FullCryHounds
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Just got back from my fall trip to Alaska. This place just amazes me every year. This would be my 14th year hunting this camp. We hunt out of Kotzebue which is in the northwest corner of AK., north of the arctic circle on the western edge of the Brooks Range. Weather this year was outstanding again. A few days of rain when I first arrived in late Aug. then most days were clear and around 60 degrees. Had several nights of frost and some beautiful northern lights. Our camp consists of one main camp located on the Squirrel River and about 6-8 spike camps, most located within 30 miles of main camp. The only way to our camp is by one of our two Super Cub bush planes. We have one quad in main camp which we use to travel 5-10 miles up river to several very good hunting spots.
My first client was Pat Boyer. Pat is the host and executive producer of the TV show ?Northwest Hunter?. His son Zack just recently took over the camera duties. They both really impressed me. They are extremely professional and Zack knew exactly what he wanted to video. Pat would be hunting for Caribou in a spike camp we call Blueberry. The first afternoon after they flew in, we spotted several grizzlies near camp. I think we spotted five different bears within the first 12 hours. The following morning proved to be the most exciting experience they've ever captured on video. Within minutes of stepping out of the tent, I spotted a grizzly feeding on a hillside near camp. We quickly headed up to a better vantage point for some more bear video and to start glassing for Caribou. There was a rock outcropping 150 yards away that we had watched a couple of red foxes lounging around in the day before. The bear was interested and spent some time snooping around this rock. Then it headed our way. I told Pat and Zack to get ready with the camera and set up my own video on a tripod. The bear came up to about 25 yards over a crest in the hill when it spotted us. Her body language was obvious that a charge was imminent. She put her head down and came. I was also pretty confident that she was just bluffing but it still made for some quick action to get her to stop. I caught the first part of the charge on my own video but she moved out of my cameras view for the second part. Zack captured it all. She was just bluffing and finally took off. Pat and Zack loved it, as did I. Pat shot a very nice caribou later that evening. Watch for the show next season on ?Northwest Hunter?.
We ended the season with everyone tagging out on their bear, moose and caribou. The caribou weren't around in the numbers they usually are but we actually shot some of the biggest caribou we've ever taken.
I also had two handicapped hunters who were amazing to hunt with. They were both a lot of fun and worked really hard for their caribou. After we had shot the first caribou about a mile and a half from our spike camp, I kept an eye on the carcass and a bear hit it the next day. We went back the following day and after watching the bear for a while, I told the one guy that I was going to call the bear in so we could get some good pictures of it. The guy thought I was nuts! The bear came in to about 75 yards and we got some great video of him and the client was thrilled to get a chance to see a grizzly so close. It was unbelievable how many bears and moose we spotted this year. I didn't think it could get better then last year but it was. I also spotted the largest moose I've ever seen up there about 4 miles north of our main camp. He was well over 70? wide but all of our moose hunters were already tagged out.
This year, I drew a grizzly permit for myself. I was planning on hunting the Omar river when I first arrived but several days of rain prior to arriving had flooded our landing strip on a gravel bar and so that plan was scrapped. Later on, we had 4 moose carcasses that we were able to keep an eye on and a beautiful blonde bear hit one several days later that looked like a nice bear. I watched this bear from 2 miles away and it glowed in the sun it was so blonde. The bears will cover the carcass completely with grass and brush they scrap up from 20 yards around the carcass and lay right on top of it. They spend most of their time chasing away the pesky ravens and other birds trying to get bite to eat. The next morning, myself and two other guys headed to the bear. Tony would be my back up and Todd would video. We got to within 150 yards and still couldn't see the bear because of the high alders around it but when I got to within 120 yards, it was looking right at me. I still don't know how that bear knew I was there. The wind was perfect, we were silent getting to that spot but that bear knew we were there somehow. I made it to 80 yards when it started up the hill but I had a feeling it would stand up to take one more look. I was ready and hit him in the chest when he did. He rolled once or twice and took off. I hit him one more time and found him dead about 100 yards away. This is the blondest bear we've ever seen up there. Not the largest but certainly the prettiest.
All the clients were done and we got all the camps pulled several days early so I was able to make it back on the 20th. The next day here in CO., we had 6 inches of snow!
