About Us
The idea for Cragged Ridge was born when two cousins from across the country and with two totally different hunting backgrounds, decided to do a 5-day backcountry archery elk hunt together. The hunt ended up being so epic- bugles, steep mountains, snow, emotions… it successfully hooked us on DIY public land hunting! We had brought a small camcorder along and attempts were made at capturing some footage of the hunt. We put together a short video when we got home as a way of showing our family and others of our adventure. Two years later, we were back. This time with better equipment and the plan of capturing the whole hunt. With a healthy mix of expertise between us, we decided the set up fit our team well and eventually planned to share it with you! We are excited to share what we can and hopefully you can learn and be drawn to experience the outdoors!
The Team
Weston Hooley
I am from central Ohio and work in the tire industry. I was born and raised in a small community in Oregon and spent much of my spare time in the outdoors. I was drawn to hunting when my friends from school began to hunt and began hunting with my dad for deer and elk when I was 12. Later, when I really got into hunting, I often brought a camera with me on my hunts and enjoyed sharing the footage with my friends and family.
Chad & Karissa
My wife Karissa and I live in southern Virginia. We have one little girl, Brinley. I install and service garage doors for a main line of work and then together we run some beef cows on the side. We both enjoy hunting and we really enjoy hunting the west. My hunting career started at the age of 7 when I shot my first deer. My dad was my mentor and definitely taught me the most about whitetail hunting.
Karissa shot her first deer when she was 13 on her family farm in southern MD. She has shot many deer since and her next goal is to get one with a bow. Karissa very much wants to be a part of the hunting adventure and contribute where she can. Together we are excited to be a part of Cragged Ridge.
Jaden Hooley
I am from central Ohio and work in IT. In case you didn’t notice I’m Weston’s younger brother. Growing up in eastern Oregon, we spent much of our time outside catching crawdads, building dams, and doing all the stuff kids do. But I never was much of a hunter, so why am I here? I don’t know… something about the back country pulls you back once you’ve been there and I can’t wait to go back and help capture the experiences on camera.