Blair
09-22-2012, 11:30 PM
Thanks to Shooter, I managed to post the pictures finally. If you're having trouble with photos see his post, it will be a big help: http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/showthread.php?75851-A-step-by-step-guide-to-posting-pictures-(with-pictures)
I set out for Region 7 on Friday after work from the Lower Mainland, glad to be leaving the city and all the stress after planning this trip for almost a year. I met my brother at 150 Mile the next day and left my vehicle there at a friend's place. As I climbed into the cab of the F350 pulling the horse trailer and all our gear, I finally felt like we were really underway.
We made it to Mackenzie that day and camped at a forest service site for the evening. We watered the horses at the nearby lake and went to bed, excited about what the next days might bring.
The following day was a long day of driving to our intended set-off point. We again camped near a lake, tired from the driving but eagerly awaiting the morning.
We awoke to unsettled weather, but it didn't look too bad. It took a few hours to rig everything up and get underway. We had four horses. For the first part of the trip into our intended campsite, we would use a team of two pulling a buggy with us aboard and a trailer behind with all the gear. The other two horses got an easy time of it, just trailing along for the day. It turned out to be a much more strenuous day than anticipated... the "decomissioning" of the road we travelled on http://i1243.photobucket.com/albums/gg549/btrenholme/TessandTeak_zps62f54ec2.jpgwas severe, leaving steep and deep ditches, often filled with large boulders and water. By early afternoon the weather turned and we had rain and then snow to contend with. However, we made it to our campsite, cold and wet but not deterred, by dark and were glad to get horizontal.
The next morning was a bit wet and snowy, and when we looked around the area we were pleased to find an abandoned mining exploration camp nearby, complete with tent frames and an outhouse for our use. We decided to move our camp across the river to this nicer arrangement and set up there for the rest of the trip. After spending the better part of the day getting camp organized, we went for an evening walk along the valley hoping to see some game.
On Wednesday morning we woke up to mixed rain and snow. It carried on all day and we elected to have a camp day and let the horses have a rest as well. By evening there was about 3 to 4 inches on the ground
Thursday looked a little better, so we hitched up two of the horses to the buggy and ventured up the remains of an old road to see if we could follow it up into the alpine. The road was passable and we only turned over the buggy once on the way up. The only damage was a few bruises and a gouge out of my rifle scope. Later testing confirmed that it was still on target though. We stopped just short of the alpine and tied the horses to a couple of scrub trees, then proceeded further on foot. Visibility was poor and we couldn't see much but did spot what we think were some caribou tracks on the other side of the valley.http://i1243.photobucket.com/albums/gg549/btrenholme/SnowyDay_zps54e216b9.jpg
While we hadn't seen too much, we had determined that we could get into the alpine caribou zone. We picked up a grouse on the way back to camp. It was nice to have some fresh meat to add to dinner, even if it was only an appetizer.
Friday was a little nicer and we decided to saddle the riding horses and go for a ride up the valley to see what we could find... maybe a moose? While we had a good ride, the only moose we saw was a dead calf. We wondered what happened to mom and how long it would be before the wolves/bears found it. We took a wide detour around that area on the way back to camp as we had no desire to run into a defensive grizzly. There was lots of large bear sign in the area.
Saturday had a different feel to it, like something good was about to happen. We decided to make another trip to the alpine area and see if we could locate any caribou. We tied the horses in the same place as before and walked the rest of the way to the open country above. We glassed and scoped all the visible areas but didn't see anything right away. Walking further, I spotted a caribou cow just appearing from behind a slight knoll about 200m downslope of us. She hadn't seen us and we froze and watched. Soon another cow appeared, then a calf. Was there a bull around? We didn't have to wait long to find out. The bull that followed was a young one - two points on top. We relaxed a bit and watched them, all the time hoping that there would be others following. Eventually the first cow saw us, but didn't seem to understand who or what we were. She led the group in a circular path around us trying to catch our wind. By the time they were directly downwind, they had approached to within about 40m. Then the show was over except to watch the elegant gait of these animals as they fled and disappeared. Disappointed that there wasn't a mature bull in the group, yet excited to have seen some game up close, we picked up and headed back up and over the ridge we had been following. http://i1243.photobucket.com/albums/gg549/btrenholme/scanning_zps12908dc5.jpg
About half an hour later we were in a good position to glass and scope the area as we could now see a lot of open country around us. My brother suddenly said he had spotted a group of 12 to 15 caribou about 2 km away. There was at least one good sized bull among them. They were slowly grazing uphill towards a low point in the ridge above them, and the wind was blowing up the hill, in about the same direction as they were headed. Our stalk strategy was obvious - turn around, get out of sight as quickly as possible, cross back over the ridge and then circle around to the other side of the ridge they were heading towards. If we could get there quickly enough, and if they continued to head in the same direction, we would have a good chance to intercept them at the saddle.
