Outdoor Journal: Getting ready for Father's Day
May 30, 2009

With Father's Day just three weeks away, time is at hand for acquiring a suitable gift for dad. With that in mind, what follows are some suggestions which might solve that dilemma, at least for the father who enjoys the outdoors.

FORECAST
Recent heavy and persistent rains have affected fishing, especially in streams, but once things settle down a bit fishing should be great. Meanwhile, it's a grand time to do things such as repair deer stands, clear land for new food plots, cut shooting lanes, plant for doves, and in general look a few months down the road. Or check out places to pick blackberries, which will ripen in a few weeks, take a backpacking trip, or enjoy the simple pleasures of an amble through the woods.

CALENDAR

• June 6 - Sunrise hike at Table Rock State Park, 2-10 a.m. Involves a climb to the top of Table Rock and watching sunrise.
• June 6 - Frontier encampment at Oconee Station State Historic site. Includes demonstrations such as cooking and black powder shooting.
• June 20 - Insects of the Mountain Bridge, 10:30 a.m.-noon. For all ages. Jones Gap State Park/Mountain Bridge Wilderness Area.
• June 27 - Animal signs scavenger hunt. 1-2:30 p.m. Paris Mountain State Park. An easy hike around Lake Placid learning how to read signs. Fee $5.

Books have long been a favorite gift selection, thanks at least in part to the fact that a properly chosen work is one which will give pleasure for years to come. There are literally thousands of outdoor-related books in print, and you could do far worse than to offer some of the classic writings from Carolina sporting scribes. Havilah Babcock's wonderful tales of bird hunting and redbreast fishing are full of enduring delight. Similarly, our state's first poet laureate, Archibald Rutledge, left a rich and varied literary legacy. Most of his original works are long out of print and pricey, but a number of anthologies featuring his writings in fields such as turkey hunting, deer hunting, and "The Best of Archibald Rutledge" remain available. Both these works and reprints of Babcock books are published by the University of South Carolina Press.

Then there are the writings of Robert Ruark, a North Carolinian whom many consider our finest outdoor writer ever. His classics, such as "The Old Man and the Boy," and "The Old Man's Boy Grows Older," remain in print, and I have personally been privileged to edit two works related to him - "The Lost Classics of Robert Ruark" and "Ruark Remembered" (a biography written by Ruark's longtime secretary). If you are interested in these, visit my Web site at www.jimcasadaoutdoors.com.

For the camper or backpacker, Horace Kephart's enduring classic, "Camping and Woodcraft," is a marvelous book. Nor should any devoted turkey hunter overlook Henry Edwards Davis' "The American Wild Turkey," arguably the finest work ever written on the sport.

Along with books, you might want to consider a magazine subscription or two. There are dozens of possibilities. "Sporting Classics" is a magazine with great visual and literary appeal which has its headquarters in Columbia.

The two magazines from state wildlife agencies in the Carolinas, "South Carolina Wildlife" and "Wildlife in North Carolina," are among the best of their genre in the country and real bargains when it comes to cost.

It might well be the ideal stimulus to get dad off on a well-merited fishing or camping trip, or maybe in the mood to plan a fall hunt. If these forays involve the kids, so much the better.

Then there are gifts of a more immediate nature. That might be a new fishing outfit, a tree stand, an item or two of hunting or fishing attire, or a never fail choice, a good hunting knife.

Another possibility might be any of the many pieces of gear connected with cooking fish and game. It could be a new grill, a smoker, a vacuum sealer (ZipVac is a comparatively inexpensive and highly functional one), a kit for making jerky, or a dehydrator.

Finally, why not give some consideration to laying plans for a family camping or fishing trip? It will promote togetherness, produce fun, and get everyone out in the grand world of the outdoors.

Reach Casada through his Web site at jimcasadaoutdoors.com.