Imagine carrying a pack around in the wilderness, sleeping on the ground, not seeing another soul for a week. Your drinking water comes from seeps in the dirt. Every morning begins with you alone on a mountain ridge looking into a canyon below as the sun comes up. You get to see elk, bears, cougars, deer, goats, marmots, pikas, eagles, in their natural habitat totally undisturbed. The distance hiked and vertical elevation gained and lost breaks you down, especially at 10,000+'.

Opportunities on game are rare, and some hunts come and go without ever even getting a shot on a trophy animal. Sometime you spend 8 or 10 hours stalking and waiting out an animal, just to have the wind change change directions and blow down your back, sending the animal running. Other times you actually get within range and simply miss after an enture days worth of effort. Its seriously the most discouraging, frustrating feeling.

So on those rare days where everyrhing goes right and all the work pays off, and you see that gorgeous animals life end, it is absolutely a spiritual feeling. Mock me if you want, thats ok. Ill just say that you cant laugh it off without experiencing it. Most hunters agree.