About 20 to 30 minutes later we were approaching the back side of the saddle when a cow appeared on the horizon, 200-300m away. We froze, but she was staring at us. Were we busted? She wandered around a bit, keeping an eye on us, then turned around and went back over the saddle to where she'd come from and where we believed the other animals were probably located. How disappointed were we? We decided to move quickly to wait behind a small knoll closer to the saddle. Then, a cow appeared over the saddle, then another and another. Maybe this was going to be OK. Then a bull - count the points - not enough. They all continued to move along their original route. When they moved out of sight behind some higher ground, we took the opportunity to move again to a closer knoll. Just as we arrived there, I caught a glimpse of another bull. This time I was sure it was a big guy. My heart was pumping hard by now. We peeked up over the knoll and he was unmistakably big enough. We hadn't been seen yet. While I waited for a good shot, more cows and two more bulls appeared over the saddle and joined the first bull. I was hoping he'd turn broadside, but it didn't seem to be happening. Brother said "take him if you get a chance, at least one of the other two bulls is legal as well". Finally I had a shot and squeezed it off. Bang. Woomph. The sound of the shot making contact was really loud. Maybe because there was no echo of the shot to mask it in the open counry? He went down immediately. I put the binos on the other two bulls who were standing there confused. The one on the left has at least 6 points... take him I said. Bang. Woomph. Down he went. I put another round into mine, which had struggled back to his feet, and it was all over but the work. We had two beautiful animals down - 7x6 and 7x5 tops. They lay about 10m from each other. It was about 2:30 pm - after a short celebration we got out the knives and started work.http://i1243.photobucket.com/albums/gg549/btrenholme/heandbou_zpsd4578f2c.jpg
http://i1243.photobucket.com/albums/gg549/btrenholme/meandbou_zpsfa812a62.jpg
At about 4:45 we were nearly done so I urged Neil to go get the horses as soon as possible while I finished up. He was back at 6:40. Because of the open country and relatively smooth ground, he was able to drive the buggy right to the kill.
We had the quarters loaded and lashed down and left for camp in the failing light at 7:15. It was a dark night - no moon - and a very bumpy trip followed, down the mountain along a very rough, bouldery track. The horses could see well enough to ensure their footing but they didn't seem to care what the buggy wheels ran into... rocks, boulders, trees down over the track, etc. Needless to say, I ended up walking back as eight quarters of caribou filled all the available room on the buggy. Back in camp we took care of the horses, hung the meat, had a quick dinner, drank the two bottles of homebrew beer we were saving for the occasion, and went to bed a little after midnight. What a great day it was! Sunday was spent de-boning the front quarters and cleaning up the meat and the camp. Monday was the all day trek back to the truck. Then Tuesday and Wednesday were spent driving home.
I set out for Region 7 on Friday after work from the Lower Mainland, glad to be leaving the city and all the stress after planning this trip for almost a year. I met my brother at 150 Mile the next day and left my vehicle there at a friend's place. As I climbed into the cab of the F350 pulling the horse trailer and all our gear, I finally felt like we were really underway.
We made it to Mackenzie that day and camped at a forest service site for the evening. We watered the horses at the nearby lake and went to bed, excited about what the next days might bring.
The following day was a long day of driving to our intended set-off point. We again camped near a lake, tired from the driving but eagerly awaiting the morning.
We awoke to unsettled weather, but it didn't look too bad. It took a few hours to rig everything up and get underway. We had four horses. For the first part of the trip into our intended campsite, we would use a team of two pulling a buggy with us aboard and a trailer behind with all the gear. The other two horses got an easy time of it, just trailing along for the day. It turned out to be a much more strenuous day than anticipated... the "decomissioning" of the road we travelled on http://i1243.photobucket.com/albums/gg549/btrenholme/TessandTeak_zps62f54ec2.jpgwas severe, leaving steep and deep ditches, often filled with large boulders and water. By early afternoon the weather turned and we had rain and then snow to contend with. However, we made it to our campsite, cold and wet but not deterred, by dark and were glad to get horizontal.
The next morning was a bit wet and snowy, and when we looked around the area we were pleased to find an abandoned mining exploration camp nearby, complete with tent frames and an outhouse for our use. We decided to move our camp across the river to this nicer arrangement and set up there for the rest of the trip. After spending the better part of the day getting camp organized, we went for an evening walk along the valley hoping to see some game.
On Wednesday morning we woke up to mixed rain and snow. It carried on all day and we elected to have a camp day and let the horses have a rest as well. By evening there was about 3 to 4 inches on the ground
Thursday looked a little better, so we hitched up two of the horses to the buggy and ventured up the remains of an old road to see if we could follow it up into the alpine. The road was passable and we only turned over the buggy once on the way up. The only damage was a few bruises and a gouge out of my rifle scope. Later testing confirmed that it was still on target though. We stopped just short of the alpine and tied the horses to a couple of scrub trees, then proceeded further on foot. Visibility was poor and we couldn't see much but did spot what we think were some caribou tracks on the other side of the valley.http://i1243.photobucket.com/albums/gg549/btrenholme/SnowyDay_zps54e216b9.jpg
While we hadn't seen too much, we had determined that we could get into the alpine caribou zone. We picked up a grouse on the way back to camp. It was nice to have some fresh meat to add to dinner, even if it was only an appetizer.
