Over a recent two week stretch, I took four international flights, rode four trains, innumerable taxis and Ubers, and drove a rental car hundreds of kilometers on narrow, twisty and totally unfamiliar roads. With the exception of the departure and return flights, all outside the United States.
In the past, that could have been an excerpt from a typical monthly calendar. Travel was an essential for my job. Most was spur-of-the-moment. Some was completely ad-libbed. Sometimes, it was improvisation; others, it approached pure luck, or total lunacy.
But I made it work.
Today, racing to be the last guy on an ancient Aeroflot plane with grimy horsehair seats and engines dripping oil that will depart on time, despite a near blizzard, has lost all romantic appeal.
Recent travel was a more proof that I no no longer bounce, I splatter.
Two European trips this year have changed how I traveled. The first taught me I was making it unnecessarily tough, even for someone in reasonably decent health (for his age).
The sobering realization and subsequent modifications lead the offer of some unsolicited advice for anyone nearing my age eagerly awaiting hunting season.
First, I get it. Hunting is a special, almost religious experience. My hunting memories cover nearly 70 seasons. The memories, unlike my vision, remain crisp and sharp.
If you’re older and fail to adjust to having aged, the near-religious hunting experience could morph into a near-death encounter.
Every year state fish and wildlife agencies send us releases recounting the rescue (ideal) or recovery (not good) of elderly hunters, anglers and hikers who ignored what were probably clear signals they had lost a step or two.
Do everyone a favor and do some honest self evaluation of your physical capacities. Before you clamber out of bed in the wee small hours of opening day and squeeze yourself into last season’s mysteriously shrunken camo.
Certainly before you hoist that twenty-three pound “day pack” of snacks and energy drinks onto your aching, arthritic shoulder and head to the safe to retrieve your rifle and full combat load of ammo.
Before you start all that, slow your roll. Get honest about your conditioning -or lack thereof.
Especially if you plan on humping that load a half mile back into the woods beyond where you’ll park your ATV.

If you run on mental memory, not physical reality, you are risking having your world fade to black rather than “watching the woods come alive.”
You’re probably closer to my level of conditioning than my friends who train year-round to go “out West” hunting. They apparently chase down antelope and strangle them barehanded.
The rest of us have zero business trying to do the things we remember doing as a youth.
We’re not kids anymore. That’s it in a nutshell.
We don’t need most of what’s stuffed into our day pack. Toss the beef sticks, most of the protein bars and all the energy drinks. Replace them with a decent IFAK with tourniquet and a satellite signaling device.
The IFAK can save your life in an emergency. The satellite device makes finding you easier if you need evacuation…or wait too long to call for help.
This was a very long distance to travel to a truth you may be ignoring: doing the things you used to do will not be accomplished by adding another piece of gear to your pack.
To enjoy (and survive) another hunting season, slow down and evaluate your actual capabilities. Not fearing the reaper is different from double-dog daring him to punch your ticket.
Minimizing my load made for a better trip. I’m carrying that into my hunting and fishing travel, too.
Direct flights, when possible, eliminate a lot of airport time and most of the concerns of lost luggage. Whether you’re traveling with a hunting rifle or camera equipment, lost gear is a major concern.
Since few hunting destinations are near major hubs, allow a bit more time for a realistic flight connection. That makes your luggage far more likely to be waiting for you at your destination, too.
To me, spending a few extra minutes with a beverage waiting on a connection instead of racing down a concourse hoping to make it is the better choice… and allows time to visit the men’s room.
Applying that to hunting means taking the easier but slightly longer route to my hunting spot.
The steeper, slippery more direct route might save me a few minutes, but a tumble down the hillside could mean hunting season’s over before it starts.
None of us want to admit diminished capabilities, but denying them demonstrates diminished capacities.
My goal is to enjoy this hunting season without having to distribute state agency releases about of rescues or recoveries. So don’t even start me on tree stands.
Hunt. Enjoy. Get home safely.
We’ll keep you posted.
—Jim Shepherd