A new school of social-media influencers are giving hunting a fresh and decidedly female face. Our writer joins two rising stars of “huntstagram” in the Arizona backcountry to chase mule deer for her first time—and see if she can stomach what it takes to be an omnivore.

It’s a dry January, which means two things on this girls’ trip to central Arizona: we’re all skipping the margaritas tonight, and the river will be low enough for our Tacoma to cross in the morning.

Crowded into a booth at a Mexican restaurant in a small town near the edge of Tonto National Forest, swapping names and where-are-you-froms, we are a motley crew: two millennials wearing camouflage and eyelash extensions, an overalls-clad photographer who lives in an Airstream, and me, a San Francisco food writer soon to be out of her comfort zone.