Entry 3

The mental.

The idea of killing a animal does not bother me one bit. I have to eat. Sure, there are alternatives like tofu and other wonderful stuff, but I dont think any of them will give me the same amount of protein per dollar/hour invested, or the challenge, or the self discovery.

Im all for people eating less meat, more veggies. Heck, I do that. But talk about provenance. I saw the thing wander around, eat, breathe, and then expire.

The hunt might turn out to be a terrible disaster, or I might not be able to actually do it once Im confronted with the beast.

BUT to learn the limits of my mental and physical endurance will never be available at the Healthy Butcher, or Loblaws. I wont know what was it like to feel the ground crunch, and the wind and the crisp air. To know that I, a human, can look at an animal in the face, kill it, gut it, and eat it. To know that I have it in me to accomplish anything I put my mind to. Maybe next time I'll turn my mind to curing cancer, or saving puppies.

Maybe I'll turn a vegetarian or vegan again. I doubt it.

Entry 2

When I mentioned my idea to people, the majority look at me like Ive gone bonkers.

Others, who know me a little better get it. Most have said tough, that If I do hunt one, they would partake on the feast gladly. So that has been a huge boost to the morale. The idea seems more achievable every day.

Well, in a wacky idea getting closer kind of way.

Entry 1

It all started one day in February, after reading an article about bison meat. Maybe it was a website, or a blog. I wish I had that article that started all of this madness. I have been reading much over the years about Slow Food and the 'return to the earth' and all that 'granola-crunch' movement. For many years Ive been a devout to the cause, I gave up red meat a loong time ago; I try to make a point of buying the local and organic vegs; and I always buy happy chicken (the organic, humanely treated, etc) but I am a inquisitive fellow and started reading more on other beasts that we eat.

Then it It came to me one afternoon: I had to hunt and kill my meal. If the goal is to eat as close to the earth, I had to know, first hand, what my ancestors had gone through. I had to appreciate how hard and sometimes impossible it is to find protein in the wild.

It was all talk and a fun wacky idea, untill I found a friend of a friend who also thought that the treatment of the animals is insane, that humans could do better, and that animals should be offered more dignity and peace in their life and ultimate death.

Hence the hunt.

Its me vs the animal. No gunpowder, no internet. Its a return to the old school: hunt your own meal. Its an animal vs. an animal. I need to eat anyway, and rather than offering no dignity to a beast, I will honor it by offering it the chance to outsmart me.

So I offered to share the meat, if he was interested. He loved the idea, and told me that he would like to join the expedition. Sort of a 'I find your ideas intriguing, and I would like to suscribe to your newsletter' moment. Even more, he was willing to finance the hunt. If you must know, it is very, very expensive to hunt a bison. I still dont know the full costs as of now, but that will change, likely increase as we go on -- mostly since I have NO gear whatsoever. I have snowboots and that's about as outdoorsy as I get. In any case, the biggest hurdle has been passed:

finding financing for the main part.

The way I see it is that if I can outsmart, and outwit an animal, I am fulfilling my test to gain a meal as an animal, but I happen to be a human being. And I am giving my meal the dignity of a fair chase, a quick kill and a life lived as it is meant for them.

There are other things that I could be doing with my potential, but I think of myself as a well rounded man, and one of the things I had not touched upon is that 'wild' part that everyone has: the hunter instinct.

Finding financing has been the keystone in this. At this point I'm your average North American, with more debt than I should (how that happened is a story for a dark day), and there is no way that I could afford the expense. With the hunt, I will eat well for many weeks, and even treat friends.

I hope it works out.

First things first

My name is Adrian Marquez and I will hunt a buffalo.

This blog will chronicle the chase of one of the largest mammals in North America, and its eventual consumption.

I am, and have been, a city slicker all of my life. I intend to hunt it using bow and arrow, like thousands before me have done. I dont know how to shoot a bow, I have never killed a meal, I dont know how to hunt. I dont own any hunting equipment, or any specialized tools. Heck, I am a former vegan.

For all purposes, I am a noob. These are the chronicles.