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.
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[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]

http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=8939&stc=1

[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!

[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!

[high horse Hal]

good times, tfs

[Leaseman]

Great tale, thanks for sharing!

[Citori54]

Thanks for the great story. A Christmas with your family that they will remember forever which is more important than the harvest of an animal.

[tigrr]

The adventure and the memories is the golden part of our lives. Thanks for sharing yours.

[CheesyLimper]

Great story, nothing better than sharing an adventure like that with your family. Very successful trip.

[tinhorse]

That's an awesome adventure and family time well spent. Thanks for the story and adventure. I look forward to the day I get my kids up there.

[swampthing]

Great family times! When your with the kids, taking an animal is a nice touch but the adventure is what really matters. Looks like you gave your family a great adventure.
My Buf adventure is just over a week away!

[HarryToolips]

Thanks for sharing your story, sounds like a great time and a great adventure... look forward to the pics when you post them..

[todbartell]

great story, thanks for posting it up for all of us. It was nice to meet you today and see the pics of your hunting season. cheers

If you want me to post any pics of your Bison hunt, email them to me at mark@nechakooutdoors.ca and I will post them up here

[walks with deer]

Glad you got the whole family out for a christmas adventure.

[kennyj]

Awesome story!!
Thanks for sharing your adventure.
Looking forward to your caribou hunt.
kenny