Since starting college, I’ve more-or-less put hunting, fishing, and all other traditional outdoors adventures on the back-burner, to much of my family’s disappointment.

Sure, I still spend lots of time out-of-doors with my expensive camera, shooting wildlife and the wilderness with it. And, I go off-roading with my dad in the jeep about once per month in the summers. 

But as far as outdoors activities that are regulated by their own licenses and laws, and are revered by my rural, redneck loved ones, I’ve pretty much stopped doing those. The last time I went hunting was in the fall of 2018. The last time I rode horses was in the spring of 2021, at an unfamiliar stables with ridiculously strict rules in Washington state (I wasn’t even allowed to trot my horse, let alone canter like my cousin promised we could). I haven’t successfully caught a fish since… well… I honestly can’t remember the last time I did, even though I spent all of last summer with my spincast reel, prowling the banks of the Harriman and Johnson reservoirs. 

On top of that, I’ve been steadily attending college, ramping up the course load and difficulty with each semester, which means I’ve been less willing to play hooky to go hunting or fishing. Also, I’m still too chickenshit to even give even backyard camping a shot, so there’s that. 

In other words, I’m slowly morphing into the liberal yuppie type my rural loved ones love to joke about. 

But, despite my (largely temporary) change in lifestyle, I haven’t lost my love for the wilderness or the desire to get back into hunting, fishing, and horsemanship. I still prefer the country life over the city life. I still dream of owning a cabin and enough land to hunt and fish on in the middle of nowhere, far, far away from civilization. I still find myself fondly looking over pictures and objects that bring back memories of the family farm. And, I cherish the rare(ish) times I visit the valley and fail to encounter a single soul the whole time I’m there. 

Plus, the want to hunt and fish again has pushed itself to the forefront of my mind, especially as the fall draws near.