Someday is a terrible word. It negates ambition and keeps dreams in the world of fantasy instead of reality. Replace the S-word with “this fall” or “next year” and you have concrete expectations upon which to build. I’ve been fortunate enough to hunt on three continents and nearly 50 states because I set specific goals and am always open to new challenges and opportunities.
Shown in the picture above are two of my best friends, Richard Hanson (at left), wearing an apron and his favorite six-shooter, and my father, Bill Byers, seated center. I was raised in a hunting family and the call of adventure hunting was strong with me (kind of like “the Force”). In 1971, I convinced my father to hunt mule deer in the mountains of Colorado during their quality buck season, which opened in mid-August. We were both teachers at the time and the Colorado deer hunt was one of the few options available in non-teaching times.
That hunt led to others where we drove night and day to keep our jobs and still hunt elk, even if only for a few days. Later, we progressed to spike camps and invited Dick Hanson to join us. A former Army cook, he spent more time in front of a wood burning stove than his rifle, and loved every minute. Our camps utilized pack animals to get our considerable gear into the back country, and supplies always included a sack of onions that Dick used to season the best stews on the planet.
If you’re not building a lifetime of memories with your family in a hunting or fishing camp, you’re missing out on life’s great adventures. Over the years, we’ve endured blizzards, freezing colds, and hunts of great success and failure, yet those memories are as powerful today as they were real back then. Forget “someday.” Save your money, get your buddies and family together, and make specific plans. Life can end in an instant and you’ll never regret the investment of time and money spent in the wild.
Tell us what you think in the comments section below.
