Not a week later Gerald called to let me know he had put my wide broadhead to the test; by arrowing his first-ever turkey with a bow! To say he was excited would have been a huge understatement, words alone unable to capture the emotion of that conversation. He was definitely hooked on archery equipment for turkeys and talked excitedly about a return trip the following spring for another round of chasing the big birds with our bows. It was a hunt that I looked forward to with great anticipation.

Bad News
It was late summer when I heard from Gerald once more, expecting news of an available cow-elk tag. To my huge shock, instead of a report on the elk-tag situation and plans for the coming fall Gerald related that he had been diagnosed with cancer. Hearing those words was like a rifle shot to the heart, creating a 180-degree swing in emotions. Gerald’s condition would require immediate chemotherapy treatment. While I was heartbroken, Gerald simply projected his faith and a tremendous resolve to get into the woods during the coming fall--to be the person who guided me to my first elk. We talked for a long time, Gerald able to sooth my worry via his good cheer and positive attitude.

I was packing for a week-long foray to Quebec to archery hunt caribou some weeks later when I heard from Gerald again. Gerald had good news. This time the call was about an elk license, and better yet, he had found me an either-sex tag, meaning either a cow, or a bull, was legal game. The talk turned quickly to his continued battle with cancer. Gerald assured me his energy level had remained high between bouts of chemo treatments and he was adamant that cancer wasn’t about to slow his hunting for elk down a bit. Plans were finalized and I would be hunting with Gerald once more when I returned from Canada.

The Hunt Starts
I arrived at Gerald’s New Mexico home to find him bald from the effects of chemo, but with a huge smile crossing his face. He said the chemotherapy seemed to be working, and that he felt good and had been scouting and chasing elk with bow in hand all week. He was confident that I had arrived at the right time and before week’s end we would surely have some shooting. We completed some prerequisite license requirements, shot our bows and wasted no time getting straight into the timber to see if we could locate some elk. We passed a pleasant week chasing elk in the morning, coming out for lunch and a nap and then going back out for an evening hunt. Even with Gerald’s condition he was walking me into the ground; the lack of oxygen in those high mountains slowing me down more than Gerald’s cancer ever could.

I learned very quickly while archery hunting for elk with Gerald that by wrapping his hard-earned knowledge and experience together with persistence, determination and faith, Gerald and elk would soon enough merge in the same place. Just that simple! I swear he knew what elk would do before they did.