
##2001550 . See also additional image(s) in Table of Contents of same issue . Gone are the days of walking up to a license dealer the day before elk season opens and buying a tag over the counter . Today you must apply well in advance , competing with thousands of others who share your dreams . Unfortunately , doing so has become a jumble of confusing paperwork and application deadlines . First you must call the states you want to hunt to receive the hunting-regulations booklets and application paperwork . Most states require applicants to send money for a hunting license and the tags they hope to draw . This often amounts to several hundred dollars , which deters many would-be elk hunters . If you do n't draw , the state refunds all but a small processing fee . Often you can apply over the Internet using a credit card . The chances of drawing a tag are less than 10 percent in some of the better trophy units , and sometimes it takes a decade of accumulating preference points just to be in the game . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The fewer hunters in the draw , of course , the better your odds of picking a tag . The following chart will help you make sense of the process and recommends some of the very best hunting areas . The odds can be long , but someone has to draw . Why ca n't it be you ? Notes About Deadlines : 2004 application deadlines , drawing dates , and seasons were not set at press time . Estimations here are based on 2003 dates . Be sure to check the exact dates with the states . BOX ELK TAG INFORMATION AND DATES State ALASKA 907-465-4112 www.state.ak.us/adfg Preference/Bonus Point Program None Estimated Application Deadline May 31 Estimated Draw Date mid-July Separate Hunting License $85 General Tag $300 Special Elk -- Recommended Unit/Draw Number DE318 , DE322 2003 Season Dates for Recommended Units Sept. 1-30 ; Oct. 1-31 Details for Recommended Unit Excellent but tough hunt for Rocky Mountain elk on southeast islands ( early hunt is archery only ) ARIZONA 602-942-3000 www.azgfd.com Preference/Bonus Point Program Bonus Estimated Application Deadline June 10 Estimated Draw Date July 26 -- Separate Hunting License @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Unit/Draw Number 3A , 3C 2003 Season Dates for Recommended Units Sept. 12-25 Details for Recommended Unit Awesome bowhunt , huge bulls , but odds of drawing only 7% in 2002 COLORADO 303-297-1192 www.wildlife.state.co.us Preference/Bonus Point Program Both Estimated Application Deadline April 1 Estimated Draw Date June 20 -- Separate Hunting License $483.25 -- General Tag -- -- Special Elk -- Recommended Unit/Draw Number 201 2003 Season Dates for Recommended Units Oct. 1-10 Details for Recommended Unit It takes at least 14 preference points to draw this hunt , but you can apply for points only IDAHO 208-334-3700 www.state.id.us/fishgame Preference/Bonus Point Program None Estimated Application Deadline May 31 Estimated Draw Date July 10 -- Separate Hunting License $128.50 -- General Tag $338.50 -- Special Elk -- Recommended Unit/Draw Number 29-1 2003 Season Dates for Recommended Units Oct. 1-24 Details for Recommended Unit Drawing odds in 2002 were 1 in 6 ; you must buy a nonrefundable hunting license to apply MONTANA 406-444-2535 www.fwp.state.mt.us Preference/Bonus Point Program Bonus Estimated Application Deadline mid-April* March 15** Estimated Draw Date June 2* mid-August** -- Separate Hunting License $7*** -- General Tag $578 -- Special Elk @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Units Jan. 2-Feb. 9 Details for Recommended Unit Best migration hunt in the state , although you must have a combination license to apply NEVADA 775-688-1507 www.ndow.org Preference/Bonus Point Program Bonus Estimated Application Deadline April 21 Estimated Draw Date June 21 -- Separate Hunting License $111 -- General Tag $1,000 -- Special Elk -- Recommended Unit/Draw Number 076 , 077 , 081 2003 Season Dates for Recommended Units Nov. 15-30 Details for Recommended Unit Only 2 nonresident tags issued in 2003 ; drawing odds about 1 in 162 . Virtually all bulls taken are 6x6 or better NEW MEXICO 505-476-8101 www.gmfsh.state.nm.us Preference/Bonus Point Program None Estimated Application Deadline April 26 Estimated Draw Date July 14 -- Separate Hunting License $481 -- General Tag $766 -- Special Elk -- Recommended Unit/Draw Number Valle Vidal 2003 Season Dates for Recommended Units Oct. 11-15 Details for Recommended Unit Once-in-a-lifetime tag , tough to draw ; an awesome wilderness rifle hunt with big bulls OREGON 503-947-6000 www.dfw.state.or.us Preference/Bonus Point Program Preference Estimated Application Deadline May 15 Estimated Draw Date June 20 -- Separate Hunting License $58.50 -- General Tag $306.50 -- Special Elk -- Recommended @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Nov. 8-16 Details for Recommended Unit Need 8 preference points to draw , but best public-land rifle hunt in state ; rugged country UTAH 801-538-4700 www.wildlife.utah.gov Preference/Bonus Point Program Both Estimated Application Deadline Jan. 31 Estimated Draw Date April 30 -- Separate Hunting License $333 -- General Tag $483 -- Special Elk -- Recommended Unit/Draw Number 322 2003 Season Dates for Recommended Units Sept. 13-23 Details for Recommended Unit Relatively easy unit for a rifle hunt ; can produce some 350-plus bulls ; very tough to draw WASHINGTON 360-902-2464 www.wa.gov/wdfw Preference/Bonus Point Program Bonus Estimated Application Deadline June 22 Estimated Draw Date Aug. 3 -- Separate Hunting License $394.20 -- General Tag -- -- Special Elk -- Recommended Unit/Draw Number 2008 Peaches Ridge A 2003 Season Dates for Recommended Units Oct. 20-Nov. 2 Details for Recommended Unit Must have license to apply for this rifle hunt ; in 2002 , 98 tags were issued for 3,170 applicants , with 36% success rate WYOMING 307-777-4600 gf.state.wy.us Preference/Bonus Point Program None Estimated Application Deadline Jan. 31 Estimated Draw Date Feb. 28 -- Separate Hunting License $410 -- General Tag $610 -- Special Elk @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Units Oct. 1-21 Details for Recommended Unit Best public-land rifle hunt available for those who draw the general $410 or $610 tag * ( combination license ) ** ( special elk ) *** ( conservation license ) PROFESSIONAL HELP The application process was simplified more than a decade ago when New Mexico outfitter George Taulman of United States Outfitters began his Professional Licensing Service ( 800-845-9929 ) , the first of its kind to do the research and fill out the application paperwork for nonresidents . Today there are many others . One that I find very helpful is Garth Carter 's Hunter Services Inc. ( 435-386-1020 ; www.huntinfool.com ) . Carter , a former Utah state game biologist and serious trophy hunter , specializes in researching the best trophy areas in various states , and providing that information to his clients in a monthly magazine , along with details on tag application procedures and some outfitted hunting opportunities . His service is well worth the $100-per-year membership fee. -B.R . <p> 
##2001551 . If the wind and snow have got you down , here 's a sunny thought : There 's world-class fishing available at this very moment where the air is warm , the sand is white , and the fish are big . Some destinations are exotic with price tags to match , but others are closer to home and wo n't break your budget . Maybe it 's time to take the winter fishing vacation you deserve . Here are our top four places to fish right now . YUCATAN , MEXICO BONEFISH , PERMIT , SNOOK , TARPON You 'll find water blue enough to match the sky and sand as white as the snow you 've left behind . Even better , Mexico 's Yucatan coast south of Cancun is arguably the world 's best inshore light-tackle destination for a combination of bonefish , permit , snook , and tarpon . It 's only about a four-hour flight from New York City , and because Cancun is a major resort area , airfares tend to be reasonable . Daytime highs in February average from 70 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ start casting . The best fishing starts at Boca Paila , a lodge about 75 miles south of Cancun , and extends down through Ascencion Bay and Espiritu Santo Bay toward the Belizean border . The entire area is remote and lightly fished , and bonefish are in exceptionally good supply . On my last trip through Ascencion Bay , I landed 20 bonefish from 2 to 5 pounds before lunch . For a change of pace I spent the afternoon fishing for big barracuda on the flats . Permit , too , are common , and this may be the world 's easiest place to take one on a fly rod . Most fish weigh between 2 and 8 pounds , but 20-pounders are a daily possibility . Snook here are the real sleepers , plentiful but relatively unmolested by the bonefish crowd . You can often sight-cast flies or plugs to hordes of snook located in the backs of many bays and lagoons . When you tire of all this largesse , just kick back under a coconut palm with a fresh-lime margarita , wondering if there 's a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Blanca and Playa Blanca . They 're all served by major sporting-travel agents ( see sidebar ) . LAKE FORK , TEXAS TROPHY BASS Located southwest of Dallas , Lake Fork is well known for its trophy largemouths , and February may be the best time to catch double-digit fish . Thirteen of Texas ' 50 biggest bass were taken in that month , and nine of them from this reservoir . Statistically , this is your best month for a trophy . The weather in mid-February is cool-daytime highs average about 60 degrees-but at least you wo n't be shoveling snow . The big bass are trying to get warm , too , and are in prespawn mode , staging along the edges of warmer flats . The north and west ends of the reservoir are shallower and warm up earlier and can thus be more productive . Channel edges , secondary points , and structure near spawning flats are keys to finding fish . Local anglers favor jigs , lipless crank-baits , spinnerbaits , and soft-plastic lizards fished on heavy baitcasting gear with 20-to 25-pound-test line . Getting to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ flights to Dallas-Fort Worth from just about anywhere . The area abounds with marinas and motels . Local bass fishing guides , essential for first-timers , charge around $300 for a full day of fishing . You 'll find extensive information at the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department website at www.tpwd.state.tx.us . For a listing of area motels and guides , check out **29;1327;TOOLONG . CHILE AND ARGENTINA TROUT If it 's winter where you are , it 's summer or early autumn in South America . Just that simple observation ought to raise your pulse rate on a snowy day , especially considering that some of the world 's best trout fishing is found on both sides of the Andes in southern Chile and Argentina . This is not a budget trip , especially because the gateway cities of Santiago ( Chile ) or Buenos Aires ( Argentina ) are a very long flight from just about anywhere . Lodge prices range from $2,500 up to $7,000 or more for a week 's guided fishing ( airfare not included ) . What may surprise some is that this fishing is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ already have waiting lists for prime-time bookings . The best-known Argentine trout fishing centers around Bariloche and San Martin and rivers such as the Malleo , Chimehuin , and Collon Cura . Foremost among the lodges is the Estancia Arroyo Verde , lying along 11 miles of the fabled Traful River , with outstanding fishing , food , and wine for about $600 a day . It 's important to realize that , with one exception , South American trout fishing does n't offer large numbers of double-digit fish . What it does supply is exceptional fishing for rainbows and browns in the 18-to 24-inch class , and perhaps an occasional shot at a 30-inch , 10-pound fish . That the fishing takes place in the lovely Andean foothills is a huge plus . The notable exceptions to the size equation are the sea-run brown trout of Tierra del Fuego , which frequently top 20 pounds . These are unusually strong fish , trout that would pull the socks off most other salmon or steelhead in a tug-of-war . It is also some of the remotest fishing in existence-quite literally at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deluxe fishing lodges . Kau Tapen Lodge ( www.kautapen.com ) is the flagship here on the Rio Grande , where the best weeks yield 400 to 600 big sea-runs to just eight to 12 rods . In general , from Christmas to late March is prime time . The Rio Grande is about a four-hour flight south from Buenos Aires . Rates at Kau Tapen-if you can get in-are currently $7,195 per person , based on double occupancy . Pricey ? Yes . Good ? Actually , it 's out of this world . NORTH FLORIDA BASS Those bucket-bellied largemouths for which Florida is famous are in prespawn mode now , and some will be bedding by the end of February . Not only does this mean that the fishing can be very good , but it 's also prime time for a trophy . There are three basic ways to get in on the action , depending on your budget . No matter how you go , keep in mind that airfares to Florida cities like Jacksonville or Orlando are generally cheap . The first option is Bienville Plantation ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a private retreat catering to sportsmen who like to be pampered . Bienville is home to some of the best phosphate-pit lakes in the state . These types of lakes in north Florida tend to be exceptionally fertile , growing lots of big fish . Lodging and guided fishing packages are available starting at $570 a day . In my own experience , this place runs like a Swiss watch . Two cheaper alternatives require that you do some of the work , but this can be as easy as picking a lake , booking an independent guide in advance , flying to a nearby city , and staying in a chain motel . Your biggest expense will be guided fishing , for which you 'll pay about $300 a day . To spend even less money , stay at one of the many fish camps common to Florida 's major bass lakes , and rent a small boat . Top lakes include Lake George , west of Ocala ; Stick Marsh/ Farm 13 Reservoir , near Fellsmere and west of Vero Beach ; West Lake Tohopekaliga , near Kissimmee @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ your research with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission ( 850-488-0520 ; **28;1358;TOOLONG fishing ) , which offers plenty of useful details on the region 's bass fishing . INTERNATIONAL HELP It 's almost always better to book an international fishing trip through a reputable sporting-travel agency . This service does n't cost any more than booking directly yourself ( the commission comes from the lodge , not from you ) . Among the best-known brokers are PanAngling ( 800-533-4353 ; www.panangling.com ) , Frontiers International Travel ( 800-245-1950 ; www.frontierstrvl.com ) , and the Fly Shop ( 800-669-3474 ; www.flyfishingtravel.com ) . J.M. Illustration <p> 
##2001552 . No American knife design carries the heft of history and legend as does the famous Bowie ( pronounced BOO-ee ) . Books have been written about it . Knife historians argue vehemently and with self-righteous ( and sometimes self-serving ) ardor about its genesis and evolution . Bowie knife history-and more to the point , Bowie knife legend-shaped American ideals of what a knife should be for nearly 200 years . It 's been a fixture in hunting camps from the Rocky Mountains to the Deep South swamps . Gripped by bear-mauled guides or worn on the belts of leather-clad trappers , it has also been a central character in sporting art for the last century . Most outdoorsmen recognize the knife instantly and ca n't help but have a visceral response to the Bowie 's signature sweep , size , and silhouette . Odd to think , then , that James Bowie , famed Indian fighter , Alamo martyr , and the knife 's namesake , would probably not recognize the thing . THE SANDBAR FIGHT The unlikely epic of what is now known as the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , across from the rough-and-tumble town of Natchez , Mississippi , in 1827 . A cast of characters assembled there on September 19 for a formal duel between Samuel Levi Wells and Dr. Thomas H. Maddox . The offense was an insult to a woman , never disclosed and long forgotten . As was customary , each duelist brought along a small entourage . Among the group supporting Wells was a slave trader , land speculator , and Louisiana planter named James Bowie . Maddox and Wells stood eight paces apart , left side facing left side . They fired twice , missed both times , and shook hands . As they were leaving the dueling grounds , however , their companions decided it was a fine time to settle a few old scores . A grisly melee ensued . As the original duelists watched , one man fired at Bowie . Bowie drew a large knife and took chase , during which he was shot through the chest . In the next few moments , Bowie was clubbed with a pistol and shot twice more . While he was down @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one in the gut . The other man stabbed him through the hand and body . Still impaled , Bowie grabbed his opponent 's coat , lifted himself off the ground , and sunk his blade heart-deep . At the end of the " horrid outrage , " as one newspaper account billed it , Bowie was bleeding from no less than seven wounds . He was n't expected to live . He did , of course , for another nine years , until he perished in the even more confounding mists of the Alamo . But from the Sandbar Fight rose his reputation as a knife-fighting master that grew to mythic proportions , fueled in part by the frontier public 's infatuation with his knife . From then on Bowie 's every altercation was fodder for the press . Various reports have him engaged in hand-to-hand combat dozens of times . Once , it was reported , he was attacked in Texas by three hired assassins . With his terrible blade he decapitated one , disemboweled the second , and split to the shoulders the skull of the third . