Rachel Carson, author of The Sense of Wonder, explained that every child has an inborn sense of wonder waiting to be guided to its full potential. Whether this innate sense of wonder will thrive or shrivel depends largely on the “companionship of at least one adult who is willing to take the time to share excitement and mystery of the world we live in.”

With the annual big game hunting season set to open at the start of early bear season on Sept. 17, I’m reminded of my first visit to hunting camp. I was just a curious 11-year-old kid, and the process of eating big meals, splitting wood, stoking the potbellied stove and farting in public without politely saying “excuse me” was appealing. It was truly an eye-opening experience. It was also the first time I saw deer dressed out, which was grossly fascinating. It was a life-changing weekend.

Exposure to the traditions of camp life is an experience that most rookies will carry with them for the rest of their lives. The benefits of outdoor life are essentially limited only to the imagination of the user, and they are life long.

With the arrival of regular big game hunting looming on the near horizon, the high holy days of the sporting season will begin. Soon, woodcock, ducks, grouse and geese will be on the wing, while salmon will return to the rivers and trout will dress up in their fall finery for the annual spawning ritual. As bear will continue to provide the largest trophies, whitetail will remain the most sought after meal on the hoof.

While many of the old hunting camps continue to provide a refuge from the “woman-folk,” there has been a steadily increasing number of doe weekends offered in camps all across the country. In fact, female hunters have been largely responsible for filling the ranks in recent years.

Nationwide, studies show that the younger generation (approximately 73 million under 18 years) is losing interest in participating in traditional outdoor experiences. As hunting (down 12 percent) and angling (down 7 percent) license sales continue to decline, the average age of participants continues to climb (big game hunters now average 51 years old in New York). It is vital that outdoor sports proponents and conservation organizations recognize the need to address this important issue soon, before there is no one left to fill our boots.

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Anything you can do, I can do better

When it comes to athletic competitions, there are arguably a number of pursuits in which women cannot compete on par with men. However, that number is rapidly being reduced, especially in the field of outdoor sporting endeavors, where female climbers, runners and skiers, as well as hunters, shooters and paddlers now perform on a level playing field.

I suppose it has always been the case, but in more recent years, the cat has come out of the bag more often than ever before. At the same time that Annie Oakley (aka Little Miss Sure Shot) was wildly praised for her shooting skills, Paulina Brandreth was writing some of the best books on whitetail deer hunting ever published. However, Brandreth wrote under the pen name of Paul Brandreth because nobody would believe that a women knew anything about hunting or shooting.

Fortunately, female athletes are now allowed to compete with males in sporting events that are recognized worldwide. Olympian shotgunner Kim Rhodes provides a perfect example. After medaling in her sixth straight Olympic Games, Rhodes took off on a fishing trip to relax, while in pursuit of a record tuna.

Although Rhodes didn’t set any angling records, another young lady certainly did. It occurred when Jenna Gavin, of Nova Scotia, Canada hooked into a 616-pound tuna. The 12-year-old Canadian girl nabbed a potential world record after reeling in the tuna while fishing in the southern Gulf of Saint Lawrence in the Northumberland Strait. She fought the tuna for nearly two hours before finally bringing the fish aboard her parents’ charter boat, according to news reports.

Elsewhere comes news of another young female outdoors sportswoman from San Francisco who recently earned the honor of becoming the youngest gold medal winner in the history of world sporting events. Maxine McCormick, 12, missed her first week of eighth-grade in order to travel to Estonia to compete on the American team in the world fly casting championship.

Maxine began casting when she was 8, and practiced four hours a week with her father and friend before she won the gold medal in this year’s World Championships of Fly Casting. She actually tied with her own coach Chris Korich in the event, with both earning top honors. The “Coach and The Kid” are now double gold medalists.

The world championships took place in Estonia, with more than 65 athletes from 15 countries competing to determine who is the best fly-caster in the world.

If history is any indication, McCormick will hold her new title for many years, possibly decades. Previously, the youngest gold medal winner in international sporting competition is believed to be Marjorie Gestring, an American who won the three-meter springboard diving event in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. She was 13 at the time and held the record of youngest gold medal winner for 80 years.

A bit closer to home, Amelia Whalen, a 12-year-old female angler recently set a New York state record for the largest drum. The record-breaking freshwater drum was taken in Lake Champlain in Essex County on June 4. It measured 36.5 inches and weighed 29 pounds, 14 ounces, breaking the previous state record set in 2014 by more than 3 pounds. Good luck? No, that’s girl power.