My oldest daughter, Morgan, had always dreamed of going on a black bear hunt. When she was 2 years old, we’d ask her, “Morgan, what do you want to hunt someday?” Without fail, she’d confidently say, “I want to shoot a black bear.” Her answer never deviated, although we weren’t sure why she set her sights on a black bear. Somehow, it became her dream hunt.
Fast forward to the fall of 2019 when Morgan was 10 years old. One of my husband’s favorite hunting guides, Richard Baca from Antler Addiction Outdoors, posted on social media that he was hosting a pumpkin carving contest for youth. The winner would get a free guided black bear hunt with him, which was an incredibly generous and exciting prize! When my husband, Brad, told Morgan about it, she was giddy as she planned her pumpkin. On Halloween, when he posted the winner, the whole family was in shock and beyond thrilled. Morgan was going on a bear hunt! And if Morgan was going on a bear hunt, Brad would get a tag, too. Bears had always eluded him. Though he’d had a few bear tags in the past, he’d never gotten one.
After a year of anticipation, 11-year-old Morgan and Brad hit the road from Iowa to New Mexico, and they graciously invited our other daughter, Kennedy, and me to join them. We got to camp on Friday afternoon to settle in, meet Rich, and prepare for hunting the following morning.
The morning started early – 3:30 a.m. to be exact. With adrenaline pumping and warm breakfast burritos in hand (compliments of our camp cook, Jay), we set off for the backroads in the Gila National Forest. Since there were so many of us, we had to split up. The two girls and I rode with Rich while Brad rode with another guide, ironically named Brad. As we drove the mountain roads, it was fun to listen to Rich explain to Morgan and Kennedy all about hunting with hounds – why some dogs stayed in the box while the striker stays on top, how you know you’re onto a bear, etc. We were hoping to have a strong lead before sunrise, but after a few old scents and false alarms, we came up empty.
Our vehicle reconnected with Brad and Brad’s, and we decided to all head to another area. We quickly stumbled upon fresh tracks across the road, and the dogs from both guides started going wild. Rich stopped the vehicle to check things out, and he got an excited look in his eyes. He invited us to get out of the truck and watch them release the hounds. What a sight! Those dogs raced off on a mission. Morgan enjoyed watching the GPS to see the dogs running toward something, chasing it in a loop and almost right back to us. We thought it might cross the road right in front of our trucks, but they stopped short. Sure enough, they had treed a bear.
Things got real fast! Suddenly, we were grabbing Morgan’s gun and shooting sticks, and we set off to find the hounds, which by the sounds of their barking were not too far away. Without too intense of a hike, we found the commotion. Sure enough, there was a beautiful black boar. It was everything she was looking for – big and black. However, having a wild bear right in front of her shook her. Panic filled her eyes as she realized this wasn’t a zoo. There was no protective glass between us and the bear. Morgan was hit with the weighty responsibility before her. She needed to make a good shot. If she didn’t, we’d have an angry, wounded bear that could easily injure or kill one of the hounds or us. It took a while for her to regain her composure, but after some encouraging from Rich and tough love from her dad, she was ready to go. She aimed and fired. The shot hit right where it needed to, and the bear fell to the ground. Disbelief mixed with exhilaration as Morgan checked out her dream bear.
The rest of the day passed by in a blur of activity with skinning the bear, returning to camp to reset before Brad’s hunt, and scouting a new area for any fresh scents, but none were found.
Sunday morning was a repeat of the day before – 3:30 a.m. alarm, warm breakfast burrito, and hitting the mountainous roads. Morgan, Kennedy, and I rode with a different guide, Brian, and Brad rode with Brad again. We thought we got onto a trail early on, but it turned out the dogs were after a skunk, and one even got sprayed. It was going to be a smelly day.
We hit some pretty rough roads in some beautiful terrain. The dogs started barking frantically, so we parked the trucks, let the dogs out, and watched them do their thing on the GPS. We were walking in the direction the dogs took off when Morgan said, “There’s a bear right there!” About 200 yards away was a bear. As soon as we all stopped to look, it took off running. The dogs were already beyond him, so we knew there were multiple bears in the area.
For as short and easy as the hike was with Morgan’s bear the day before, this one gave us a different experience. Up and down the hillsides and barely hearing their barks, we knew they had treed a bear but were quite a ways away. When we finally reached them, there was a chocolate boar high in a tree. We enjoyed watching him climb higher and higher as the dogs howled and we caught our breath. When Brad was able to get a clean shot, he killed the boar. Though beautiful, he was much smaller than Morgan’s.
Morgan is very proud to tell everyone who will listen that she shot a bear before her dad did and hers was WAY bigger! She beams with pride every time she gets a chance to tell the story of her dream hunt. (Side note. She may be one of the few fifth graders with a full body mount of a bear in her bedroom. This was also a part of her dream.)
Thank you so much to Richard Baca for your generosity, awesome hunting skills, and kindness with my girls. You’re a celebrity in their books! Also, thank you to his assistant guides, Brad and Brian, and his camp cook, Jay. All four of you helped Morgan’s dream come true. It’s everything she ever hoped it would be.
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