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , " and Bowie knives were worn by soldiers , buffalo hunters , senators , and governors . A LIFE OF ITS OWN More than a dozen makers of the " original " Sandbar Fight Bowie knife have been fingered , from a New Orleans knife-smith known only as " Pedro " to Bowie 's older brother , Rezin . Among the most likely candidates is a trio of blacksmiths : Love or Lovell Snowden , Jesse Clifft , and James Black . " Nobody knows who the hell made it and what it looked like , " asserts James L. Batson , past president of the American Bladesmith Society and author of James Bowie and the Sandbar Fight . At the time it was described variously as a " large butcher knife " and a " peculiar shaped and formidable knife . " Whatever its original shape , within a few years the so-called Bowie knife assumed some of its more contemporary characteristics : the coffin-shaped handle , the heavy cross guard , the sweeping clip blade with its partially sharpened top edge . There is no question that the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to one breathless account , " Bowies were drinking blood from New Orleans to Dubuque and from Savannah to Brazos . " In 1837 the Arkansas Speaker of the House killed a fellow legislator with a Bowie on the floor of the Arkansas House of Representatives . That same year Alabama passed a law stipulating that anyone who killed another person with a Bowie knife " shall suffer the same as if the killing had been by malice and aforethought . " In 1828 Tennessee banned their sale . By the mid-19th century the cutlery industry of Sheffield , England , where some 30 shops turned out mass-produced knives and other metal goods , was flooding American ports with various incarnations of the Bowie knife . Some were very good . Others were as weak of steel as they were true to the Bowie lineage . Some Bowies sprouted a brass ridge along the back of the blade , supposedly positioned to snag the edge of an opponent 's knife . During the Civil War , many Bowies grew to the size of small swords . TRUE-BLUE BOWIE One of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by Bowie knife collector and film industry artist Joseph Musso . It 's a frightful knife with a nearly 14-inch-long blade that some believe to have been James Bowie 's personal knife . But most serious Bowie knife students , says Mark Zalesky , editor of Knife World , look to a much more subdued knife as " an early example of the intermediary steps between whatever was used at the Sandbar Fight and later forms . " The Searles/Fowler Bowie has long been displayed at the Alamo . This straight-backed knife sports a checked ebony handle and a tiny cross guard and was given as a gift by Bowie 's older brother Rezin in the late 1830s , and so bears the stamp of Bowie family approval . Other knife historians hold that perhaps the truest " Bowie knife " extant-meaning an early knife with a defensible connection to James Bowie himself-is Bowie No. 1 , an exquisite work owned by and exhibited at the Historic Arkansas Museum in Little Rock . It 's an awesome piece of steel , nearly 18 3/8 inches long , manufactured with a coffin-shaped @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would define the later Bowie aesthetic . By most accounts the knife was made by James Black , a Washington , Arkansas , blacksmith whom The Washington Telegraph blamed in 1841 for " inventing this far famed deadly instrument , " according to a recent article in Knife World . Engraved on the knife 's escutcheon plate is the phrase " Bowie No. 1 , " and while it is known that James Black did n't mark his knives , some historians figure this one was so important that Black or a later engraver marked it as such . But like all the other " original " Bowies , no one knows for certain if this is a knife designed by the hand of Bowie himself , or if that hand ever held it . All anyone will agree on is that the Bowie knife , whatever it was , became a symbol of the frontier 's brashness and bravado and that 176 years after the legendary fight that birthed it , the Bowie knife seems destined to start more arguments than it settles . GET YOUR OWN BOWIE Good knifesmiths @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and since even the experts disagree on what is a true Bowie , you can essentially design your own . ( Find a custom cutler via the Knifemakers ' Guild , www.kmg.org ; or the American Bladesmith Society , **26;1299;TOOLONG . ) First , choose the blade : Early Bowies , such as Bowie No. 1 , likely had a straight-backed , butcher-knife-shaped blade . Another option is the sweeping clip-point that defined later styles , as seen in the Musso Bowie . Some fighting Bowies had a sharpened upper edge for a slashing backhand stroke . That , however , would make a mess out of cleaning a deer . Handle styles also vary . A cross guard exists on many later Bowies , or you could go with the less safe but possibly more historically accurate guardless design . Staghorn handles were popular on early Bowies , as were those of hardwoods such as maple , hickory , and walnut . T.E.N . Illustration <p> 
##2001553 . See also cover story of same issue When John Davis piled decoy bags into his 14 -foot fiberglass boat and started for Piney Island off the coast of the Florida panhandle , he knew he was heading for troubled waters . Thirty-knot winds were blowing out of the south-west , pushing a storm surge of water over the shoals and turning the tail feathers of thousands of ducks . Davis knew that those ducks would raft up in the protection of the bays and lagoons , and braving the waves was the only way to reach them . Anchoring in a channel , he put out his dekes , then drew a tarp over himself and his three dogs-Sally , a chocolate Lab ; Checkers , a 6-week-old half-breed ; and a fuzzy lapdog he called Little Bear . Within minutes Davis shot a limit of greater scaup and redheads and was preparing to leave when he realized his anchor had pulled . The boat had grounded on a flat of soupy black mud . Even after Davis had moved his gear and his dogs to a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he was unable to move the boat . It was November , with temperatures falling into the teens . The wind was howling , and Davis , who had been a demolition specialist in the U.S. Army , knew that he was in as much trouble as he 'd ever been in during three tours of duty in Vietnam . He had no more than a swallow of water left in his bottle , no dry matches , and no food . No one knew where he was . Nor were high tides likely to come to his rescue . He 'd have to wait for another storm surge or attempt to hike 18 miles across oyster bars and sand shoals , plus swim dozens of deep water channels , to reach the safety of the mainland . To make matters worse , he 'd torn one of the boots out of his waders when trying to drag the boat and knew that if he tried to walk , the sharp edges of the oyster shells would slice his foot to ribbons . Making a crude shelter by draping his tarp @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a bed and huddled with his dogs-he tucked the puppy into his coat next to his chest-to weather the storm . " Man , that was a three-dog night , " he recalls . He plucked the ducks , which the castaways ate raw for dinner . Chewy , he thought , but not bad . By dawn the storm had abated . Shaking from hypothermia , he set the puppy down between the two bigger dogs , then crawled to the edge of the lagoon , where he managed to drop a spoonbill with a longish shot . He spent the rest of the day spelling out SOS in seaweed and digging with a plank of driftwood to try to free his boat . Before high tide , Davis piled all his gear and the dogs into the boat , hoping for a flood of water that never came . He signaled with his army mirror at boats passing far offshore and once at a marine patrol helicopter searching for illegal mullet fishermen . No one responded . For three more days and nights the pattern seldom varied . Shoot @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his bed , gnaw at the bones , itch at flea bites , signal for help . He 'd dig futilely into the quicksand mud for hours , then shiver through another night of sub-20 temperatures . When the sun set on the fourth evening-four days is about all that an active man can survive without hydration-he wrapped his foot in rags , determined that in the morning he would try to hike and swim to safety . He gave himself almost no chance of survival , but at least he 'd go down fighting . Anything was preferable to dying of thirst in an amphitheater of water . Then he noticed that the spit he was camping on was narrower than before . A surge of water was pouring over the island . Summoning strength , he slogged to his boat , which was miraculously floating in the trench of mud he 'd dug out with driftwood . He hurriedly piled on decoys and dogs , choked the outboard , and at 10:30 at night aimed his skiff toward the mainland and the sweetest drink of water three dogs and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ An unabashed renegade , John Davis often prefers to hunt and fish by himself and assumes that the responsibility for survival rests in his hands alone . He did not file a float plan with friends or leave a note attached to his truck indicating where and when he was hunting-the first precaution all boaters should take , according to Chris Edmundson , who is director of boating safety for Boat U.S. and works with the Coast Guard to prevent boating mishaps among hunters and fishermen . Nor did Davis carry enough drinking water or a radio to call for help . On the plus side , he wore wool clothing to combat the cold , built shelter , killed food , signaled that he was in distress , and made the correct decision to stay put . He kept his head in a situation where someone less hardy or more prone to panic might have perished from dehydration or hypothermia , or drowned while trying to swim to the mainland . When I asked him if Vietnam prepared him to survive on Piney Island , he responded , " Hell @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ boy . Being a woodsman was the way I survived Vietnam . " THE RULES In addition to filing a float plan , Edmundson recommends the following for boaters : ( 1 ) Carry high-energy foods , hot drinking water as an antidote for cold-water immersion , and signaling devices . ( 2 ) Bundle up extra warm clothing into a dry bag in case you capsize. ( 3 ) Do n't overload the boat . Sportsmen-and duck hunters in particular-favor unstable craft such as johnboats , sneak boats , and canoes , and tend to overload them . When they lean over the gunwales to retrieve a decoy line or a retriever jumps into the water , the boat capsizes. ( 4 ) Always carry matches in a waterproof container and at least one other device to start a fire . ( 5 ) If you hunt saltwater , always bring emergency drinking water in addition to the water you 'll drink that day . DO N'T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT ... A VHFM radio . The 25-watt console models have the greatest range ; a 5-watt submersible securely buttoned inside @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from smaller craft . On unpatrolled waters , carry a twoway radio or a cellphone in a waterproof bag . Illustration <p> 
##2001554 . See also additional image in Table of Contents file of same issue . Last summer , Montana , Wyoming , and Idaho released their plans to manage wolves in the Northern Rockies-the final step toward taking them off the endangered species list . The proposals are now under peer review , but delisting could occur as early as this year . Yet in a way the paperwork is about as relevant as surrender terms brought out of the Philippine jungles by some aged Imperial Japanese soldier who does n't know the war is over . Plainly speaking , the wolves have already won . By the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 's last count in 2003 , the Northern Rockies contained 747 wolves , including 46 breeding pairs . The population was growing at a 12 percent clip , a decrease from previous rates . Ed Bangs , the USFWS northwestern wolf recovery coordinator , believes that all the most suitable wolf habitat-free from conflicts with humans-has wolves . Yellowstone has the " highest density of wolves in the world , " reports the New York Times @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1,000 ; but that does not mean there will be 1,000 wolves in Yellowstone and none anywhere else . HOMES ON THE RANGE Wolves , which had kept a toehold in the Upper Midwest ( especially northern Minnesota ) , continue to recover and today number in the thousands there . According to the San Francisco Chronicle , Defenders of Wildlife petitioned the federal government in 2002 to designate 16 million acres of forest and parks in southern Oregon and northern California as suitable habitat for up to 500 wolves . The animals , it seems , can lope farther than 500 miles in search of new homes . ( The first wolf tracks in probably 70 years have appeared in Wyoming 's Bighorn Mountains , hundreds of miles from Yellowstone , but only tens from my home . ) Meanwhile , the government is continuing introduction elsewhere . Mexican gray wolves were let go in the Apache and Gila National Forests of Arizona and New Mexico in 1998 . In an article in the New York Times , Douglas W. Smith , chief of the Yellow-stone Wolf Project , claimed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wolves are the Adirondacks , Southern Rockies , Washington state 's Olympic Peninsula , and ( most likely of all ) northern Maine . Wherever wolves may come to be released in the future , however , in the Northern Rockies they are a fait accompli . DIRE PREDICTIONS What will this mean for hunters in the region , and elsewhere ? In perfect candor , nobody knows for sure , or as Bangs puts it , " We all make better historians than prophets . " Still , there is no lack of dire predictions about the impact wolves will have on wildlife . Assorted ranching interests and sportsmen 's associations envision that without strenuous control efforts , there will be 5,700 wolves by 2010 ; and each one will kill 100 elk per year , plunging calf-to-cow ratios to zero . Inevitably , the doomsayers maintain , game will be wiped out . They also claim that environmentalists , with the support of the USFWS , will never allow wolves to be hunted , and the ultimate motive is for the wolf to become the principal instrument of big-game @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . Is there any basis for these alarming assertions ? Without question , those who want to do away with hunting are legion , but very few of the antis seem to be directly associated with wolf restoration ( everyone actively involved accepts as a given that wolves will need to be killed , some by hunters ) . As for the remaining claims , most should properly come under the heading of woods lore , or even tall tales , rather than solid scientific study ( see sidebar ) . Bangs says , " If wolves were going to wipe out the elk , they would have done it 10,000 years ago-why wait till now ? " HUNTING AND THE WOLF What wolves will do , for certain , is change things . As of now , states are widely using winter cow-elk hunts to bring down populations that are " over objective . " Wolves will probably reduce the need for these hunts . Game managers are seeing low calf-to-cow ratios in wolf areas , but for various reasons . In one part of Idaho , " right in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ state wildlife biologist , calf-to-cow ratios have increased to 36 per 100 . Wolves can carry rabies , but could they also act as a control on diseased ungulates , such as those with chronic wasting disease ? They are going to make life very hard for coyotes , which could help lots of ground-nesting birds . Their presence will move big game around to different areas ; and each year at least 75 percent of hunters ( in Idaho ) wo n't get an elk , just as 75 percent do n't get an elk currently . In his influential and well-researched