Ian Uhl Jump - Ian hunted Bear guided by Bryan Waitman. Although Ian didn't
put his tag on a bear it was a hunt to remember for all involved.
Ian Uhl Jumps' Bear Hunt
written by: Pam Weston
Nov 17, 2008
Plans for Ian’s wish placed through “Hunt of a Lifetime” began a few months ago when we
received a phone call from Terry Petko, Ambassador for the Arizona/New Mexico division
of “Hunt of a Lifetime”. Terry’s request provided us with a special and
unique opportunity to assist a young boy, Ian Uhl Jump who is 13 years old and has Cystic
Fibrosis. Ian’s wish was a bear hunt. Once we hung up with Terry, the ball was rolling
and plans for this hunt moved along swiftly. With just a few phone calls there were seasoned
hunters and donors who gladly stepped foreword to assist in volunteering time and providing
donations to help in making Ian’s wish come true.
In evaluating Ian’s needs and the demographics of his home, a suitable location was found.
Many of the volunteers kept in regular phone contact with Ian’s Father, Andrew Jump to keep
him updated on the plans. On October 2nd Ian and Andrew were picked up for the hunt at their
home in Punkin Center. The ride to camp was full of anticipation and excitement.
Ian and Andrew arrived at camp that evening. Everyone had been working diligently to be
sure things were in order for their arrival. Anticipating his arrival was felt by everyone.
Once introductions were made and all had the chance to meet and speak with Ian and Andrew,
we settled in for the early morning start. Wake up call was at 4:00 a.m.; everyone grabbed
something quick to eat and headed out. The first morning, Ian and Andrew went in the truck
and others took off on quads. They divided up and kept in continuous radio contact. We
showed Ian how to work the radios and he enjoyed speaking with Bob during the time we were
out. We went to one of our spots to begin glassing. After glassing for a few hours, with
no success, we decided to head back to camp. Thoughts of Tom’s (our camp cook) bacon, eggs,
biscuits and gravy were on everyone’s mind.
Camp that day was relaxing. Ian enjoyed rides on the quads and we all enjoyed the companionship.
We set out again at 3:30 p.m. Ian was excited to leave on a quad with Bob that afternoon to
glass. We came back for dinner and discussed plans for the following morning. One person would
go down to Punkin Center to pick up Ian’s Mother, Kassy and the rest would go out hunting with
Ian. So with the next days plans made, we settled in again for our early morning start,
4:00 a.m..
Sometime after we all settled in Friday night, Kelly and Donny with XPC Extreme Predator Callers
arrived at the camp to spend time with Ian on Saturday and Sunday. Early Saturday morning,
Bryan H. Rich, Dennis, Bob, Ryan, Kelly and Donny headed out to glass with Ian for the morning.
Bryan W. headed down to Punkin Center to pick up Ian’s Mother, Kassy. After a morning of glassing,
Rich brought Ian and Andrew back to camp in the Ranger. When Rich turned the corner with Ian and Andrew,
Ian was really excited to see his Mom.
That day close to noon Jared with Arizona Game and Fish came to camp and brought skins, skulls
and bear tracks in plaster for Ian to look at. Ian really enjoyed everything that Jared brought
and seemed to absorb all the information. Ian’s is a wonderful young boy whose interest and
curiosity to learn about hunting, nature and wildlife is endless.
Later that afternoon, Kelly and Donny with XPC spent time with Ian teaching him about varmint
calling. He was a quick learner with the hand calls. Kelly, Donny and Rich were able to spend
quite a bit of time with him that afternoon. They were able to call in a coyote and Ian was
able watch it come in from the call. Ian was excited and startled when the coyote came in so
close. This actually worked to everyone’s benefit as the time they were able to spend with Ian
was much more than originally anticipated and Ian really had fun. Due to what appeared to be a
storm front coming in, everyone decided Ian would have a far better time learning and spending
time with Kelly, Donny and Rich, and he did.
That night Ian decided that for the next few days he would much rather spend his time with the
guys, riding quads, shooting, looking for wildlife and practicing his varmint calling. We made
certain that Ian’s wish came true and filled the remaining days at camp with just that.
Dennis, Bryan H. and Rich spent quite a bit of time with Ian shooting.
Although Ian did not get his bear, strong bonds were made that will last a lifetime. Ian made
us all better men by knowing him. We have plans to take Ian back out in the very near future
and a Junior Tag application has already been submitted. We all look foreword to our next hunt
with Ian.
We want to provide a special “Thank You” to everyone that made this trip possible by volunteering
services, time, gifts and monetary donations:
Volunteers that participated on the hunt: Rich Bushong, Ryan Troller, Bryan Hurley, Dennis
Waitman, Tom Cleveland and Nathaniel Borchard, Kelly Lewis, Bob Valenti, Donny Miller, Mike
Cornillisus, Jared McFarlin and Audry Davis, Bryan and Jody Waitman.
Donors of Gifts for Ian and Monetary Contributions: William R. Roberts, Laura and Michael
Sedivy, Laura and Scott Lentin, Jeffrey Williams, Bradley Lehman, Rick Flum, Cycle Gear of
Phoenix, Alyssa Jewelers, Valley Crest Landscape Maintenance, MGH Power Systems, Kodiak Fresh
LLC (thank you to Bountful Baskets who made arrangements for Kodiak’s donation) and Pamela
Weston.
“What began as a wish for Ian became an unexpected gift to all that participated”.
|
