I was born into a hunting atmosphere, my dad was an avid hunter, a hound man and an all around outdoors man, he has also guided for a living at different times so I was immediately immersed in the hunting lifestyle. I have lived in northern Idaho all of my life and hunted here for most of it, other than the first three years, so I have been collecting experience for over 35 years now, the first few years I was nothing more than an observer but none the less I was out there.
After graduating from Bonners Ferry High School in 1994 I went to work in the woods logging and spent the next few years working as a sawyer. The loggers life did not suit me as the only time of year you can get any time off is usually March and April, this does not align very well with our hunting seasons so that just wasn't going to work for too long. Eventually I took a job as a construction worker and worked a total of 11 years for that company, this suited me better but I still was not satisfied with my situation, I had more time to hunt in the fall and winter but when I was laid off from work I did not have enough money to hunt every day or to say the least it was a financial strain, so I started looking for a job locally guiding lion hunts in the winter to supplement my income during the off season.
Eventually I was hired by Stan Sweet at Moyie River Outfitters and as they say the rest is history. I kept doing construction seasonally for a few more years but eventually had to make the decision between the two occupations and with the support of Molly I took up guiding and eventually outfitting as a full time occupation.
A lot has happened since I took that first guiding job but I am still motivated to be the best guide I can be and I like to think I am still getting better at it, one thing is for sure I will never be the type of outfitter to stay back at camp or in the office if I am able to be out in the field, it just wouldn't be me.
One question I have been asked more than a few times is if I am more of a bear and lion hunter than a deer and elk hunter, the truth is I am a very passionate elk and deer hunter but our deer and elk seasons only last a few months a year whereas bear and lion hunting cumulatively spans nearly the entire calendar so I spend a tremendous amount of time bear and lion hunting but much of this time is intermingled with scouting for deer and elk, I have found more than a few elk wallows while hiking to a bear tree. In addition to scouting done along the way during other activities I make many trips into the mountains every year solely for the purpose of scouting for deer, elk and moose.
Here are a few pictures, most are animals I helped someone else harvest, some are animals I harvested and a few are just good photos I've taken.