A little background...
I am a farm girl. I have always been proud of that and loved the fact that I could say that. With those words the memories, sights and smells come to mind with the content feeling I always had in the barn. I grew up in a very small town with a Mother I loved but didn’t appreciate nearly enough and was lucky enough to have very good people nearby to keep me on course and love me when I knew and understood more than anyone else. While others of the same age were partying, studying or planning for whatever future they hoped for and dreamed of, I knew exactly where I was headed and what I would do.
Meanwhile, I had the farm. Did I dream of becoming a Big Game Guide in Alaska? Not hardly. I dreamed of and knew the one thing I was ment for was the military. I joined the United States Navy directly out of high school and was on my way! After bootcamp and schooling I was stationed in Hawaii to begin my service to the United States of America and my journey through life. After returning home after deployment to support Desert Storm, I re-evaluated my future. I decided I was more of a farm girl than someone strong enough to have automatic rifles pointed at. What do you do when all your dreams and plans turn out to be smoke? If you are lucky, and I was, you go home. So, within a few months of receiving an Honorable Discharge and returning home, I was milking cows again, training a new puppy and enjoying my life. It was here that things would change again. Kelly, the young daughter of the family I worked for, milked cows with me on the weekends and was a constant pleasure to listen to and dream with. Kelly asked for help with a long ago forgotten 4-H project she was in the middle of and I was thrilled to be asked so I agreed. Her Aunt had hundreds of stacked up old magazines mostly concerning horses, the outdoors and the life we lived that needed to be searched to find whatever it is we were looking for to create whatever it was we were trying to create.
That is all I remember, because the only thing that mattered, was in one magazine at least two years old, The Paint Horse Journal, I found my dream. Alaska. The article on Pioneer Outfitters and Master Guide Terry Overly written by Bob Robb was a hope and wish long buried, suddenly found and brought into the light again. Growing up, I spent the summers with my Grandpa, the biggest and best man in my life while my Grandmother and her pal would take the Winnebago and head for parts unknown for the summer. My favorite memories that came from Grandma were the stories she would share about Alaska. I always thought I’d like to see what she had seen. My thoughts whirlled... If I had stayed with my company in the Navy, our next deployment would have been to Adak, Alaska.... Now here it was again. Alaska. We (Kelly and I) passed many many hours milking cows, cleaning barns, feeding animals dreaming out loud and wondering everything we could come up with about Alaska, and because of the article, Pioneer Outfitters. I wrote a letter to Master Guide Terry Overly 8 pages long asking questions about everything we wondered about, then went back to milking cows and dreaming what could it possibly be like to live in an area of Alaska the article had described as a incredibly remote place of unspeakable beauty. Approximately 6 months later, I received a letter from Alaska!! (I was to learn later no only was this a good average turn around time for Master Guide Terry Overly, but I only got a response at all, Terry said, that he couldn't figure out if I wanted to take a trip or if I wanted to work for him because of the incredible number of pages of questions!!) More months went by with phone calls and letters and my curiosity only growing with each question answered and discussed. Then, during one of our phone conversations, Terry asked me if I had plans or if I would be around home for the next week. Where would I go? I milked cows three times a day?! A surprise was on it’s way. The Fed-Ex truck pulled into the drive a few days later and delivered an envelope. The envelope was a bit disappointing as I thought it was only another letter, and opening it, was speechless. It had inside it airplane tickets to Alaska. That was the next bend in the road leading to my future.
Terry had told me he would meet my plane, this was a long time ago, so he was right there when I stepped off the plane! I walked right by him!! (I was so not ready to meet him!) Seriously, have you seen Master Guide Terry Overly?? Alrighty, so I figured he could find me at luggage pick up and hopefully I would find my backbone and courage in the meantime. Terry had told me that he would be in Anchorage and would meet me then we would fly home to Chisana in his Cessna 206. Never once did he mention that we would be installing the new engine in the airplane that I would be flying to my new home in! We spent the next two weeks in Anchorage installing a new engine and performing the yearly annual on the 206. I’ll never forget the first breath of air outside the airport, I was here, in Alaska, or flying over the Matanuska Glacier the first time during our engine-test flight. The breath taking views, the cool air and the feeling that I was almost home.
My name is Amber-Lee and I am the Manager and a guide of Pioneer Outfitters. I have been with Pioneer Outfitters and Master Guide Terry Overly for 18 years now. I grew up in South Western New York State, in a dairy county, in a small dairy town called Sherman.
Pioneer Outfitters has been my home from the first moment I woke here in Chisana. I knew, even so young, that I had found my place. Chisana, once known as Shushanna, is the site of the last historic gold rush. There is a pure beauty here and space to breathe. We are surrounded and held close by the high mountains surrounding us.