book , The Wolf Almanac , naturalist Robert H. Busch writes , " Wolf predation can accelerate prey declines caused by other factors lack of feed or hard winters are two ... and can delay the recovery of prey numbers . " In other words , wolves need to be managed . And to keep wolf numbers down , Busch continues , " wolf kills would have to be continued for years . " Hunters should n't mind that part at all . This shows why it is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ put the wolf on the regular list of game animals , establish seasons and bag limits , and take reasonable steps to address the concerns of livestock growers . ( The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation , for one , seems to grasp this and has urged President Bush to aid delisting . ) The sooner wolves come off the endangered list , the sooner we get to hunt them . I look forward to the likelihood of a wolf hunt only miles from my house , and I wager that more than a few other hunters would , too . And there will be another important benefit : the knowledge that with the wolf present , the other game will be worth more . In the mid-1940s , Aldo Leopold , the father of game management , was one of the first to call for wolf restoration in Yellowstone Park . Years earlier as a young man , Leopold shot a she-wolf in Arizona Territory , as was done without hesitation in those days . Upon reaching her-described in the most famous scene of his posthumously published book , A Sand @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in her eyes . The sight began to transform Leopold into a conservationist who recognized the relatedness of all components of the wild . The wolf , Leopold saw , was as important as the deer he thought he was assisting by killing the wolf . He learned , he said , to " think like a mountain " after that . Leopold the hunter wrote that the " unit value of the trophy " should not be lowered any longer by our " artificializing it , " as we have been doing during all the years we have kept the wolf at bay . SOME FACTS ABOUT WOLVES A WOLF 'S DIET Wolves in Yellowstone eat 1.8 elk per wolf per month in the winter . With only four canine teeth , and no claws , for weapons , a wolf is not a gifted hunter , merely a dogged one . Wolves risk injury while hunting , and so have little incentive to do it for " fun . " It should also be recalled that deer and elk evolved by escaping death by wolves . So how many @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ knowledge of wolf predation remains scant . A wolf needs 7 to 9 pounds of food per day ( some days they get more , some days less ) . Wolf expert L. David Mech contends that " the most extensive data yet obtained on the average rate of kill of a wolf pack " comes from an early 1960s study of wolves on Michigan 's Isle Royale . There , 15 to 17 wolves took two moose per week in the winter . A 1997-2000 wintertime study in Yellowstone found a rate of 1.8 animals , primarily elk , per wolf per month , and kills are probably at their highest in that season . Spring offers carcasses from cold-weather mortality to scavenge , and also vulnerable fawns and calves . And in the fall , wolves can take advantage of game that has been wounded and lost by hunters . T.M. KEY EVENTS IN NORTHERN ROCKIES WOLF RECOVERY 1974 Wolves in the Lower 48 are protected under the Endangered Species Act . 1986 The first wolf den appears in Glacier National Park , Montana , from Canadian wolves naturally @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for wolf recovery in the Northern Rockies . 1995 Wolves captured in Alberta are released into Yellowstone . 1996 Wolves captured in British Columbia are released into Yellowstone and central Idaho . 2002 At least 30 breeding pairs of wolves are documented for the third year in a row in the region . 2003 Wyoming , Idaho , and Montana submit plans to manage wolves after delisting . Illustration <p> 
##2001555 . Ned Rozell knew he had a problem when his chocolate Lab , Jane , began barking at the raucous noises coming from his stomach . It was this , and the fact that he 'd been forced to set up camp in his Fairbanks outhouse . A week earlier , while canoeing bags of moose meat upstream , Rozell had unconsciously licked his lips every time spray from the Yukon River tributary hit him in the face . This lapse in judgment , evidently , was all it took for the miracle of microbial life to come full circle : from human droppings to water to muskrat mouths and intestines and then around again to humans . " I brought back more than moose burgers on that hunting trip , " recalls Rozell , a 40-year-old hunter and science writer at the University of Alaska 's Geophysical Institute . " I 'm always extremely careful about treating my drinking water in the wilderness . But despite my best precautions , I came back to town with an intestinal bug known commonly as giardia . " Giardiasis is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a sobriquet that seldom fails to provoke titters , at least in the uninfected . Rhyming and ribaldry aside , beaver fever is misleading in more ways than the obvious . Unlike relatively simple agents like bacteria or viruses that cause diseases , Giardia lamblia is a protozoan . These complex , single-cell organisms tend to lead complex life cycles , and G. lamblia is no exception . Its durable form is called a cyst-a sturdy little packet of quasi-dormant life force that can survive for months while awaiting ingestion by a host . Once swallowed by anything from a moose hunter to a muskrat , the cyst makes its way passively to the stomach , where strong acids allow it to " excyst , " that is , hatch . The resulting critter , called a trophozoite , sports a spermlike tail that allows it to wiggle over to the lining of the intestinal tract , whereupon it attaches itself by suction cups and begins to replicate thousands of times over . As the trophozoites proliferate wildly , they eventually blanket the intestinal mucosa , creating a physical barrier of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for how trophozoites trigger nasty symptoms include the possible breakdown of bile acids , inflammation of the lining of the intestines , and inadvertent encouragement of other naturally occurring bacteria and fungi to overgrow the lower gut . TAINTED WATERS Beavers , it turns out , are not even the most common of wild animal hosts for G. lamblia . Muskrats and ungulates are probably more likely than beavers to defecate cysts into " pristine " watersheds . But when it comes to truly profligate cyst shedding , we humans are the kings . A single milligram of a victim 's feces can contain up to 300 million cysts . Studies have shown that swallowing as few as 10 of these can cause infection in a third of people ; swallowing 50 or more will infect virtually anyone . Little wonder that " human fever " ( the term preferred by the Beaver Anti-Defamation League ) is the biggest waterborne bugaboo of outdoorsmen everywhere . " For backcountry users in North America , giardiasis is the most common wilderness-acquired infection causing diarrhea , " says Dr. Howard Backer , who has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the Wilderness Medical Society . " Giardia is especially common in the Rocky Mountains because of human activity in the watershed . " The exact nature of said activity , he explains , is letting human excrement make its way , directly or indirectly , into drinking water . MEDICAL TREATMENT If you do end up getting infected despite taking the right precautions ( see sidebar on page 42 ) , do n't despair . For one thing , you 're by no means guaranteed to develop symptoms ( though asymptomatic patients can infect others ) . Moreover , even those whose intestines turn riotous will probably recover on their own without specific treatment . The problem here , however , is that this usually takes three to 10 weeks-considerably longer in some cases . Because of this long duration , as well as the ongoing risk of transmission to others , it makes sense to see your doctor if you suspect a problem . Make sure to let him or her know about your wilderness experience ; otherwise it 's easy to misdiagnose symptoms from giardia for other conditions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The good news for giardia sufferers is that a number of drugs , including the so-called nitroimidazoles ( Flagyl is a common medicine in this category ) , are effective at rapidly putting the kibosh on most cases . Ned Rozell , for example , says it took him only two days on Flagyl before his dog Jane stopped barking at his raucous guts . As effective as treatment proved for him , he says , in retrospect he plans to redouble his efforts to avoid the problem on future treks . Along these lines , he has a new recommendation specifically for fellow moose meat ferriers : " If river spray hits you in the face , heed these words of advice , also handy in other life situations-keep your mouth shut . " BUG ZAPPER One of the newest products aimed at killing waterborne critters is the Steri-Pen ( $200 ; 888-826-6234 ; www.hydrophoton.com ) . The hand-held device zaps clear water with ultraviolet light and , according to its maker , disrupts ( and hence kills ) the DNA of 99.99 percent of the microorganisms floating within . