About a half hour later, my friend came trudging up the trail with his enormously heavy load of meat. I let him tag this moose because he had hit it just above the hind hoof before I shot it. Having 2 men to cut and pack a moose is a blessing, and we had about about a day and a half now to go and find one for me... so I thought... When he got back, he said, "I have a lot of things I need to do at ...  Read More

About fifteen minutes later, I saw my partner coming towards camp without his pack full of meat. He was angry and upset. We had ATV's, but we had camped at the edge of a 'walk-in only' area. He said, "I'm going to take my ATV in and get the rest of that meat." We had a lunch cooler with Pepsi on ice. I handed him a Pepsi and said, "You'll feel better in a little while." Twenty minutes later he wal...  Read More

We waded the river, each with half of a young moose's boned out meat in our packs. The other shore was a near-vertical soft, silty hill leading up to the ridgeline. By using the scrub willow brush growing there we were able to pull ourselves up as we climbed. At the top, however, we faced another problem. We had no more brush to pull us forward, so before we could climb up onto the ridge we had to...  Read More

I stood watching as the bull we could have had 100 yards from camp crossed a shallow river and disappeared into a willow patch over a mile from camp. My partner had missed two easy shots and had left all of his ammunition back at camp. I sat holding his empty rifle and watching the spot where the moose disappeared, while he carried his bow and arrows back to camp to get my rifle and his ammo. When...  Read More

The bull was standing looking at us 100 yards away. One hundred yards of flat, level ground with very little brush. Getting the meat out was going to be an easy pack.... that's what I was thinking. My partner had a different idea. He wanted to try to get it with a bow and arrow. It was the 1st of September and the rut hadn't started. I knew that there was absolutely no way he could get close to th...  Read More

It was my first time hunting with this partner. I had taken him to one of the few spots where I had consistently found moose. At first light, there he was- a young bull standing 100 yards away, barely visible through the fog that hovered over a small pond. Even though it was my hunt and my spot, I decided to let my partner shoot this moose. I had killed many moose and was more interested in his ex...  Read More

According to studies, the average four-year-old laughs 400 times a day. The average 40-year-old laughs only 4 times a day. The medical benefits of laughter are profound. Laughter strengthens your immune system, it diminishes pain, decreases blood pressure, regulates heart rhythm, and lessens depression, anxiety and stress. What happened to our laughter? Most  respond with something like: "Life bea...  Read More

Be careful who you follow. He said it would be easy. He said it would be no problem. I discovered that his definition of 'easy' and 'no problem' was very different from my own. There was a group of us with four wheelers and side by sides. Virtually everyone was stuck in the first muck hole. Thanks to our winches and extra hands, we only spent about an hour to go 100 feet. Then, we started up a ver...  Read More

There is a movement, though very small, of people becoming what they call 'minimalist.' Small homes, a few possessions, only a few changes of clothes... something about this kind of life appeals to me. At the same time, a part of me would love to have the right piece of heavy equipment, a boat that goes out on the ocean, a Supercub, and a giant track rig for hunting moose. I've said many times tha...  Read More

It seems that everywhere on earth has its own scent. Alaska is that way for me. It smells like HOME. So much of our culture today doesn't understand that feeling. So many homes are filled with stress and anger and disappointment that a large number of people have a longing to 'get away' from what they think of as home.So let me tell you what home SHOULD be. It should be a place of REFUGE, of PEACE...  Read More

When we look at those people who started with very little and built a successful life, it is easy to be envious. We never see the sacrifice It took to get there. It's like the photos that we take on top of a mountain. People who have never climbed get images of 'The Sound of Music' and frolicking in the Alps. The photo doesn't reflect the physical punishment of climbing. Everyone wants to be on to...  Read More

When Jesus said to a small group of commercial fishermen, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers (literally 'catchers') of men"- what did he mean? While there is certainly a degree of value to fishing- to being out on the water with the wind in your face or standing knee deep in a river casting- fishing would be pointless without the 'catching.' Every good fisherman knows that there are things we...  Read More