Page 3 of 4 FirstFirst 1234 LastLast
Results 21 to 30 of 34

Thread: Into the Muskwa-Kechika

  1. #21
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Location
    Lowermainland
    Posts
    6,453

    Re: Into the Muskwa-Kechika

    Great read ! Thanks for posting !
    Arctic Lake
    Member of CCFR Would encourage you all to join today !
    Read Teddy Roosevelt “ The Man In The Arena “ !

  2. #22
    Join Date
    Jun 2020
    Posts
    55

    Re: Into the Muskwa-Kechika - Part 4

    DAY 3

    I had that feeling. You know the one I’m talking about - like you just have to get somewhere, and get there quick. It had happened to me once before, on a snowy morning’s deer hunt, and it had resulted in the largest white-tail buck I have taken. I wasn’t about to ignore it this time.

    After crossing the river, I made my way slowly up a game trail towards the base of the looming mountain ahead. It was heavy timber, still dark and cool from the night. I went slowly, peering ahead and behind through the gloom for any sign of movement. Judging by the game trails, there were a lot of animals moving around in this valley.

    I stopped when I spotted a dark face of rock coming down to meet the rushing stream off to my right. It was a pinch-point, where two steep ravines came down from high above and met with the larger valley. This is where I wanted to be. Now all I needed was a place to sit and hide.

    Crack.

    I turned my head at the sound behind me. It didn’t take long to identify the source. Antlers were moving through the shadowed trunks, angling toward me.

    Slowly, I bent down onto a knee and raised my binoculars. It was a moose, its dark body blending into the shadows while the off-white antlers seemed to float along unsupported. The regulations in the area required three brow tines or ten points on a side – it took me about three seconds to see that this one was legal.

    Forcing myself to move slowly, I put down my binoculars and raised my rifle. I didn’t want to spook it, though it soon became clear that it had no idea I was there. Either that or it was committing suicide by hunter. The moose continued walking towards me, completely unconcerned, giving me plenty of time to double check the tines. Steam wafted out it’s nose in the cool, moist air. It just kept coming. Finally, at about sixty yards, it stopped and turned broadside.

    I shot.

    It promptly turned around and presented its other side. I shot again, and down it went.

    Just like that, it was over.

    I tried to settle my breathing before heading over. The moose had passed before I even got there.
    The largest moose I had taken up to that point was a spike-fork bull, so I was a little overwhelmed when I walked up to this one. I took a moment to appreciate the animal and the entire morning. From the moment I woke up, I felt like today was the day. It was one of those hunts that just seemed meant to be and I wondered at it all.



    After cutting my tag, I checked my GPS. Six hundred ten meters from camp, as the crow flies. Crazy.

    I got on the radio with my father-in-law.
    “Moose down!”
    “Yeah! Big one?”
    “Not bad.”
    I grinned, looking forward to the moment he came up the trail and laid eyes on the monster before me.








  3. #23
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Posts
    55

    Re: Into the Muskwa-Kechika

    Outstanding! Congrats. and thanks for telling the tale and posting the pics.

  4. #24
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Posts
    1,916

    Re: Into the Muskwa-Kechika

    Great looking bull, great pics as well

  5. #25
    Join Date
    Nov 2010
    Posts
    658

    Re: Into the Muskwa-Kechika

    Very nice bull. We all know that “feeling” when it’s the right day.

  6. #26
    Join Date
    Jun 2020
    Posts
    55

    Re: Into the Muskwa-Kechika

    Thanks for all the great comments. FYI - still two days left to tell, so keep checking back!

  7. #27
    Join Date
    Jun 2020
    Posts
    55

    Re: Into the Muskwa-Kechika - Part 5

    Day 2

    First day of hunting! We were up well before dawn – well, my father-in-law was up well before dawn, so were, too. The outfitters had breakfast and, most importantly, coffee ready by the time we were dressed and had our gear sorted. We gulped it down by the small fire and made our plan for the day.

    We decided to stick together and head up river for the morning hunt. The area was new to us and we figured it was smart to stay local until we got the lay of the land. We would come back for lunch, then head up the mountain in full daylight for the afternoon hunt if things weren’t promising riverside

    The morning was eerie quiet – no motors to be heard – just the river, which roared or hushed depending on how far the game trail we followed veered away from it. We made it to a promising gravel bar where the trail neared the river. From the tracks, it looked like moose and elk were using the spot as a river crossing. We spread out and hunkered down for a few hours, hoping to see something wade across the shallows, but nothing showed itself. We headed back to camp before lunch, eager to head up the steep mountainside to the bench above for the afternoon and evening.

    Before the trip, we were warned to be prepared to hike up steep mountainsides to access the best areas for game. I had diligently (for me, at least) worked out to prepare my body as best I could. In hindsight, I could have worked out a bit harder. Maybe three or four times harder. Between the ride in the day before and the punishing 2000-foot vertical climb with rifle and daypack, I was so tired when I reached the saddle that it was a few minutes before I could really enjoy the astounding view. A sort of low scrub brush splashed the mountain slopes red and patches of alpine fir stood out green-black against it. Mountains lay in sawed ridges all around.







    At the saddle, my father-in-law went one way up onto an adjoining ridge, while my friend and I went the other up a larger mountain slope. As we climbed higher, the view just got better and better, and soon we found ourselves looking down onto a heavily treed bench. It was perfect. I settled in lower down, while my ridiculously in shape hunting partner went higher still to act as a spotter. I told myself it was because he had the spotting scope and the bigger rifle, but we both knew it was because I was dying and he was barely winded.



    Once in position, we did a radio check, then settled in to wait for evening, when the animals would be most active. Cloudbursts mixed with sun drifted along the ridges and produced an incredible rainbow right over the ridge my father-in-law was on. I had a brief thought that maybe he would find a pot of gold.



