Keep In Shape for a Lifetime Like Paul! These photos are of a 80 year-old archer friend who is in amazing physical, mental and emotional condition. His zeal and enthusiasm for outdoor life challenges is unbounded. No grass grows under his butt. His attention to physical condition allows him to go hunting or fishing whenever there is an opportunity - and he takes all of them - WITH GUSTO! Please, become determined to enjoy a lifetime of health when your read the following “Hunter Health and Welfare” pages. Be able to join Paul and I in the “ 75+ Young Coots Hunt Club.” Paul uses bows with great success. These are photos of him hunting and fishing in the extremes of backcountry wilderness and local “sweet spot” hunts. This is his 2015 tally of hunt outings success. In August, he felled an antelope and a nice mule deer buck. He spent three solo weeks in the Flat Tops Wilderness photographing, scouting game and hunting alone where he bagged an elk with his trusty bow. In turkey seasons, his long bow harvested three toms. Five of six arrows released netted geese. Paul got a nice 5 X 5 white tailed buck closing out his seasons in November. Yes, his understanding and charming wife permitted a new freezer. The there were the fish stories. I imagine Paul revels in preparing a year of game meals - and constantly dreaming of the next scouting and hunt seasons. (Photos by P. N.) 2021 Update: Paul is not eighty years old. He remains a very active hunter in Colorado and where ever he wanders to hunt, with this acronym moniker of “hittheroad”. He got his 13th Flat Tops archery elk last year, AND packed it out as this photo shows. His prowess and physical abilities earned him the cover story. Paul notched his 100th goose; his wife reports they eat a lot of goose jerky. Bow Hunters Reunion We abhor going to camp grounds when the sheep herder wagon can be located in remote places. Trappers Lake on the northern boundary of the Flat Tops does not permit outlying camping. In July 2014, we pulled toward our favorite camp site there and were hailed to a stop by a surprised grizzled face - Paul! I met him three years previously along a trail while we were independently bow hunting deer in a different part of Colorado. Paul had tried to describe our magical wagon just the night before to a friend, who now stood dumbfounded in the road beside Paul. Talk about serendipity meetings! Paul is a very avid hunter and fisherman. He spent most of his youth outside and learned the intimacies of nature and animal habits. He learned to equate observing nature with hard work to get deep hunting knowledge. Paul is a past Board Member of the Colorado Bow Hunter's Association. He and his wife Trisha used to own and operate a Lodge on Grand Lake. He is an alert, trim, 80 year old model of personal vigor, stamina and outdoor excitability. He is also my poster "boy" for retaining youth by exercising in the backcountry. And he is an example of what children can become if they are introduced nature, outdoor challenges, and happy comraderie at an early age. By chance, Paul and his wife had the adjoining camp site. Each morning we heard his truck leave at early dawn. He would solo hike to remote lakes and be home with his guaranteed limit catch by two. If you have ever hiked up into the Flat Tops from the valley bottom, you can appreciate that Paul was in excellent physical and mental shape, in spite of the past health problems all us old gents can get. The photographs show Paul with Paul’s Colorado cutthroat and brook trout catches. We dined on some of his cutthroats and socialized in our sheep wagon. Hunters bond with their love of outdoors. Try it. PS - Sometimes names are complete misnomers, like Skinny Fish Lake. Fishermen and map makers can be deviously misleading.