Saturday program is aimed at wilderness women

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August 06, 2009

By Mark Freeman

Mail Tribune
776-4470
mfreeman@mailtribune.com

Kristy Titus is not your average 20-something Oregonian, but she's on a one-woman mission to spread her wealth of experiences in Oregon's back-country.

The Bend woman has been a backwoods-woman since age 2, when she first joined her family on a wilderness mule trek. And she continues that tradition regularly, hop scotching wilderness areas with her mule team, exhibiting the confidence and savvy of a true wilderness veteran.

"I just got back from a four-day pack wilderness trip alone with mules," says Titus, 29. "I was on a bear hunt in the Ochocos.

"I didn't get my bear," Titus says. "But I got some great elk pictures."

Titus will paint a picture Saturday in Medford of what it's like to be a woman alone in the outdoors — but well outfitted — as she launches a new series of workshops meant to teach women how to be more like Kristy.

A field staffer for several outdoors clothing lines and elk calls, Titus will be at the Black Bird Shopping Center to offer a workshop tailored toward giving women a leg-up in experiencing hunting and camping on public lands like she does.

The 10 a.m. workshop is free at the store, 1810 W. Main St. It is the first of 10 Titus has planned for this summer and fall.

"Mostly, it's to educate ladies to be more independent and how to prepare for when they go hunting or camping," Titus says. "It's to give them the tools to get in the field without their husband or boyfriend."

It's a message that has been repeated with regularity in Oregon. Over the past decade, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has hosted the popular Becoming an Outdoors Woman workshops, which are meant to teach women outdoor skills ranging from crabbing and fly-fishing to pheasant hunting and archery.

Titus is just one of 43,172 women hunters licensed in 2008, and that represents 15.2 percent of resident hunters.

In recent years, Oregon's trend shows growing participation among women, who made up 14.1 percent of the resident hunting force in 2004.

"It's part of a national trend, but to tell you the truth we don't know why," says David Lane, the ODFW's statewide marketing coordinator.

The department has commissioned a report on the face of Oregon hunters, and it likely will address trends in women's participation, Lane says.

That could grow by a few dozen after Saturday's workshop, the first of its kind at Black Bird.

"I always thought it was about 99 percent men," says Black Bird's Mike McMullen, who arranged for Titus' appearance. "Maybe she can show us something different."

Titus is president of the High Desert Chapter of Safari Club International and is also a regional sales manager for She Outdoor Apparel, a relatively new line of camouflage shooting clothing and other gear cut for women.

She says her workshop will focus on topics ranging from the physical conditioning women should expect in order to be fit for the outdoors to basic gear and preparation work for hunting or camping trips.

"I'm, basically, going to talk about what I bring and why," Titus says.

The seminar will touch on such topics as elk calling and how to set up for hunting and camping. It will shift focus — from novice to more experienced discussions — depending upon the experience level of workshop participants, and will be tailored to subjects that visitors want to discuss, Titus says.

McMullen says the store has space for up to 50 participants. Reservations for seats can be made at the store or by telephoning Black Bird at 541-779-5431.

Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail mfreeman@mailtribune.com.

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