Nueva York: It's a jungle out there

So I may have to wander a little from the main idea of this site during this post, but trust me this was as great an "outdoor" adventure as I have ever had.

First let me start by saying that we went for a hike. We flew across the country for a hike. This was the kind of hike that leaves the quads burning, the lungs wheezing and the mouth so dry you can't spit. Yet at the same time the view is so breath taking that you forget about the pain and price you paid to get to where you are, you just savor in the moment. That is how I felt when I finally made it to tier reserved section 6, row X, seat 1. That is how I felt when I saw with my own eyes "The House the Ruth Built" being played in by living legends. What a moment that was.

This isn't a blog about baseball. We did, however, manage to see two games between the Yankees and the Twins as well as a game between the Mets and the Phillies. But this isn't about that. This is about two young men, kids really, striking out into the unknown trying to find something. I think we found it.

What we found in the end may not be what we were looking for. I knew from the moment that the trip to New York was planned that we would see things that we had never experienced before. I knew that there would be a little culture shock involved. I even knew that there might be a little danger in the living and traveling arraignments that we had made. What I didn't know was that our adventure, in the end, would make me appreciate my roots even more. I began to appreciate the west and it's wide openness. I began to realize that not everyone was as lucky as I was in having a loving family that cared about where I was and what I was doing. I definitely found gratitude for my education and endless potential ahead of me upon graduation. I began to savor the experiences that I have had in the out of doors that many people I encountered may never have the chance to experience.

All of this did not come at once though, and some of it I am just realizing now as I thumb through the 300+ pictures that we took (mostly Dan took the pictures). You see, at first I was in awe, then astonishment at the sheer density and massiveness of the city itself. Sure we have all seen pictures, and who hasn't caught one of the episodes of Law and Order on TNT played 24/7? But when you make it up to the first train platform and look out over the city you realize that it is not just Hollywood exaggerating the truth. It is for real.

Here is a list of a few things that we did in New York that just added to my experience:

• Rode the transit system, a lot
• Visited all five Boroughs of New York
  
• Bought and ate a hotdog from a street vendor
• Enjoyed the music of a homeless person trying to work for thier money
• Went to the top of the Empire State Building
• Walked down Broadway
• Explored Central Park
• Rode the Staten Island Ferry past the Statue of Liberty
• Visited numerous cathedrals around the city
• Visited cemeteries older then this country
• Stood where Washington stood when he gave the first inaugral adress
• Saw the Manhattan Temple
  
• Wandered through the American Museum of Natural History
• Walked by the New York Stock Exchange
• Moseyed through China town and Little Italy
• Heard at least 15 different languages
• Saw games at Yankee and Shea Stadiums before they are torn down
• Saw Ground zero for myself and took in the magnitude of what happened there
• Payed some Asian man $20 for a poor charcoal rendition of myself
• Almost witnessed a mutiny on a city bus
• Had a conversation with a drunk man on the subway, who in the end offered me a beer
• Viewed some of the coolest and worst graffiti ever sprayed on a brick wall
• At at the "Coffee Shop" from Seinfeld
• Ate real New York Pizza
• Got lost, found our way, got lost some more

I wish I had the words to really express what we experienced in New York, but I don't I think you should go there and see it for yourself. But especially you should see Yankee Stadium. There is no place on earth like it. Here are a few of the pictures that we took. Click on the slide show to view the web album.



If you want to know more about this trip you can email your question to casualoutdoorsman@gmail.com or simply comment below.

A Short Story

I don't consider myself a writer, but I have always thought that it would be cool to put together a series of short stories. Here is a little something that I wrote. It is fiction with little bits of reality peppered in.

“Keep is down back there,” Billy told Jake as they approached a huge ponderosa pine.

It was close to 6 am and the two had just come two and a half miles from camp to what Jake could only hope would be a successful tree stand. He tried to catch his breath, and obey the command of the guide, but keeping up with a man that spends the better part of the year out in the wilderness isn’t easy.

The fall in New Mexico is different for Jake then back home in New Jersey. One day it is 80 degrees outside and you can’t keep from sweating and the next you wake up to a flurry of snow on the ground. This morning, however, was calm. Almost eerily silent. The trek to this water hole was at a mind numbing pace through the high grass. The fog was so thick that Jake wouldn’t have been able to see much even if even if there was light. Just more motivation for to keep up with Billy. You wouldn’t want to get lost in these parts. No one deserves that kind of end.

He finally caught up feeling like he could breathe without wheezing and got next to the tree that Billy knelt by.

“I want you to climb up in this stand and be really still. Be patient and you will see a real Gila Wilderness giant,” he told me as I crouched down next to him. “I’ll be up on that knob over there glassing for a bit,” he said pointing into the grayish hue of the morning fog. Jake nodded his head having no idea where he was talking about. Finally before leaving he said, “If nothing comes in by 11, I’ll be back and we’ll try finding somethin’ over in hell’s canyon.” With that he was gone.

