By Jessianne Castle EBS ENVIRONMENTAL & OUTDOORS EDITOR
LIVINGSTON –
In Montana, the term “hunting camp” piques the senses. In the minds of
sportsmen and sportswomen, it conjures memories of those still moments at dawn,
the smell of cool, crisp pine and lingering sage and the baptism delivered by an
autumn sunrise; good food that warms from the inside and stories made and told.
Whether cabin, bivy or tent, hunting camp is as much a place as it is an
experience.
For months,
hunters across the state have been gearing up, literally and metaphorically,
for the beginning of the Montana hunting season, of which an integral part of
prep is setting up camp.
Often
beginning in the summer and stretching through the month of September,
backcountry outfitters take strings of mules, or pack trains, into the
mountains to U.S. Forest Service permitted areas, loaded up with gear. One
string of mules, each carrying in the range of 120 pounds, might bring in the
motherlode of wall tents, chairs, pot-belly stoves, bedding and cots. On
another trip, the mules might bring in certified weed-free hay, and in the
final days the stock carry in people, food and gear to a camp reminiscent of those
of the old West.
Others are
perhaps eager for the stealth and challenge of the September bow season or are prepared
for the rugged mountain climbs requisite in the pursuit of bighorn sheep and
mountain goats. Still others anxiously await the opening of the backcountry
general rifle deer and elk season on Sept. 15 in select wilderness districts. In
many cases, these hunters bring what they need on their backs, and they accept
the knowledge that, if successful, they’ll be making several trips to haul out
that bull, which has a field-dressed weight of approximately 400 pounds.
The hunting
camp oft becomes a primal homestead for the hunter; a place to return to during
a season, over the years, and throughout a lifetime—literally and in memory. It’s
where laughs are exchanged around humble fare, a place of comfort and sleep,
and the spot where the sun sets to the purest of starry skies.
