Family Christmas Bison Hunt 7-42C

[MooseNuts]

My family of 5 (13 son, 14 & 17 daughters, my wife and I plus our 2 yellow labs)were fortunate to draw a group Bison hunt for 7-42C 15-31 Dec. we applied for those specific dates as my 17 year old daughter would be home from hockey academy and would be able to go with us. She is an absolute hunting nut but she has missed quite a few hunts due to following her hockey passion. We use the time from finding out that we were successful until the hunt making sure that we have all the right clothing and supplies for this trip as we understood that it could be a cold trip.

18 Dec about -20 in PG. We pick up the 2 sleds that we were renting…too cold for them to start. Regardless we load up the wife’s 700 grizzly with tracks, a borrowed sled, the 2 rentals and everything else that we may or may not need for a week in the wilderness. At about 1400 we head to Dawson for the night to stay at a friends house. We’re able to pull the trailer with the 2 sleds into a garage for the night.

19 Dec about -30 in Dawson. Rental sleds start after being inside all night. Load up the family and head to FSJ to top off on fuel. We stop at a fuel station to top off so I figure I might as well see if things will start, NO LUCK. We continue our journey to the ranch on the Halfway River.

About -35 at the ranch. Once there we have a chat with Vern, he lets us know the best place to park then we part ways. A family friend met us at the ranch but his sled was haven’t anything to do with the cold weather. I use my truck to jump all the machines as they wouldn’t start on their own. We then load the 4 skimmers and we were off. Our friend decided that he would stay at the truck while we venture into the cabins at Horse Camp as he had a call that he needed to be on. My daughter and I would return later to bring him to camp. We departed the truck with the first load at around 1300. The ride in was cold but uneventful. Once at camp we unload, cut some firewood, start a fire and then my daughter and I ride 2 sleds back out to the trucks to pick up our friend. We arrive back to camp in the dark around 1700. Again nothing exciting about the ride in or out.

[swampthing]

Sounds like an adventure in the making!

[hawk-i]

Thanks for sharing your adventure, what type of sleds did you have that wouldn't start?

[MooseNuts]

20 Dec woke up to something below -40 as the digital thermometer we took with us said it was below its lower limit. The pull cord wouldn’t budge on the sleds and the batteries weren’t playing either. We decided to cut wood and stay warm. The family stayed entertained with crib, Uno and search words. As the temperature inside the cabin rose the roof began to leak. We spent time placing container to strategically catch the water. We were warm inside but a little damp. We took the time to decorate for Christmas and cut a tree. We made hand made ornaments with the supplies that my wife brought. We knew that the cold would eventually pass so in the mean time we were going to make the best of it.

21 Dec. still below 40. Still nothing budging on the snowmobile front. My oldest daughter and I decide to go for a snowshoe. About 500 yds from the cabin we spot a herd of elk on the mountain about 3km away. This was a boost to morale as we spotted our first game of the trip. We continue to snowshoe along the trail towards the elk for about an hour when we get a distinctive barnyard smell. When we come around the corner we realize that a herd of Bison had been bedding here no very long ago. Exciting times, but this particular herd isn’t in the zone that we’re allowed to hunt. We never did see this herd but we did see sign from them every day. When we get back the cabin we ended up snowshoeing about 8km. We warmed up with some chili and made a plan to get the machines running. I had brought our Honda generator and a battery charger/booster. We put the charger on sled #1with the setting on start setting of 20A. After about 30 minutes she fired. We repeated for sled #2. GREAT now we have a plan for the next day.

[Husky7mm]

Sounds like something great is gonna happen.

Its strange about the sleds. I use them for work, I have never had either of mine not start, even in about -40. Never worked in anything colder than -40 plus windchill. Too many problems when its that cold. I have a tundra with a 550f and an Arctic cat with a 600. The atvs don’t want to start past about -25 or so.
Looking forward to the rest of your adventure.

[MooseNuts]

[nature girl]

Ah this sounds like so much fun and to have your family with you and to make great memories.

[fozzy]

Sounds like an epic way to spend Christmas with your family

[MooseNuts]

22 Dec. still colder than the dark side of the moon. 0700 start the start sequence of the 2 high miler rental sleds (2014 Tundra 550f). My daughter and I off about 0800, sunrise is roughly 0945. On the way to Zone C we once again see recent beds from the local small herd of Bison. We see many rabbit tracks, a couple wolf tracks and wolverine tracks Once inside out zone we start to stop and glass. We spot some elk to the north just becoming visible as the sun begins to rise. They start to pay attention to us as we transit below them on the trail. As we pass them I take a quick glance to the left. Holy crap, Bison! We kill the sleds and try to find a place to take a better look. We end up on the edge of hill in a mature forest about 300’ above them and about 500 yds away. Our immediate reaction after watching them through the binoculars is the sheer size of these animals. We count 9. We can easily stalk to within range but we can’t figure out how we would get one out if we did connect. They are unaware of us so we decide to leave them be and hopefully they will move somewhere more accessible. We head back to the sleds in hopes of finding more. As we start the sleds the herd all looks in our direction and starts to move away from our location. They weren’t panicked but they were moving with purpose. We continue along the trail until we meet the river again. Crossing wasn’t an option as it is still ridiculously cold and it is just my daughter and I. We decide to travel back to where we encountered the herd. We hike in and see that they are travelling in the direction from which we just came. My thought was that they were travelling to an opening that we saw a couple of miles from our current location. We do a u-turn and head back towards the river crossing. Sure enough, a couple of miles back the trail, the herd has started travelling in our tracks. We slowly follow along deciding that at the “T” in the trail we would ditch the sleds and follow on foot. As we get to the “T” in the trail, I kill my sled and look to the right. Bison!!!

[whitlers]

Love this story so far. Keep it coming!