In the same way that 'hunger' is the best seasoning for food, exhaustion is the best ingredient for rest. And yet we've all learned that it's impossible to rest when we have today's responsibilities and problems and stresses and challenges and offenses swirling around in our brain. Life is OFTEN very hard. The things that we carry are OFTEN very heavy. God knows. He understands. He will not remove...  Read More

I've always been wired for a challenge- for adventure- for exploring new territory. Many times I have hiked for miles into a new stretch of mountains and looked longingly at all of the country that I did not have time to explore. If a broken world contains so much beauty, what must it have been like when God first created it? While there is comfort in the familiar, there is something invigorating ...  Read More

My Dad and I were talking last night about our best fishing trip ever. In truth, it would be just about anyone's best fishing trip ever. It was the middle of June on a river in Alaska's interior, and the King salmon were running. Along with two of my friends, we launched 2 rafts about 11 PM and floated and fished from shore until the following morning at 6 AM. It was not uncommon for all 4 of us t...  Read More

For me the dream was never 'Alaska', it was simply to serve my country in the military. I was out of college and teaching school, but always regretted not serving. It was my decision to enlist in the infantry (hoping to be stationed in the south where I could get a good tan) that led to my being stationed in Alaska. As a young boy I could never have imagined that decades later I would be running a...  Read More

Though we didn't realize it at the time, my brother John and I entered our final season of trapping together my freshman year of college. He was a sophomore, and both of us were attending Rochester Community College. We bought a 1961 Plymouth Valiant with a push-button transmission for $50 to use as our trapping car. We both had 8 AM classes, so we would split up in the morning and run our traplin...  Read More

Games were played on Friday night under the lights, so one Friday after school John decided that we should run out to a spot we knew on the Zumbro River where we might jump some wood ducks. John was an excellent shot, but I couldn't hit the side of a barn with a shotgun unless I was shooting from inside the barn. For that reason, John always let me shoot first. We did find ducks, and as I pulled t...  Read More

Having the right equipment changed everything. For the first time we had everything that we needed to be successful. Winning the prize drawing at the trappers' convention paid off big time, as we were now thoroughly equipped and catching fur almost every day. Professional athletes prepare for years- decades- to be the very best that they can be. God calls us to this same level of commitment. 2 Tim...  Read More

While we were busy year round, fall became the time of year we most looked forward to. We fell into a rhythm that included wading the Zumbro River in the dark before school, checking our muskrat, mink and beaver sets. Then we were walking woodlines and windrows checking sets for fox, racoon and badger. Then we would race home, take a shower, eat breakfast, and head to school. After school, we had ...  Read More

Just a year older, my brother John was the 'Daniel Boone' in the family. Knife throwing, axe throwing, slingshot, BB gun and arrow shooting, raft building, crayfish spearing, gopher trapping and fishing were all on his resume before junior high. As his trusty sidekick, they were on my resume too. About junior high age, we decided that we were going to earn money trapping fur. We had no idea what w...  Read More

I was accustomed to marching long distances with a heavy pack from my infantry days, but this was different. We weren't starting fresh. We were both young and strong, but we had 14 miles on our feet before starting this last eight mile push. The footing was exceptional- some of the best I've ever had. Even the valley floor had a hard packed game trail. Even so, the weight of our packs and the grav...  Read More

By the time Tim and I got back to our camp we already had 14 miles on sore feet. We broke down our tents and gear and carried everything down to the ice patch. I was already bleeding just above both hips. Carrying my Dall sheep and camp off the mountain, my pack was so heavy that I rubbed through the skin a patch about the size of a golf ball on each side. Once we added our meat the packs were so ...  Read More

We woke up to beautiful clear skies. This was 4 days of sunshine and perfect weather in a row. Tim kept saying to me, "This isn't sheep hunting." In a lifetime of Dall sheep hunting, I have never again had such perfect weather. This was good news for Larry, because he had spent the night somewhere in the mountains lying on the ground. We had to repack our meat in new ice because the large chunks t...  Read More