We’ve had this conversation over and over. It’s an interesting one.
The more I think about it, I am not so convinced that hunting personalities or even social media, generally, are influencing crowding the trail heads in a meaningful way. If they disappeared today, I’d wager they’d still be packed and use continually on the rise.
What a large portion of hunting personalities and hunting social media does do though, is make hunters look like dorks to be distained. But in the same way, I’d wager that most folks who don’t like hunting would dislike it, regardless of modern media.
I know marketing and messaging absolutely influence the masses, but it’s hard to make the connection. Crowded trailHeads are not a problem solely of hunters, and when it is a problem solely of hunters, I would lay blame as much on fish and game agencies as I would meateater. That’s where I think Matt Rennella might be using his resources unwisely. If he wants less hunters in the field, the only way to do it now will be through our fishing game agencies.
To the OP, we are sort of now in a “what is hunting” discussion, and there are thresholds and gray areas. Most of us, when we first started hunting, certainly had someone hold our hand in the process - usually a father. Beyond that though, I am on the side of Matt, inso far in that if you pay someone to scout for you, to line you out, to point you to which mountain to hike, and to sometimes go with you - as a “hunter” you have skipped over some of the hardest and most meaningful parts. They are also rewarding parts - but without them, it is a beautiful process cheated. I think it’s lame.
I was trying to think of analogies to what Rogan believes his prowess in hunting to be and what his interface with it so far has been. Basically to me, he’s been ordering HelloFresh for years, and when it arrives in the mail, he follows the directions and cooks up a good meal - but he’s no chef because if it.