Wayne in BC
New member
and a flimsy one for those who know what wilderness is. Such an integral part of who and what you are.
Being at the top of the foodchain begs responsibility and humbleness. If one is callous about it they receive little more than than a fleeting and uncomfortable form of satisfaction, but for those whose lives are entwined with raw wilderness as i have been so fortunate, there is the lifelong pulse of that wilderness that remains deep within, that guides my actions and life.
If i could tell you a story that accurately described the simplicity and feeling of gazing at some emerald moss edging an icy spring, pungent with mineral salts, when i should be paying attention to my job of looking for fresh Moose tracks there in deference to my client. Or maybe just the nightly habit of lying in my bedroll, ever being the last one awake and taking for granted the russling scurry of a small creature heard slightly above the dark breeze in the midnight forest, all grey/black with unseen green. Then from up the valley, barely audible over the pure tinkling song of the stream and recognized by few, the birdlike chirp of cow Elk calling their calves and keeping each in touch with the comfort of the herd, then quick silence as a Wolf calls the hunt!
If i could do this with such wonder as my wilderness has given me, perhaps i could also soothe your soul as mine has been. Walk with me quietly, toe before heel and so slowly that a casual observer may not see movement. Move only your eyes the best part of the time, and even then, still them into a barely focussed state that will find the flicker of an ear or pick out an unnatural horizontal line that oft spells the difference between foliage and game. We are truly hunting now, enthralled by the oldest endeavor of mankind and shed of our tame and binding, chaffing life.......
Tomorrow, maybe up here, after a long series of fruitless stalks, we could locate from miles away, a delinquent Elk herd to be hunted yet another day. Would you like to come along?
[attachment 65707 abovebasecamp2.jpg]
Being at the top of the foodchain begs responsibility and humbleness. If one is callous about it they receive little more than than a fleeting and uncomfortable form of satisfaction, but for those whose lives are entwined with raw wilderness as i have been so fortunate, there is the lifelong pulse of that wilderness that remains deep within, that guides my actions and life.
If i could tell you a story that accurately described the simplicity and feeling of gazing at some emerald moss edging an icy spring, pungent with mineral salts, when i should be paying attention to my job of looking for fresh Moose tracks there in deference to my client. Or maybe just the nightly habit of lying in my bedroll, ever being the last one awake and taking for granted the russling scurry of a small creature heard slightly above the dark breeze in the midnight forest, all grey/black with unseen green. Then from up the valley, barely audible over the pure tinkling song of the stream and recognized by few, the birdlike chirp of cow Elk calling their calves and keeping each in touch with the comfort of the herd, then quick silence as a Wolf calls the hunt!
If i could do this with such wonder as my wilderness has given me, perhaps i could also soothe your soul as mine has been. Walk with me quietly, toe before heel and so slowly that a casual observer may not see movement. Move only your eyes the best part of the time, and even then, still them into a barely focussed state that will find the flicker of an ear or pick out an unnatural horizontal line that oft spells the difference between foliage and game. We are truly hunting now, enthralled by the oldest endeavor of mankind and shed of our tame and binding, chaffing life.......
Tomorrow, maybe up here, after a long series of fruitless stalks, we could locate from miles away, a delinquent Elk herd to be hunted yet another day. Would you like to come along?
[attachment 65707 abovebasecamp2.jpg]
