Okay, here we are. We flew in yesterday and it was sunny,
it was beautiful weather as you can see the weather is pretty cool this morning
as well. Got a bit of cloud moving in over the back there the top of the
mountains and there's camp, but at the minute everything is set fair and dandy. So, the
plan this is morning we're going to go up on top of that hill up there and sit and
do some glassing and see what we can see. Got a little bit of glass in last night,
after we set camp up. We didn't see anything, but it's just a waiting game that's great catch you later.
and so it's morning of
day two. Busy day yesterday, getting into country, getting camp set up.
It's been worth the effort, we're in this spectacular valley. Big mountains on both
sides huge field of view right the way down from top to bottom. It's pretty cold
last night, hopefully that's got things moving
around, but what's great for us today as the weather is still dry. Little bit
overcast, we may expect some rain later on this afternoon, but for now it's nice
and dry and it's stil.l I think the plan is to just get up onto the ridge on the
right-hand side of us up here, see if we can see anything up there you've got a
great view all the way up and down. We're not too far from camp, so we
don't need to venture too far, we don't want to go scenting the area and putting
too much disturbance on the ground that we're gonna be hunting. There's a lot of
caribou tracks here, so I've seen a couple of moose tracks just upon the top.
So, yeah things are looking pretty good it's just great to be here really, you
know it's living a lot of time, effort, energy and getting all this put together
and to finally see it here we're on the ground and we're about to go hunting, it's pretty
exciting. So, full day ahead so I suppose we better get to it.
As usual eagle-eyed Wildey is the first to spot game. High on the mountain side
opposite from camp is a grizzly sow and two cubs meandering across the tundra.
At over a thousand yards away we take a closer look through the Hawke Endurance
ED Spotting Scope and get some great footage of this magnificent apex
predator and the next generation that will undoubtedly dominate this area.
There are estimated to be around 30,000 grizzly bears roaming Alaska's interior.
These voracious predators have had a significant impact on the moose and
caribou populations, prompting the Alaska Fish and Game Department to increase
quotas and lengthen the hunting season to bring balance back to the region.
As the sow moves on to new hunting grounds so must we. As we begin the arduous trek
up the ridge behind camp and across the plateau beyond. Today, is about exploring
and trying to find the best vantage point from which to survey the hunting
area. It's all very new to us and we take our time to figure out the optimum route
through the tundra. This is where it helps to have an experienced hunting
partner like Steve to discuss the various options and formulate a plan.
Once in our elevated position the entire valley opens up in front of us.
So, first morning out on the hunt second day camp of course Steve and Mark have been in
field for an extra day waiting for us to come in and already we've got action.
Steve first thing this morning after your first coffee mate, yeah found a nice
grizzly sow on the mountain over there and she got two cubs so we spent about
an hour watching her go backwards and forwards and then all of a sudden must
have been a bore up there or something, protecting the cubs she just bolted
straight over screaming we lost sight of it it's good to see some animals out in
the mountains so early, so we took kind of a walk up after breakfast came to
this high spot beautiful sunshine, the conditions are fantastic winds are now
favored kind of blowing from the side that we can't get to over towards us and
within what five minutes of sitting down Wildey spots for another caribou. So,
it's handy having you along really. The only reason you brought me, certainly not for
your company my intellect or conversation. Yeah, that's actually two
bulls down there, one of them looks like it's just in the process of finishing it
shed, its kind of clear at the top of this bit red and there's another one
kind of with the PAR nation at the top. So, they're probably around 1200-1300
yards away something like that. So, gonna head over there it's even get a bit
closer I get up on the high ground downwind of them and see what we can see.
But, so far it's been a productive day. Mark's got a caribou tag, I've got to
caribou tag, so it would be nice to get this wrapped up by lunchtime,
yeah, yeah, yeah, no messing around. So, I supposed Steve we better get over there.
With the possibility of doubling up on the two caribou Bulls there's a
renewed sense of optimism and a purpose in our stride. We pause periodically to
get our bearings the ground continually changes shape as we progress with new
ridges nulls and ravines appearing from nowhere. The weather may be beautiful, but
it makes the track a lot tougher as we struggle to control our body temperature.
Our Frontier Gear Frame Packs contain the essentials such as food, water, extra
clothing and survival equipment, but they still weigh in around 45 pounds and you
can definitely feel the extra weight. As our elevation increases so does the
quality of our view. From here we can formulate our approach into the caribou
which have disappeared from view and are evading our advances.
So, we've had a nice little walk this afternoon. It's about midday, of course we started off saw the
caribou just behind us here. The winds been swirling around we're
trying to find vantage points, but once you get into the ground it looks very
different from it does way back at a vantage point. We've had to make a slightly
different plan and get to higher ground, the wind keeps swirling and changing in
these valleys down here. One minute it's in your face, next time it's coming from
the side of you and then worse still explode from behind you, but we've made
some good headway, Steve. Yeah, well good headway, we haven't covered that much
ground, it started 800 yards as the crow flies and about three miles up and down.
That's the way it is around here and we've made a plan and we do you know we've got
the high ground just below the mountain and so we're gonna push a bit further
around aren't we? Yeah, we are. That's a difficulty, here what looks flat from a
mile away suddenly turns out to have lots of undulations and there might only
be 20 feet high, but that's enough to cloak completely a caribou. So, the best
thing really is trying to stick with the high ground as best possible. You
actually do get a pretty good view, the only downside is you miss outside of
some of these inclines so if they do walk up the valley a little bit closer to
you might not see them. But, I think we've got a really good opportunity of looking
down some of these ravines behind us, hopefully get the right side of the wind
and then work our way back to camp and I
think that''ll be a pretty good day's work.
Good idea, I suppose we gotta get moving.
