LOOK AROUND!!!

[mtnwrunner]

I went for my normal usual hike this morning with my trusty companion, Miss Ginger. As I was watching her, I chuckled to myself as she is always constantly smelling stuff and looking around.
So, I got to contemplating why I don't do that more.......

Years ago, I was immersed in ultrarunning. When I combined the mountains with running, well, it was nirvana for me. But, I always seemed to be focused on the destination instead of just enjoying the journey. Always looking at the ground instead of looking up and looking around.

For some reason, today reminded me to enjoy the journey, whatever that is and look around.
As "older" folks and older hunters, we are supposed to be wiser. I'm not sure if that is the case as I still do stupid shit maybe not quite as often.

So, look around and pass that around.......enjoy the journey.

Randy

 

[ScottRK]

Sounds like a good trip. I’ve been going out back and sitting under my tree stand with coffee watching the does moving around. Had 1 come to about 15 yards even with my stinking coat I’d been chainsawIng a few days with. See any sheds?

 

[Trr15]

You might get some strange looks if you’re sniffing everything you walk past…In all seriousness, good advice for everyone regardless of age.

 

[mtnwrunner]

You might get some strange looks if you’re sniffing everything you walk past…In all seriousness, good advice for everyone regardless of age.

Ha! Anything goes nowadays!

Randy

 

[huck]

Went for a hike last august, usually put in about 5mi. or so.Put in about a mile and saw a small bunch of deer with a little buck with them. Spent the next 3hrs. getting to 43yds. . Best training hike I had in a long time.

 

[Pony Soldier]

I wish! This is the time of the year when the biggest game I have is a pine squirrel. I spent a day last week stacking snow with the D7. Spring is in June and the elk return in May.

 

[WannabeElkHntr]

Yes Indeed. As the toughest endeavor I have undertaken in a life of outdoors, military, scuba diving spear fishing, martial arts, powerlifting, rugby, dragging deer out of Michigan swamp bottoms; getting old is by far the toughest. I have been for the past few years while walking in woods, sitting in trees, trying to sneak thru woods like a wild man in hopes of coming up from downwind on a critter; worked at keeping my mind in the immediate here and now without letting it think of the ten thousand things. I think it is a good thing Sir.

 

[Szwampdonkey]

At 47 i started to live by this credo when my son was born 9 years ago. I made i conscious decision at that time to slow down and absorb every moment i could with him and its carried over to life in general.

Great advice!

 

[mtwarden]

.......enjoy the journey.

Randy

indeed!

 

[lamarclark09]

It’s no doubt a very great advice. As when you look around that’s when you realize that woahhh that’s a fun and adventurous thing I’m doing right now.
Stay safe.

 

[AKDoc]

... So, look around and pass that around.......enjoy the journey.

Randy

IMO you are spot on sir...your hiking buddy is wise LOL!

I support your encouragement for what I call being totally present, i.e.,not just physically present in a moment of time, but also present in that moment with my senses (seeing, hearing, smelling, etc.) AND most important, being mentality right there in that moment as well (not somewhere else in my thoughts). There are so many distractions nowadays for all of us. That said, there are countless moments in life that it's truly best to intentionally not be totally present LOL!

I'm sure I'm not alone in saying that hunting and other outdoor adventures are often many, many moments of being totally present, e.g., being totally there in the world of the animal I'm hunting. I greatly value and I am very grateful for each of those moments in my life. I'm sure others feel similarly, especially here on Rokslide.

 

[mtnwrunner]

Yes, she is very wise.
Dogs are amazing and don't live near long enough.
This is after 4 miles yesterday "looking around."

Randy

 

[Still Hunter]

My mom was an amazing woman, she taught me to see, not to just look. Two different things. Example, most people walk in a restaurant during hunting and see four hunters in camos sitting at a table eating. I walk in and see one all dolled out in Sitka Subalpine, another in Kuiu Verde, another in Kuiu Alta and the fourth in Cabelas Wooltimate. Anyone can hunt, but not everyone can be a hunter. Enjoy every moment you get to spend outdoors. Slow down and see what's around you, don't just look.

 

[JPD350]

I totally agree!!
When young I thought I knew what I was experiencing in the outdoors, I definitely embraced my journeys whole heartedly and eyes wide but as I aged I slowly realized that there was so much more that I was just passing by.

I finally realize that I have been unknowingly trained for all these years, I absolutely love showing my kids and grandkids all the wonderful things mother nature provides us. My 4 year old granddaughter calls herself a "Princess Nature Girl" I just say, yes you are!
This was last summer when she was 3, we watched that caterpillar having a little breakfast, we watched and talked about it as long as she wanted to.

 

[Pony Soldier]

Things you see in the woods are the teasers to the total amount of information that is available if you look. I had hunted a number of drainages for many years. Elk were there some years and other years not. A friend of mine had access to a study that tracked the monthly movements of elk in my hunting area for 5 years. I plotted their movements for the period of the study. It expanded my understanding as to where, why and to some extent when.

My search patterns expanded from 3-4 drainages to 15 to 20 drainages. I started to look for travel corridors and elk highways within them. My education then allowed me to correlate ecosystems into where they lingered and why.

I don't hunt that country anymore but what I learned on what to look for, traveled with me to my new areas. I continue to expand my understanding of travel paths and habitat and will till they plant me.

 

[OG10]

Life is a journey not just a destination I wish I would have learned this 40 years ago. But boy did I have fun.

 

[EdP]

My outdoor pursuits began with hiking and backpacking. I love being out on the trails covering miles in the mountains. The exertion and the destination are a lot of what I enjoy. When I began hunting it was hard to slow down but very rewarding to see so much more of the natural world. It made me realize how much I miss when just hiking. Now I enjoy both.

 

[Pony Soldier]

As we get older and have seen many things, how many of you have forgotten things that you learned years ago but it just drifted away.

Just think of all the things you learned when you were young. Got to learn again while you were teaching your kids and now while you are a little slower and more prone to sit on a rock or a stump and think about things.

 

[long hunter]

Too often when younger we cannot see the trees for the woods, as I age, I find myself looking more. at the whole picture, and the fact that my hearing is very bad even with very good quality hearing aids my looking has taken a different level of approach. It's amazing what one can see if they take the time to look. The smallest detail will morph into the best view. How many hunters look for say the whole deer and miss the out of place movement of a twitch of a deer's ear. The art of looking is a learnt skill and one that takes continuous refinement.