Northern Tier Part 2

Northern Tier Part 2

At -18° the human body fails. Organs shut down. The brain ceases to function. Blood solidifies. At least that’s what I thought. The staff at Northern Tier High Adventure Camp in Ely, Minnesota seemed to know otherwise and quickly put me and Boy Scout Troop 137 to work...
Eva Shockey’s Outdoor Digital Series is a Major Hit

Eva Shockey’s Outdoor Digital Series is a Major Hit

Eva Shockey should be a familiar name for hunters and non-hunters alike. Originally from Vancouver Island, Canada, Shockey has charted her own hunting course here in the U.S., largely with the help of social media. She’s not simply the daughter of renowned hunter Jim...
Things That Make You Say “Hmmm”

Things That Make You Say “Hmmm”

When I fish alone, I sometimes slip into a meditative state. It’s as if I concentrate so intently upon the water before me that the mechanics of casting, mending, and reacting use a portioned section of my brain. The rest drifts on its own with no sense of time, no...
Degrees of Skunked

Degrees of Skunked

The stream we call Humility Creek gives up trout grudgingly on good days. This was not a good day. The water trickled at half its spring flow while fish shivered with closed mouths. Icicles hung from banks where water seeped. I had tried teasing fish with streamers in...
The Christmas Trout

The Christmas Trout

A well-meaning friend once asked about the most perfect meal I ever had, and I thought for a moment and then responded, “Anything my Mom ever cooked. ” That’s about as far as I could narrow it down. The truth is, there are precious few encounters with Perfection in a...
Water In Desert Places

Water In Desert Places

You can always follow water, whether it still runs free or is merely a latent image left behind in some dry, desert place. From trickles to brooks to streams to torrents, water always runs down to its true source, there to be gathered into the air like so much brood...