Outfitter Rip-off

I was talking with Editor in Chief of Outdoor Life Magazine, Alex Robinson about hunting public lands with a guide. A buddy of mine was hoping to bag a big bull elk in Craig, Colorado, hired an outfitter who spent 3 days and never showed him anything special…acted like he wanted to just get the trip over. My buddy felt ripped off. During the conversation another buddy said the hunter should have gone out to Craig and asked around about local guiding services. Should have done his homework.

Public land is owned by everyone, but wilderness only truly belongs to those who are willing to brave it. Outdoor Life contributor Aram von Benedikt has spent years doing that in his home state of Utah, but he was willing to share his secret elk spot and an epic, snow-filled hunt with Senior Editor Natalie Krebs. “A longing for open, untouched country remains among many who were born into crowded counties or work in cities where Rottweiler-size raccoons have replaced wild game, and office buildings block the sky,” Krebs writes. “The knowledge that I can hunt a place like this keeps me going when I’m stuck in traffic, and it revives me fully once I’m here. This particular place will always be Aram’s. Yet in a way, it belongs to me now too.”