Family Caribou Hunt in the Yukon.

[North61]

Just finished a great hunt, we were able to win a draw for a herd in the Yukon that is not hunted with a regular tag and so has light hunting pressure. Unfortunately after doing more research I realized that the place I was planning to hunt with my surface drive-canoe was just outside the normal summer range of the caribou. I looked at all the streams going into the main range and it was going to take me days to get in there. That would be fine but I needed to go back to work within 10 days of the hunt and so I loosened my purse strings and paid for a Beaver flight in. The flight itself was an adventure though it was raining when we went in and I admit that seeing the plane take off leaving us with a mound of our gear on our 10 yard "beach" surrounded by a mountain of alders up a hill, in a steady rain was a bit disconcerting. However we hiked up our hill and found a tricky path up. Finding a flat spot big enough for our 6 man tent was a bit of a challenge. We found one that left 60% of our floor usable for sleeping and 40% good enough for gear storage and that was good enough for us. Turned out that the big rock situated mid floor made a good pillow lifter for me and was an excellent heat sink during the warm weather we experienced. Who knew? We situated our kitchen area about 20 yards down from our tent and left our food -bear-barrels at our beach. As we flew in in the afternoon that was about all we got accomplished that night. I did make a nice dinner of shepherds pie using dehydrated hamburger and potato and double gravy. One of my tasks was to teach other members of the family how to operate the pair of Optimus 111 T stoves we use for canoe trips! That was the end of day one. More pictures and story to follow. I'll be cutting up meat today and will post as I take breaks.

1) Getting the food ready: It's important to involve everyone from the start.

2) At the Airport: The kids had a great camp. They can now pitch their own weight and then some! The two canoe boxes made to a Gil Gilpatrick pattern were also stars, acting as food barrels, prep table, stove top, and even as a chair. The sled could have staid at home.

3) Drop off and Abandoned? This was our first fly in hunt. I have always been in control of the means of travel. I admit it was a funny feeling having the plane fly off with no means of removal other than walking or relying on someone else to get us. Weird but also somewhat freeing.

4) Adjustment. Hot food and a dry shelter and we got comfortable in new surroundings!

 

[North61]

That evening we saw a moose at the other end of the lake (nearly a mile) through the binoculars I thought it might be a young bull moose. My son was making a fair bit of noise and the moose wondered off. That was a good lesson for my boy and he took it to heart. Next morning the moose was back and coming up the other side. I confirmed he was a male and we went for a closer look. Even though they look like they are sauntering along feeding they move a lot faster than we can through alders. 5 foot long legs are pretty handy! So we didn't get close to the moose we did however circumnavigate our lake and learn how to do bog crossings. I learned never to go anywhere without my rain pants as we got hit by a pretty heavy rain and the kids learned to always bring their water bottles as they needed to mooch of us and we all went thirsty. When we made camp again the cold drinks we had in our mini-cooler were worth a lot! We understood our country better and were ready for our big hike on Day three. (Continued)


Kitchen Spotting. I use a Leica 65 Televid disguised in a cheap Cabelas cover. Less of a theft risk if people don't know your spotter is worth more than your truck.

A crappy digiscope picture of the moose. Still learning. He is there!

Crossing Creeks. My daughter read Andrew Skurka and uses quick drying light shoes. Not a bad idea for a light athletic person with a light load as once heavy boots are wet they take a long while to dry! And they did get wet!

More to come.

 

[North61]

The next couple of days we improved the camp and then went up high in the Alpine and found it took 8 hours or so to break out of the brush and free of the vegetation. I was worried with the extensive brush bucking that bringing a Caribou down would be beyond or at least at the limits of our combined strength. The sled I had placed some hope on would not work through the heavy spots. This would be sure pain and determination. I have gained some fitness and strength over training the last year but was still pretty heavy at 275 pounds. My daughter is strong but young and my son is a good endurance athlete but not with a big pack on. Water was also a constant struggle as the heat soared to 30C
or 85F. We found enough streams to keep us going but this was heavy work. In any case it was a great learning experience. At the end of the day we went back to base camp and I scoured over the maps to find a good route and assembled gear to set up a spike camp to give us a half way point to equip with our 8 liter water bag. This was going to be hard work!

Setting up the bear fence to keep my wife feeling safer on our ascent to the Alpine.

The vegetation was everywhere low and sometimes got hard to get through. ! was carrying a stainless A-Bolt in 325 WSM that has been a good accurate arm.

