Friday, November 22 5:56 AM. MST The revolutions of the stove fan grow slower and slower. Momentum fading like the last drops of daylight...

We were due. I know it's presumptuous to believe a river owes you something, but I did, and could make a strong argument the sentiment...

The tent fly, sleeping bags, and assorted soggy fishing-wear flap restlessly on our makeshift clothesline. Thick-cut bacon sizzles in...

Slip N-22 sits about halfway down the marina boardwalk. Our white, 37-foot, center-console bobs lazily in its moorings – manila lines...

The percolator surges on a worn Coleman camp stove, sending savory streams of mahogany up the stem and into the glass top. Sporadic...

For me 2020 began the same way it probably did for many others – with a shiny new gym card. While I’ve never been much for New Year’s...

I've recently found myself traveling deep down a rabbit hole of historic Michigan deer camp images since being introduced to a Facebook...

It's Saturday. Wet snow slaps the wall tent in sloppy clumps. Somewhere, not far off, thunder peels – meteorological makings of the...

Seger's Against the Wind choruses in the background while lazy wipers slap back and forth and tires hum over damp blacktop...

"The earth is not just our environment. We are the earth and the earth is us. We have always been one ..." The words from Buddhist...

There's a placard hanging on the porch of the family cottage that reads "Headquarters for Hunters, Fishermen, Golfers, and other Liars."...

It was June of 2019. Blake, Dad, and I were gathered around a fire on a tiny island deep in the Canadian backcountry on a trip that had...

The first grey hues of dusk begin to settle in, like a house guest who finally unpacks and eases into a comfy chair to share conversation...

Sweat from every pore of my body was dripping onto the cursed stationary bike when the text from my buddy Mark buzzed through. "When we...

"There I sat on the ground, feeling really damned exposed, not knowing what to expect. The guide put me in a spot that had been getting...

As Steve disappeared over the snow-covered cliff, I remember thinking He's dead. Day one, and he's already dead. It was June of '94 and...

I'm in the kitchen, because it's already dark, and I'm bored senseless; determined to remedy the situation with a few slices of salami,...

Swinging each leg off the top bunk, I hopped down, my excitement a rolling boil, barely contained by the lid. Stocking feet hit the floor...

Shivering cold, asses wetly planted inside the puddled, hastily assembled tent, soggy feet hanging outside the zippered doors while a...

"A spot opened up for the Bowman Island trip." It's Thursday, February third around 10:30 AM when the text from my buddy, Joe, comes...

"The first rule of this river is that you don't talk about this river. At least by name." That's how the text read. "Understood." This...

I waded into the murky waters of fly fishing later in life, when my older son, Kyle, decided he wanted to learn, and requested a rod for...

Kyle just pulled in the driveway, U-haul trailer in tow, after being in Montana for four years. It's hard to describe the feeling that...

The tartar-sauce-smeared walleye sandwich, deep-fried tater tots, and tall Two Hearted hit all the right notes – more than can be said...

The bass bumps hard as Seth and Sarah belt out the lyrics to “Old Town Road” with the band. Everyone’s dancing, partying, and drinking...

It's black and silent. Deep in my subconscious something pulls me toward a light. A sound registers. Distant, but moving closer. Shuffled...

I've had it. Had it with the traffic. The RVs and buses and vans. The gawkers and rubberneckers. The safety signs and orange cones. The...

We’re heading into the wooded grove that has been our go-to spot for so many Sunday outings. The place I learned to hunt as a boy, and...

It's mid July, hotter than hell, and the AC in the truck is out. We're cruising the highway with the windows down and the music up. At...

It snowed last night. Just a light dusting, but enough to turn things white again. We throw in another log and stoke the wood stove to...

In a world overrun by categories and labels, hunting is the great equalizer. The outdoors is one of the few places where age, gender,...

I distinctly remember flying around the old logging road corner watching the boat trailer roll up hard on one wheel. Way up. I was...

I recently finished reading Harrison's memoir "Off To The Side". Out of the many brilliant writings in this book, one paragraph...

A light snow begins to fall in the forest. Coming to rest on the boughs and carpeting the now-brown pine needles and shriveled ferns....

I'm a newbie to the world of upland hunting and, right out of the gate, I make a rookie mistake, asking Jon about his hunting dog on our...

We cut our first elk tracks five miles in, post-holing our way through heavy snow often reaching past the knee. Kyle has taken the front,...

The overloaded pack creaks and groans in rhythm with the boots. One foot in front of the other. 12 miles behind us and just under two to...

"OH SHIT!" The words erupt without permission after two quick strips and a metallic flash engulfs my streamer. The rod pulses wildly as...

I can feel the sweat trickling down my back. The thermometer is already pushing 90 and the humidity is on the rise. Even the beer is...

“I choose to listen to the river for a while, thinking river thoughts, before joining the night and the stars.” If you've spent any time...

It's May in Michigan. The season has been wet with weather that can't quite make up its mind. A few days ago we had the furnace running,...

As I released the third cuthroat in as many casts, I was once again reminded of the incredible power of lucky hats. It was a...

It's military slang that means to consciously accept or appreciate something that is extremely unpleasant but unavoidable for forward...

My friends, Pat and Amber Casey, are bad asses. It's as simple as that. Not only are they incredibly successful hunters and anglers in...

Sunday mornings have always been our routine. Walks in the woods on Sunday mornings. And somehow she always knows what day of the week it...

It was supposed to be a hunting trip. My oldest son, Kyle, moved to Bozeman in 2018 to attend college and since that time my dad and I...

A backpacking and fly fishing trip into the rugged Sawtooth Wilderness.

This moment, like all moments, is fleeting. It lives again only in the stories of older men shared around a campfire in the wild.

Sometimes it’s good for men my age to have things that remain unattainable. Things that are still unspoiled and left to the imagination.

November brings the end of a season and a longing for a more simple time.