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ so murky water will remain murky , and it can only treat 16 ounces at a time . -- J.T. DOS AND DON'TS In the vernacular of epidemiologists , giardia 's transmission is fecal-oral . The key to prevention , thus , is to create an impenetrable " fire wall " between these two orifices . This is not always as easy as it sounds . Here 's how : USE SOAP Wash your hands every time you go to the bathroom . Many diarrheal outbreaks originally thought to have been caused by tainted water have been shown instead to stem from lack of hygiene in food handlers . " You could be blaming a beaver , " says Backer , " when really it 's the fingernails of the guy who prepared your food . " If you do n't want to waste drinking water to clean your hands , consider carrying an alcohol gel sanitizer . WHERE TO GO Bury your waste . It 's possible to be infected with giardia but never have any symptoms . Like Typhoid Mary , you could be shedding cysts in droves without @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ away from local water sources , then bury it to keep rainwater from washing cysts into the watershed . WATCH WHAT YOU DRINK Always treat water before drinking . It 's impossible to tell from looking at wilderness water if it 's safe or not . Bringing water to a full boil is probably your safest bet , because this will kill everything in it . If you ca n't , filtration with a microfilter can work well , too . Look for a product with a pore size of no more than 1 micron . Another option is treatment with chemicals , especially chlorine or iodine tablets . The latter will not , unfortunately , kill crypto-sporidium , so it 's best to use chemicals and a filter if you ca n't boil the water . -- J.T. Illustration <p> 
##2001556 . See also additional image(s) in Cover Image file of same issue . To the unaided eye , it was a white boulder , poised on a knife-edged ridge a mile or more up the canyon , but Benson did n't recall seeing it there when he 'd scanned the ridge only moments ago . " We have sheep , a ram , " he said , adjusting his binoculars . I raised mine and saw the animal , legs tucked under his body , his head with its whorled horns held utterly still . He seemed to be studying us as intently as we were him . Certainly he was capable of seeing every twitch we made-the Dall sheep of Alaska has eyesight almost as keen as the 8X lenses we were looking through . Moving with exquisite care , Dave Marsh crept to his spotting scope . Four times more powerful than our binoculars , it revealed that the ram 's horns were only three-quarter curls , meaning we could not shoot it . Only rams with full curls are legal game . The news was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ could have approached the wary animal without alerting him . Besides , it was only the first day of a 12-day hunt , and the first day of any hunt is like the first day of a honeymoon-disappointment seems impossible . " He could have others with him , higher up or on the back side of the ridge , " said Marsh , who was guiding Benson and me . " No point in spooking him . If he gets spooked , they 'll all be gone . We 'll head up that way tomorrow and see . " We were in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge , in the easternmost Brooks Range , America 's ultimate mountains-ultimate in the sense that it is the last mountain range in the country . Like a bent rib , it runs at a right angle to the spine of the continent , curving east to west for 600 miles across far northern Alaska . The Brooks are the wildest mountains you will find anywhere . Through their canyons and high passes , the last great caribou herds on earth make annual pilgrimages @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the tundra itself seems to be in motion . Moose browse among sparse willows fringing nameless creeks ; the barren-ground grizzly lumbers across alpine meadows with an imperious tread ; the gray wolf howls beneath the boreal fires of the northern lights ; and Dall sheep graze on pastures that look almost vertical . I had tramped and rafted through the mountains for three weeks in 1995 , exploring and fishing for salmon , and had returned the next year to hunt with three Alaskan friends . I shot a bull caribou and two of my companions bagged grizzlies , but sheep eluded us . On our second-to-last day , we saw a sight that would live with us always : snow geese marshaling for their migration to wintering grounds in California and New Mexico . In wedges so thick as to resemble low-flying clouds , they soared over us for hours , their calls as much a melody of wilderness as the wolf wails we 'd heard earlier in the trip . I had been looking forward to a bath and shave after two weeks without either , but the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that I would return the next year . Everything from work to family obligations to money ( or lack of it ) kept me away . Finally , as the century turned , I called Marsh , asking to book a Dall sheep hunt for the following season , when I would turn 60 . It was going to be a landmark birthday present to myself . Sorry , Marsh replied , he was booked up till 2003 . I hesitated . By that time , I would be 62 , an official , card-carrying Geezer . I had learned something about hunting mountain sheep in Alaska : It is a younger man 's game . I gave Marsh my answer : Yes . On a mid-August morning , I met up in Fairbanks with Trey Benson , a trim , athletic 43-year-old from Dallas . He and Marsh had been high-school classmates in Kentucky , had lost touch with each other for many years , and then were reunited at a gun and trade show , where Marsh had set up a booth advertising his outfitting company , Big Game @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ friend into booking a trip . Benson earns his living as a salesman for an employment screening firm , but hunting is his avocation . I was a little nervous about spending nearly two weeks in the bush with a stranger , and I 'm sure my partner was too . We were pleased to discover that we hit it off right away . Benson was my kind of hunter-he loved wild country and had a naturalist 's curiosity about it . We flew from Fairbanks to the G'wichin Indian settlement of Fort Yukon , where we were picked up by Kirk Sweetsir , a voluble bush pilot with a master 's degree from Cambridge University . An hour and a half later , having passed over 200 miles without seeing a town , road , or fence , Sweetsir 's Cessna touched down at Marsh 's base camp-a cook tent and three one-man mountain tents pitched on a tundra fell above a river I 'll call Kate Creek . There , we took care of preliminaries . Marsh set up a target to make sure our rifles were properly sighted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which puts them dead-on at 300 , roughly the average range at which sheep are shot . That done , we were issued our hunting tags-sheep for me , sheep and bear for Benson . A lecture on how to use the satellite phone and radio-in case Marsh met with a mishap-was followed by a dinner of pork chops and rice . Next morning , we set off toward our first spike camp , a 4-mile trek to a willow bar . PAYING HOMAGE TO OG Four miles in Alaska is worth 10 anywhere else . With some 48 pounds on my back , I felt every yard and staggered in 15 minutes behind my companions . At Marsh 's urging , I had conditioned myself for several months prior to leaving : sit-ups , push-ups , and long hikes three times a week carrying a 40-pound pack and an 8-pound length of pipe to simulate a rifle . It should have been enough , but there comes a point in life when you 're not as old as you feel but as old as you are . Therefore , I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ? The answer lay in an observation once made by John Voelker , alias Robert Traver , author of Anatomy of a Murder and Trout Madness . Asked why he fished for trout , Voelker replied that he liked to be where trout were . So I was hunting sheep because I wanted to be where sheep were . Another question : Why hunt ? If all I wanted was to be where sheep were , I could have done it with a backpacking trip . But backpacking does n't satisfy the demands of my Og gene . Og was my distant ancestor , and yours too . He was a successful hunter . If he had n't been , he would n't have survived , and neither you nor I would be here . Most successful people are successful at what they do because they like doing it , so we can safely assume that Og went forth with joy in his heart . In the approximately 160,000 years that have passed since then , Og 's genetic code has been drastically modified in most of his descendants , if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , for whom golf or playing the market is a poor substitute for the real thing , it has survived pretty much intact . THE MYTHIC KINGDOM The second morning brought a dense fog , and because you ca n't shoot what you ca n't see , we hung around camp until it burned off . Over an austere breakfast-coffee and a cup of oatmeal with raisins-Marsh entertained us with tales of his adventures . I should point out that he guides in Alaska about three months of the year-one month in the Brooks Range for sheep , caribou , and grizzly , the other two in the southern part of the state for brown bear and moose . He spends the rest of the year managing a family farm in Kentucky . A wiry man in his early 40s with curly brown hair and glasses that make him look more like a high-school teacher than a grizzled sourdough , Marsh is a colorful storyteller , spicing his narratives with sound effects . His terrifying tales of going in after brown bears wounded by clients were punctuated by imitation snarls , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . Shouldering rifles and packs ( empty , thank God , except for gamebags and rain suits ) , we tramped some 2 miles up a drainage paved with more rocks than there are stars in the heavens : big rocks , small rocks , smooth rocks , sharp rocks , round , square , and triangular rocks , rocks upon rocks , an ankle-bending ordeal . The braids of a nameless creek twined through the geologic rubble , disappearing underground for a spell , reappearing farther on , the canyon narrowing as it climbed between scree-swept slopes , the slopes rising toward crags and spires that , partly veiled in mist , looked like fortress walls guarding some mythic kingdom . Finally , we reached the base of the ridge where we had seen the ram with the three-quarter curls . A short but steep climb brought us to a low rock face , the scaling of which provided some mild adrenal stimulation . We then crossed a moss-covered meadow striated by caribou trails . It ascended gradually toward the rim , with fields of shale sliding away on both @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a misstep being obvious , I took care about how and where I placed my feet . Some three hours after leaving camp , we came to the spot that had been occupied by the young ram . We saw his tracks and droppings , but not him . Having consumed roughly 200 calories for breakfast and burned 10 times that much apiece , we pounced on a lunch of brick cheese , candy bars , and pemmican . The bones of a moose that we 'd come upon in the drainage below were the topic of discussion . What had a moose been doing in that canyon , where there was nothing for it to eat ? " Probably trying to get out of a winter gale , " Marsh speculated . " He figured he 'd get out when the weather broke . Maybe it did n't break , and he starved to death , or wolves got him . This country does n't forgive bad decisions . " I did n't consider his and Benson 's next decision , to climb to the rim for a look-see , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been a bad one for me . I was whipped and , figuring I ought to save myself for the next 10 days , elected to wait . The east wind had a bite to it . I took shelter behind a granite slab and glassed the surrounding hillsides , and basked in the silence and solitude , the forbidding beauty of unclimbed peaks stabbing broken clouds . In time , I began to hallucinate sheep . An estimated 30,000 Dall inhabit the Brooks Range , and one-third live within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge . You would think I would see at least one ram . ONLY A " SMALL " DESECRATION " Anwar , " as its initials are pronounced , covers an area slightly smaller than Maine , and its permanent human population , mostly Native Americans with a few whites mixed in , could fit inside a couple of New York subway cars at rush hour . The refuge has become an arena for a major fight between conservationists and their political allies , and oilmen and their political allies who want to open it up to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of yielding 3 to 9 billion barrels of the substance that is to modern civilization as water is to a Bedouin . Though the current administration , eager to accommodate its big-money contributors , is waging a robust campaign on behalf of the petroleum industry , the conservationists have been successful in saving the refuge-so far . For my own part , I hope the oilmen continue to lose . Not too long ago , I had a lively discussion about the issue with a friend who is a friend of an oil industry executive . Scorning environmentalists ' claims about the damage drilling would do to ANWR , the oilman told him that the coastal plain is a wasteland of no scenic value . He deployed the standard arguments : with modern technology , drilling can be done in an environmentally safe manner ; the " footprints " made by drilling pads , roads , and gravel quarries would consume only a few thousand acres of ANWR 's nearly 20 million ; the impact on wildlife habitat and caribou calving grounds would be minimal . My friend was surprised when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , all those facts and statistics were beside the point . Wilderness possesses an inherent value that can not be quantified , and that value increases as our wilderness decreases . ANWR is among the very last authentically wild regions in North America . To my mind , drilling would take the wild out of it . Putting derricks , pump stations , and pipelines into that natural cathedral would be like installing a gambling casino in St. Peter 's Basilica . The friend with whom I had this conversation is an avid hunter , and that led me to wonder , as I sat on that ridge , why he was opposed to keeping the refuge pristine . I wondered further why hunters and environmentalists , who ought to be natural allies , act as though they 're natural enemies . The problem lies in how hunters and environmentalists see themselves . The majority of hunters are politically conservative white males who view themselves as upholders of a red-blooded American tradition . In their collective eye , the word environmentalist suggests an effeminate , sentimental tree-hugger who is probably also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be youngish liberals inclined to outdoor activities like hiking and mountain biking , and consider themselves to be on the side of the angels . And indeed , many of the ones I know are gun-control zealots . They picture the hunter as a redneck meathead . These two camps even hold polarized views of the country . The hunter , being a traditionalist , is comfortable with that oldest of American traditions , the conquest of the wilderness . What 's the big deal if a few hundred thousand acres are clear-cut or paved over ? It 's still a young country and there 's plenty of wilderness left , is n't there ? No , says the environmentalist , who looks upon America as a mature nation with ever shrinking open spaces and wild lands that must be preserved . The two can not or will not see their common interests , and all of us can see the results of this blindness in Wyoming , where natural-gas fields sprout amid the antelope ranges ; in Montana , where subdivided " ranchettes " crowd the very borders of Yellowstone @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ surround the acreages of bond traders ' second homes . As someone with a boot in both camps-I belong to one of the oldest big-game hunting clubs in America and also to the Nature Conservancy-I would say to my fellow hunters , if you do n't want to see America become like Europe , with hunting confined