The pink huntress speaks!

So I was grading papers the other morning when my phone rang, and who's on the other end of the line but Keli Van Cleave - the high priestess of pink camo. And she had a challenge for me.

I wrote about Van Cleave last week after the Denver Post did a story about her penchant for pink camo. It may sound weird, she told The Post, "but it works because animals are colorblind. Camo is just a breakup."

My response was, "I'm guessing she's not a waterfowler - ducks see colors perfectly well."

It's true: Van Cleave, a bowhunter who does demos at outdoors shows all over the country, is not a waterfowler. But in addition to hunting a lot of colorblind big game, she also hunts sharp-eyed turkeys, and she told me she's hunted them with pink camo gear just fine.

Then she challenged me to try duck hunting in pink camo.

Hmmmmm.

I'd have to find a day when none of my hunting buddies could join me, because I'm pretty sure they'd tie me up in the back of my car to keep me from walking out into the marsh with them wearing even a shred of pink.

Hell, I don't even like pink.

But I like a challenge, and I like Van Cleave's spirit. She grew up as someone who learned to love hunting from her dad and pink from her mom, and she refuses to relinquish either. She's started a company called Pink Outdoors. She's offers a line of Pink Sonic broadheads through the American Broadhead Company. And she plans to unveil a collection of pink camo clothing later this year.

Van Cleave admits her target audience for the clothing is much more the hunters' wives and girlfriends than us huntresses. But she's adamant that it works. "I’m gonna prove that it can be done, and I’m going to do it in in a big way," she told me. "This hunting season is when I'll do it."

Ya gotta respect that.

Maybe I'll give it a try too.

Keli Van Cleave

© Holly A. Heyser 2008