Family Christmas Bison Hunt 7-42C

[Brew]

This is great read so far.

[horseman2]

Great story and detail but waiting for the next series is like waiting for Yellowstone . . . keep it up.

[MooseNuts]

Sorry guys I was working on the road and typing a story on my iPhone was getting old. I'm home so hopefully I can get this buttoned up.

To our left was Bison or should I say hooves and assholes! As soon as I noticed the Bison they noticed us and they were GONE. We ditched the sleds and followed on foot hoping to catch one on the trail. We followed them along the trail for about 45 minutes which led into another clearing where they eventually all walked into the woods. It was about 1400 so we decided to make our way back to camp to share our story with the rest of the gang.

23 Dec still brutally cold. My daughter and I were up and out of camp early full of excitement and hope. We sled to about a 1km from where we had last seen fresh sign and hike in from there. They had come out of the woods not far from where they had entered and bedded down. There was tons of sign but no bison. We decide to hike instead of running the sleds in hopes that we wouldn't spook them. We head back to the cabin early in the afternoon feeling defeated.

24 Dec the weather still hasn't changed. We once again sled to within a km of their last known location. NOTHING! Back to the sleds to continue our trek down the trail. About 30 minutes later we once again cut fresh tracks. We kill the sleds and start on foot one again. We find fresh beds and very fresh sign (steaming crap) on the trail. Yet again they have given us the slip and wondered into the thick timber. This is the farthest back that we have encountered them. They are getting very close to the river but the don't seem to want to cross the river. Back to camp empty handed again. We enjoy some of our traditional Christmas Eve activities, an UNO tournament followed by a Chinese Gift exchange.

25 Dec, slightly warmer than previous mornings. Santa has managed to find us, even though we're in the middle of nowhere. We enjoy Christmas morning opening stocking. My middle daughter decides that she would like to come along today as this will probably be our last day as fuel has become our limiting factor. We took 130L in with us and I wanted to keep 30L for our ride out. The 3 of us sled into zone C. We encounter fresh sign again where we had seen the sign on the 23rd. It appears that they are making their way back towards where we had seen them the first time. We spend the day hiking and snowshoeing but we are unable to see one of the majestic beasts again. We return to camp empty handed yet again.

26 Dec, -25. We wake up to the northern lights and began packing and loading for the ride back to our trucks. Even though we didn't harvest a bison this was probably the best Family Christmas that we ever had. Nobody was fighting over WIFI or X-Box. We spent time tobogganing and playing in the snow. My family hasn't stopped talking about our Christmas spent at the "Cabin".

We did learn a bunch. The rental sleds were very very frustrating but there really wasn't much we could do about it, we decided to make the best of it. The fella I rented them from did cut me a very good deal once he heard about all the troubles. We decided to take 2 chainsaws, which was a good idea because they didn't really like the cold. We had lots of food and warm clothing. Fuel, I thought 130L would have been more than sufficient but it clearly wasn't. 4 stroke sleds or a more modern E-TEC may have helped with fuel consumption.

All in all it was an amazing experience. If I ever manage to get picture posting figured out I've got a ton to share.

I image I'll have to post about our family fly in hunt for caribou next.

Thanks for reading

[Smokeeater]

That was a great story! Thanks for sharing it.

[Husky7mm]

Thats pretty cool and a really nice why to spend Christmas. Get away from the rat race. My family couldn’t pull it off.
Those 550f’s are terrible on fuel, my 600 arctic cat uses half the full and oil, its efi. The newest tundras are supposed to be much better. The hard part is finding one. Thank you for sharing your adventure. There are a few tech savvy individuals on here that could probably make quick work of your photos. I would offer but am slow with tech and can’t seem to get a nice sized image that doesnt have to be clicked on to view a viewable sized image. I use post image from the I phone.

[Keta1969]

Sounds like quality time and a tough hunt. To bad about the sleds. Nice story.

[jamfarm]

Great experience, thank you for sharing.

[dru88]

What a great way to spend christmas with the family. Great memories.
Thanks for the share.

[moosinaround]

My one Bison trip was 2009, and at the end of November. It was cold, and our first time ever wall tent camping! Learned a lot about winter camping, bison hunting, and self reliance. Never killed a bison, but the trip was an experience I will never forget, in a good way!! Thanks for sharing your adventure! Your children will thank you as they relive this adventure with their children and friends! Moosin

[BCHunterFSJ]

Great adventure and story...Thanks!