30 Miles, 10 Days, No Blisters — Some Hunts Are Built On A Sure Thing. This One Wasn't.
Photographer Nick Trehearne has had plenty of success in his go-to sheep and goat country over the years. So for this trip, he and his crew decided to go blind into an area they'd never hunted: lower density, harder to draw a tag on encounters, but with a trophy quality that made the gamble worth it.
"After having relatively consistent success in my go-to areas, we opted to go blind into one of those areas that's lower density, but if you encounter them, a much higher trophy quality," Nick said.
The terrain didn't make it easy. Getting up meant pushing through thick coastal vegetation on some of the steepest elevation-to-distance terrain Nick has encountered — steeper, he says, than anything the Rockies typically offer. Once above treeline, the landscape opened into wide, rolling plateaus, the kind of country Stone Sheep and Mountain Goat call home.
But the moment Nick will be telling people about for years wasn't a shot opportunity. It was what they found instead.
"This was the first time in my life that we glassed up more grizzlies than we did rams and billies. Not saying the sightings were low, but the bears were ridiculous."
— Nick Trehearne
Built For The Terrain That Doesn't Forgive Mistakes
Ten days of bushwhacking through thick coastal vegetation and kick-stepping up steep sidehills is exactly the kind of trip that separates gear that performs from gear that just looks good on a shelf. Nick wore the Comfort Fit® PRO Hunter 300 for the entire trip.
"When you're going on these gnarly mountain hunts, you need that next-level durability," Nick said. "I've been on assignments where people were rocking other brands that were only a month or two old, and they completely fell apart. The Comfort Fit PRO did exactly what was expected — other than a bit dirty and a few scratches, they still look new, despite the bushwhacking and rugged rocks."
That durability was matched by performance underfoot. Not every hunter wants a tall mountain boot, but on ground that never sits flat, Nick found the Hunter 300 delivered on the fundamentals.
"The Hunter 300s performed flawlessly," he said. "Great ankle support, great waterproofness, great stability with every step — something that's key in uneven terrain."
Nowhere was that more apparent than on the steep coastal sidehills, where Nick spent much of the ascent kick-stepping for footing, his sole rarely making full contact with the ground.
"It's amazing on the way up how often you're kick-stepping into a sidehill for footing. Your sole definitely isn't flat on the ground, but that's what's great about a robust full rand — it adds traction in steep country."
— Nick Trehearne
By the numbers, the trip covered roughly 30 miles over 10 days — from lacing up at the truck to kicking the boots off back at camp each night. For Nick, the physical toll of heavy packs and big terrain is simply part of the job. Blisters aren't.
"Your muscles will be sore, which is expected with heavy packs in big terrain, but you never have to worry about your feet," Nick said. "In 15-plus years of running them, I've yet to get a blister."
The Hunter 300 is the insulated build in Meindl's Comfort Fit® PRO lineup. If your hunt calls for less warmth and more breathability, the Comfort Fit® PRO Hunter Uninsulated carries the same durability and support without the insulation, and the Comfort Fit® PRO Hiker brings the same build to a lighter hiking silhouette for miles beyond the hunt.
A Trip That Didn't Go As Planned — And A Boot That Never Wavered
Not every hunt ends with a trophy, and Nick is candid about that. Going into a low-density area, the goal was to hunt smarter and still walk away with a shot opportunity. It didn't happen — the first trip in years that ended without one.
"I thought we would be able to hunt harder, hunt smarter, and get the desired results. It didn't play out that way, and that's perfectly fine," Nick said. "Maybe I've been lucky in the past, but this was surprising."
What hasn't changed, trip after trip, is what's on his feet.
"I'm fortunate to regularly travel the world for work, and I've been telling people for years — on trips from Europe to Africa to New Zealand — there's only one choice in boots: Meindl. This isn't some paid endorsement. I just live in them year-round, all over the world, and there's literally just nothing better."
— Nick Trehearne
Follow along with the Notes From the Field series for more real stories from the ambassadors and photographers putting Meindl boots to the test — see the full blog.
