laureli ivanoff

This past year I full-on caught the moose hunting bug. Some call the fever Moose Brain.

The infection started a few years ago when intending to drive way up North River to my Uncle Burkher’s camp. On the way we saw a cow and a bull moose in the middle of the river. My brother, aiming from the front of our boat, shot the horned moose and we spent the rest of the day butchering and slowly driving home to hang the meat in our shop.

A year later, Timm, Henning and I harvested our first moose together. I wrote about that day for this High Country News column. Even though since that day I’ve harvested my first moose with help from my brother, this hunt remains most special. I realize it’s because my Dad was there, along with my daughter and nieces and nephews. On that day I realized we can do important and incredible things when we work together.

So, be careful who you hang out with. If you hang out with Fred Jay and Yanni, you’ll likely get infected with a bug that will lead to Moose Brain that will flare hard every fall.