Cold walk in the woods puts meat in the freezer
Hunters stand on a ridge near Lake Mountain on Oct. 29, 2023. (Kate Heston/Daily Inter Lake)
Kate Heston, reporter at the Daily Inter Lake, on a hunting expedition. (Photo contributed by Kate Heston)
Reese Holden looks at a deer on Oct. 29, 2023. (Kate Heston/Daily Inter Lake)
The Stillwater Bar, located on U.S. 93 past Whitefish, welcomes hunters during big game season. (Kate Heston/Daily Inter Lake)
Hunters scout for big game on Oct. 29, 2023. (Kate Heston/Daily Inter Lake)
Brandon Phillips looks for game animals on the shorelines of Upper Whitefish Lake on Oct. 29, 2023. (Kate Heston/Daily Inter Lake)
Hunters walk toward some cloud near Link Lake on Oct. 29, 2023. (Kate Heston/Daily Inter Lake)
Reese Holden scopes out a valley on Oct. 29, 2023. (Kate Heston/Daily Inter Lake)
A foggy morning view from the top of Lake Mountain on Oct. 29, 2023. (Kate Heston/Daily Inter Lake)
Hunters continue their hike to the ridgeline of Lake Mountain on Oct. 29, 2023. (Kate Heston/Daily Inter Lake)
Hunters continue their hike to the ridgeline of Lake Mountain on Oct. 29, 2023. (Kate Heston/Daily Inter Lake)
Brandon Phillips, left, and Reese Holden, right, are elk hunting in Region 1 on Oct. 29, 2023. (Kate Heston/Daily Inter Lake)
Moments after the sun rises near Lake Mountain outside of Whitefish on Oct. 29, 2023. (Kate Heston/Daily Inter Lake)
Reese Holden makes sure his gear is set before embarking on a hike during an elk hunt on Oct. 29, 2023. (Kate Heston/Daily Inter Lake)
Hunters continue their hike to the ridgeline of Lake Mountain on Oct. 29, 2023. (Kate Heston/Daily Inter Lake)
The moon shines early in the morning on Oct. 29, 2023 near Link Lake. (Kate Heston/Daily Inter Lake)
Growing up, hunting was a foreign concept to me, partly because no one I knew really hunted and I was always averse to any sort of death. My cousins would forage for mushrooms in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, every year, however, which was the closest understanding I had to the concept of harvesting.
When I moved to the Flathead Valley a year ago, I was tasked with covering natural resources and the environment here in Northwest Montana. Hunting is a major part of that conversation.
I know about the number of elk in Region 1 and the public comments Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks gets on their management plans. I know about the severity of chronic wasting disease and about the various opinions on hunting predators. I did not know, however, what a day of hunting entailed.
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