As we get closer to the mountains, the
incline increases dramatically. Whilst the vegetation isn't too problematic, the
sheer physical exertion is beginning to take its toll. But, every yard we climb
brings us closer to spotting the caribou, which are almost certainly laying down
in the heat of the afternoon Sun whilst we toil on the slopes of the mountain.
We may be weary, but must also keep our wits about us. The terrain can be treacherous
and a sprained ankle or worse still a broken leg could expose us to a long dangerous night in the tundra.
The view from here is simply breathtaking and
it's been well worth the effort. Now we can scan the area ahead of us in detail
and spot the caribou and agree the optimal approach.
I take the opportunity for a brief siesta, before the afternoon's exertions.
But, there's no rest for the wicked, we spot a brief glimpse of one of the bulls
and quickly make our way down the mountain towards the river.
We estimate it will take us around an hour to reach the area, which means that time is
against us if you want to harvest the bulls and then reach camp before
nightfall. There's a feeling of tension and urgency in the air, but we must be
patient and careful in our approach. The wind and the valley is constantly
swirling and it would take but a whiff of our scent to send the bulls beyond our reach.
We drop packs as we approach the ridge beyond which we believe the
caribou are grazing. We need to be light on our feet and ready to take a shot at
a moment's notice. My sixth sense tells me were closed and I spot one of the
Bulls grazing ahead and signal its location to the guys.
This is undoubtedly one of the bulls we spotted earlier in the day. Its distinctly shape antlers
and beautiful white neck er unmistakable
We must now establish the location of the other bull, which is almost certainly
in the immediate vicinity.
And there he is, just a few yards between them this really is the perfect
opportunity. both mature balls and both in safe shooting positions. We move into
position using our Vanguard B 62 sticks to provide an elevated shooting position over the willow
We must now wait for them to rise.
The first bull is aware of our presence and stands
As mark loads, I wait patiently to the second bull to make his move.
Mark's first shot connects perfectly, but my double longshot didn't immediately
anchor the bull and so I put a second one in to bring him down.
With both bulls down, we gather our packs and head down to pay our respects to the fallen game.
Our first job is to take the bulls and complete our harvest tickets. This is an
essential part of the management program here in Alaska with every animal
harvested accounted for including where and when it was taken.
My bull is younger it is still clearing the velvet from its antlers. It has a dark hide and is quite
large in the body. Marks has a beautiful rack and spectacular hide. I'm sure both
will make for great eating. Our next job is to get the guts out of the bualls as
quickly as possible so the carcasses don't spoil in the afternoon sun. With
the bulls tagged and cleaned, we mark the position on the Garmin inReach GPS and
make our way back to camp.
So. I suppose you could call that a pretty epic first
day in the field. You know, we're pretty tired after coming in yesterday and
setting up camp so we thought well we just nip out for half an hour have a bit
of a glass around, a bit of a scam and as it always happens we find two boys. Yeah,
so Wildey managed to see bulls run at about 800 yards away, maybe, maybe
about that and I thought oh well we'll just go a little bit further and then a
bit further and then we went. So we started off up on the right-hand side
here up on these high points and then we came down into the valley, now we lost
sight of the caribou for a little bit because we were kind of in in there in
the thick of things so he went up to higher ground sat and glass for a bit
and if you're patient eventually things come to you.
We knew the animals were down there the last thing you want to do is get in
there spoil it with scent and worse still you could kind of bump something that's
pretty close to you. It's always be patient and given enough time something
will stand up and it did. Soon as the sun went in the cloud came over, boom it was
like flicking the switch. So, he saw one stood out with a really
white mane beautiful-looking bull, so we thought I will kind of make a move on it
so they came down kind of tried to outflank it, the wind was in our
favor it's funny enough it's changed now. It's playing straight down the valley
again, so when was in our face so it kind of trying to outflank it
we saw it move into behind a ridge. Got up on top of the ridge and now we're
kind of deciding what to do and lo and behold moved in closer and that was
the other one sat next to him so there were less than five-six yards apart
about six yards, yeah. Fast asleep both of them. Yeah, so then the
waiting game again, waiting for him to get up and we give it a bit of a whistle.
We tried all sorts of animal noises, we're just not scary enough I think, so
they were very uninteresting asleep standing up there for a minute. Yeah, so
quite kind of strange behaviour both us and from the animals themselves
and then we got a little bit closer and they both stood up. Mark's fabulous
neck shot dropped his one on the spot. Mine took a step forward as a shot it's
a the first shot was a little bit far back run up onto the top of the bank
what about 15 yards maybe and the next shot brought him down. So, very happy
with kills. They're right out there up on top of that ridge, which is going to take
some getting out tomorrow, but otherwise it's been a you know a pretty incredible
day, yeah the boys done good, good shooting, good walking, good hunting.
Yeah, in a good day and it's a bit of deja vu as well because we had this from
self and Wildley last year when we came and Mark was guiding us that time, we got
to in at the same time as well, that was 400 yards, actually this time
you know a little bit close by one 100 or 100 and something like that.
So, it's seen a lot a lot closer, but you know an epic first day and we were
really weren't expecting it. Trying to eased into it,
so just want to say congratulations to Mark first, thank you.
He's normally getting people into animals his first time he's
been out to come out hunting, which is great. Thank you very much
to Wildey for spotting them for us again. Yeah, no problem. You can come again.
So it's fine I'm looking forward to packing him out tomorrow.
yeah, tonight Widley;s going to do a bit of knife work and I'm gonna do
carrying, because I'm terrible with knives, all I can do is lift heavy things
for long distances. So, got a brew, got dinner on the go, yeah early night and
congratulations boys. Thank you, very much boys. Great night, excellent day.
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