Friday was a little nicer and we decided to saddle the riding horses and go for a ride up the valley to see what we could find... maybe a moose? While we had a good ride, the only moose we saw was a dead calf. We wondered what happened to mom and how long it would be before the wolves/bears found it. We took a wide detour around that area on the way back to camp as we had no desire to run into a defensive grizzly. There was lots of large bear sign in the area.
Saturday had a different feel to it, like something good was about to happen. We decided to make another trip to the alpine area and see if we could locate any caribou. We tied the horses in the same place as before and walked the rest of the way to the open country above. We glassed and scoped all the visible areas but didn't see anything right away. Walking further, I spotted a caribou cow just appearing from behind a slight knoll about 200m downslope of us. She hadn't seen us and we froze and watched. Soon another cow appeared, then a calf. Was there a bull around? We didn't have to wait long to find out. The bull that followed was a young one - two points on top. We relaxed a bit and watched them, all the time hoping that there would be others following. Eventually the first cow saw us, but didn't seem to understand who or what we were. She led the group in a circular path around us trying to catch our wind. By the time they were directly downwind, they had approached to within about 40m. Then the show was over except to watch the elegant gait of these animals as they fled and disappeared. Disappointed that there wasn't a mature bull in the group, yet excited to have seen some game up close, we picked up and headed back up and over the ridge we had been following. http://i1243.photobucket.com/albums/gg549/btrenholme/scanning_zps12908dc5.jpg
About half an hour later we were in a good position to glass and scope the area as we could now see a lot of open country around us. My brother suddenly said he had spotted a group of 12 to 15 caribou about 2 km away. There was at least one good sized bull among them. They were slowly grazing uphill towards a low point in the ridge above them, and the wind was blowing up the hill, in about the same direction as they were headed. Our stalk strategy was obvious - turn around, get out of sight as quickly as possible, cross back over the ridge and then circle around to the other side of the ridge they were heading towards. If we could get there quickly enough, and if they continued to head in the same direction, we would have a good chance to intercept them at the saddle.
About 20 to 30 minutes later we were approaching the back side of the saddle when a cow appeared on the horizon, 200-300m away. We froze, but she was staring at us. Were we busted? She wandered around a bit, keeping an eye on us, then turned around and went back over the saddle to where she'd come from and where we believed the other animals were probably located. How disappointed were we? We decided to move quickly to wait behind a small knoll closer to the saddle. Then, a cow appeared over the saddle, then another and another. Maybe this was going to be OK. Then a bull - count the points - not enough. They all continued to move along their original route. When they moved out of sight behind some higher ground, we took the opportunity to move again to a closer knoll. Just as we arrived there, I caught a glimpse of another bull. This time I was sure it was a big guy. My heart was pumping hard by now. We peeked up over the knoll and he was unmistakably big enough. We hadn't been seen yet. While I waited for a good shot, more cows and two more bulls appeared over the saddle and joined the first bull. I was hoping he'd turn broadside, but it didn't seem to be happening. Brother said "take him if you get a chance, at least one of the other two bulls is legal as well". Finally I had a shot and squeezed it off. Bang. Woomph. The sound of the shot making contact was really loud. Maybe because there was no echo of the shot to mask it in the open counry? He went down immediately. I put the binos on the other two bulls who were standing there confused. The one on the left has at least 6 points... take him I said. Bang. Woomph. Down he went. I put another round into mine, which had struggled back to his feet, and it was all over but the work. We had two beautiful animals down - 7x6 and 7x5 tops. They lay about 10m from each other. It was about 2:30 pm - after a short celebration we got out the knives and started work.http://i1243.photobucket.com/albums/gg549/btrenholme/heandbou_zpsd4578f2c.jpg
http://i1243.photobucket.com/albums/gg549/btrenholme/meandbou_zpsfa812a62.jpg
At about 4:45 we were nearly done so I urged Neil to go get the horses as soon as possible while I finished up. He was back at 6:40. Because of the open country and relatively smooth ground, he was able to drive the buggy right to the kill.
We had the quarters loaded and lashed down and left for camp in the failing light at 7:15. It was a dark night - no moon - and a very bumpy trip followed, down the mountain along a very rough, bouldery track. The horses could see well enough to ensure their footing but they didn't seem to care what the buggy wheels ran into... rocks, boulders, trees down over the track, etc. Needless to say, I ended up walking back as eight quarters of caribou filled all the available room on the buggy. Back in camp we took care of the horses, hung the meat, had a quick dinner, drank the two bottles of homebrew beer we were saving for the occasion, and went to bed a little after midnight. What a great day it was! Sunday was spent de-boning the front quarters and cleaning up the meat and the camp. Monday was the all day trek back to the truck. Then Tuesday and Wednesday were spent driving home.