On Step Alaska

Episode 111 - Outdoor Entrepreneurship And Backcountry Food

Jaden Bales from Backcountry Fuel Box and I talk about the risks in the entrepreneurship game, the loaded outdoor field, betting on yourself, favorite hunts and of course, food.

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Episode 110 - Climate Change

I'm afraid that we will be totally aware, and not get anything done. Soundbites suck. The global climate strike on Friday was 4-million people deep. Awesome. People care, and there are millions of people who didn't strike Friday who also care about earth. So now what? The "how" is the most important part of this and just because someone thinks the Green New Deal is outlandish doesn't mean he or she is a denier. A hunter does not participate in the meat industry, so should hunting be encouraged rather than seen as an obsolete skill? Are our energy needs beyond that which wind and solar can provide? If so, then well nuclear has to be part of the discussion. The problem is some of the issues we face require a depth of discussion we aren't always willing to endure. It would be nice if we could create a utopia, but humankind has never been able to solve the problem of the human flaw. People throw plastic in the ocean. People throw trash out of their windows. People start fires. People break laws. But we aren't hopeless. It's just not going to be as perfect as what we might design on paper.

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Episode 109 - Fair game or bear theft?

Ryan and I were glassing for black bears and two dudes appeared. I went over to them, introduced myself and asked what their plan was so we wouldn't be in the way of each other. They said they were heading to a different peak. We told them we were hunting the bowl in front of us. An hour later, we haven't seen them moving across the flat between peaks. We do see a bear 300 yards beneath us. Then the two hunters walk past us, about 20 yards to the left, down the ridge, cut in front, and shoot the bear. This episode is recorded in three parts: as we are glassing, after the corking, and after the wolf encounter. Turn up the volume for the first two sections and decide whether this is fair game, or black bear theft.

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Episode 108 - Who Is In Control?

Human history is filled with heart-felt good and unfathomable evil. Unfortunately, that will continue. As a whole, we will do evil to others and evil to ourselves. However, individually we can find ways to fight it. Plenty of people have found ways to live healthy, fulfilling lives. It is not impossible to be healthy and happy. People everywhere are holding themselves to those standards. Know these people, spend time with these people - people who do real things and refuse to give in to the negativity or are manipulated into thinking other people can do it for you.

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Episode 107 - Hunting and filming Dall sheep

After seeing Harrison Gottschling's Dall Sheep hunt on The Heart of Hunting, I had more questions, so I talked with Harrison and Steve Frith, who filmed the hunt. We talk about staying positive and motivated to keep hiking after rams blow out, are shot by other hunters or are on the opposite side of the valley. We also talk about the authentic reactions that can't be staged, how to keep that perspective fresh and universal hunting principles that apply for mule deer in the Lower 48 and blacktail in Alaska.

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Episode 106 - Which Boat Is Best?

I call it Episode 105, but it's really 106. Anyway, I'm selling my 15-foot Boston Whaler with a 70 hp Yamaha (200 hours) and looking at upgrading to a mid-level boat to extend my range. I am primarily looking for a boat from which to hunt, camp and set pots, with fishing coming a close second. With that in mind, I've been overwhelmed with the questions that are really unanswerable because the perfect boat doesn't exist. Fiberglass? Heavy-grade aluminum? Regular aluminum? New? Used? Get the right boat and upgrade the motor or buy a great motor and get a boat that will work?

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Episode 105 - From The Narrows to The Bay

How does a student from Ketchikan High School measure up against students from the Lower 48? Pretty well. I talk with 2018 Ketchikan High School Valedictorian Largim Zhuta. As a senior Largim was part of the 2018 High School Academic Decathlon Division III National Championship team and just finished his freshman year at Santa Clara University. We talk academic transition, Alaska stereotypes, social media's impact on being homesick, learning from failure and starting to figure out the meaning of success.

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Episode 104 - Telling Good Stories

I've always liked reading and listening to hunters and anglers who tell stories with their audience, not their ego, in mind. A good hunting story is about a little bit of suffering, a little honesty and just the right embellishment. With blacktail deer season 11 days old, hunters have some great stories that I love hearing, and others with simple, chest thumping tales that tell you more about their need for validation than their skill as hunter. This happens a lot in podcasts and outdoor writing and I hope I don't fall into that.

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