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Thread: Region 6 Moose LEH

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2015
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    Vernon
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    Region 6 Moose LEH

    3rd season hunting large game now, mostly deer the last 2 but this season a couple buddies & I were fortunate to get an LEH for an area south of Vanderhoof. I have yet to down a deer, but damned if we didn't bag a nice bull late in the 1st week of our 2 week stay! Friend Colin & I are noobs to going after moose, good to have Rick with plenty of experience as our mentor. Rick knows the area & has had success there before. He has also returned empty handed on occasion, so we knew there are no guarantees.

    We made up a gear list prior to meeting in Vanderhoof. My contribution was 5 days worth of dinner meat as was Colin's. Colin also brought dozens of fresh eggs from chickens on his property near Ladysmith. Rick would break out his canned wild meat from previous hunts if we ran out.

    1st stop on the road for me was Cache Creek liquor store to enhance my beverage quota. I don't have a quad like the other 2 fellas, but I loaded up my canoe & Honda. The Taco was bursting at the seams.


    Breakfast at a beautifully appointed restaurant in Vanderhoof prior to driving south into our area. Some fine critters hanging on the walls to get us stoked for the hunt.


    Colin getting the trailer in position at the site under Rick's supervision. 2 Quads, accommodations for our stay & plenty of other gear crammed into that rig.


    Can't ask for a better location to set up camp.


    … stay tuned, more to follow....

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  3. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2018
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    Vancouver
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    Re: Region 6 Moose LEH

    Wow awesome location!

  4. #3
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    Re: Region 6 Moose LEH

    great stuff
    "If you ever go into the bush, there are grizzly bears lurking behind just about every bush, waiting to pounce, so you need a powerful gun, with huge bullets" - Gatehouse ~ 2004

  5. #4
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    Oct 2015
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    Vernon
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    Re: Region 6 Moose LEH

    A few shots of the camp before we get into the biness of hunting.

    My corner of the shelter. I saw a thread earlier enquiring about what folks are using, well this is your standard 20 foot temporary garage shelter that Colin got for just over $100 2nd hand. Not ideal but with the stove it kept us cozy enough. Mods will be made based on our experience so far, but the plan is to definitely use it again. Rick got some thick felt type material for the floor. It allows moisture to drain through rather than pooling.


    Rick's new stove complete with oven for baking muffins etc. Fried rice with chunks of fresh grouse meat that Colin bagged. Colin turned out to be the great white hunter during our adventure.




    The boys dropped me off for our 1st day hunting. Long hike around a lake for me, wasn't carrying anything to pop a grouse, so this one lives another day.
    Last edited by mike31154; 10-01-2022 at 06:18 PM.

  6. #5
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    Re: Region 6 Moose LEH

    Rick asked me to look for an old quad trail on my hike around the lake. Nothing obvious from the FSR where I was dropped off, but I did stumble upon it shortly before reaching the lake. Didn't back track to see where it originated, looked pretty impassable by any vehicle without a lot of work.


    Finding it made the hike to the lake a lot easier on foot though.


    This little lake wasn't that far off the FSR, but bush was very thick from the road. I spied a boat at the far end with the binos, so wondered if there was an easy way in from that end. Incentive to continue my hike around.


    Sure looked like prime moose country but no real fresh sign anywhere I stumbled & when I got to the boat it was not seaworthy. No trail in sight anywhere close. Must have rowed or paddled it from the other end.

  7. #6
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    Oct 2015
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    Re: Region 6 Moose LEH

    The rec site is pretty much a single camp, possible for maybe a 2nd with some additional clearing of deadfall. Sure glad we got there 1st and a great opportunity to get the canoe wet. Bob's Special all loaded up ready to go. Fly fishing gear, 30-06 and 12 ga. in the event I encountered waterfowl. A glass canvas...


    Missed a shot at a couple ducks in the creek at the south end of the lake, need to practice up after many years of not waterfowl hunting. Also helps to load the gun with #4 shot instead of #7, doh. I continued paddling around & decided to explore up a creek entering the west end. Had to portage a few beaver dams on the way in, but fairly easy to slide the canoe up & over.


    End of the line with the canoe without a substantial portage.


    I left the canoe & continued on foot following the creek until I came upon this wide open swampy scene. Where's Bullwinkle?? I also hiked up a high point & found some very fresh droppings.


    Turns out there is another way in from the road, but a lot of deadfall & marsh to negotiate either way. Rick said it would be a helluva chore to get a moose out of there. Still, a worthwhile scouting mission, great to explore! He also said if you get a chance, shoot it, we'll get out one way or another.

  8. #7
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    Oct 2015
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    Re: Region 6 Moose LEH

    Another fine day at camp. Can't get enough of the scenery when the weather cooperates like this. We did have snow during our stay, but fairly light. Clinton got nailed with a bunch.


    Before we get to the money shot, a narrative on how our time was spent. It wasn't all sweet scenery & a bowl full of cherries. The camp is well out of cell range so no communication with the outside world. A large network of forestry roads with active logging on weekdays. Long haul for the logging trucks so we could hear them roll by as early as 03:00 AM. Depending on route choice, Vanderhoof was over an hour drive & Prince George close to 2 hours. We planned 1, maybe 2 trips to town during our stay. The best laid plans of mice & men as the saying goes. Week 1 Colin noticed a wobble on a wheel of Rick's quad. They had a look at it & sure enough a bearing was shot resulting in a trip to Vanderhoof for parts. On the way back Colin's truck indicated a red no charge light. He hoped it was an indication error, but we confirmed the alternator was shot. It's a big diesel so battery drain is relatively low while driving. Nevertheless, this meant a possible unplanned trip to Vanderhoof. Lots of things shot, but no moose yet. Colin figured he could use the camp generator to keep the truck running on the way out, worst case, so we decided to continue hunting for a few days before another road trip.

