LAST UPDATED: May 1st, 2015
Just returning from the 20th Annual UFFDA Camp Wilderness Hunt, I look back at the past week in awe and wonderment. At a remote Boy Scout Reservation in a far north county of Minnesota, for the 20th year in a row, a devoted group of bowhunters played host to 28 physically challenged archers on a three day whitetail hunt. Six deer were taken amid some very wild, cold and even snowy weather, while the hunters and staff were enveloped in the warm glow of bowhunting camaraderie. It was indeed, a memorable week.
Never do bowhunters look or feel better than when they are serving their brothers and sisters by giving back to the sport that they treasure so deeply. The bowhunting membership of the United Foundation For Disabled Archers (UFFDA) knows this all too well. For the past twenty archery seasons they have been taking a week away from their beloved pastime to serve bowhunters with disabilities and they have been doing it very, very well; but more importantly, they have been doing it from the heart.
Each year at Camp Wilderness, 25-30 disabled hunters are invited to an expense free, 3-day event where they are housed, fed and catered to while doing whatever is necessary to get each one into and out of the woods so that they can experience a fair chase whitetail hunt in the North woods of Minnesota. The only expenses they are liable for is their hunting licenses and their travel costs to and from the camp. Once they are there, they are catered to in the manner equal to that of the fanciest of hunting camps, world-wide.
Hearty dining is a very important part of an UFFDA hunt and the ladies are ready to serve up full plates of it.
Two weeks later, a sister event takes place at Camp Tesomas in Rhinelander, WI bringing the total number of disabled hunters served each year by UFFDA to approximately 60. At each hunt, the staff begins moving onto the site the weekend prior to the event, making the early preparations for the event by scouting, erecting blinds and preparing food for the hoards of hunters and volunteers that will turn the camp into a humming beehive in just a few short days. The “to do list’ is long, but the enthusiasm is at a peak as devoted bowhunters tackle their chosen mission with vigor.
By Thursday when the hunters began to arrive, the quarters are prepared, the meals have been structured and the volunteers are ready to go to work moving hunters into and out of the field; and knives have been sharpened in anticipation of the deer that will need to be skinned and quartered for the successful hunters.
For the next three days the mission is carried out amid much hard work, exciting adventures and of course, an excess of hearty laughter and warm fellowship. Some of the hunters are successful, their stories are shared in front of the entire group and all celebrate and cheer for victors even though most often the victors are the deer that escaped danger.
Mike Schruch poses with his guide, Andy Kietzman and first day doe taken at the UFFDA Hunt.
Terry Schwartz and his guide, Steve Miller show off the only buck taken during the hunt.
There are so many different stages upon where the drama unfolds it is impossible to know all of the special moments that are being created by this unique event. If one is lucky, he or she will learn of the best tales as they spread among the population by those eager to share the blessings they have experienced while doing for others in an effort to give back to humanity and to make a difference in the world in which we live. Warm and wonderful experiences happening in the field, the cabins and in the mess hall which is the nerve center of the entire hunt, all enriching the participants in a very special way by creating irreplaceable memories that will continue to bless the participants all the way to the grave.
The weekend culminates with the banquet on Saturday night at which the local landowners, who donate the use of their own special hunting spots to UFFDA for this one weekend, show up to help in the annual celebration for bowhunting fellowship. Over the years, the local citizens have assumed ownership of this event, all greedily wanting to share in the special aura that is emitted by every person that cares enough to be a part of it.
By evening’s end, the auctions, raffles and donations have raised enough funds to cover another year and all have shared in a very special ceremony celebrating the bow and arrow and the folks that use them. Special presentations have been made honoring some of the stars that have helped to make UFFDA so successful. Recognition and thanks have been given to the volunteers that have manned the kitchen and moved the hunters in and out of the field as well as around camp. All festivities are done with the participants having full bellies as well as full hearts, each one blessed by the event in their own special way.
At dawn the next morning, those that did not leave camp after the banquet the evening before, pack their gear into their vehicles and head for home. The last remaining volunteers make sure the camp is buttoned up and left cleaner than when they arrived and then head out of the long winding road that leads away from Camp Wilderness and towards the warm beckon of home.
UFFDA Hunts are family events as demonstrated by the author with the Westrom gang shortly after their arrival at camp.
Tired, but very happy and content, the trip home is a constant replay of all the special moments that occurred during the past few days. Experiences that will provide a warm inner glow each time they are recalled because they were created for all of the right reasons in a true spirit of giving. Just one more prime example of the decency and kindness that exists in the heart of a very special person called the bowhunter.
