It was late February 2020 and the world we live in had changed within a matter of days. Little did we realize the extent to which these changes could potentially restrict the passions we pursue and traditions we enjoy. Mark’s dedication and perseverance would become increasingly essential in achieving his goals in a challenging new world full of restrictions and COVID tests.
Mark had just completed the North American Upland Slam. He had harvested the last of the twenty-seven species required and we came home to Michigan for a break before he started his spring 2020 hunting seasons. Then, COVID put Mark’s 2020 hunting goals at risk as the world went into lockdown. Days turned to weeks and the opportunity for Mark’s planned hunts were in jeopardy. During the months of March and April, while the world was trying to understand what the next steps for containing the pandemic were, Mark started planning from his home office in Michigan. Never one to sit and wait, Mark laid out plans to achieve the North American Waterfowl Slam in a single hunting season. This accomplishment involves harvesting all forty-three North American waterfowl species.
Working with his team at Worldwide Trophy Adventures (WTA), Mark started making tentative plans for dates and hunt locations. He was hoping that by fall 2020, Canada would open back up to hunters and he could start his Waterfowl Slam in Saskatchewan with Lance and Emily Robinson at Goose Haven and Safari River Outfitters.
Spring moved to summer and there were few encouraging news reports. Hunts outside of the United States were being canceled and moved to the next year. The Canadian border was closed and it did not sound like it would be open in the fall. I encouraged Mark to wait until the 2021-2022 season because Canada was key to successfully hunting many of the required species. Knowing that all of the COVID restrictions and lockdowns would make the task much more difficult, and maybe even impossible, Mark continued planning his hunts for the 2020-2021 season.
I was not optimistic and again encouraged Mark to wait another year. He wanted to give it a try anyway. I have learned through the years that Mark is both stubborn and lucky, so I wished him the best of luck and told him I would join him on some of the hunts. I thought the task was virtually impossible, but I also knew that Mark was determined to succeed and would give the Waterfowl Slam one hundred percent of his effort.
Travel proved to be much more difficult with all of the restrictions and necessary COVID tests. The first trip in his quest was to Cold Bay, Alaska, in October. Bad weather struck the area the week before we arrived and many ducks moved south before we had a chance to hunt them. The overall bag of species was less than expected. As Mark moved through the various hunt locations, weather-related problems were constantly impacting hunts. The waterfowl had just “left the week before.”
Mark had target species at each of the hunt locations. Unlike normal waterfowl hunts, he was after a specific species rather than a limit of birds. In Cold Bay, he had to get a Cackling Goose, and he did. In Kodiak, Alaska, he needed a Barrow’s Goldeneye, which he got. Oftentimes the targeted species wasn’t to be found, so second and occasionally third hunt locations had to be added. It was a challenge, and almost seemed impossible at times, but Mark never hesitated and certainly never felt he wouldn’t achieve his goal
In the weeks to come, we will be sharing in detail Mark’s quest to complete the North American Waterfowl Slam in a single season. You will see how determined he was to be successful. It wasn’t until his last scheduled hunt in March that he knew whether or not his determination and stubbornness would pay off.
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