THE BLUE-COLLAR SAFARI

A Pocket Full of Tags, a Cellphone Without a Signal, and a Perfect Opportunity to Recharge the Soul

- Luke Hartle

An involuntary grin consumed me as I toggled my iPhone to “Airplane mode.” It would be more than a week before I was again walking through those invisible fields of cell reception, and I couldn’t be any more ready to shut down that demanding device — and my mind — and spend some quality time with Frank.

The Frank Church Wilderness represents the largest contiguous wilderness in the Lower 48 states, comprised of nearly 2.4-million acres of soul-recharging landscape that’s home to more species of huntable wild meat than one hunter could pursue and pack out in a week’s time. Hell, a month’s worth of days wouldn’t be enough. While Rocky Mountain elk are always the crown jewel of most any license collection, it’s very possible to take to the backcountry with black bear, either-species deer (whitetail or muley), wolf, and mountain lion tags in tow — for less than a thousand bucks.

But here’s the truly unique part about Frank’s personality: Although extremely controversial with the purists, a smattering of narrow gravel airstrips adorn the pine-woven landscape, creating an easily accessible means of getting into the bowels of the wilderness. And if all that isn’t enough to set your freezer yearning for protein-rich wild sustenance, a handful of those airstrips are located in wildlife management units that allow rifle hunting during the September bugle — a life-altering experience that’s largely reserved for bowhunters throughout the majority of the elk’s range.