Man! Time has been flying by! I can’t believe I am already 2 weeks into this clean eating journey. It has been sort of refreshing to be forced to eat different foods than we are used to and in doing so, I believe that has given us(wifey and I) more appreciation for certain foods. It’s also been pretty eye opening as to how much sugar really is out there and in how many places. Things that you would never guess had sugar in them have it. Looking back on my diet before this, I realized that I was literally eating sugar every single meal and snack of the day! So, at 2 weeks clean, how’s it going?
Hey, everyone! I have officially been eating clean now for 1 week! In that time, I’ve already gotten 2 backcountry hunts under my belt as well. For the first 6 days I’ve gotta admit, things were sluggish. Really in terms of my energy levels. I felt so dragged down as my body went through sugar withdrawals. It’s pretty crazy, but my body had to essentially relearn how to harness energy that wasn’t coming from sugar. I never realized how dependent I was on it, until I took it away.
Hey, everyone! Hope everybody’s spring is treating them great and you are getting out in the hills on a more regular basis after the winter time. Some spring seasons are already upon us and I am as excited as ever to see what the coming months bring in terms of bears and turkey. Another thing that I am pretty stoked on at the moment is an experiment I have decided to do with dieting. There are 3 big diets that are being mentioned on a regular basis right now it seems. Folks are chatting about eating clean, keto, and paleo. Instead of picking one, I have decided to try them all.
For some odd reason, when I was a kid, I never connected the dots between hunting and food. Hunting was just always this cool and fun thing that I went and did with my Dad. My young self looked forward to things like hot coffee in the dark of the morning, donuts followed by that coffee, and the possibility of seeing wild animals. I just loved knowing that we were going and looking for them. At no point was I thinking about juicy backstraps over and open flame. Honestly, I was more thinking of what it would be like to walk up on a dead deer or to see one get shot. The consumption of said deer after the fact never crossed my mind really until I got older. I’m not really sure why that is. Sub-consciously I recognized that people indeed ate wild game, but I never really pictured myself doing so as a child. Things all changed for me in my adult life.
Most focus in the hunting world gets put onto all things ungulate. That being deer, elk, moose, caribou, etc. Basically, all of things with antlers or horns. Rightfully so! All of those species are magnificent animals with a ton of opportunity behind them for the blue collar hunter to take advantage of. Arizona is no exception in that right. We have a massive amount of attention put on our huge bull elk and tons of opportunity for mule deer and coues deer, especially for the bowhunter. Those are some of my favorite hunts of the year, but they are not my absolute favorite. For me, that title rests in the paws of our Arizona black bear. Yes, we do in fact have bears here in our hot and desolate desert believe it or not. Let me tell you why they are my favorite animal to hunt here and the best hunt you’ve probably never heard of.
Here is a short film of my 2019 archery deer/javelina hunt with my brother here in Arizona. Our December/January archery deer season here in Arizona is a hunt that has skyrocketed to the top of my favorites. The weather is generally great, the deer are rutting, and it’s just a phenomenal time to be out in the mountains here. The tags are over the counter and if you play your cards right, you can draw an archery javelina tag and be hunting them and rutting coues and mule deer at the same time! A great excuse to get off of the couch in the month of January! Each year my brother and I look forward to backpacking into some of our favorite units to chase deer with our bows and soak up that backcountry experience we long for. This hunt was a wild ride and one that I will never forget. You can read about it in depth at a few recent posts called 2019 January Archery Deer and Javelina Hunt (Part 1) and 2019 January Archery Deer and Javelina Hunt (Part 2) Hope you like it! I’d love to hear your feedback in the comments below!
If you read about my elk hunt from this past September, you already know how much of a grind it was for me. The toughest hunt mentally I have ever done. 14 days straight in the field with more ups and downs than a roller coaster. It was a humbling experience to say the least and I am so glad that I had the privilege of going through it. Below is the video of that very hunt and a constant reminder for me that I will never have it all sewn up. Follow along with my brother Jake and I as we chase elk in our home state of Arizona. Enjoy the video!
What a whirlwind it was. Hunting season is over and I am left salivating in anticipation of the next. Right now is the time of year that I really like to focus on my gear list. I like looking back on the things that I used the most, and recognizing the things I didn’t use much at all. Each year that goes by, it seems that I lose a gear item here and there that didn’t make the cut. So, I thought it would be cool to lay out for you the Top 6 gear items I don’t leave home without. This isn’t going to be obvious items like my bow, pack, survival gear, or a first aid kit. These are going to simply be items that I find myself grateful for having with me out there. Without further ado…
I have gotten asked quite a bit lately about HOW I actually go about packing my backpack for a backcountry hunt. Where I am putting certain pieces of gear, how I am putting them in the pack, and why. I thought the absolute best way to convey this was with a video! Now, there are way more ways to pack for the backcountry than what I show you here. This is just what has worked for me over the years, so don’t feel like they are hard set rules. That is one of the beauties of backpack hunting. It’s all on you. After you spend more and more time in the backcountry, you will find out what works best for you and your specific style of hunting. Maybe, you like to bring an ultralight chair with you? Awesome! More power to you! Luxury comes with a price though and it is paid in weight. I wouldn’t consider my system a super ultralight kit, but it is getting there. I do enjoy things like an actual tent back there, rather than a bivy sack. You might be different and that it totally fine.
In this day and age that we live in, we have so many resources at our fingertips. Anything that you want to know is likely only a few taps or clicks away. The information is almost endless, and I love it. For us hunters, there is no shortage of captivating content to fuel our passion. Throughout that content a word that you might hear over and over again, is “backcountry.” It has become more and more popular as time has gone on and is now a regular part of many hunters’ vernacular. The world of “backcountry” hunting is a growing one. People want to feel and experience the adventure that it holds. So, what does it mean? What is the “backcountry?”
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