The Key to Camp
Shawn Swearingen for SPLIT REED
Cover Photo Courtesy of Carter Klatt
The fireplace came to life popping and snapping in the little shack as we all gathered from the afternoon goose hunt. Minimal electricity and no running water. A screened porch ran along the outside of the one large interior room and small kitchen. Yet it was one of the most memorable nights before a diver duck hunt along the rocky shoreline of the Chesapeake Bay which lay only a quarter mile away. Tall tales, good friends, duck camp food staples, scotch out of the tumblers that held coffee from that morning. It can be in the lodge of an outfitter, staying at a friend’s house cooking and sharing scouting reports over a beer, or in a little shack on multi-generational land with relatives and friends.
Waterfowling provides a communal spirit more than other pursuits. Waiting for birds in the graying light together in blinds, huddled in the cold with our four-legged companions. To the non-hunter, our hunting ‘lodges’ or ‘camps’ where we thaw out and base our operations are all the same. Most likely a fireplace with a large stone hearth, an antlered mount of elk or deer over the mantle with plenty of flannel, tweed, and cast iron to make a Filson catalog jealous. The reality is they are all different and unique. Each group of friends puts a spin and twist on traditions or even starts their own.
“We had a group of colleagues sharing a very obscure, yet advantageous work schedule with the same passions. Most hunting and fishing trips consisted of the same guys rallying together so forming a “club” was really just putting a title on what was taking place,” comments John Dunaway. You’ve probably seen John’s photos online or the group of friends’ El Capitan Hunt Club.
John states, “The roles took shape from the personalities in the club. We have a President, El Jefe, Sean Arbogast, that brought the idea together and gave it a name, El Capitan. He keeps the books, spearheaded most of the trips initially, and serves as the final say on who is in or out. I, John Dunaway, ran the media side with photography already being a pursuit of my own. That has led to telling the story in imagery for everyone and finding other creatives to aid in club gear design. We’ve got Bebo Martinez running point on nearly everything as Full Speed is his normal operating tempo. All of the other guys pitch trips in their niches and the thing just seems to roll along on its own. It’s very informal overall.”
Shared experiences can spawn other adventures. With one group of friends, we’ve kayak fished around the Eastern Shore of Virginia during the late spring. From there we’d discussed utilizing the kayaks to duck hunt in the fall which evolved into paddling through the salt marshes of Delaware in the pre-dawn with the sound of the breaking surf over the dunes. Then pulling the kayaks, decoys, and black ducks through the low tide mud to dry out back at the house with a few cold beers.
“Everyone in the club has been chasing some form of the outdoors for the better parts of their lives. We have a little of everything from offshore fishing junkies to AK fly fishermen, lifelong waterfowlers to South Texas deer purists, and everything in between. That’s the best part of this club. Each person has a niche pursuit in which they educate others and spearhead trips around that. From there, it’s a matter of picking where on the globe we want to chase it, and off we go,” said John.
This past season I spent a fantastic few days in North Dakota at a friend’s house. As the newbie to this crew, and having spent plenty of time around my own group and others, I knew to observe and learn how I can find my role in helping. Pulling decoys out of the shed, taking old grass off of layout blinds, and cooking side dishes for dinner after driving a second truck for the evening scouting. Even getting up just a few minutes earlier to make coffee for the crew. For those young or new guys to camp, find your niche and lend a hand.
It can seem like a laid-back affair, after multiple years of everyone playing their own roles. Who handles the kitchen or specific meals and making the coffee, the one organizing the gear, someone who has done the scouting, and of course someone who is tending bar even if it is a cooler full of beer. Other times it is a grand affair with a mariachi band even at a dove camp like El Capitan has become known for along with their outstanding spread of food at the annual shoot. This is really about getting inspiration from others and making what you have, your own.
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