A Youth Movement

It has been just over two years since I heard a speech at a local National Wildlife Refuge that included a quote of the most telling kind. The speech was an original but the quote was taken from a book portraying the story of America’s youth. It talked about where our children stand today, how they interact with the world and what the value. The excerpt, pulled from a conversation between a mother and child was simply this:

Walking into her children’s room a mother looked down and said to the boys there, “Why don’t you all go outside and play?” One of the boys quickly replied, “Why would we want to go outside? There aren’t any outlets out there.”

Hearing this I was quite saddened because it was at that exact moment that I found myself and many others standing at the edge of a beautiful lake, the sun shining down, and waterfowl as far as the eye could see. How could anyone not want to be outside? Who wouldn’t want to enjoy all that this world has to offer? With fresh air, blue skies, and all their benefits, it is practically inconceivable to believe anyone could say such a thing. But the next day, it did get me to thinking about today’s youth.

Now don’t get me wrong, I am not here to go off on some political or societal lecture, but it did force me to wonder why one might say something to that effect. It began me on the road to ask why are youth are more inclined to say yes to video games than to a hike through the mountains. Perhaps, in the end I decided, it wasn’t a question that I should be asking them, but rather a question that I should be answering for them…”Where do I start?”

In the early part of the twentieth century the United States saw a revolution. Bridges were being built, cities were getting taller, and there was opportunity in business, away from the hardships of the agricultural world. And so the story went, our cities grew, our population exploded, and now we currently have cities with millions of people living together. Suburbs are filled with homes and neighborhoods that house many good people but unfortunately, those same people have been disconnected from nature; their few encounters each year being a trip to a National Park, driving along a road, taking pictures out their windows. So what about a young boy or girl, a product of this day and age, wanting to get more involved? What if they are searching for an outlet, yet don’t have anywhere to go, anyone to turn to? Where do they start?

When I started college in northern New England I began to meet many people that had grown up in an entirely different world to me. People who had a whole different perspective on what it meant to be outdoors and much of that perspective I came to find, was associated with hunting. So, as I got to know these people, I was introduced into their world and having never given hunting much thought up until that point in my life, I quickly found myself wanting to know more. These men and women seemed so foreign to me; I wanted to speak their language.

Alas, years would go by and while I would be enveloped in a world I had always wanted, one that led me on adventures through picturesque landscapes and encounters with wildlife of all sorts, I never ventured into the world of hunting. I suppose I was looking for someone to guide me, to show me the way, which I believe is what many young kids are looking for today. They are looking for a teacher, someone to introduce them to this world. However, the one thing that I never considered back then, and which only recently was shown to me was simply, to teach myself.

Moving to Oregon I had never hunted a day in my life. I did not own a gun and even with all my progress towards becoming an outdoorsman, I still had many miles to go. But I did have the will, the desire to pursue something more. For James, his father’s books on bow hunting and old shotguns were a guide for him, as living in New Hampshire was for me. Those were the objects and places that planted the seeds for future exploration and when James finally decided to put his mind to it, he did something that few of us are rarely willing to try; he taught himself.

There is no doubt that I have had James to help me figure this world out. He has showed me many things that I would have never thought to try and places I never would have imagined I’d go. But more importantly, he instilled in me the idea that even without guidance I could delve into the world of hunting just the same. I remember early on when I met him he told me a story about the first elk he ever field dressed. A guy who had never taken a knife to such an animal but who, with the aid of printed directions and pictures, cleaned his animal in the middle of the woods. Even now I have this comical picture of the winds blowing papers around and bloody fingerprints speckled about their edges. It was the attitude that the only thing preventing him from doing it was him; that with a little bit of knowledge and common sense one could find himself anywhere, doing anything, at least remotely well.

As I have evolved as a hunter I have tried to maintain that same attitude; that there is no one stopping me but me. And sometimes it is when you are out by yourself, through trial and error, that you learn more than you ever could with somebody else. Sure, someone else can tell you how something is done or even show you, but when you’re sitting in the woods, all alone you are forced to think that much harder, to push yourself to notice the small details that can ultimately make the difference. It is when we learn on our own that we truly change and challenge ourselves.

For me, it has been a combination of learning on my own and having others there to help me along the way. From our friend Mike teaching me how to clean a bird to James teaching me how to read the landscape, the collective has put me where I am today. For those experiences, on my own and with others, I can honestly say I am eternally grateful.

However, the real point I wish to emphasize here is that while it is great to have someone guide you along the way, our youth cannot be afraid to get out and try things on their own. It’s a big world out there and if there is anything we can believe in this country it’s that where there’s a will, there’s a way. Your life of hunting doesn’t need to start off with some six day adventure to the wilds of Montana; it can start right at home, flipping through the pages of a magazine or a book. Reading is exciting and when you find the right subject matter, the stories read and knowledge gained are more real than anything you could ever find within the screen of a television. Through this knowledge you can begin to enter this foreign world, speak their language. And if there is any will at all to hunt, don’t think you can’t because there is no one there to teach you. Make it happen for yourself.

While I sat there at the Wildlife Refuge, listening to that speech, I wished only that I could show everyone this world. Hopefully through this blog we can convince others to strike out on their own. I’ve been blessed to live in many places, meet many great people, and explore many cultures. As I sit here tonight the hunting culture is one I've found myself drawn to. From here on out I have made a promise to myself to keep exploring, to keep seeking out new opportunities. Along with James we are, as is plainly out for all see here, a couple of east coast boys learning to hunt out west; really learning to hunt because, when all is said and done, this is something we will never master but pursue with fervor and learn from everyday.

I hope that if there are any youths out there looking for adventure, looking for a test, they will challenge themselves to get outdoors and try something new. A high score on a video game or catching the latest episode of your favorite television show will never compare to the feeling you have on your first successful hunt. A man or women, lying on their deathbed, could die happy with those kinds of memories.