I am often asked certain, key questions. I will answer them for you here: “What is involved with or does it take to be a guide?
A female guide? The Manager of Pioneer Outfitters, a girl, and one of the guides?” Hmm, I most often respond with humor or sarcasm, or a little of both, because it is rarely possible that an outsider can truly understand. A guide, whether a hunting or horse pack trip guide, has
more to do with the client than anyone else. This means, as I have realized through learning, watching and training others myself; that a guide has to be a leader. A guide must know all of the options, answers and, in our world, so remote and inaccessible, a guide must not show fear or worry to a client. I’d have to say, after serving proudly in the United States Navy, after experiences during my enlistment in Desert Storm, and coming to Alaska and Pioneer Outfitters, there are places that are still truly a man’s world. Guides, as a rule, are as different of individuals as you and I, of course, but they (we) all do share many of the same characteristics. Some of these character traits include: highly competitive, aggressive, multi-tasking “stress-junkies”.... and these are the most positive points! What a person needs to realize is that a guide is responsible, not only for being a companion and advisor on the trail, not only to find and judge the game he (or she) encounters--if this is the type of excursion the client is on--but the well being and safety of the client and the horses. This must come first, and it isn’t generally an up-front and in-your-face issue, shit does happen, and the guide has to be able to react quickly, decisively, calmly and autocratically. If you throw in being a female, and a small one at that, the hurdles grow! A female trainee must also posses thick skin and either a really good sense of humor or a really strong sense of self worth. “Why stay here, out in the mountains, isolated and away from any chance of a life, husband, anything..?” Is another favorite question of folks who come and stay for a few short days up to a couple weeks. I knew this was my place, my home from the first moment I woke here in Chisana.
more to do with the client than anyone else. This means, as I have realized through learning, watching and training others myself; that a guide has to be a leader. A guide must know all of the options, answers and, in our world, so remote and inaccessible, a guide must not show fear or worry to a client. I’d have to say, after serving proudly in the United States Navy, after experiences during my enlistment in Desert Storm, and coming to Alaska and Pioneer Outfitters, there are places that are still truly a man’s world. Guides, as a rule, are as different of individuals as you and I, of course, but they (we) all do share many of the same characteristics. Some of these character traits include: highly competitive, aggressive, multi-tasking “stress-junkies”.... and these are the most positive points! What a person needs to realize is that a guide is responsible, not only for being a companion and advisor on the trail, not only to find and judge the game he (or she) encounters--if this is the type of excursion the client is on--but the well being and safety of the client and the horses. This must come first, and it isn’t generally an up-front and in-your-face issue, shit does happen, and the guide has to be able to react quickly, decisively, calmly and autocratically. If you throw in being a female, and a small one at that, the hurdles grow! A female trainee must also posses thick skin and either a really good sense of humor or a really strong sense of self worth. “Why stay here, out in the mountains, isolated and away from any chance of a life, husband, anything..?” Is another favorite question of folks who come and stay for a few short days up to a couple weeks. I knew this was my place, my home from the first moment I woke here in Chisana.
I stay and always have stayed because of the beauty of the land, the isolation (as I do and feel better around those I know), the true goodness, generosity and wisdom and knowledge given so freely by Terry Overly, the family I have made here and the wonder of the fact that I can sit back and say this is what I do.
The idea of a reality-type show has been bantered and tossed around quite often in the last few years. There are no shows, hunting or otherwise that I have had the opportunity to watch that impressed me on any level- entertainment, education or insight. If I could imagine what I’d like to see is first and for most, the real deal. The inside of the workings, the how and why and the feelings behind each. There is so much more than “goin’ huntin’ “ to what we do, and more importantly, what we want to do for each and every client that comes to Pioneer Outfitters. There is so much more preparation into each and every client’s arrival and excursion than what that client actually sees. The lifestyle of Pioneer Outfitters is the real deal, the Pioneer Outfitters Pro Team are the real deal.
The blood, sweat, tears, frustrations, accomplishments, survival, failures and triumphs are the real deal. The Pro Team are the ones that do it. Every single day, weeks, months and years of it, because that is the real deal. I would like to see this, shown to people in such a way that they know it is the real deal, for those people who may see it to feel as if they are part of what is happening, learning and enjoying being part of the triumphs, crying with us at the failures, because it really is ~real life.
As a Professional Guide, a trainer and teacher, the Manager of Pioneer Outfitters, and let us not forget, a woman, I need to know myself inside and out. I need to be ready for whatever trick is coming next, know how to work it out, counter it or know if I can. I need to know when to turn around and go a different direction, to have the answers because people are counting on me. Options, solutions, confidence and experience. These are what people, clients and crew, look for and need to find when they do look.
