The Call of the Wild

What is it about the mountains that some of us cannot get out of our heads? Why do they seem to call to us? I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. I’m headed to Colorado next month for an elk hunt, which will be my first bowhunt of the fall, so I’m guessing that has something to do with it. I guess growing up in Arkansas, there is always something about the mountains out west that hold some sort of mystery. Some sort of connection with the wilderness that maybe we can’t find in our home state. As long as I can remember I’ve always dreamed about the Rocky Mountains. They hold a sense of challenge and wilderness that I think draws the most avid outdoorsmen. Maybe it’s the danger? There are certainly more drastic changes in the weather that could definitely be dangerous. There are stories every year of hikers or hunters getting lost or stranded somewhere deep in the backcountry. Being unprepared for something like that could end up very bad. Maybe it’s the variety of different wild animals? Grizzly bears, elk, wolves, and mule deer just to name a few. I think as Arkansas hunters, any other game animal other than we are accustomed to hunting around home comes with a certain intrigue. It must, because every year hundreds of natural state hunters make the journey out west to hunt deer or elk. I can think of at least ten from my home area making the trip this year. There’s just something unexplainable that calls to the most hardcore outdoorsmen. What calls to you? The challenge and beauty of the mountains is something that creates a desire in us that can’t be calmed. It’s a true call of the wild. To go to a place that is truly a wilderness and to pursue and animal that makes its home in the place we can only dream about is the ultimate challenge. To live like a mountain man, even if only for a week, will be a great adventure. Anxious doesn’t describe the feeling I have awaiting that first majestic bugle heard from a mountain top at dawn. I sincerely hope it lives up to the hype of my dreams. Heavenly views, physical and mental demands, stalking elk on their home turf, and trying to get it all on video. I feel blessed and up to the challenge!