On February 18th, I went to the annual Winter “Becoming an Outdoors Woman” program, sponsored by the NH Fish and Game department. Becoming an Outdoors Woman (BOW) gives women an opportunity to learn useful outdoor skills in an exciting and supportive environment. BOW offers workshops throughout the year, notably a weekend-long getaway in the fall and a day long winter session, which I had the pleasure of attending.
The winter program consisted of four different classes: Snowshoeing and Tracking, Ice Fishing, Snowshoe and Shoot, and Outdoor Wilderness Survival. The sunny Saturday began inside, with over 70 women excited to learn new skills. Each class started their day with a primer on their subject, be it animal tracking, proper gun use, or different ice fishing mechanisms.
The rest of the day was spent outside. Outdoor Wilderness Survival women learned about different ways to light a fire and build a shelter.
Meanwhile, over at snowshoe and shoot, women learned about gun safety and got to try their hand at shooting targets. The small class size allowed for one-on-one instruction.
The snowshoe and tracking class wandered off somewhere in the woods for the day, so I went to check out the ice fishing workshop.
Here’s a picture of me pretending not to be terrified of walking on a frozen lake. Luckily, there was between 10-12 inches of ice that day. Completely safe, but I was still scared!
It was a beautiful day, and fish seemed to be practically jumping out of the holes in the ice.
There was even a camp set up where women were frying fresh fish, which was quite honestly the most delicious fish I’ve ever had.
Thank you so much to Tina for letting me cover this event and Jane for showing me around for the day! I had a ton of fun. If you’re interested in BOW or any other wildlife program, check out the NH Fish and Game Department’s website!
