On Step Alaska

After fishing 7 rivers in 4 states over the last 15 days, Trout Fest 2019 is over and it's time to get into the alpine for blacktail bucks. In this short episode I talk about the importance of always having something to look forward to, and why it's impossible to say one is better than the other. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My buddy Danny Lehr went from high school teacher and CrossFit gym owner to full-time business owner as co-founder of Caffeine and Kilos. We talk about some of the keys for individual and business growth, the importance of mindset and practice, as well as the need to grow as life changes otherwise one is doomed to stagnancy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Though we identify as hunters and anglers, we are hunting and fishing only a fraction of our lives. We have to make sure we take care of ourselves in the off season too. If we are lucky enough to be outdoors 100 days out of the year, that's less than a third of our annual days. What are we doing with the rest of our lives? And if we are totally at the mercy of success so we can tell other people h...

In the last three weeks I've been able to camp on the banks of some excellent rivers in Wyoming and Colorado. I talk about my favorite trout flies, why catching "the fish" each river isn't always a good thing and why meeting locals makes the experience better. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tanner Harms was one win from becoming an All-American, but lost to his nemesis at the 2016 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. Now he's adjusting to a new identity that doesn't involve wrestling. We all move on from who we were in high school, college and even as adults. For some, finding an identity can be difficult because they've been known as ____________ for so long. I talk to Tanner ab...

What happens when outdoor companies and personalities get huge? Does quality, content or customer service suffer? Should politics play a role in a company you support? Fairbanks resident Harrison Gottschling and I discuss brands, products and outdoor companies we like to support as your average run-of-the-mill outdoorsmen. Harrison and I discussed his Dall sheep hunt in Episode 58. Learn more abou...

Gym owner Chuy Medina (Resident CrossFit, Modesto, CA) and I talk about the importance of being self-aware, the difference between being who you are and just wanting other people to think you are something morally or otherwise. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From a tiny town on an island in Southeast Alaska to graduating from Medical School from the University of Washington, my buddy Stephen Ellison had every excuse at his disposal. However, he refused to listen to any of them. He weekend warrior hunts Dall Sheep, moose and took me to his special blacktail deer place where I took my first 4-point buck. We talk the easiest solutions to addressing healt...

Who knows enough to really be able to give good advice? We're all just fumbling around trying to figure stuff out and if we listened to advice we shouldn't then make the same mistakes someone told us to avoid, right? Life is weird, but entertaining. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I recently checked my social media and podcast motives...am I in this for likes and money? If so, I need to check myself because if I need likes or sponsors to feel validated, I'm screwed. I also continue to try and put word to the need to the idea of making it easier for hunter and anglers to travel to other states. They have every right, but what local wants more pressure? Learn more about your...

“If I had one night left, what am I going to go eat, what am I going to go drink and who do I need to go talk to?” That's Matt Hamilton's motto and in this episode we talk about being a good guest, good local, and the real value of being a widely known artist. Hint: it's not money. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While glassing for black bear, I ponder arrogant story tellers, expectations, societal norms, home ownership and putting words to lifestyles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The idea of escaping reality is a tricky one because not only do you have to define escape but also reality. I touch on those as well as being alone on hunts and the coming invasion of summer tourists, of which I will be one myself this summer, so I can't be judgmental. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Great points are often lost thanks to stupidity and anger. From the ethics of hunting contests to committing crimes in the name of human rights, there are always examples of extreme lengths some go when they believe they are wronged. The result, often times, is a loss of point validity and patience for others to listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I lost a steelhead and a crab pot yesterday, so I talk about that as well as the importance of being present and not so caught up in the result. I also talk about why I don't trust gear reviews by customers, but I do trust podcast reviews. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Derek Meister has been punching his Alaska card since he moved to Ketchikan 7 years ago. In addition to all the typical camping, hiking, kayaking locals do, he has worked on commercial fishing boats. He is the school psychologist at Ketchikan Gateway Borough School District, so we talk the benefits of a community like Ketchikan for student growth, why people choose to come back to Ketchikan, mento...

For the past few months I've been listening to the Right to Roam Podcast by four guys from Wyoming. It's not your typical hunting podcast as these guys have biology backgrounds so there's science and facts, not just anecdote, when they get into things. We talk about being good guests, hunting ethics, social norms, earning local status and figuring out the hunting regulations in different states. L...

You know when people like quotes because it represents a lifestyle they wish they led, and then you think, 'Wait a minute...is that me?' and you immediately head to the woods or river? In this episode I talk about distraction vs. happiness, getting a specific adventure spot dialed in vs. seeing new territory and personal development. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I hadn't been on skis since I was a freshman in high school, but my first backcountry touring adventure in Wyomings Medicine Bow National Forest was a success. I learned that it's nothing like anything I've done before, that I'm pretty bad at it, but I got better and really had a good time. I also talk about the best places to offer and the worst. Something like a misery index. Learn more about yo...

There's nothing wrong with asking yourself questions...think about why someone might hate hunting, why fly fishing is cruel or why the Alaska Marine Highway is just a luxury. When you digest those points of view you come out with a better understanding of what you believe, you change your world view, or end up really overwhelmed with the level of complexity of the issues. And that the Alaska Marin...

What makes an expert, and the insanity of the Region V Basketball Tournament. I talk about some of the more notable aspects of athletic travel in southeast Alaska - circling rural airports, malfunctioning runway lights, 2-week trips, diverted flights to Seattle and game socks after six road games. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the last two years I have paid much more attention to what it means to "love the outdoors" and the debates surrounding how that should best be done. In this episode I talk about social pressure for the government to regulate rather than preserve freedom, the freedom to define happiness, and the freedom to decide how much I want negativity to impact my mood and how I treat others. Learn more abo...

In this episode I talk with Backcountry Hunters and Anglers board member Steve Shannon about the importance of making the most out of your voice since most politicians don’t read your Facebook feed to find out about important issues. We also talk about drawing tags, sharing information, and how best to represent our lifestyle as hunters and anglers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphon...

Inspired by Mark Kurlansky's Cod, I wonder what the future holds for our fishing stocks. The book is about the history of cod and how the destructive efficiency of the commercial fishing industry (trawlers) has devastated populations of cod. I talk about king salmon in California, salmon in southeast Alaska, and amplifying your voice beyond Facebook posts by joining organizations that are attempti...

Going sports for this one since the local high school is playing the rival Friday and Saturday, much of earth is cheering against the Patriots on Sunday, someone to beat the UConn women and why I detest the full-send isolation of James Harden. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices