I have heard a lot in conversation with clients, friends, and those I just met how lucky I am to be a guide. I often smile into those wistful looks and think to myself "Buddy, you have no idea". Don't get me wrong, I do so love what I do - as I love the outdoors. However, it is a great deal of hard work, long hours, and sometimes filled with dangerous conditions. Here's a sneak peak of one day last month, in a remote tent camp hosting bear hunters (generally 4-6 clients at a time, with 2 guides):
Arise at 0330 to mix and cook my secret family recipe of bear bait (I use only all natural ingredients...sorry bears, no donuts in my bait!). This can take anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours, not including cooling time. Then its time to gather firewood, skin bears harvested the night before, and begin making breakfast, all before 7am, when most people begin waking. Breakfast was served to our groggy clients at 8am.
From there, there were camp chores to be done - more firewood, dishes, making & packing bag lunches, showing clients spots to fish (the area in which I guide bear hunters contains excellent fishing opportunities), cleaning out ashes, sweeping dirt of the the canvas tents, and so on.
At noon, we begin moving clients into the woods for the evening hunt. From the tent camp, it can be anywhere from 30 mins to 3 hours to get all of our clients into position, traveling over logging roads into even more remote areas. With all of our clients in place, it was time to bait the unwatched bear baits. Generally, we have between 40-100 bear baits out at any one time. The process of baiting these baits can take up to 5 hours.
By the time the baits have been baited, its time to start picking up clients at the stand sites. Again, this can take several hours - longer if there are downed bears to retrieve & dress. We arrive back at the camp about 11pm, and promptly begin to cook supper. With supper completed, we fall into our sleeping bags after midnight.
Still want to be a guide? Ok, so its not all bad...but neither is it a walk in the park, either :)
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