BITELY, Mich — Resiliency.
That's the best word to sum up the non-profit Hunt 2 Heal here in Bitely, Michigan.
Following a life-changing accident, getting back out and doing the things you once loved, like hunting, can feel impossible. But if you know where to look there are people out there that can help.
“A lot of people that just give up because they have no idea how they're going to do it, and when they come out here, they figure out, hey, you know, I can still do this," Caleb Gulick told me. "It's just going to be a little different.”
Resiliency after his own motorcycle accident caused founder Carson Nyenhuis to turn the 640-acre family property into an adaptive hunting oasis.
Resiliency is what brings hunters like Kyle Scheuneman and Caleb Gulick out year after year.
“Just the feeling of getting back out, in the woods, because it's, you know, I've been hurt for nine and a half years, so there's only been not too many instances where I got out," said Scheuneman.
Large adaptive blinds, trails, and all the luxuries of home here in the lodge are only part of the draw.
The real reason everyone is here is for something bigger.
“It's hard for us to get together and have that community, and when we get to do it up here, it's awesome," said Nyenhuis.
The chance to shoot a deer is great, but the opportunity to shoot the breeze around the campfire is the best thing about this place.
“You're with people that understand, where some people just don't really understand the depth of what happens on a day-to-day basis," Gulick told me. "So, when you come up here, you can just relax, enjoy people's company, and get to experience the outdoors. I mean, it's beautiful out here.”
“The special moments take place around the fire pit and the dinner table and everyone just talking and getting to be around people that are deal with same, same struggles that we do,” Carson Nyenhuis added.
And there are a lot of those special moments on this property.
"We had this guy, Jamie, came up, and he had ALS, and he didn't have long to live, and one of his dreams was to get his son out hunting, and he had just turned 14, and he wanted to go out hunting with him, and he hasn't had the chance to," said Nyenhuis. "And we got him and his whole family up here, and we had a little special day, and he got to get out and hunt with his boy, and he got a deer, and it was just, it was special. Everyone left crying in tears and good tears. It was, it was great."
Hunting is the draw, but for the hunters and their families who get the chance to spend some time here – goes beyond the blind.
“I think a lot of other people, when they come up, they're kind of nervous," said Kyle Scheuneman. "But once we all get talking, then it's, you know, you can see the excitement on everyone's face. So it's, it's all good to get back out, back out in the woods.
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