Over at The Philadelphia Inquirer, Jason Nark is considering the tradition of deer camp. 

Let me guess. You’re at a loss as to what deer camp is. 

My friends, I once was too.  

But now I’m in the loop. 

So pay attention. I’m about to make you as cool and hip as me. 

Deer camp is exactly what it sounds like – a rural cabin where hunters retreat for Pennsylvania’s deer season. 

I mean, probably not all of deer season. That’s a long time to be away from work. Kids. Spouses. 

This is, in fact, part of the decline of hunting and, by extension, deer camps.  

Weekend youth sports. Changing attitudes towards hunting. Smartphones. They are all thought to contribute to dwindling hunting numbers. 

Do – do you want to know something? 

I took Pennsylvania’s online hunting course. 

Listen. I support hunting. But I can never do it. By the time I’ve checked everything a hunter needs to check before safely pulling the trigger – and checked it again, and again, and one more time to be on the safe side – hunting season is over. 

But I encourage you to take Pennsylvania’s hunting course. It’s fascinating. Hunting is much more complex than I ever realized. 

Which is why I need to go over everything multiple times before I act. 

As hunting numbers fade, so too do Pennsylvania’s deer camp memories. It’s sad – deer camp is a wonderful experience, passed from parent to child. 

Our children were infused with the family deer camp from the time they could walk.  

Built by their great-grandfather, they know that everyone in town called him Sonny. They know the stories of his friend Bungle. Of their grandfather’s solo treks into the woods. 

For days. 

At fourteen. 

They know expecting WiFi is for newbies and the crackers go in the fridge so the mice don’t get them. 

Have I convinced you Pennsylvania’s deer camp should be preserved? No? 

Well, let’s have Jason Nark give it a shot. 

Find his piece here.