    Good plan, Success! We had seen some cows with calves on our travels but no sign of any bulls. Friday evening around 18:00 a bull literally surprised Colin crashing out of the bush behind him to his calls. It took to 02:00 AM to get it field dressed, transported, hung & skinned. We toasted our success with a few beer, wine & spirits until hitting our cots at 03:00 AM. We had our moose, the pressure was off, although with our LEH we could take another. After a short discussion we decided that since Colin needed an alternator, why not take the moose to a butcher & get an alternator for his truck on Saturday? We wouldn't have to contend with leaving the quarters hanging for another week & dealing with transport & prep at home. Brilliant & worth every $. Unfortunately there was no butcher in Vanderhoof so we had to drive to Chilako Meats just west of Prince George. Long day after being up to 03:00 AM the night before. Chilako were awesome, highly recommended. We made arrangements to pick up the cut & frozen moose the following Friday on our way home.

    Colin with a fine young bull.

  9. #8
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    May 2006
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    Crofton BC
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    535

    Re: Region 6 Moose LEH

    Looks great! Always appreciate these writeups. Thanks.

  10. #9
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    Oct 2015
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    Re: Region 6 Moose LEH

    Our adventure was far from over & more of the story is worth telling, even though the 1 moose was going to be it this time around. No complaint there, that young bull yielded plenty of meat for the 3 of us.

    We had a few visitors to camp but things were pretty quiet for a few days. We ate well, the routine was to get up at around 05:00, coffee, a bowl of porridge & off to hunt. Return about 09:00 for a lavish brunch of bacon & fresh eggs from Colin's chickens. Then tend to camp chores or catch a few zzzs. I went for a paddle if the weather cooperated, caught 1 rainbow early in the week. Around 17:00 it was time to head out for the evening hunt. Generally we called it quits about 1/2 hour after sunset.

    The visitors I mentioned had asked about a guy called Jean who was supposed to be out bow hunting for the start of bow season in the area. They were from the island as are Colin & Rick. Jean was going after moose with a bow solo! Apparently he's a very experienced moose hunter but we're all wondering how he will extract a moose on his own if he gets one! A few days later Jean shows up at camp & Rick knows him very well. He's a SAR Tech with the military, quite a character, small world even out in the boonies. It was interesting to pick his brain about moose hunting techniques & calling. Jean set up camp a few km away & we offered our assistance should he need help getting a moose out. Many stories were exchanged & beers drank....

    Midway through week 2 I decided to explore the FSR that accesses the rec site a bit further. The logging trucks were rolling along it daily so I figured they might be pushing it a little further. I rode to Km 13 almost turning back several times due to snow on the road which is deadly on a 2 wheeler. Thick forest on either side other than a few cut blocks, it opened up to a spectacular valley view at Km 13 so I decided to stop for photos & head back to camp. This is when I discovered I had cell coverage since my phone went nuts with notifications. On return to camp I dutifully informed Rick & Colin about the cell coverage at Km 13. Colin hadn't called wife Faye since leaving home, so planned to head there after the evening hunt on his quad. Did I mention his quad blew a drive belt earlier in the week requiring yet another trip to Vanderhoof?




    I was just getting back to my motorbike after the evening hunt when I saw Colin fly by on his quad back to camp. Huh? I thought he was planning to ride the other way to make a phone call. As I enter the road into camp Colin is on the way out with his truck. He says "Why should I freeze my butt on the quad when I can drive to Km 13 in the comfort of my truck?" Brilliant. This would have been around 19:30-20:00 hrs. Rick & I are back in camp getting supper ready, 21:00 rolls around & we're wondering what's keeping Colin. We decide that if he's not back by 21:30 we'll have supper without him. That we do, 22:00 & we still haven't heard from him. I brought 3 VHF radios for the trip so we could communicate & listen to logging traffic, but he's out of range at Km 13. We decide that if we don't hear from him by 22:30 we'd jump in the Taco & see whassup.

  11. #10
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    Oct 2015
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    Vernon
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    Re: Region 6 Moose LEH

    Around 22:15 a faint crackle comes over the VHF..."Km 8... slow...." 15 minutes or so later we get a clearer message "Km 7, dropped driveshaft, driving slow, stopping every 500 meters to check shaft..." After making his call home at Km 13, putting the truck into reverse to turn around, the driveshaft fell out one end. It's pitch dark so he's not able to find some of the hardware that might be needed to secure it. He wraps a strap around it to hold it off the ground, puts the truck in 4x4 using the front wheels to get him home.... very slowly, since the driveshaft is still spinning with a strap wrapped around it. Dude! Another trip to Vanderhoof anyone?? Anyhow the big guy makes it back to camp safe & sound. Next day we throw the driveshaft into the back of the Taco & head for the 'hoof. My first trip out since we set up camp.

    The Taco came in handy for the unplanned trips out of camp. It was also used to get bullwinkle back to camp in one trip, vs several with the quads.


    Chilako had the meat ready to go, bill split into 3. We divvied up the spoils & went our separate ways. That 1 bull provided a lot of meat for us, not sure I would have had room for more in the Taco. I pushed it all the way home, the boys spent the night in Clinton. Great trip, looking forward to the next one!

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