AK Troutbum
WKR
We just got back from a quick trip trying to fill my sons any bull moose tag and this was for sure the coldest moose hunt I’ve ever experienced. The area we needed to access is about 30 miles off the road system and only accessible by plane or snow machine and because of cost, we chose the latter.
After initially trying to get in via a shortcut, and wasting several hours running a trail for about 15 miles or so, then running out of trail and into too deep of snow, we headed back to the trail head for plan B. We loaded the machines and sleds up, drove an hour down the road and made our second attempt. Finally, after a nice 2 hours of running up and down multiple rivers, we made it to the area were we could hunt.
Most of the bull moose have shed their antlers by this time and trying to determine a bull from a cow can be a challenge, especially when negative degree temps are factored in, with all of the issues associated with that.
We ended up seeing several mature moose but could never positively identify them as being bulls, so no trigger was pulled. Riding home at night with temperatures hovering around -10 was, well, chilly and a bit nerve racking making sure we were headed back in the right direction.
After getting back to the truck, loading everything up and driving back to my buddies cabin, we ate a hot meal and hit the rack.
So, now to make a long story short. Woke up this morning, temp. reading -26 F, unable to get one of the snow machines started after trying for about an hour, we decided that we should probably just call it quits. Since September we have made multiple attempts to access this area but have only been able to hunt it twice do to boat problems, work problems, school problems, and now snow machine problems. So, no moose to fill our freezer this year, but we still felt good knowing that we gave it hell!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
After initially trying to get in via a shortcut, and wasting several hours running a trail for about 15 miles or so, then running out of trail and into too deep of snow, we headed back to the trail head for plan B. We loaded the machines and sleds up, drove an hour down the road and made our second attempt. Finally, after a nice 2 hours of running up and down multiple rivers, we made it to the area were we could hunt.
Most of the bull moose have shed their antlers by this time and trying to determine a bull from a cow can be a challenge, especially when negative degree temps are factored in, with all of the issues associated with that.
We ended up seeing several mature moose but could never positively identify them as being bulls, so no trigger was pulled. Riding home at night with temperatures hovering around -10 was, well, chilly and a bit nerve racking making sure we were headed back in the right direction.
After getting back to the truck, loading everything up and driving back to my buddies cabin, we ate a hot meal and hit the rack.
So, now to make a long story short. Woke up this morning, temp. reading -26 F, unable to get one of the snow machines started after trying for about an hour, we decided that we should probably just call it quits. Since September we have made multiple attempts to access this area but have only been able to hunt it twice do to boat problems, work problems, school problems, and now snow machine problems. So, no moose to fill our freezer this year, but we still felt good knowing that we gave it hell!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Last edited:
