6th Prize
Hunting Journal with Weatherby Logo (100 awarded)
Heath Scholten, Michigan
“My all time dream hunt would have to be for the most majestic of the North American big game, the Rocky Mountain elk. I have always longed to see, with my own eyes, herds of wild elk roaming the green mountainsides and listening to the echo of their bugles in the white birch forests.
The elk is such a huge, graceful, beautiful beast, and well-deserving of my respect. I grew up with a fascination of not only elk but of the vast western lands themselves. I love the mountains, the trees, the crisp clean air and, of course, the sky that goes on forever. I would love to look out over the landscape and see nothing man made. No power lines. No city skyline. Not even smoke from chimneys. Just God’s country as far as you can see. That, I believe, is the true hearts cry of all men.
We work ourselves to death just to try to stay alive. A man can forget who and what he is in the whirlwind of everyday life. But if he can just get a glimpse of mountains, if he could just fill his lungs one time with that cool crisp clean air, if he could just look out on an endless sky, his soul would be reborn and he would remember who he is. It is my desire to find myself again.
An experience like that would have to be shared with my life long hunting partners, my dad and my brother. From my earliest youth, my dad would take us boys out into the woods to show us what life was truly all about. He instilled in us a love and respect for all of God’s creatures and the earth that was given to us. The wisdom and secrets of trail craft were imparted into us through his loving guidance.
If I the means I would thank him and attempt to repay him for his lifelong mentorship with a horseback adventure out into the mountains on the elk hunt of a lifetime. Of course, my brother would have to go along too or I would never hear the end of it.
We would love to do it the hard way. After hours on horseback we would have to pitch our tent and make camp. We would cook over an open fire all of the small game we had shot on the trail to camp. We would spend our days seeking out the allusive bull elk and our nights would be spent around the fire gazing out at the stars as we remember what truly is important.I am just a working man and I’m not much for pretty words. But this is what is in my heart. And I would find it downright gracious if you choose my story. Thank you for your time.”