A Cut Above the Rest

CC Lyndsay Esson SA

Outdoorsman Pat Hueber's knowledge of the Michigan's upper peninsula and its forests is pretty formidable. He can tell you the best time for rabbit trapping down to the week. His mental map of the best sugar maple stands are more detailed than any written map. If he trusts you, he'll share the secret of the best may apple patches. He's a jovial, wildernernss jack-of-all trades eager to introduce you to the woods he loves.

The challenge is finding him.

"I've always said that's when you know you've arrived," Pat told me on my last visit to his backwoods workshop. "You know you're a tracker if you can track down the tracker."

He doesn't make it easy. This backwoods denizen has long eschewed modern conveniences such as cell phones and email. Stepping into his cabin takes you back to at least the early 1980s. It is a cozy place free of beeping electronics. There's always a pot of tea awaiting guests.

"I used to be all wired in," Pat says, referencing time he spent working in finance in San Diego, "but I grew up back here, in the woods, and I've always felt most comfortable here."

Pat's time in the high powered world of finance left him with a distaste for what he describes as "capitalist clutter." Disenchanted, he went back to his family land outside of Ternary, MI, in 1982 and returned to skills that had helped support his family in the '60s - largely woodworking and trapping small game.

Today, he still uses tools bought or made by his father and grandfather. Some axes he uses daily to chop wood are over 100 years old.

"That's not romanticism," he says sternly. "That's just good old common sense. They work fine, you know. They're just axes."

This no nonsense approach combined with his interest in creative reuse led to the production of his beautiful cutting boards. Most incorporate wood found either as logs on long walks in the forest or as discarded tables.

"I strip 'em down good, get all the chemical nonesense out," Pat assures me, "but no matter what I do, they still look a bit like what they were before. And I like that."

Pat has been selling his beautiful, unique cutting boards for over 20 years. (View current selection here.) We are happy to partner with him to bring his lovely work out of the Michigan woods. Assuming we can find our way back out, that is.

CC Jerry and Pat Donaho ND