Gone Hunting

The air is crisp and the nights are finally cool. Which means that it is the time of year when my husband travels away from home in the search for male camaraderie and bears. This year he is in Ontario somewhere with 3 other buddies trying to bring home a bear with his bow and arrow. He has been bear hunting with bow and arrow for as long as he has been able. What really got him hooked was being successful at a young age. He was 13 when he first went to Big Falls with his dad, brother and uncle; and I don't think there has been a year that he hasn't been back since. It's a ritual that takes place annually. The men (and women) who go change throughout the years; but it seems that a new "member" is invited or initiated every year. They drive 4-7 hours, pitch a tent in the Koochiching state forest, bathe in the river and eat at camp or the one bar/restaurant in Big Falls, sit in a tree stand for about 5 hours every night and celebrate when one of their comrades is successful. It's tradition. It's testosterone. It's in my husband's blood.