Over a recent two-week stretch, I took four international flights, rode four trains, innumerable taxis and Ubers, and drove a rental car hundreds of kilometers (yes, kilometers) on narrow, twisty and totally unfamiliar roads. With the exception of the departure and return flights, that all happened outside the United States.
In the past, that could have been an excerpt from my typical monthly schedule. Travel was an essential of my job. Most was done spur-of-the-moment. Some was completely ad libbed. Sometimes, it was improvisation, others approached pure luck, or total lunacy.
But I made it work.
Today, racing to be the last guy on an ancient Aeroflot plane with grimy horsehair seats and engines dripping oil that will (maybe) depart on time despite a near blizzard has lost all the romantic appeal it may have once had. Recent travel was a more proof that I no no longer bounce, I tend to splatter.
Two European trips this year have changed how I travel. The first taught me that I was making it unnecessarily tough on myself, even for someone in reasonably decent health (for his age). That sobering realization and the subsequent modifications I’ve made lead me to offer of some unsolicited advice for anyone nearing my age and eagerly awaiting hunting season.
First, I get it. Hunting is a special, almost religious experience for most of us. My hunting memories cover nearly 70 seasons. The memories, unlike my vision, remain crisp and sharp. But if you’re older and fail to adjust to having aged, the near-religious hunting experience could morph into a near-death encounter.
Every year, state fish and wildlife agencies send us releases recounting the rescues (ideal) or recovery (not good) of elderly hunters, anglers, and hikers who ignored what were probably clear signals they had lost a step or two.
Do everyone a favor and do some honest self-evaluation of your physical capacities. Before you clamber out of bed in the wee small hours of opening day and once again squeeze yourself into last season’s mysteriously shrunken camo. Certainly before you hoist that twenty-three pound “day pack” of snacks and energy drinks onto your aching, arthritic shoulder and head to the safe to retrieve your rifle.
Before you do any of that, slow your roll. Get honest about your conditioning, or lack thereof. Especially if you plan on humping that load a mile or more back into the woods beyond where you’ll be parking your ATV.
If you’re running on mental memory in stead of physical reality, you’re risking having your world fade to black rather than “watching the woods come alive.”
You’re probably closer to my level of conditioning than my friends who train year-round to go out West hunting. They apparently chase down elk and antelope, strangling them barehanded. The rest of us have zero business trying to do the things we (think we) remember doing as a youth.
In a nutshell, we’re not kids anymore. And we don’t need most of what we’ve stuffed into our pack. Toss the beef sticks, most of the protein bars and all the energy drinks. Replace them with a decent IFAK with a tourniquet and a satellite signaling device.
The IFAK can save your life in an emergency. The satellite device makes finding you easier if things go sideways.
Getting there was a long distance to travel to a truth you may be ignoring: doing the things you used to do won’t be accomplished by adding another piece (or ten) of gear to your pack.
To enjoy — and survive — another hunting season, slow down and evaluate your actual capabilities. Not fearing the reaper is different from double-dog daring him to punch your ticket.
I’m carrying the lessons I learned by minimizing my load for business travel into my hunting and fishing travel, too. Direct flights, when possible, eliminate a lot of airport time and most of the concerns of lost luggage. When you’re traveling with a hunting rifle or camera equipment, lost gear is a major concern.
Since few hunting destinations are near major travel hubs, allow more time for realistic flight connections. That makes your luggage and gear far more likely to be waiting for you at your final destination. Spending a few extra minutes with a cold beverage waiting to board a connection instead of racing down a concourse hoping to make is the better choice. It also allows time to visit the men’s room.
Applying that to hunting means taking the easier, but slightly longer route to my hunting spot. The steeper, slippery more direct route might save me a few minutes, but a tumble down the hillside could mean hunting season’s over before it starts.
None of us want to admit diminished capabilities, but denying them demonstrates…diminished capacities. My goal is to enjoy this hunting season without having to distribute more state agency releases about rescues and recoveries. So don’t even get me going on tree stands.
Go. Hunt. Enjoy. And get home safely.
We’ll keep you posted.
Did you find the lost ark Indiana Jones?
😂
Survey says hunters don’t vote. That was widely reported in the gun press.
I hope you have a successful and safe hunt. 😉