to estates reserved for a wealthy elite , then get over your prejudices and join forces with the environmental movement ; and to my fellow environmentalists , if you want 15 million allies , get over your snobbery and find common ground with hunters . HARD TIMES Sheepless still , we struck out for a new spike camp to the south . Bears appeared in the distance-a sow and two large cubs , ambling across a tundra fell . The sight of grizzlies always brings a certain tingling to the scalp and spine , and given the female grizzly 's reputation for defending her young with awesome ferocity , it was just as well that those three were well over a mile away . The sow was a beauty , with honey-blond fur that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ game . We contented ourselves with watching her and the cubs dig for roots or tear holes into the tundra to get at Arctic ground squirrels . Considering that a heavy ground squirrel weighs a pound , this activity struck me as akin to digging ditches 12 hours a day for minimum wage-the effort was grossly disproportionate to the reward . But life is hard in the Arctic barren grounds , even for bears , and they can not be particular . Over the next three days , we felt as if we were filming an episode for Survivor . A chill rain blown by a hard wind turned to sleet , the sleet to snow . Six inches fell one night , the sky cleared in the morning , then another storm rolled in . We crouched around willow-stick fires that gave off only a little more heat than a cigarette lighter . We slept shoulder to shoulder , three men in a tent built for two . We stalked up river basins that seemed to invite us into the mountains , while the mountains themselves seemed to warn us @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ find the cook tent and our mountain tents collapsed under the weight of ice and snow . After setting things to rights , Marsh told me that my bottle of Scotch had been knocked off the table and smashed on a rock . Then , as I looked like a man informed that his dog had died , he produced a metal shot glass brimming with whiskey and had a har-har at my expense . Look for Part 2 in the March issue . Contributing editor Philip Caputo 's latest book is Ghosts of Tsavo : Stalking the Mystery Lions of East Africa ( National Geographic ) . SHEEP-HUNTING ESSENTIALS In the end , what gets you a sheep is your eyes and your legs , but your two most essential tools are your rifle and your binoculars . For the former , I carried a Dakota Model 76 .270 , a beautiful rifle that shot tight groups . However , bringing a rifle like that to a place that is as hard on equipment as Alaska is like driving a Rolls at Daytona . If I had it to do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stock . My scope was a Swarovski AV 3X-10X , and my binocular a Swarovski 10X EL . Both were excellent ; very clear , no fogging , and rugged enough to stand up to the mountains . But I 'd recommend their 8X binocular with a wider field of view . -- P.C. Illustration <p> 
##2001953 It is July 1983 . I live in Waltham , Massachusetts , and teach history at a private high school nearby . One night , I wake up and start walking toward the bathroom . I feel intense tingling sensations in my feet as I totter out of the bedroom . I worry that this is another flare-up of multiple sclerosis , the illness that has startled me for the last two years . Or am I just groggy and out-of-it because it 's 3:00 a.m. ? I wobble back to bed but have trouble falling asleep . What is going on inside me ? I obsess about my body-I want to control it-and finally cry myself to sleep . The next morning , my fears are confirmed . When I try to get out of bed , I can not feel my feet on the floor at all . I do n't know where my body is in space . Close to 9:00 a.m. , I call my neurologist and make an appointment . She sees me that afternoon and confirms that this is an MS flare-up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I cry myself to sleep again . I am terrified . Friends have brought me dinner and helped me to laugh , but still , when they leave , I am alone , in a body estranged . Photograph Photograph // The next day , I start to compensate . I hold on to furniture in my apartment , the first floor of a two-story house . I call the National MS Society . Three hours later , Debra , the support services director , comes over to loan me a walker . It will help me balance and get around , if I 'm willing to use it . Debra 's visit and generosity warm me . As she leaves , I finally notice that outside my door , the sky is a cloudless blue . I want to get out of my house and not let my body imprison me . I step onto the porch and gingerly go down the seven stairs , grabbing the porch railing with one hand and dragging my walker with the other as it bumps down the steps . When I had looked @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ occurred to me that I would n't be able to navigate stairs . I stand in my driveway and face the road with my walker in front of me . I discover that I am trembling . It is my self-image-not trust in my physical ability-that is shaken . I fear what others will think of me . What do I look like , holding on to this walker for balance ? Twenty-seven years old , I 'm supposed to be in fine health . Are n't people who use walkers elderly ? I am dismayed to recognize my assumptions and prejudices . Young teens walk by my driveway and gaze at me-or is it through me ? Do they see me or the freak I believe I am ? They laugh as they easily walk on . An older couple walks by and also stares , but then they nod and smile , acknowledging my presence . Later , it occurs to me that they might understand , because they also know human frailty . They are not as afraid as I imagine the teenagers are , or as I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the road . Balance ! If I ever get it back , I will cherish it . I reach the sidewalk and take a left , aiming to go around the block . Slowly , I am getting the hang of this walking . I see my reflection in a store window and stop suddenly . I am outside myself , looking in . Seeing myself so starkly , needing the walker , I feel pity . I do n't want to see this vulnerability . That day , I begin a course of prednisone . This is my third flare-up in five months . My loss of balance has uprooted my identity , the person who I believe I am . I call my brother in New York . I cry and ask him what I did to bring on this flare-up . I have turned my fear and anger at this illness against myself and into self-blame . Adam reminds me that the illness is not my fault . He helps me to test my reality and to reconnect with some vital part of me . I am reminded @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ balance begins to return in more ways than one . I can move around my apartment with greater ease , although I still use the walker when I venture outdoors . I also start to let go of judgments about myself and my body . I talk and cry about my losses and fears . I begin to admire the cane that a carpenter friend has made me . Over and over again , I 'm learning what I can control and what I ca n't . I 've begun to grieve . Running away from my grief that summer day with the walker estranged me from myself . I was fighting the MS , not learning new ways to respond to the illness . In my attempt to reject my own negative self-judgments , I imagined that others had those biases . I have to let go of my own and society 's prejudice in order to accept myself with MS . The next year , I decide to attend socialwork school . I want to help others deal with the loss and vulnerability that encompass life . Social-work school @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ later , I tell the story of how my prejudices dared to challenge my self-image . Now , when I walk past a store window with my cane , the woman smiling back understands . I am no longer outside myself-she is me . Sidebar I stand in my driveway and face the road with my walker in front of me . I discover that I am trembling . It is my self-image-not trust in my physical ability-that is shaken . Sidebar Running away from my grief that summer deay with the walker estranged me from myself . I was fighting the MS , not learning new ways to respond to the illness . I have to let go of my own and society 's prejudice in order to accept myself with MS . Author Affiliation Dana Snyder-Grant is a social worker and a freelance writer . She lives in Acton , Massachusetts . Readers can contact Dana via email at : connections@newview.org. // <p> 