And…we are off!

[Gellar]

10/29 sunny 37 degrees SE breeze at >5mph, waves >1foot walked up creek at the head of the bay. glassed 10+ deer, 1 spike at 200 yards. One group of the Boat hunters went up east side of the head of the bay by where we went up a few days before they had arrived. The Other group of boat hunters went up south side of head of bay drainage. Half way up the hill my brother tells me his knee really hurts, but keeps going. He shows it to me at the first glassing spot and he has a huge infection on his knee from an ingrown hair or something. He continues on but in obvious discomfort. We saw 60-70 deer from 20 to 700 yards. None bigger than a spike. We spotted a Big boar bear at 4:00 pm. 527 yards se of our glassing point. Of course the bear hunter is not with us so all we could do was watch for 45 minutes before heading down the hill to home. My dad shot shot a spike a few miles away from the cabin on the beach for some meat and they also saw a single bear estimated at 8 feet but they couldn’t connect. A shot was fired but resulted in a clean miss over his back.

Panoramic view of where we were glassing.

A big Brown bear at 527 yards.

 

[Gellar]

After such a nice day on the mountain 10/30 was different it was 35 degrees and sunny but a wind from northwest at 40 mph sustained. When we got picked up our pilot told us Winds were Clocked 100 mph at Kodiak and they almost lost airplanes at the seaplane base. The Heater a Nordic diesel stove was struggling to stay lit. The Cabin roof sounded like it may fly off at any minute. Cabin day. To windy to launch boat from beach. Transporter was not launching hunters either. I Made backstrap stuffed with peak venison casserole wrapped in bacon and Heathers choice salmon chowder for a side. The backstrap stuffed with peak was excellent but the salmon chowder was no bueno, terrible, disgusting.

 

[duckhunt]

Great stuff so far.

 

[Gellar]

I just got home to Iowa. I’m going to hang with the family for a while then finish this up. Basically traveling for 24 hours to get home tires a guy out.

 

[Nick87]

I just got home to Iowa. I’m going to hang with the family for a while then finish this up. Basically traveling for 24 hours to get home tires a guy out.

Enjoy some time with the kids. Glad you made it safe.

 

[Jbotto]

I just got home to Iowa. I’m going to hang with the family for a while then finish this up. Basically traveling for 24 hours to get home tires a guy out.

We’ll allow those excuses here!

 

[Gellar]

10/31 I love to hunt on Halloween so I am pumped with high hopes. I sent my kids a happy Halloween wish on the inreach and later got pictures of their loot from visiting the neighbors. The Wind was from the northwest at 20 mph and the northwest blows right down the length of our bay. Waves started at 1-2 feet but quickly built to 3-4 feet. Snow in higher elevations. I decided if I was going to kill something I better do it so the first legal deer was in trouble and a spike fit the bill. While my other brother stayed at cabin with the infection in leg draining puss, applying hot compresses and eventually lancing it to drain more infection. As the rain was not letting up and the fog was thick i were Back to cabin by 1:30. I started Braising shanks on the Nordic heater and immediately the cabin began to smell better. But with 4 dudes unshowered for a week it didn’t take much to improve the smell. tbd how we will finish. The Transporter boat left around 1 pm headed for a bumpy ride. With another storm coming in Saturday night we Began discussing plan for our own extraction. Saturday appeared to be a better day than Sunday and we all decided that would be the best option if the air service was available. After braising the shanks for 5 hours I decided to shred and smother in onion and cheese for Shank Phillies. Shank Phillies on a tortilla for dinner were a hit although if I would have brought dried morels and peppers like I had planned they would have been better!

 

[Gellar]

11/1 first day of November! Last day of hunting? I can’t sleep and laid awake for several hours from 1 am - 2 pm. I Took 2 NyQuil at 1:45 am to try and fall asleep. I woke up at 6:30 drenched in sweat and my Sleeping bag smells like a gym locker. The Flight service is backed up because they could not fly 10/31. They Will let us know later that night if they can get us out the next day. Cold, heavy frost this morning. Left cabin before light to climb to glassing area. Checked a crab pot before climb, had starfish and a lingcod, but not a single crab. The Climb was slow and long, rain/snow started when we got to top. We set up glassing the area I had seen the bear at 2 days prior. Even though we could see in all directions only part of our glassing area was in the bear zone. It didn’t matter because we didn’t see a bear, or nearly as many as deer as we had before. We Came back down and back to the boat by sunset. The Seas increased with wind from east at 20 mph. We walked 2.93 miles walked 2,027 feet elevation gained. Boned out my spike deer to take home. No word yet on flight for Saturday.