    Every half hour or so, my buddy would let out an elk call. An hour or so later, I heard a cow elk call that suddenly changed to a moose call.

    Well, that was weird, I thought. The radio crackled.

    “Moose coming through the trees toward you! He’s big, but not sure if he’s legal yet!”

    I trained my binoculars on the bench in front of me, and was rewarded with a glimpse of black and some antler in a tiny opening in the trees. He let out another cow moose call.

    “He’s coming! Get ready!”

    After another few tense seconds came the words I was looking for.

    “He’s legal! He’s legal! Still headed your way. Get ready!”

    I got my gun up and found a comfortable position leaning over my pack, waiting for the moose to step out of the trees. But I never got the chance to see him again.

    At that moment, a little bush plane came humming up the valley to our left, just below us and right about even with the moose. It wanted nothing to do with the noisy plane, or maybe it decided the strange elk-moose calling up on the ridge wasn’t right. Either way, it turned tail and headed straight back into the deep bush, not to be seen again. We sat until dark, hoping he would pop back out again, but he never did. We met back up with my father-in-law at the saddle and headed through the blackness to camp, far down in the valley below.

    A good meal in our bellies and a warm fire soon had us feeling better about the situation, and we all agreed that seeing a legal moose on the first day of hunting was a good sign of things to come! Besides, sometimes these things happen for a reason - you never know what the next day might bring.
    Last edited by MooseDown; 07-10-2020 at 12:35 PM.

  8. #28
    Join Date
    Jun 2020
    Posts
    55

    Re: Into the Muskwa-Kechika - Last Part!!

    Day 1

    After months of planning, packing and repacking, today was the day. We headed out to Seymour and Tanner’s place for a home-cooked breakfast and a little get to know each other time. After all, we were headed into the wilds, and as newbies to remote hunting we would rely heavily on the expertise of our outfitters. We had met them the previous evening while getting our saddles fitted and meeting our horses for today’s long ride in. After breakfast, we helped stow the saddle boxes into the trucks, then marveled at the process of loading the horses into the two horse trailers.

    North-west of Fort Nelson, at the foot of the northern Rockies, we unloaded the carefully weighed pack boxes and laid them out in colour-coded pairs for their respective mounts. It was fascinating to watch them being loaded on the patiently waiting horses. We helped as best we could, which amounted to lifting them up and holding them in place until Tanner or Seymour secured them properly.





    I was re-introduced to Vanilla, my sure-footed and trusty companion for the trip. I felt lucky to have her – she was calm and steady and named for her beautiful colour. I slid my rifle into the scabbard and tied my rain jacket behind the saddle. We were ready. I mounted up, rather less gracefully than I had hoped, and fell into line as we rode along the highway ditch for a way. A car stopped to take some photos of us; we must have been quite a sight – thirteen horses in a pack train, like something out of another time. We turned into the woods and said goodbye to civilization for the next ten days.



    After entering the trees, Vanilla promptly rammed my knee into a tree. It hurt like a bugger. Tanner, watching from behind, let me know that she was testing me, to see how close she could get to the trees, as she would have to do less work if she didn’t have to go around them more carefully. He advised me to push off sideways from the next tree she got close to, which would throw her off balance. Apparently, horses hate that. I gave it a shot, and sure enough, with a snort of resignation, Vanilla began to carefully wind her way along the rough trail, giving plenty of clearance for my knees. We had come to an understanding, and I honestly couldn’t have asked for a better horse. I’d pick her again in a heartbeat.



    With every bump and turn of the trail, I was more and more thankful for the riding I had done before the trip. Of course, the trail riding I had done was on actual trails. Smooth, flat, and maybe a few trees along the edge. We were following game trails. Branches lashed out at our faces, the horses sunk in muck and leaped over small rivulets unexpectedly. On steep ups or downs, we would get off and lead the horses. I was thankful to get off and use some different muscles for a while. I was just as thankful to get back on Vanilla, because the new muscles were soon tired and sore, too.
    This rythmic pain continued for eight hours, minus a quick lunch break and a couple rest breaks for the horses. Up passes, through valleys, and along ridges, we followed Seymour with blind faith that he knew where he was headed. Finally, in the late afternoon, Seymour announced that we were getting close. I have never been so thankful to see a camp in my life.



    Of course, the work didn’t end there. We had to unload and take care of the horses, then get ourselves sorted in the wall tent that was to be our home away from home. But soon we were fireside, stuffing ourselves with the first of many fabulous, well-earned dinners. It wasn’t long before the dishes were washed and, exhausted as we were, everyone agreed to call it a night.

    When I laid my head down on my make-shift pillow (my sleeping bag stuff-sac filled with my jacket), I let the reality of it all sink in. I was out here in the true wilderness, far from home and far from help. I was out of my comfort zone and out of my league. My fatigued mind flitted like a butterfly through various versions of ‘what the hell am I doing here?’, before finally settling on one final thought before I drifted off.

    I can’t wait for morning.

  9. #29
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    Surrey - East Clayton
    Posts
    62

    Re: Into the Muskwa-Kechika - Last Part!!

    Thanks for telling the story. Makes me want to do it all over again! A trip of a lifetime that we have dreamed of for many years. So grateful we could do it together!
    .

  10. #30
    Join Date
    Jun 2020
    Posts
    55

    Re: Into the Muskwa-Kechika - Last Part!!

    Quote Originally Posted by Buchaneer View Post
    Thanks for telling the story. Makes me want to do it all over again! A trip of a lifetime that we have dreamed of for many years. So grateful we could do it together!
    .
    Yep! We’ve certainly had some adventures. The first time you asked me to come hunting, I wasn’t sure I was coming back...

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •