Sorry Gals

In my comments yesterday on the subject of the other bloggers I'd like to meet, I mentioned about Rebecca Garlock that I don't personally know any outdoors women, as in, women who hunt and fish.  I had my Eureka moment last night while mulling this over.  It occurred to me that we hunters and fishers have absconded with the mantle of "Outdoorsperson", when in fact there are a lot of sports that occur outdoors.  You can all argue and piffle with me if you like over what defines an outdoors sport, but I know this- it rankles me to this day to be pigeon-holed as just a hunter, or just a fisherman.  I feel that the outdoors, and my activities throughout encompass so much more than that.  I love hiking, biking, outdoor photography.  I'm a kayakaholic and have the T-shirt to prove it.  I love to practice survival skills, knot tying, making and breaking camp. I'm an avid bird-watcher and it distressed me to no end when a friend, observing my interest in some ducks on a lake said "You know, you don't have to shoot everything."   I love outdoor cooking, long walks on the beach.. oops, wrong ad.  I have had a subscription to Outside Magazine for 18 years, but only intermittent ones to so-called "outdoor" magazines.
My Eureka moment was this- I am friends with several very good outdoors women, and it has been disrespectful of me to not think of them as such.  They love to hike, camp, canoe, kayak and some of them spend more time outdoors than I do.
Fisherman and hunters are bemoaning the loss of participation in outdoor sports, and there has been a definite movement to try to involve women, minorities and the young to try to promote the things we love.  My pledge from now on is to try to be less myopic in my view of the outdoors.  To acknowledge the validity of these other activities.  If we can think three dimensionally, broaden our own horizons, perhaps this is the key in bringing others into the sports we love.

Just a thought.