and move heavy things like rocks, cars, small buildings, things like that.” I chose Kettlebells to do much of this with for reasons I am going to get into in another post.

I have been a huge advocate of functional strength for long time. I figure you should be able to do things with muscle. You should be able to break rocks with a sledge hammer or carry Costco sized bags of dog food around without a problem. I started this train of thought almost 15 years ago on a rabbit hunt.

Here is the story. My sister was engaged to this guy who was a gymnast. He was fairly good at gymastics and had far out hopes to be an olympian. He had the visible muscles that women swoon over and considered himself strong. So, my Dad and I decided to take him on a rabbit hunt in the desert with us. We went down to central Utah where my Dad grew up and started out walking. We walked all day, up and down hills, and covered several miles. Over that time we had to stop several times. It wasn’t for me or my Dad. It was for Mr. Gymnast. He then fell asleep on the drive home and slept the whole way. We completely wore him out and he was in the best “shape” of any of us! That was my first wake up call. You can be strong and functional overall or you can be strong in a specific way that is not good for long durations.

Now, I have always been strong. My Dad always made me move things and help. He always had us walking either hiking or hunting. Even fishing is an active sport for him. Fly fishing is great because you walk up the stream for 5 miles or so before you stop. He has never quite given up the “Give Em Hell” attitude that he earned in the SEALs. But, while I am not him I have been taught to push until you collapse. Or close to it. I have always been able to move fridges and couches with not much problem. I hauled a piano on a dolly out of a guys basement pretty much by myself. I have always been able to walk most of the day with a pack. But I know there is more that I want to do. I am using the kettlebells and punching bags to be fit over my whole body and finally be able to do pullups. I always thought that my shoulders just would not let me do pullups. I now know that I just don’t have “those” muscles built up enough to do them. That will change. And it will change with old school equipment, no aerobics or fu-fu machines.

I know that if I build up my functional strength with kettlebells and the punching bag, (and yard work, there are many trenches to be dug and rocks to be hauled in my yard) that will help my Inner Strength that I am not actively working on. Every time I complete one of my goals or can lift something heavier or for a longer duration it boosts my ego and self esteem. Every boost builds up the inner strength by making me think that I can do anything. At this point even setbacks are positive, my inner strength is building and not letting me quit. Even needing to go back to some basics is not a setback, just a refinement of technique. Doing what has to be done without complaining. Lessons from a 3 year old girl that a 35 year old man is finally beginning to understand.

My goals right now, are to make my body stronger and to make my writing stronger. Functionally Stronger, able to lift cars and rocks, able to write coherent readable posts and stories. Internally Stronger, able to push past mental barriers, able to put out content under pressure.

Better, more focused writing and overall strength. I think those are good goals.

Thanks for indulging me.

Justin

Tag: hunting

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