8 minute read
Finding Purpose on the Divide
It’s four o’clock in the morning, and it’s time to go. Hours before sunrise, it’s still dark. There’s a steep uphill climb to find a high point where the hikers can “glass,” scanning the open hillsides through binoculars. Depending on where the day goes, it might be dark again before returning to camp.
A glowing wall tent serves as base camp headquarters, dishing out good, hot food at the beginning and end of the day. In the shadow of the Continental Divide, the days are shortened by the neighboring peaks and the coming of fall, leaving precious daylight hours to do what they came to do: Hunt elk..
This is just part of what Bethany West and Katie Megahee will experience this fall for the culmination of Hunt for Purpose, a Warriors & Quiet Waters Foundation (WQW) program. The two veterans are part of an intensive program that teaches the tools and skills needed for successful archery hunting, providing tools to thrive in post-combat military life. Hunt for Purpose is in its second year, where participants and their mentors will gear up this fall and hike into the Bob Marshall Wilderness, aka The Bob, in Montana to the Dropstone Outfitting base camp on the Continental Divide.
Warriors & Quiet Waters Foundation offers programming that guides post-9/11 combat veterans and their loved ones to thrive and find peace, meaning, and purpose through fly fishing and other inspirational activities in nature.
Hunt for Purpose is the brainchild of WQW Chief Executive Officer Brian Gilman, a Butte, Montana native who grew up crisscrossing the Continental Divide. Gilman began hunting to connect with his father, who was more open and in his element in the outdoors. Even while on active duty in the Marine Corps, Gilman prioritized hunting to reconnect to the outdoors, even if he could only go once each year.
Upon returning from his deployment in Afghanistan, Gilman found clarity in the mountains. He had experienced combat and lost five close friends.
“I came home to Montana and went straight into the mountains with a bow in my hand,” Gilman shared. “I killed a bull elk on that trip, and I remember that visit vividly. I stood over that bull by myself, and I was able to make meaning, for the first time, of all that stuff that I saw. From that day forward, I was going to make the best use of my time—the time my friends didn’t get—to do everything I could to make the world a better place.”
This pattern of returning to spend quality time in wild places would ultimately become the idea for Hunt for Purpose, an intensive, 6-month pursuit for post-9/11 combat veterans to plan, prepare for, and execute a successful archery elk hunt in Montana’s backcountry. The program is built around preparation for a backcountry elk hunt, and the underlying goal is to help participants find purpose and meaning in their post-military lives. The hunt serves as the mechanism to help participants clarify who they are and what gives their life purpose and meaning.
The Continental Divide landscape possesses infamous allure, and the location of the backcountry camp in the northernmost part of The Bob is no exception. Spending an entire week deep in the backcountry is part of the appeal for Hunt for Purpose participants, putting hard-earned skills to the test against an iconic backdrop.
“Going into the Bob Marshall Wilderness was a lifelong dream of mine,” Gilman said. “I grew up in Butte on the Divide, but I’d never been to The Bob.”
Participation in the program goes further for Megahee and West. Neither previously had much experience hunting, and the program allowed them to feel more confident in a typically male-dominated environment.
“I’ve never been able to find that group of women to do things like hunting with,” Megahee shared. “I think that’s one of the exciting things about this program, connecting with other women and seeing myself as a hunter, not just the tagalog.”
West is also excited about the partner for the backcountry hunt, women-owned-and-operated Dropstone Outfitting of Choteau, MT. Co-founders and friends Yve Bardwell and Maggie Carr started the business in 2012 to make a living on the Divide landscape they love.
For Bardwell, whose father is also a veteran, outfitting Hunt for Purpose was a way of personally coming full circle. Her involvement gave her a deeper understanding of her father’s and other veterans’ struggles.
“It was such a positive experience and an honor to lead these [veterans] onto public lands,” Bardwell shared. She also believes that the public land system is one of the country’s crowning achievements, adding, “To be able to share that with the men and women who have served our country is very humbling.”
“The experiences provided for our participants and in The Bob were simply amazing,” Gilman added. “We’re super excited to be continuing to partner with Dropstone this year and as many years forward as we can.”
The actual hunt is still on the horizon, and this year’s Hunt for Purpose participants are focused on preparing. This isn’t the first time West and Megahee have shared a transformational outdoor experience. They went through the original fishing-based WQW program together in 2022. The program was lifechanging, and they are eager to continue that path and build on those relationships and skills. Hunt for Purpose participants from the inaugural year now serve as mentors to the current year and will accompany and support them throughout the
program and on the hunt. The sense of community cultivated in the WQW programs is another component of helping veterans find purpose and meaning.
“One of the coolest things about the first week in Bozeman was seeing all of our mentors, the people who did the hunt last year,” Megahee said. “It was just so fun watching them hanging out, and you could just tell how excited they were to be back together. That was really inspirational, and I was thinking, ‘In a few months, that’ll be us.’”
Leading up to the hunt, the program consists of an in-person orientation and summer boot camp at the WQW ranch near Bozeman, MT. In addition to learning the basics of hunting and archery, participants will focus on personal development, physical health, nutrition, and spiritual connection. West added, “It’s been an amazing experience, and we’re definitely looking forward to the hunt.”
Although the program is the culmination of a goal, it’s just the beginning for participants. Past members have been inspired to give back through mentorship, and West found that giving back to other veterans also gave her a sense of purpose.
“Warriors & Quiet Waters has given so much to me, and I feel just overwhelming gratitude for this opportunity,” West said. “It’s been absolutely life-changing, and it’s something that I definitely couldn’t have done by myself.”
For Megahee, the support of the Hunt for Purpose program has bolstered her general sense of well-being, and she feels healthier and happier. The program’s design to include physical and mental health has motivated her to create and sustain habits that cultivate overall wellness, even amid life changes.
“I have already seen a transformation in my life,” Megahee related. “In June, I moved and switched jobs, made big life changes, and hit a phase where I thought, ‘How do I make it all work again?’ So, I fell back on the principles from the program that had become a habit.”
Both participants are looking ahead to the fall archery hunt and beyond. The focus on preparation for the fall hunt is the context behind the program, but success isn’t measured in antler tines or points on a trophy scale. In 2022, participants spent the week chasing signs, but they never found elk. That is, until the last day when they were gathered to share stories in camp.
“One of the guides looked up from camp to the hillside, and he said, ‘You’ve gotta be kidding me.’ There was an elk, just standing in an open park,” Gilman said. One program participant, rather than feel dejected seeing the first elk at the end of the hunt, said, “I can’t wait to start this all over again.”
With purpose, resilience, and support, there is much to gain from an immersive experience and time spent connecting with the community and landscape. Hunt for Purpose creates a close-knit atmosphere for only a few participants each year to find healing. Still, the impact spreads further than that initial program footprint. The passion behind the idea and the connection to the Divide landscape are catalysts for changing individual lives, and— through ongoing mentorship, careers, and community leadership—a legacy of service is continued.
All photo credits to Mike MacLeod - Studio MacLeod, Bozeman, MT.
