Decided to up the punishment yesterday with some steep climbing. And it was good. The bagged-bird count wasn't so good, but we saw lots of birds. Early-season wild busting, way up high (again). Peat did better today, managing to hold two staunch points, but most of the birds we saw were launching far away on …
Back on the Hill
After a two-week hiatus following the hot, dry, smoky weather of the first week of chukar season in Idaho, we made it out yesterday. I'd been worried since the big early-June storms that bird numbers would be very low in Hells Canyon. One of the biologists at the Andrus Center indicated to a friend of …
So Long, Angus
I could never rememberThat seething, steady leveling of the marshesTil age had brought me to the sea--Hart Crane, "Repose of Rivers" Ya stare, ya glare, ya constantly compare meBut ya can't get near me--Shock G, "The Humpty Dance" Hart Crane's incredible poem "Repose of Rivers" shows how memory makes up knowing and how we can't …
More Shirts!
After selling out the last double-order in less than a day, we just got a new shipment of shirts, which will probably be the last one this year: chukar season's about to start, which means, well, that chukar season's about to start! Grab 'em while you can. PLEASE NOTE: If you do order shirts, please …
Aged Warrior’s Sorrow
Angus is dead. We had to let him go yesterday. He went quickly and didn't suffer long. I began this blog 10 years ago because I couldn't contain my enthusiasm for his wonderfulness. It had to be shared. So now I'm sharing our sorrow at his passing. This is my second bout. Most of you …
A Brewing Storm
If your only hobby is chukar hunting, chances are you've been bored these past several months. My guess, though, is that most of you have figured out what to do in the 8-month hell known as the "Off-Season" (isn't "off" such a loaded word?). I know lots of chukar hunters fish during the summer, some …
Home Movies
After the light came We got an early start and headed up the mountain in the dark wearing headlamps for the first part of the climb. After about an hour of zigzagging up the mountain the sun started to rise in the distance. Some parts of the climb were super steep and I ended up …
Decade
Celebrating and reminiscing about great days on the chukar hills from past seasons. These beautiful moments, funny ones, exhausting ones, and even frustrating ones always remind us of the beauty of the sport and what the culture of chukar hunting means to all of us. The following is a collection of some photos we've never …
Love and Danger
On the steep ascent the winds were blowing hard and the dogs were having a hard time pinpointing the birds and singles were busting wild from the grasses and the minute you blinked one would take off like a missile. Halfway up the ridge, I stopped on top of a rocky outcropping to wait for …
What’s Beautiful?
I was looking for a file for an assignment on Hamlet this afternoon and came across this thing I wrote for one of my classes a few years ago. I'll often write alongside my students on an assignment, or model something before-hand. But I'd forgotten about this. I thought I'd share it here since it …