A LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY LADIES
Spanning the generations, women have planted themselves here among the cactus and pine. They’ve forged unconventional paths west — hunting and harvesting stories worth remembering. Today, they are still heeding the call of their heritage, bravely shedding all that is frivolous as they head deeper into the backcountry. They pursue that which will outlive them, in faithful stewardship of the tender shoots of conservation.
This league of extraordinary women have been tested and tried in the high lonesome; blooming amidst the rugged terrain with tenacity and grace that has changed the landscape on which they reside. They are too many to name — those women who have led the way — but each month we aim to share their stories. These are Women of the West.
KAITLYND WILSON
CALIFORNIA
Kaitlynd Wilson rose with the sun in Huasna Valley, the morning air tinged with the salty scent of the sea; a slow bloom of warmth parted the curtain of fog to reveal the rolling hills of the central coast of California. Then, the quiet was shattered by the joyous barking of hounds as she came within view of the kennel, an unbidden smile lighting up her face — she was right where she was supposed to be.
Kaitlynd was in her final year of art school at California Polytechnic University in San Luis Obispo, and sure of just one thing — that she did not want to be an artist. The summer before her final semester, her dad introduced her to professional dog trainer, and future mentor Greg Gersbach, who offered to share what he knew. “I remember the very first time driving up his long driveway. He probably had 20 dogs out running, and it just blew