We made our break for the high country...heavy going at times. Lots of caribou sign and even a skeleton but no live caribou.

 

[North61]

After our big trek I took another camp day. We started the day seeing a nice cow moose stroll within 400 yards of camp and head up the way we had gone yesterday. I cooked some nice meals on the Old 111 and set up a bug shelter on very uneven ground that became a place for the kids and I to tell stories and plan spike camp. High adventure for a 12 and 14 year old!
The bug hut

At about 6:00 PM I roused myself to make dinner (Burrito night) but went to my spotting hill to look around. Half way up the hill I spotted a caribou rack about 220 yards away just to the north of my spotting hill. I was carrying my camp gun a Winchester 95 loaded with four 300 grain Woodleighs. I went uphill where I could see his body and kneeled to take a shot high on his shoulder just over his back. The big bullet didn't expand much and put a hole through him very low behind the heart. It anchored him and I closed to 75 yards and took him through the shoulder and that finished him. This bullet expanded but didn't wreck too much. Now we needed to clean him and carry him to our pick up point as well as call for the Beaver to pick us up. That created some drama as the global star sat-phone failed on the first 15 attempts. Iridium is the way to go but they were all rented out. It was 4 hours of gut breaking labour but we all pitched in and got it done.

The boo

Kate can pack a front quarter!

After being obsessive about odor management I now had a gut pile 400 yards from camp and a load of meat 100 yards from camp. The bear dinner bell was on and I admit to some anxiety. I didn't sleep much and heard the bear in every sound. With-out the bear fence I think I might not have slept at all. Having your kids to protect raises the anxiety level a might. The plane arrived 2 hours early so we un-struck camp in a hurry. It took two trips and I staid behind with the meat. I am glad this wasn't filmed as I think I might have resembled a nervous wreck as I marched about with my rifle and kept turning around to see what was behind me. The plane coming back was a relief. Never been this way before but I was on full alert. Having my family with me was a privelage I can't explain. Having the caribou materialize like a ghost to feed me gave me a spiratual jolt I can't explain. Best hunt of my life. Being on foot and in total wilderness was amazing. We are now back home and can't get over running water, a working toilet and the size and comfort of our house. 6 days away has put life in a perspective that is out of balance with the time spent. Thanks for sharing this with me those who have hung in there and read this. I also have a video if interested. Great trip!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgE_V7KrDIw

 

[goose21]

Awesome hunt and story. Great family time with some awesome memories

 

[hodgeman]

Very nice! Looks like a great trip.

I have the same sentiment about being in charge of transportation... I hate getting dropped off and depend on someone to pick me up.

I also oddly have the same reaction to having the family with me...I get hyper attentive to stuff like smells and sounds. Just chalk it up to being a good Dad.

 

[River Rat]

Great trip! Thanks for sharing.

 

[North61]

Thanks for the comments. That was a great trip, the caribou is delicious and the freezer is full. Ready to go back to work with a bit of a smile. But my back is still sore and I think I might need to get a back pack with working load lifters!

 

[kaboku68]

Awesome trip and a great caribou.
I am curious about two things. Your camp box(looks awesome for that type of hunt) and your Winchester 95.
Is it a 35 Whelen, 35 Winchester or a 405 Winchester?

Sincerely,
Thomas

 

[North61]

Thomas...The Camp boxes are designed by Maine guide and Educator Gil Gilpatrick for canoe trips. http://www.gilgilpatrick.com/outdoor-gear.html
I built these to Gil's design with 1/4" plywood and Epoxy. They are an awesome design. !

The Win 95 is in 405 Winchester it's one of the recent Japanese made Winchesters and it is very well made indeed. Quite possible to hit 2400fps with Benchmark and a 300 grain bullet. Very accurate too.

 

[luke moffat]

Awesome report!! Loved the pics and story!! Thanks for sharing. My wife and I head our for our annual caribou hunt here in less than 10 days!! Can't wait!

 

[North61]

Thanks Luke. Good luck on your hunt. Our caribou is some of the best meat we have ever had!

 

[Shrek]

Congratulations again ! Iloved the video of your family having a great adventure together.

 

[North61]

Thanks Shrek..It was a great hunt. Now I am back at work! Horrible transition.

 

[North61]

Sorry Hunt 101 appears to be down and all my pictures for this story are gone. If it doesn't come back I'll have to find a new place to post images.