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David grew up in the small northern Minnesota town of Grand Rapids and started hunting ruffed grouse when he was eleven years old. “Having first successfully hunted grouse, they remain my favorite today,” he says. This early pursuit of small game eventually led to hunting woodcock, ducks, geese and deer, and trapping mink, muskrat, beaver and raccoon, which in turn led to a recognition of the need for habitat conservation and the preservation of wild places and wide-open spaces in general.
After completing high school, David was offered an Air Force ROTC scholarship at the University of Minnesota-Duluth and went on to graduate with a BA and second lieutenant bars. He completed four years of military service as an Air Force missile launch officer while also completing a master’s degree. After completing his service commitment, and another undergraduate degree, David accepted another government job.
David is a BHA Life Member and a Life Member of both the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association (MDHA) and Trout Unlimited (TU). In addition, David is a world traveller (30 countries, and counting) and accomplished mountaineer. During the spring of 2006, he tackled the world's highest mountain, Mount Everest, and climbed to over 25,200 feet on the north/Tibet side of this cloud-piercing peak.
During the spring of 2006, David tackled the world’s highest mountain, Mount Everest, and climbed to over 25,000 feet on the north/Tibet side of this cloud-piercing peak. You can read about David’s climbs, travels, and other adventures in 4/44/14 I (Four Years and Forty-Four Fourteeners): First Fourteeners, published by Outskirts Press in 2010 (http://outskirtspress.com/44414/), 4/44/14 II: Nemesis, published in 2011 (http://outskirtspress.com/44414_II), and Age-Old Quests: Hunting, Climbing & Trekking, published in 2012 (http://outskirtspress.com/ageoldquests/).
About Caitlin Thompson