Being out of doors among the scrub, the aspens, the granite, or the sand has become an important part of our lives.
I am an Eagle Scout, and camping was something I did every month from the age of 6 to 17, with hunting becoming a large part of that experience around age 10. Cars, college, and career seemed to pause much of that for a time, but as the years progressed, there was a building desire to get out and escape the noise. While my wife did not grow up camping, she quickly took to day hiking and eventually extended backcountry trips. She doesn't care too much for hunting, but understands my desire to hunt and eat the most organic meat there is; closing our combined food chain.
Lately, we've been so focused on and wrapped up in a major house project that hiking/camping/hunting has been pretty far out of our minds. With that now coming to a close, I jumped on a chance to get back out to the Wichita Mountains with a couple of friends. Conditions were ideal - clear and sunny, 31F/55F.
The hike in is only 2 miles, but after 4 hours in the car, the muscles can be a bit stiff:
My pack is in the middle - Kifaru ZXR with the 1000ci E&E docking day pack. I'm a big fan of their build design(s), and between them, Tactical Tailor, and Triple Aught Design, you're about covered for heavy duty, US-made, Veteran-owned gear:
Pitching our shelter - Kifaru Sawtooth 2 man with their medium stove:
I never sleep past 530 or 6 while in the field, even if there's no hunting. I'm like a kid that doesn't want to miss any part of the day, so I was up early and setup the iPhone to capture this:
Spent the day bouldering - 4.5 miles among the different peaks and features. Nice action shot, but the camera seems to flatten the depth of the climb:
Complete poser:
One of the area high points at ~2200'; roughly 600' up from the valley floor where we were camped. It doesn't take much to start getting some nice vistas...and mobile reception:
Quick rest:
Steak dinner with risotto and wine, followed by cigars and whisky. Roughing it:
We're back in town, the gear is hung and airing out, and this morning's cup of coffee somehow doesn't taste as good as yesterday's. Until next time:
David
I am an Eagle Scout, and camping was something I did every month from the age of 6 to 17, with hunting becoming a large part of that experience around age 10. Cars, college, and career seemed to pause much of that for a time, but as the years progressed, there was a building desire to get out and escape the noise. While my wife did not grow up camping, she quickly took to day hiking and eventually extended backcountry trips. She doesn't care too much for hunting, but understands my desire to hunt and eat the most organic meat there is; closing our combined food chain.
Lately, we've been so focused on and wrapped up in a major house project that hiking/camping/hunting has been pretty far out of our minds. With that now coming to a close, I jumped on a chance to get back out to the Wichita Mountains with a couple of friends. Conditions were ideal - clear and sunny, 31F/55F.
The hike in is only 2 miles, but after 4 hours in the car, the muscles can be a bit stiff:
My pack is in the middle - Kifaru ZXR with the 1000ci E&E docking day pack. I'm a big fan of their build design(s), and between them, Tactical Tailor, and Triple Aught Design, you're about covered for heavy duty, US-made, Veteran-owned gear:
Pitching our shelter - Kifaru Sawtooth 2 man with their medium stove:
I never sleep past 530 or 6 while in the field, even if there's no hunting. I'm like a kid that doesn't want to miss any part of the day, so I was up early and setup the iPhone to capture this:
Spent the day bouldering - 4.5 miles among the different peaks and features. Nice action shot, but the camera seems to flatten the depth of the climb:
Complete poser:
One of the area high points at ~2200'; roughly 600' up from the valley floor where we were camped. It doesn't take much to start getting some nice vistas...and mobile reception:
Quick rest:
Steak dinner with risotto and wine, followed by cigars and whisky. Roughing it:
We're back in town, the gear is hung and airing out, and this morning's cup of coffee somehow doesn't taste as good as yesterday's. Until next time:
David
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