Isn't it enough I do the same job? Will it ever be enough? To overcome the same obstacles, ache the same hurts? Everything I am is dedicated to this world, to these people, some of them I have watched grow, taught them myself, learned from. Enough, good enough has never been the end of it, enough, for me. I want, was meant, to understand, to know, to be involved with everything around me. This is the burning inside me; it gives me the strength to keep going and the power to accept the satisfaction when I get there each time. I want to be, I need to be better each time, to be more than I was yesterday. So, I've set myself apart. I'm not just part of this man's world. I am the Manager.
"Some days it seems I have to be smarter, harder, faster, stronger, meaner, funnier, more prepared, anticipating always, sharper than anyone around me. Being equal is not an option. Only to have someone need me to be softer because I am harder, quieter if I am smarter, needier if I am stronger, sweeter if I am meaner, solemn if I am funnier, complacent if I am prepared, surprised if I am anticipating, gentler if I am sharper. Knowing what each one needs from me is the hardest part of this life. Understanding that I am unable to be everything they need, expect and what I expect from myself. It hurts to less than I am in order to be all those things; it hurts to choose the wrong one. To be the push that keeps everything moving, the loyalty and the need, to be the focus at times so the frustrations and pain don't overwhelm; to see the job gets done. To be less so often so that others can be more. Seeing, understanding, anticipating and reacting; so that the negativity falls here, instead of shoulders that would crumble, so that all is as it should be. I am less. Knowing I have to push it all aside, to still have the strength to pull it all together. I am still here."
ald
The life I chose, at first glance, seems ultra simple. Truthfully, every single day is more training in survival. Two thirds of the year, at the very least, we are pit against what nature throws at us. The remaining third is trying to work with nature. Physical strength is an absolute must. Man or woman, the life and work that is part of every single day of our lives requires physical strength and conditioning, not only to prevent injury, but to get the job done. As a woman, and a short one at that, I know I will never be as strong as a man. I’m very strong and I have an understanding with my pal, Leverage, but there are disadvantages!
As a Professional Guide, a trainer and teacher, the Manager of Pioneer Outfitters, and let us not forget, a woman, I need to know myself inside and out. I need to be ready for whatever trick is coming next, know how to work it out, counter it or know if I can. I need to know when to turn around and go a different direction, to have the answers because people are counting on me. Options, solutions, confidence and experience. These are what people, clients and crew, look for and need to find when they do look.
Isn't it enough I do the same job? Will it ever be enough? To overcome the same obstacles, ache the same hurts? Everything I am is dedicated to this world, to these people, some of them I have watched grow, taught them myself, learned from. Enough, good enough has never been the end of it, enough, for me. I want, was meant, to understand, to know, to be involved with everything around me. This is the burning inside me; it gives me the strength to keep going and the power to accept the satisfaction when I get there each time. I want to be, I need to be better each time, to be more than I was yesterday. So, I've set myself apart. I'm not just part of this man's world. I am the Manager.
I guess, one of the biggest obstacles living where and as we do, is understanding yourself. Dealing with yourself. When I came to Chisana, I remember Terry telling me that the hardest thing for people that lived in a place as remote with as few people as Chisana has, is that you run out of excuses. You run out of other people to blame for mistakes or shortcomings and you do one of two things. #1- You deal with it. You deal with the problem and work it out- you. #2- You leave. You will decide to leave and 99% of the time, it is someone else’s fault. It’s not easy. It can be brutal, looking closely and honestly, at yourself.
"Some days it seems I have to be smarter, harder, faster, stronger, meaner, funnier, more prepared, anticipating always, sharper than anyone around me. Being equal is not an option. Only to have someone need me to be softer because I am harder, quieter if I am smarter, needier if I am stronger, sweeter if I am meaner, solemn if I am funnier, complacent if I am prepared, surprised if I am anticipating, gentler if I am sharper. Knowing what each one needs from me is the hardest part of this life. Understanding that I am unable to be everything they need, expect and what I expect from myself. It hurts to less than I am in order to be all those things; it hurts to choose the wrong one. To be the push that keeps everything moving, the loyalty and the need, to be the focus at times so the frustrations and pain don't overwhelm; to see the job gets done. To be less so often so that others can be more. Seeing, understanding, anticipating and reacting; so that the negativity falls here, instead of shoulders that would crumble, so that all is as it should be. I am less. Knowing I have to push it all aside, to still have the strength to pull it all together. I am still here."
ald
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