Who’s Mentoring Who?

March 17, 2020

If you look up the word mentor in the dictionary you find this: “an experienced and trusted adviser.” That is how I would describe Ka’nya. Ka’nya and I have been hunting together since she was 12 years of age. We have gone on a pheasant hunt, turkey hunt, antelope hunt and this past January, went on a deer hunt during the antler-less season.

Thanks to the generosity of Mile Willhite, his hunt was a little more special than the rest because Ka’nya and I were both able to hunt and try to fill our tags. Something we have not been able to do yet!

On January 4th, 2020, Ka’nya and I set out with the hopes to harvest a couple of whitetail does. We hunkered down in our blind that afternoon and shared hunting stories and talked about life. Sometimes I find myself chuckling when I share mt mentoring stories because I have quickly discovered that they aren’t just mine, but our mentoring stories. Ka’nya has been just as much of a mentor to me as I have been to her. One of my favorite things to do while in the blind is talk about life. Often times this is where I find the best advice.

Like clockwork, the sun started to set on our hunt and a handful of does came around the corner in the meadow that our blind was in. Ka’nya has always been a calm and steady shot so I was not surprised when she sighted in on her whitetail doe. Within a few moments her doe came just into the right distance for Ka’nya to make a confident and clean shot! We did some silent celebrating in the blind and thought through what we will do next.

Ka’nya and I traded spots in the blind so I would have a chance to harvest a doe next. Daylight was dwindling, but we still had some time when I saw a lone doe coming around the corner of the meadow. This doe was just curious enough to come within 75 yards of our blind. I heard Ka’nya in the back of the blind quietly coaching me on taking my time and making sure I had a good shot. All incredibly rewarding things to hear as a mentor. I took a deep breath and squeezed the trigger on my first doe as well.

Leaving the blind to go find our harvests, it was impossible to to not smile and laugh about the one of a kind experience we just had. All we could do was talk about what just happened. It is hunts like these that both Ka’nya and I will never forget!