 

[Gellar]

11/2 no word from air taxi first thing in the morning. The winds were calm and it was 40 degrees with hard rain at times, drizzle, fog. We boned out the rest of meat and decided we’d go for a boat ride. We Got word at 12 noon from the air taxi he could pick us up this afternoon if weather stays good so we hightailed it back to the cabin to pack and get ready. Most of our gear is wet! We will find out around 2 pm if weather is good for flight out. Weather not good at 2 pm. Ceiling 200 feet. 1/3 mile visibility. 2:30 pm skies lifted to 400 feet, 1 mile visibility. No flight out. They would try again at first light. Peak chicken pesto and baked chicken thighs for dinner, followed by peak peach cobbler and space ice cream. Chicken was left over from crab pots all week because they sure as heck weren’t catching any crabs.

 

[Gellar]

11/3 sunny with periods of rain. Wind 20 mph and increasing to 30 from southwest. Waves 2 feet and building. Williwaws at times. Air taxi was going to fly out and check but we told them not to bother, to much wind was coming over the mountain causing huge downdrafts and rough seas. They would Check again Monday morning. We are Hoping to get out Monday morning and still have time to catch our commercial flights home starting at 3:30 local time. Around noon I started braising venison to make chili using the peak macaroni and 3 bean chili. I figured it May taste like shit, but it will be better than the peak meal itself as by this time I am tired of them and and they are edible, but not enjoyable. I added the chili Mac around 5:00 pm with extra water in the pot but the Macaroni quickly soaked up all the water and the chili came out to thick. It was more like chili goulash but Decent, with a little hot sauce.

 

[Gellar]

11/4 we woke up to a cold morning. Frost and the sun is starting to come up. The roar of a beaver is quickly heard and we are headed home with 3 spike bucks but no bears. When we got to airport in Kodiak it was filled with hunters. Most had similar reports as ours. 1 hunter hunting with a guide didn’t even see a bear in 12 days. The infected hunter is out first to get to the Kodiak clinic. Ended up with a shot of antibiotic and another prescription antibiotic. The Dr said it was bad, but he has seen worse. He told a story of a hunter earlier this fall who had broke his tibia but continued to hunt, although unsuccessful. We also had to deliver some stuff to the air cargo at the airport to ship back to Anchorage, stop at Wally World for a few things, and get souvenirs for our loved ones at home. After getting all of our errands ran we got the airport in plenty of time. In anchorage we had a 6 hour layover so we left the airport for dinner with my brother and his wife before having a few drinks at 49th state brewery in the airport.

 

[Gellar]

So in the end we saw over 200 deer and got 3 small bucks. We only saw 2 bears the entire time we were out. The biologist said they had a terrible salmon run this year and the bears were scattered everywhere with no rhyme or reason. Talking to others at the airport they saw the same as we did. 1 hunter reported seeing no bears on a 12 day guided hunt. Another group got a small bear but by complete chance stumbling into it busting through the alders and it was the only bear they saw. The trip was amazing, the weather was amazing when it was and horrible if it wasn’t. The logistics of a hunt like this are crazy and it helps to have a person who can deal with it all. Since my brother lives in Anc he was the point man. Yes we could have rented more gear in Kodiak, but if you already have the gear shipping it on air cargo is relatively cheap and easy if you allow yourself the time. Plus it’s your own gear, not rental gear. They got the ferry up and going again while we were out. That would have made logistics easier as my brother could have driven his personal truck with all the raft, fuel cans, and large totes.



I’m glad to be back in Iowa.

 

[duckhunt]

That's a great trip gellar. Any reason for a bad salmon run, or is that normal on certain years?

 

[Gellar]

That's a great trip gellar. Any reason for a bad salmon run, or is that normal on certain years?

If you knew the answer to that you’d be very rich! The salmon runs have been crashing for many years. No one can seem to agree on what or why it is happening. Too much politics, not enough science.

 

[seeth07]

I’m glad to be back in Iowa.

Said no one ever...

However, having been to Kodiak and know the torture and pain of that place, I can firmly say that maybe Iowa does seem like paradise right now.

Glad you had a good and safe trip to one of the most spectacular places on earth. Sorry you didn't get any crabs, that's usually the easy and best part!

 

[F250]

Great report !! Thanks for taking us along.

 

[Nick87]

Great time with family in an amazing place, with three filled deer tags. Quite the adventure!

 

[Mica Man]

In Seattle on my way up there right now. Hoping for good weather. Sounds like you had a good time.