The Mindful Hunter Podcast

It’s time to get back to my roots. Just me, a mic, and you folks. After the sheep hunt, I wanted to take the time to share my plans for the channel and where I see things going from here.  I also get into my own fitness and nutrition plans and give a high-level breakdown of how the sheep hunt went.

Jay Nichol

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https://www.mindfulhunter.com/

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In this episode, I sit down with my sheep hunting partners Tristan and Spencer.  With only 48 hours until we leave on our Stone’s hunt in the Northern Rockies, we thought it would be fun to answer some questions and talk about our final preparations. Podcast will be taking a two-week break following this episode while I’m in the mountains.

Tristan Bucchiotti

@tristan_bucchiotti

Spencer Miller

@spencergordonmiller

Jay Nichol

@mindful_hunter

[email protected]

www.mindfulhunter.com

In this episode, I sit down with my vegetarian wife Noa, @vitadaily.ca  Over the years I’ve been asked what it’s like to be a hunter who is married to a vegetarian.  I figured it would be more interesting to ask the vegetarian what it’s like to be married to a hunter.  My wife is a very intelligent, thoughtful woman and we had a great conversation.

Noa Nichol

@vitadaily.ca

Jay Nichol

@mindful_hunter

[email protected]

www.mindfulhunter.com

0:00 – Intro

1:30 – How we met

7:00 – When and why Noa became a vegetarian

9:00 – Noa’s opinion on hunting before we met

11:10 – Noa’s reaction when I started hunting

23:29 – Our kid eating meat

26:07 – Our kid and hunting

27:45 – How we negotiate time away and finances

32:50 – Being present before and after hunts

38:00 – Restarting Mindful Hunter

43:09 – Making space for each other

45:10 – Has meat hunting changed the perspective of hunting?

49:25 – How can a vegetarian be married to a hunter?

51:10 – How do you manage cooking in your household?

55:48 – Taxidermy in the house

In this episode, I sit down with the owner of Arcadia Outfitting Ben Stourac. Ben’s entire base camo was recently destroyed in the McKay fire that swept through a large section of country north of Lillooet.  We had a great chat about Ben’s history, what it took to build Arcadia in the first place and what Ben’s plans are to rebuild after the devastation of the fire.  If you’d like to support you can go to Arcadia’s IG page and hit the GoFundMe link in the bio.

Ben Stourac

@arcadiaoutfitting

Jay Nichol

@mindful_hunter

[email protected]

www.mindfulhunter.com

0:00 – Intro

2:45 – Impact of Covid on Outfitters

8:00 – The devastating force of a forest fire

11:46 – Ben’s background

15:38 – How much is an outfitting concession worth?

20:54 – Movi, covid and fire

24:30 – The species that Arcadia hunts

26:45 – The impact of Movi on sheep populations

33:15 – Ben’s personal hunting intersts

44:09 – Ben’s tips for sheep hunters

54:00 – Insuring a remote camp

59:20 – Challenges with relocating and rebuilding Arcadia

1:20:00 – Ben’s closing thoughts

In this episode, I sit down with my good buddy Dylan Drego.  We’ve known each other for a few years now and have been fortunate to chase some elk together.  We got into a great chat about what hunting means to us and even share a couple good stories.

Dylan Drego

@dylan.drego

@mindful_hunter

[email protected]

www.mindfulhunter.com

2:00 – Intro

2:53 – Common connection – Joel Turner

9:13 – Dylan’s hunting history

15:40 – Practical steps to start hunting

22:47 – New game cam laws in AZ

30:25 – More practical insights

51:14 – The role hunting plays in Dylan’s life now

1:03:49 – Our elk hunt together

1:26:11 – Dylan’s hunt plans this year

In this episode, I sit down with Lyndsey Kotrla.  I have followed Lyndsey on social media for quite a while and I have always been impressed with her work ethic and the way she carries herself as a woman in the hunting space.  We get into her family’s background in farming and hunting, her views on women and hunting on social media, and a variety of other interesting topics.  If you do not already follow her, I highly recommend it.

Lyndsey Kotrla

@lyndseykotrla

@mindful_hunter

[email protected]

www.mindfulhunter.com

0:00 – Intro

0:42 – Jay's Texas story

6:20 – Lyndsey’s background and the importance of work ethic

14:34 – History of hunting in the Kotrla family

25:10 – Whitetail and yearly hunting plans

32:00 – Hunting on Molokai

41:45 – Discussing women in hunting

Welcome back to another semi-live hunt podcast.  For those unfamiliar with this style of podcast, I bring an audio recorder with me on my hunt and do my best to break it out a few times a day and tell the story of the hunt in audio format as things unfold in real-time.  On this particular episode I find myself up north in the Prince George region hunting bears and I can say I definitely saw my fair share of action.

@mindful_hunter

[email protected]

www.mindfulhunter.com

0:00 – Intro day 1

2:28 – I love the drive

6:31 – The impact of language in hunting

28:40 – Wrap up of day 1

37:20 – Day 2

42:28 – Thoughts on logging roads

48:07 – Wrap up of day 2

59:30 – Day 3

1:03:50 – Wrap up day 3

1:09:06 – Day 4

1:15:01 – Day 5 telling the story of the doubleheader

1:26:26 – Thoughts on the drive home

In this episode, I sat down with Petra Hilleberg, the CEO and daughter of the founders of Hilleberg Tents.  We had a great discussion covering topics like what it was like to grow up a Hilleberg, how Petra brought Hilleberg tents to North America and the technical differences between their product offerings.  Petra is an incredibly intelligent and thoughtful leader, and it was a pleasure to talk with her.

@mindful_hunter

[email protected]

www.mindfulhunter.com

@hilleberg_hunting

https://hilleberg.com/

0:00 – Intro

2:14 – What it was like growing up a Hilleberg

5:15 – Petra’s passion for the outdoors

7:18 – The growth of Hilleberg

9:00 – The importance of quality

14:50 – Petra’s career path

16:25 – Bringing Hilleberg to North America

21:45 – Problems with Canadian distribution

25:00 – Petra’s transition to CEO and thoughts on leadership

28:30 – Goals for the next 10 years

31:20 – Covid’s impact on the outdoors industry

34:20 – Hilleberg supporting hunting

37:20 – The 4 different tent labels: Blue, Black, Red, Yellow

49:20 – Pick a tent game

56:00 – Repair times

58:43 – Surprises

In this episode, I sat down with my hunting partners for my upcoming sheep hunt Tristan and Spencer.  We did a deep dive into our gear lists and figured out what we’re still missing and what we may leave behind.

@mindful_hunter

[email protected]

www.mindfulhunter.com

0:00 – Intro

2:50 – Packs

8:57 – Camp and sleeping gear

13:30 – Worn clothing and gear

23:16 – Packed clothing and gear

31:50 – Optics

39:10 – Weapon and camera gear

45:42 – Miscellaneous gear

53:37 – Cook kit

58:26 – Safety gear

1:03:00 – Food

1:15:00 – Training updates

In this episode, I sat down with Kevin Guillen from Wilderness Athlete, and we had a great conversation about nutrition and supplementation for the hunting athlete.  Regardless of what products you choose to use there are tons of nuggets in this podcast highlighting ways you can increase your performance and recovery for both training and backcountry hunting.

Kevin Guillen

@wildathlete

@wildernessathlete

www.wildernessathlete.com

@mindful_hunter

[email protected]

www.mindfulhunter.com

0:00 – Intro

1:54 – Kevin’s introduction to the outdoors

4:50 – The evolution of Wilderness Athlete

7:11 – WA’s approach to marketing and brand identity

17:10 – The importance of the non-hunting outdoor enthusiast

27:56 – Training protocols

35:20 – Training supplementation

43:10 – The importance of hydration

51:50 – Backcountry supplementation

1:03:05 – New products and nootropics