There's something about just planning a hunting trip that satisfies; sometimes it's even better than actually taking the trip.
Being visited by my far too frequent friend, insomnia, I've been (re)reading my fine literature collection; mapping out a trip for us this year. Do we go to MI and the forests of the U.P.? Do we try the paper co lands on ME? I'd love to do one of the lodges-Libby Camps but that's a bit above my pay grade, right?
One unique group of literary treasures I've acquired are older copies of Wing & Shot and Grouse Point Almanac; "gifts" to the gun club from an elderly gentleman who was soon planning to shuffle off this mortal coil(or more likely had succumb to haranguing often ladled on both piles of old magazines and the men who hoard them). Either way, I have them now and they are really a fun glimpse into the not too distant past.
An older gentleman came to one of our scout meetings many years ago with several issues of Boys Life from the 50's. The boys uniforms were different, but recognizable. The scouting activities had stayed the same. I have no idea what they put in Boys Life these days, or if it even exists. I hope I'd still recognize it, but I don't hold out much hope.
Planning a trip. What to take, where to stay, and for how long?
"Where to stay" opens up a bit by looking through these magazines, in a way that current publications don't. There is a permanence in the written word; even and especially in the advertisements. I can envision the conversation around the dinner table at a lodge in a guides home. The family figures they can afford to run an add for a year or so, but not much longer. The margins on hunting camps being so thin. They take a chance. Maybe they invite an author up to hunt for free if they'll just write about the experience.
Not many of these places continued to advertise or advertise after those few issues, but many are still out there. I've looked for them online.
I probably won't find hollows of George Bird Evans, and if I did there would probably be a condo on it and no grouse. But I can look at these old adds and articles and glean something that might lead me to a wild flush and an authentic hunting camp.
Wherever it winds up being I'll probably drive and I'll start the trip with this:
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