We finally got the snow out east that us Chukar hunters were hoping for. Saturday I drove out North of Winnemucca to an area that I have shot a bunch of Huns in the past, with the hope of finding them again. After 2 hours, and no Huns, I changed up my game plan, headed toward the mountain and was able to find some Chukar. Typical to hunting Chukar in fresh snow the birds held really tight and I was able to shoot a limit.
Saturday night it snowed really hard here in Reno. I slept in Sunday morning, intentionally got a late start, and headed to a local area that always produces in the snow. After getting stuck twice I found an alternative way into my hunting spot and began the hike in knee deep snow. I am sure that if I was really committed to hunting for a limit I could have got a one, but I had some nice points, shot four birds, and was happy and content to take my tired legs home.
I had one really memorable moment yesterday. Both dogs where on point in a little canyon down the hill and downwind from me. I walked down, still upwind from them and there where tracks in the snow everywhere going under the shelter of sage brush, all of which looked like little igloos. (This is typical in deep snow as these little igloos under the sage brush provide the easiest access to the ground, for food and shelter.) So, as I am standing there, both dogs on point, birds start to flush from all the little bumps in the snow all around me. I was able to shoot three, but more importantly that vision of a slow flush in the snow was one of the moments in Chukar hunting that you dream about as a Chukar hunter.

Jay

From the Cleveland Leader.
Researchers at Granada University in Spain have come across a discovery that will undoubtedly please athletes and sports enthusiasts - a pint of beer post-workout or match is better at rehydrating the human body than water.
Professor Manuel Garzon, a member of Granada's medical faculty, made the finding after tests on 25 students over several months. Researchers believe that it is the sugars, salts, and bubbles in a beer that may help people absorb fluids more quickly.
The subjects in the study were asked to run on a treadmill at temperatures of 104F (40C) until they were close to exhaustion. Once they had reached the point of giving up, researchers measured their hydration levels, motor skills, and concentration ability.
Half of the subjects were given two half pints of Spanish lager to drink, and the other half were given just water.
Garzon said that the rehydration effection in those who were given beer was "slightly better" than those who were given only water. He also believes that the carbon dioxide in beer helps quench thirst more quickly, and that beer's carbohydrates replace calories lost during physical exertion.
The average person loses around 1 liter (33oz) of water for every hour of exercise in sweat. Rehydrating after a workout is crucial, as a lack of hydration is more likely to make one feel tired, fuzzyheaded, and suffer from headaches.
Based on the results of the study, researchers recommend moderate consumption of beer as a part of athletes' diets. "Moderate consumption" for men is 500ml per day, and for women is 250ml per day.
So that explains why Babe Ruth was so good. His method of training was nearly 100 years ahead of its time.

Last weekend I hiked into a tiny creek in the high Sierra, and did some fishing. For the most part this is my favorite kind of fishing as it reminds me of how I used to fish as a kid. Being out in the woods, sneaking up to the edge of a remote creek bank, makes me feel like I am hunting as much as I am fishing. Anyway, this creek appears to have way to many fish in it, which is kind of unfortunate because there is so much competition for food that it is really hard to find a fish with much size. That is my theory at least. The Brook trout fish were small but they were beautiful.

Jay

The 2008 ORSM was a great show. We managed to pack our entire booth including the Big Blue Hands into our 79 VW bug and drove from Reno / Lake Tahoe to Salt Lake City for the show.

With the help of Jay Kincaid (All Day Jay) we launched our new PADDLE SPORTS product line. The new products, gloves, pogies, mitts, hoods, domes, and mitts. We also showed our new updated SUN PRODUCTS lineup with 50+ fabric. New sunhats and sungloves all 50+upf.

We were fortunate to meet a lot of great people with wild stories on the drive and at the show and we also saw some old friends that we only run into at the show. We also got to experience alittle craziness with the girls from OIWC at the Poly-Ester Party. Nice costumes ladies!

After dropping Jay (Man Cake) off in the Peqoup Mountains for a backpacking trip we continued the drive home. The most important lesson learned from the show. If you eat out Mexican food is probably not a good choice the night before you drive home!

Coby..

This last weekend was the fifth annual Reno River Festival and it was bigger and better than ever before. The crucial ingredient for any outdoor event is good weather and once again we got lucky. I have not seen the numbers yet but would be willing to bet that there were somewhere between 35 and 40 thousand people in attendance throughout the three days of the event, which makes it the largest Reno River Festival to date. Along with the kayaking competitions there was also a running race called the Run Amuck that was complete with a mud pit, obstacle course, and a couple hounded crazy people, some of which had already been participating in pre race celebrations, all dressed up in costumes that closely resembled something that you might see at a Halloween Party. I was really disappointed because I did not get the chance to watch the race as I was working at a different part of the Festival during that time. Coby stopped by the kayaking judge’s stand after the race was over and was not only wearing his costume, which consisted of a grass skirt, but was covered from head to toe in mud. I had made a personal request to Coby that he sprint out of the start line like a crazy person and led the first 50 yards of the race, but I am not sure if this happened as he expressed some concern of potentially blowing out a hamy and then getting trampled by the hundred crazy people behind him.
As far as myself and being the head judge for the kayaking events, I think that everything went really well. It was however very stressful and I never want to do it again, but I am sure that somehow I will get talked into it again next year.