Having thought he had made the last hunt in his lifetime four years ago, Hulett resident Michael Woodcock was shaky and tired after the first outing of his South Fork dream hunt provided by Wyoming Disabled Hunters.

“I thought my hunting days were pretty much over,” he said while enjoying a bowl of hot chili for lunch at the Bull Moose Lodge, his hands visibly shaking while he spooned small bites. “This gives me one good last chance.”

To look at Woodcock, you wouldn’t necessarily know he was sick. His eyes give way to even his slightest smiles and he’s on his feet — something many of those who hunt with the group can’t do. But his system has been weakened by the combination of leukemia, a disease he contracted after breathing in fumes from toxic burn pits while serving the country in the Air Force, and diabetes.

“There was just no getting away from them,” the chief master sergeant and airfield manager said of his duty in Afghanistan.

He retired after 26 years in the service. Despite coming home with blood cancer, it hasn’t taken away the pride he felt serving, nor the ability to raise a family with his wife and their four children.

“Best thing I ever did,” he said with a smile.

Leukemia starts in the bone marrow, which causes the production of abnormal white blood cells that crowd out healthy cells. When you add blood sugar issues common with diabetes, it can make everything more difficult. He was ready to give up hunting.

Then, after another hunting season had passed without going afield, Woodcock saw an announcement and application for the disabled hunting group’s next season — it’s a year-long effort to organize leading up to hunting season for the local all-volunteer group.

Woodcock applied, but due to the low amount of hunts available, he wasn’t initially picked. When one of the first picks couldn’t make it due to health reasons, Woodcock got the call.

Knowing that he had an opportunity to hunt again gave him a goal — something to concentrate on instead of worrying about his health.

The hunt

Woodcock arrived Friday after an easy drive from northeast Wyoming. The vast majority of hunters enrolled in the program come from other states across the country. The southeast U.S. was well represented among the deer hunters this season. Their southern accents added a certain syrupy sound to the many visits the hunters had during off time.

Most of the hunters were confined to wheelchairs and required more help. Woodcock was lucky; he had the pleasure of drawing volunteer companion hunters Terry Dolan of Wapiti, and Bruce Fauskee of Powell. Both are well-seasoned hunters.

Saturday morning the team was up early and ready to roll before sunrise. They scouted the South Fork Valley and saw dozens of does, but no bucks. Then they turned their attention to the foothills above.

They saw two young bucks, but the wind was blowing and most of the deer were bedded down and waiting it out.

They returned to the South Fork of the Shoshone River Valley, but weren’t seeing what Woodcock wanted; a nice four-point buck. While scouting they ran into Hawks Hill Ranch manager Kelly Bustos. He had closed down the ranch to all other hunts for the disabled hunters and was looking to share intel. He’s been volunteering the 1,300-acre ranch to Wyoming Disabled Hunter guests since the program was founded a dozen years ago.

“We love to donate the opportunity for disabled people to get out into the wilderness and hunt and  harvest an animal,” Bustos said. “A smile on their faces is worth 100% [of our efforts].”

Bustos told them about a wily four-point that moved between the thick brush on the river and the irrigated agricultural fields in the flats.

“It’s kind of a tough year, with these snow patterns being different and the weather changes,” he said, adding that while he hasn’t seen as many bucks as he did when he started working on the ranch 21 years ago, management of the herd by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department is bringing more deer back to the property.

After speaking with Bustos it was time for some homemade chili back at the Bull Moose Lodge. There Woodcock was able to speak with other hunters, some who had harvested a buck and others, like him, who were still in pursuit. Meanwhile, cooks including Bonnie Fauskee, Leslie Harlow and Pat Winlow were happily pushing their hot meal and desserts, including some extremely addictive chocolate chip cookies.

Volunteer labor

There are many volunteers, from cooks, bookkeepers and those who help to schedule the hunts, to leadership positions and even those volunteering their facilities to help keep the hunts affordable for the group, like Bull Moose Retreat owners Rick and Linda Hordichok. They have also been supporting the Wyoming Disabled Hunters since its inception when Corey McGregor was the leader.

This year, for the first time in several years, there is a new president for the organization, Mike Harlow, who has only been with the group for a little more than three years, but wanted to see the program continue to grow after Terry Skinner retired after a long stint as president.

“I wasn’t looking to [be the president]. I’ve only been retired four years, but somebody needed to do it,” Harlow said. “The people that have been doing it over the years have really built it into something very substantial.”

Wyoming Disabled Hunters is funded by individual donations and, one of its largest sources of revenue, the charity auction of commissioners’ tags to the highest bidder, including from Park County commissioners. But without question, the most valuable assets for the program is its volunteers, Harlow said.

He couldn’t do it without the volunteers, especially some of the women who don’t get the reward of being there for the harvest, but are there to help year round, Harlow said.

“The work they do throughout the course of the year makes this thing run. They really do a good bulk of the work,” he said.

His wife Leslie also volunteers for the group and made lunch for the hungry hunters on their first day in the fields. All are volunteering for the common goal of helping hunters who would otherwise likely not be able to continue soaking in the healing properties of nature and the confidence and joy they have after leaving the program.

“When you take someone out and you see them harvest an animal, and then you see the emotion that comes out of them after they are successful in doing something that they might not otherwise have been able to do —  a lot of tear up from being able to accomplish something like that — That’s the payoff,” Harlow said.

The harvest

Saturday afternoon Woodcock, Dolan and Fauskee were back at it, but darkness comes quickly this time of year and they were soon back in the hospitable arms of the volunteers and sharing their stories of the hunt.

The next morning, with a heaping helping of fresh hope, the three men once again headed out before sunrise in an attempt to get a jump on the deer. They headed back to the river bottom and, as the sweet light of sunrise exposed the fields, they found the four-point was among the deer browsing for breakfast.

Woodcock set up his tripod and got in position for a shot, but they had to wait until the deer safely moved into a place with a clear background. What may have seemed like a long time was really but a few minutes, Woodcock said. With a clear background and the buck standing broadside to the team, Woodcock shot and dropped the deer where it stood with his .270 WSM. Yet, his response to the shot was selfless.

“We got him with one shot,” he said without hesitation, honoring the help he received from Fauskee and Dolan. “Two of the best guys that I’ve ever met.”

The photos of Woodcock with his two guides will be as important to him as his portrait with his harvest under a beautiful morning sky highlighting the gorgeous open lands of the South Fork. But the most important aspect of the experience will be the confidence he returns with to Hulett, population 309.

“I learned that I’m not done yet. They helped restore my confidence and I will never forget this weekend,” he said.

He is the program’s newest fan. He said he highly recommends disabled hunters get in line for one of their 20 hunts per year.

“It is truly an amazing thing they do for people. They showed me I could still do it,” Woodcock said. “I was feeling like I couldn’t do it anymore. But now, after hunting with those two gentlemen, I realized that I just have to do it a little different, that’s all.”

Every deer hunter at the retreat was successful in harvesting a deer. For more information: wyomingdisabledhunters.org.