the hunt

I'm not quite sure how it happened, but I'm getting pretty into hunting. I bought my first shotgun last month and have been out after ptarmigan, grouse, and hare when I have the time and the sun is up. The allure is partly just getting outside, but it's also something more -- something cultural or even spiritual, I guess. I'm far from being a subsistence hunter, and the supermarket is closer and easier than the woods, but a few weeks ago, as I was tramping through the snow and trees, it occurred to me that I was out there looking for food -- something people have done forever. I felt more in touch with that history, and more aware of the animals I was after. I went down rabbit trails. I followed grouse footprints in knee-deep snow. I saw the sunrise and the sunset. Yes, I could admire the animals without a gun, but there is something different about (respectfully) becoming part of the ecosystem as a predator in it.
The pics are from Murphy Dome (top two) and the hike a few weeks ago, along the Circle-Fairbanks Trail.