The sound of hell’s canyon wasn’t appealing to Jake. They had already covered some pretty rough country which would seem like hell to anyone not born with the mountain goat stature that his guide had. Jake was determined to listen to his instructions, being very still in wait for his trophy.

Jake had the opportunity to hunt out of a tree stand once before. He hoped his experience would help him this time around. He lashed his bow to the rope that was hanging over the edge of the seat twenty feet above his head, and started his climb on up.

The first light touched the dew saturated pine needles about a half hour later. This was going to be an exciting morning. The toughest part of hunting in a tree stand is boredom. The human mind can put up with the cold and sitting still usually isn’t all that tough, but keeping your mind active enough to not fall asleep can be a challenge. In the last little bit Jakes mind had gone through all the steps to drawing his bow silently, holding his 30 yard pin two inches high on the vitals, and squeezing the release. But his mind also thought about how the Yankees would pull through and win the divisional series with the Twins. Anything to keep his mind occupied. But now it would be a short bit and the sun would be up burning off the fog and he would be able to enjoy another beautiful New Mexico morning.

He glanced at his watch and it said 7:08. The sun now had burned through and was shining off the muddy water of the tank below his stand. He pulled out his rangefinder to take a couple of readings. Twenty-two yards to that bush. Sixty-eight yards to the far side of the tank. Seventeen to the near side. Now all that is left is the wait. After all, no one had ever accused Billy of being a liar.

It seriously couldn’t have been fifteen minutes, six squirrels, a covey of fool’s quail, and one pesky porcupine later when the silence was broken and Jake heard the first crack of a branch. Through the cut in the bush a hundred yards east of the tank something big was about to make an appearance. Jake couldn’t have known what it was; only that it was bigger and noisier than a Volkswagen beetle. Then appeared the dirty blonde rump, seven actually to be exact, of a of cow elk. Not quite what he was hoping for, but this couldn’t be a bad sign. He sat very still.

As the last cow took a drink and headed straight away from the stand, something caught Jake’s eye. Standing halfway between the cut in the brush and the tank was the majestic monster he had waited his whole life to see.

The behemoth watched the last of the cows disappear down into the draw to the south and he took his turn at the water hole. Only, he wasn’t there for a drink. It resembled more a French mud bath, only without the scented oils. He was in full rut just getting ready to take over that heard of cows. This bull was so rank that Jake could smell him up in the tree. He then moved to the edge of the water, almost as if he was listening to the commands Jake was giving in his head, to stand a mere twenty-four yards away.

Jake drew back his bow without the slightest tweak of a muscle, and held the twenty yard pin right on the kill zone. Hours of practice in the back yard were about to pay off. Endless nights imagining this very moment were about to come to fruition.

Little Sahara

It is not big news to anyone in the intermountain west that Utah is home to some great outdoor sites. From overnight camping sites to week long back country excursions, you can find it all over the state. I have been in the area for nearly four years and I am still discovering for myself the truth of that statement.

My most recent self discovery was Little Sahara Recreation Area in central Utah. What was once the sandy bottom of Lake Bonneville now is a favorite site for thrill seekers on two or four wheels. Hold on though, these dunes are not only for the well invested in all terrain vehicles. With developed camp sites including picnic tables, fire rings, and modern plumbing (yes, running water) it is a great place for that over night camp.

I made my trip down with a group of friends from school and unfortunately we didn't have the motored beast that we could hear all around us. We were still able to find fun in running in the silky-soft sand bare-foot while throwing a football or Frisbee.

I would recommend this spot to anyone with a dirt bike, four-wheeler, or dune buggy, but also to anyone that just wants to get away for the weekend and see a different take on the beauty that Utah's natural features have to offer.

Bowfishing Caballo

As a hunter, there are lulls in the season during which there is not much to do. This happens typically during the late spring and throughout the summer. This is a time when all forms of wildlife are bringing new young into the world, the big herds come down to lower ground to eat the new growth in the low valleys and meadows, and the hunting seasons are put on hold. Usually during this time the outdoorsman turns to large lakes and fresh streams to pursue that elusive Largemouth bass and German Brown trout. It is no different for me.

It was a couple of years ago that I was introduced to a different kind of off season “hunt.” Patrick Meitin, an outdoor writer and family friend, took my brother an I out on Caballo Lake in southern NM for a little bow fishing. I had heard of bowfishing before, but this would be the first time out for me.

If you already have a recurve bow, you can set yourself up with a bowfishing rig for about $60-$80. Lucky for us when we hunt with Pat have the gear and experience on our side. Ty and I have experience with a bow, so the only instruction we got was, “Aim below where you see the target.”

So with that we headed into the shallow waters on the north end of the lake. We started out on a flat bottom boat, to more quietly sneak up on the groups of fish, and ended the day wading the narrow channels on the far end of the lake.

Pat was right, aim a little low, and after a few shots we were ready for hours of action. We ended up shooting quite a few fish that day with Pat bringing in the biggest. On a few occasions we were lucky and hit two with one shot. This now is one of my favorite off season hunting activities.