![]() ![]() This recipe is a result of finally cracking the code of that elusive perfect use for a venison roast. It was a great feeling knowing this hunt was about having an impact, introducing someone to what I love, and leaving a legacy. And after 19 years of being a student of other more experienced hunters, I had finally made the jump and was transformed into a mentor. In that moment, Nick went through a metamorphosis from being a computer systems administrator with two master’s degrees to a hunter. Hunting has taught me we can’t anticipate what to expect and how to respond. I stood over the beautiful animal and listened to my loud-pounding heartbeat, reminiscent of my first deer. We both shared giant smiles and a congratulatory hug. on day two of our hunt, Nick finally made a nice shot and killed his first deer on public land just two miles from the Little Missouri River. Contributed / Jeff Bendaīut at approximately 8:45 a.m. Nick Dusek with his harvested deer in the morning of his second day in the North Dakota Badlands. Fast forward to the bone-in backstraps on the hot grill in my backyard back in Fargo. My mind began to imagine the butchering process, and the careful movement of my knife blade separating tasty flesh from bone. It’s in this moment that I reminded myself of the importance of a good shot placement. We both stared at the mule deer for a while in silence. Six dark gray dots nestled along the light gray skyline. Nick squinted his eyes and scanned the landscape in front of him. “Can you see them?” I asked, pointing up at the ridge. I was wide awake and ready for the adventure that awaited us. I flicked on my light, shining it directly into Nick’s sleeping face. I put the headlamp on, unzipped my sleeping bag, and swung my legs around so I could sit up on the edge of my cot. I reached over into the mesh pocket sewn on the inside of the six-man tent and clasped my hand around the headlamp I had put there next to the keys of my pickup. I woke up in total darkness to the walls of our tent billowing in the wind. It was an amazing way to end the first night at deer camp. We sat and looked up into the cold clear sky and admired the celestial beings that make up the 88 different constellations staring back at us. It reminds me I’m a really small single human being in the middle of a wilderness – and the world. It has the biggest and darkest sky I have ever experienced. The Badlands are an amazing place at night. Instead, we settled for hovering over the little heat that emulated from the glow of my backpack stove. ![]() The current fire ban due to the extreme drought made it impossible for us to enjoy the western romanticism of sitting beside a campfire that evening. From here the Badlands unfold before us in every direction. I found a pristine camping spot on public land six years ago when I first arrived in the far-flung corner of North Dakota to hunt pronghorn antelope. RELATED: Read more hunting stories in Northland Outdoors.The only exception was the time she had venison steak at our house. During our six-hour drive from Fargo to our hunting spot in the Badlands, he shared with me that his wife doesn’t like venison. He didn’t grow up hunting, but loved eating the deer sticks and jerky other kids brought with them on the bus to school. Nick is originally from the small town of Westbrook in southern Minnesota. So when my friend Nick Dusek asked if I would take him with me for his first deer hunt, I was not only excited, but compelled to do so. As a solo hunter, I sometimes feel guilty for hoarding this magical kingdom to myself, hiking and camping along the jagged ridges that took hundreds of thousands of years to form. When I make my annual pilgrimage to hunt deer in the Badlands, Theodore Roosevelt haunts me to be imbued with the responsibility to be an advocate and help save this place so future generations can enjoy it as much as I do. I can breathe freely and find the unfiltered version of myself. Just an occasional text or call to my wife and daughter back home. I go from feeling anxious to feeling unburdened with no obligations to post on social media. When I hunt out there, I’m beholden to no one, or their standards. Leaving the modern world and exposing myself to the outdoors leaves me better able to deal with the first-world problems I have to deal with when I return. I love exploring what my potential is out on the western edge of North Dakota. As Theodore Roosevelt once wrote, “the chase is among the best of all national pastimes it cultivates that vigorous manliness for the lack of which in a nation, as in an individual, the possession of no other qualities can possibly atone.” ![]() Hunting isn’t the life for most folks, but it’s the life I live for. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |