CHAPTERS
- 0:00 – 2:12
Backcountry elk return: documenting a brutal month in Colorado
Joe welcomes Adam Greentree back after several years, and Adam recaps returning to the U.S. for another long backcountry elk hunt after COVID interruptions. He talks about trying to document the trip while staying present, and an early mishap where he nearly wrecked his legs on deadfall in the dark.
- •First U.S. elk hunt in ~4 years; first podcast in ~5 years
- •Balancing filming/phone use vs being in-the-moment
- •Night navigation with low headlamp to conserve batteries
- •Slip between downed trees nearly breaks shins; lingering pain
- •Season felt like ‘war’—mentally and physically taxing
- 2:12 – 4:51
Why elk hunting felt harder this year: winter kill, crowding, and wolf policy
They dig into why the Colorado OTC experience was unusually difficult: winter kill, compressed access, and more hunters piling into fewer units. Joe riffs on wolf reintroduction politics and the challenge of managing predators amid lawsuits and public opinion.
- •Winter kill reducing elk numbers and shifting behavior
- •More hunters pushed into Colorado as other states reduce OTC options
- •Unit closures/limitations concentrate pressure in remaining areas
- •Joe critiques wolf reintroduction + legal tactics that block hunting seasons
- •Shared emphasis on balancing predators, prey, and public safety
- 4:51 – 6:58
Ethics and uncertainty in OTC units: picking spots, feeling good about the harvest
Adam explains the guesswork in choosing OTC units and how even strong research can’t guarantee elk presence. They also discuss an ethical hesitation to shoot when local numbers feel low, and how hunting pressure moves animals around.
- •OTC unit selection is ‘educated guessing’ even with research tools
- •Using Hunting Fool, community intel, and last-known patterns
- •Hunting pressure changes elk movement; absence doesn’t always mean low population
- •Ethical discomfort harvesting when encounters are scarce
- •Bowhunting’s appeal: animals constantly ‘change the rules’
- 6:58 – 10:14
Hard hunts, ‘vision quest’ mindset, and why Adam doesn’t chase easy success
Joe and Adam reflect on Adam’s attraction to extremely demanding hunts and the personal growth they force. Adam rejects the “shoot day-one what you’d shoot day-last” maxim, describing long hunts as a self-breaking, self-finding process rather than just a kill objective.
- •Reference to prior grizzly encounter and gear failures
- •Adam prefers difficulty; doesn’t want hunts to end immediately
- •Rejects common ‘first day/last day’ trophy logic
- •Hunt as a full-package experience—time, suffering, learning, meaning
- •Emotional vulnerability: crying, satisfaction without ‘success’ in the usual sense
- 10:14 – 15:16
Australia’s game abundance vs U.S. tag systems—and the waste of aerial culling
The conversation shifts to how Australia has many huntable (often invasive) species with minimal tag requirements, but lacks the North American conservation/tag framework. Adam criticizes helicopter culling that leaves edible meat to rot, and they discuss customs rules that block bringing meat home.
- •Australia: many huntable species, mostly open season, few tags
- •Animals treated as ‘feral’ rather than managed resources
- •Aerial culls kill thousands; meat left to rot—ethical and practical concerns
- •Debate over nuisance/erosion claims vs food value for people
- •Australia’s strict customs prevents taking harvested meat back home
- 15:16 – 17:00
Game meat ‘gaminess’ is usually bad handling: cooling, field care, and temperature control
They unpack what people mean by “gamey” meat and argue it often results from poor processing—heat, sun exposure, slow cooling, or bad storage. Adam shares practical field-care principles for quick dressing and cooling, especially in warm hunts like pronghorn.
- •‘Gamey’ flavor commonly linked to mishandling rather than the animal
- •Importance of rapid cooling and clean processing
- •Hot-weather hunts increase spoilage risk (e.g., pronghorn)
- •Field dressing before photos; removing stomach/heat early
- •Keeping meat within a safe temperature range; ice/cooler logistics
- 17:00 – 18:55
Ultralight backcountry logistics: weight savings, extraction plans, and relying on friends
Adam explains how deep backcountry hunts force ruthless weight decisions and immediate extraction after a kill. He outlines different strategies—solo pack-outs, on-call horses, or friends mobilizing from the trailhead—and describes donating meat to those who help.
- •No coolers in true backcountry; ice and theft risk at trailheads
- •Weight obsession: gear choices matter more than tiny hacks
- •Extraction options: carry out, call in friends, or use pack horses
- •Coordinating rapid pack-out after harvesting a bull
- •Meat donation as reciprocity and to avoid waste
- 18:55 – 21:16
Crowded mountains, muzzleloader overlap, and ‘going radical’ after Kimmy leaves
Adam tells the story of hunting with his wife for the first half of the trip, seeing very few bulls, and dealing with altitude sickness and nearby gunfire. Joe questions the logic of muzzleloader seasons overlapping archery, and Adam explains deciding to go more extreme once solo.
- •Kimmy joins first ~15 days; early sightings then long drought
- •Altitude sickness and stressors compound difficulty
- •Gunshot ~100 yards away highlights mixed-season hazards
- •Debate: muzzleloader during bow season undermines ‘quiet’ archery
- •Solo shift: Adam decides to push deeper and harder
- 21:16 – 24:09
Archery technology spectrum: crossbows, traditional bows, and practice reality
They compare traditional archery, compound bows, and increasingly rifle-like crossbows. Adam describes the daily shot volume required to stay proficient with a recurve, why compounds are more forgiving for busy people, and how trad practice can sharpen compound shooting.
- •Crossbow accuracy to 140 yards blurs ‘archery’ definitions
- •Traditional bows demand constant repetition for ethical consistency
- •Compound bows retain tune/sight settings and require less daily volume
- •Trad practice can improve compound confidence and precision
- •Effective ranges: trad ~10–30 yards vs compound extending farther
- 24:09 – 30:17
Backcountry bow setup: arrow count, gear failures, and fixed-blade vs mechanical debate
Adam details how few arrows he carries, why backups matter for rest/sight issues, and his preference for durable two-blade broadheads. Joe advocates for large mechanical cuts for short recoveries, while Adam emphasizes penetration, bone-splitting, and resharpening for multi-species hunting.
- •Colorado loadout: minimal arrows; a few spares for practice/repair checks
- •Real-world mishaps: falls can shift rests and require re-zeroing
- •Adam’s choice: solid two-blade fixed broadheads (Cayuga Pilot Cut)
- •Mechanical heads: larger wounds and blood trails vs bone/penetration risk
- •Adam’s philosophy: one tough setup for deer through buffalo; resharpenability matters
- 30:17 – 41:03
Release aids, ‘hot’ triggers, and target panic: hunting psychology vs target archery
They discuss how Australian culture lagged in adopting sights and release aids, and how Adam converted after seeing precision gains. The talk broadens into target panic and shot execution, with Joe arguing psychology and repetition under real hunting pressure matter more than trigger type.
- •Australia’s earlier stigma: sights/release aids seen as ‘soft’
- •Adam’s switch: immediate accuracy improvements with release aid consistency
- •Wise Guy release chosen for simplicity and reliability in harsh conditions
- •Hunting vs target archery: managing anxiety and novelty drives misses
- •Experience (shooting animals often) reduces pressure and target panic
- 41:03 – 47:28
Backcountry pressure explosion: deeper hikers, COVID-driven interest, and Adam’s 500-mile season
Adam describes seeing far more hunters deep in the wilderness than in past years, including someone camping near him overnight. They connect the surge to social media, podcasts, and COVID-era self-reliance interest, then Adam explains moving constantly and walking nearly 500 miles due to lack of sign.
- •Hunter density now extends far beyond 5–6 miles; even 14–20 miles in
- •Unexpected proximity: another tent set up 50–100 yards away at night
- •COVID increased interest in self-sufficiency and bowhunting
- •Adam’s adaptive strategy: move camp when there’s no sign
- •Scale: ~500 miles walked; ended at highway needing a pickup far from truck
- 47:28 – 1:16:55
Australia’s apex predators: croc management, near-misses, and living with ‘salties’
The episode pivots to Northern Territory crocodiles—rising encounters, rules around permits, and stories of people and animals taken at water sources. Adam shares multiple close calls: a croc ‘hunting’ him at a billabong, one snatching his pig at the bank, and the constant danger of collecting water.
- •Croc sightings feel more frequent; property lagoon raises safety concerns
- •Real incidents: kids taken at community water sources
- •Video review: saltwater croc tracking Adam at close range (~10 meters)
- •Pig recovery near water nearly puts Adam in the ‘strike zone’
- •Water collection protocols: speed, concealment, night ‘eye shine,’ tripwires near camp
- 1:16:55 – 1:32:52
Ancient mysteries: Aboriginal languages, rock art ‘aliens,’ thylacines, and Alaska’s bone pit
After a break, they explore Aboriginal cultural diversity (hundreds of dialects), preservation challenges without written language, and provocative rock art interpretations. Joe also introduces the Alaskan permafrost boneyard with saw-marked ancient bones, raising questions about early technology and deep history.
- •~700 Aboriginal dialects; neighboring communities may not share language
- •Cultural loss risk: many languages undocumented and dying out
- •Rock art images resemble ‘greys’ but may encode social/land meanings
- •Speculation: thylacine survival, black panther stories, and limits of trail cams
- •Alaska permafrost site: saw-cut mammoth bones may predate ‘invented’ saws; Younger Dryas context
- 1:32:52 – 1:58:49
Survival and rescue: Adam’s New Zealand glacier accident and SOS system failures
Adam tells a harrowing New Zealand story: a slip on ice sends him into glacial water chutes, trapping him above a deadly waterfall. He describes hypothermia symptoms, the psychological hurdle of triggering SOS, building a plan to survive, and being extracted—only to learn the SOS response system failed badly.
- •Chamois hunt turns into cascading falls into icy glacial water channels
- •Forced ‘commitment moves’ to survive; ends trapped above 300–400 yard drop
- •Hypothermia shakes, partial limb immobility, and a soaked sleeping bag overnight
- •SOS message chain breaks down; rescue comes via locals treating it as ‘training’
- •Aftermath: fractured spine discovered later; lesson—NZ terrain is the real predator
- 1:58:49 – 2:43:43
Overland builds, EV limits in the outback, and anxiety about global instability
They close on Adam’s fully built Land Cruiser projects and dreams of buying land and going off-grid in America. The discussion turns to electric vehicles’ limitations for remote travel, then expands into preparedness: Joe’s anxiety about global conflict and Adam’s perspective on self-reliance for families and cities.
- •Adam’s heavily modified 79 Series build; long timeline and iterative outfitting
- •Joe’s ‘apocalypse’ Land Cruiser setup and rationale (LA risk, mobility)
- •Cybertruck durability is impressive, but charging/range constraints are real
- •Remote Australia demands long-range fuel tanks and sparse infrastructure planning
- •Joe worries about global war and cascading supply failures; cities’ vulnerability and the psychology of preparedness
