Quick trip

So you just ran over to w MN on a whim and limited out in 90 mins eh?
Took longer. But yeah, I drove 4.5 hrs and met a buddy who drove 2.5 hr. Got our 4 birds in 2 spots. I walked 6.7 miles…great cover in spot #2…the first spot was grazed earlier and was tough walking, and the cover was very thick, but there were birds there. Had dinner with some locals and got more intel, but there are WPA’s and WMA’s and some WIA’s as well.
 
Yesterday am was equally good; left motel at 8 am, drove 6 miles to check out some WPA’s, loved the 1st one we saw, as birds were on the road. Got 3 there, and the 4th at the next WPA. Birds seem present in this area but by no means plentiful, but neither were hunters. Talked to many locals including UPS driver and most thought birds were sparse but there if you are willing to work fairly hard. I saw around 60 birds between Wed afternoon and Thur morning; not all flushed within 50 yards, some were much further away. But it gives indication of #’s. Walked about 11 miles total. Really nice experience despite driving as much as I hunted, almost exact ratio. I drove home on different route, but more South, public land all over! WPA’s, WMA’s, WIA’s. My goals have changed over time: healthy me, healthy dogs, presence of my quarry/habitat, contact with said quarry for dogs and me, a bird or two or three in the bag. My most valuable asset is my mobility. 300 lbs+ and 56 years, no aches or pains anywhere (yet!). Retire in 5 months, gonna work on the weight loss! 🤓
 
Glad you rediscovered MN. Your comments are no different that what many of us have been saying on this forum since it moved to the new website many years ago now.

At 3 bills and mid-50s ... heart disease, diabetes, and joint ailments are creeping quickly up your backstairs. It can all flip on a dime ... some see it at 45, while others have a longer reprieve. A few just have the right combination of genetics and luck to not be impacted. Big pharma profits suggest most succumb to obesity.
 
Glad you rediscovered MN. Your comments are no different that what many of us have been saying on this forum since it moved to the new website many years ago now.

At 3 bills and mid-50s ... heart disease, diabetes, and joint ailments are creeping quickly up your backstairs. It can all flip on a dime ... some see it at 45, while others have a longer reprieve. A few just have the right combination of genetics and luck to not be impacted. Big pharma profits suggest most succumb to obesity.
God is not able to promise us a tomorrow. Live like your dog and enjoy the moment. God Bless
 
God is not able to promise us a tomorrow. Live like your dog and enjoy the moment. God Bless

Agree, but one can certainly control the direction until tomorrow comes. Enjoy the moment, but also be a good husband, father, co-worker, friend, and neighbor. I have seen too many ruin their lives and others via alcohol, gambling, lust, and greed.
 
Agree, but one can certainly control the direction until tomorrow comes. Enjoy the moment, but also be a good husband, father, co-worker, friend, and neighbor. I have seen too many ruin their lives and others via alcohol, gambling, lust, and greed.
Primary vice is bird hunting….🥳
 
I don’t really intend to change much from current routine; I enjoy summer in Duluth—walk on park
point with the dogs daily, usually twice, and spend much of Sept/early Oct in MT/ND bird hunting, then in SD until late Jan. 3 months of winter at that point, but by late Feb days are longer and it’s clear that spring is coming! I will get back into stream fishing a bit. Would spend a good chunk of May and June in SD helping farmer buddies with planting and all that that entails. No interest in world travel, pretty simple wants…like my walking with the dogs…especially in the fall. I’ll take it as it comes, but I enjoy a low-key lifestyle…anxious to not have my work responsibilities! I have worked from my cell phone for 22 years, not good at being cooped up…cruising down the highway is my happy place! ☀️🤓
 
Something isn't right here. Either you aren't 300+ pounds or you aren't walking 11+ miles over uneven hunting terrain. The combination of those two makes is physically impossible. The math just doesn't add up.
It’s strange, I know, ,but I routinely walk 10 miles or more sharpie hunting, up and down hills that are pretty big, and 7-10 miles routinely pheasant hunting. I walk daily from April through august around 5/6 miles, and once hunting starts in early september it’s 6-12 miles a day depending where and what I’m hunting. Last wed we started around 1:30, hunted two spots, walked almost 7 miles…gorgeous day! 2nd spot hadn’t been grazed, was flatter. I hunt with many guys each fall, most are in good shape, nobody out walks me…some can keep up…many can’t. I do walk too fast in many cases, largely due to my dogs. The 11 miles was split between Wed pm and Thur am…about 6.5 hrs…closer to 6 to account for car time.
 
12 years ago, and about 45 xtra lbs from current, I was doing long distance walking between 16-26 miles…did 2 26 mile walks 2 weeks apart, no big deal, but it takes much time. I’d leave the house around 3:30 am, walk along Lake Superior, and I left Gatorade + snacks the nite before at certain locations. Had a few pals drive along side me for 20 minutes, then would get picked up in two harbors. ..26.2 miles away. No big deal. It’s mainly the time. But even at my
Peak, not far from 400, most of my pals couldnt
Keep up in the crp, cattails, snow, wherever. There’s some guys on this site who have hunted with me, they can chime in if they want.
 
That year, 2010, we hunted my land in SD for a few hours, and my pals went to cabelas, I walked back to the farmhouse 9 miles to get more walking in. Lots of fun. Did shoot a bird off min maint road during the walk. Entered an open farmhouse while nobody was there and got water from their sink..,friends of mine. I could walk 15-18 miles daily sharpie hunting but it gets too hot for dogs or we get our limit too soon. That is grand country! Matt D sent me a pic from a hunt he was on in Sept…hope he sees this and posts it! Spread my ashes there! Wheat country is spectacular! I do get leg cramps at night, wicked cramps! Need to hydrate more.
 
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