mdhunter61
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 3, 2010
- Messages
- 438
I was up in Alaska at the end of August for a flyout caribou hunt. It was considerably colder than typical late August temps in Alaska…as I was driving to Tok on the day before we flew out, we saw snow on mountains a little earlier than usual.
As we flew into the bush on Sunday August 30, there was quite a bit of snow on some of the high ridges. Guess we won’t be landing on these!
As we reached our hunting area, we located a ridge where the landing strip was free of snow. Here’s the second Super Cub coming in with my gear load.
After we got the tents set up and camp squared away, we went in search of a water source. As we were searching for the nearest water in a snow squall, we came on these big bulls, and watched them from about 100 yards away (you can’t hunt on the same day you fly in).
The cold weather really affected the caribou movement; it seemed like they left the country after our fly-in day. On the second hunting day, my hunt partner Jason connected with one of only two good bulls we saw. At the shot, the bull staggered over to the edge of the ridge and started tumbling down the side. Luckily for us, his antler caught in the loose rocks after 200 – 300 yards, or he would have tumbled another ¼ mile downhill.
Over the next two days, we saw a total of 4 caribou (it’s much more typical to see several dozen to a hundred in a day). I’m a meat hunter, and I told Jason I would try to harvest any bull we saw; just before dark on the 4th day, I shot this young one a couple hundred yards from the airstrip. It seemed like it took longer to confirm he was a male before shooting, than it did to field dress him! But, he would be good, tender meat for my family in Alaska to enjoy.
That night we had an amazing light show, as the northern lights stretched for several miles and came right over us – it seemed like we could touch them. This picture doesn’t do them justice, the actual display was much larger and more colorful, but my pocket camera wasn’t set up for night shots.
As we flew into the bush on Sunday August 30, there was quite a bit of snow on some of the high ridges. Guess we won’t be landing on these!
As we reached our hunting area, we located a ridge where the landing strip was free of snow. Here’s the second Super Cub coming in with my gear load.
After we got the tents set up and camp squared away, we went in search of a water source. As we were searching for the nearest water in a snow squall, we came on these big bulls, and watched them from about 100 yards away (you can’t hunt on the same day you fly in).
The cold weather really affected the caribou movement; it seemed like they left the country after our fly-in day. On the second hunting day, my hunt partner Jason connected with one of only two good bulls we saw. At the shot, the bull staggered over to the edge of the ridge and started tumbling down the side. Luckily for us, his antler caught in the loose rocks after 200 – 300 yards, or he would have tumbled another ¼ mile downhill.
Over the next two days, we saw a total of 4 caribou (it’s much more typical to see several dozen to a hundred in a day). I’m a meat hunter, and I told Jason I would try to harvest any bull we saw; just before dark on the 4th day, I shot this young one a couple hundred yards from the airstrip. It seemed like it took longer to confirm he was a male before shooting, than it did to field dress him! But, he would be good, tender meat for my family in Alaska to enjoy.
That night we had an amazing light show, as the northern lights stretched for several miles and came right over us – it seemed like we could touch them. This picture doesn’t do them justice, the actual display was much larger and more colorful, but my pocket camera wasn’t set up for night shots.
