Alaska Caribou 2017

Flew in 90, miles with Tok air service. I was the first one dropped off. David was 2nd then Larry, then Kevin. Not much to do but glass. Couldn't hunt till the next day. I shot a ptarmigan. Caught two grayling. Went to bed at 7:30 exhausted. It rained all night and birds were flying all over. In our camp past our camp. Everywhere.

Did I say it rained all night?

I woke up at 4:30. 51 degrees. Still misting a bit. Wide awake. Had to get out of the tent.  Had breakfast. Kevin saw some that he thought we should all go after. So we did.  Crossed a stream then saw some decent bulls, but they were on the other side of the stream, the side from which we had come. David had gotten around. Us other three still were trying to find a spot to cross when David shot and killed a bull. A nice one. Got him all quartered up and pictures taken.

Headed back to camp. Got back to camp and saw more caribou. Nice bulls. Started coming our way. Larry got around the far side. Big bull was in the back. Larry shot the 2nd biggest bull.  5 times. Got him all taken care of. Ate lunch. Glassed a lot. Kevin saw another he thought we should go after. We got within 77 yards. Just couldn't get closer and he saw us.

Walked back to camp. Found two huge dead heads. Ate dinner. Time for bed. It's 10pm.  Walked 10.13 miles today.

Frost on the tent. Woke up to 35, degrees. Had oatmeal and went on top of a lookout to glass. Decent amount of caribou but they are all spread out. I passed up several. Just weren't quite what I was looking for. Had one at 21 yards. David got it all on film. Beautiful day. No rain. Pretty warm but a nice breeze.

39 degrees. Kevin killed his bull.

Saw a massive bull across the river and at the bottom of the mountain. Kevin and I decided to try to get ahead of him. Anyone that has hunted caribou knows how tough this is. Not to mention he was over a half mile straight west of us headed north. To catch up to him we would have to go about a mile and a half north and west and nice up the side of the mountain at the same time. We got to the spot on the mountain that we thought would be a good spot to wait on him. I wanted to make sure that he hadn't got past us so I went a little further on. I didn't see him although I saw a lot of caribou further on past. I started to head back to where Kevin was and I heard him whistle. I know the bull would be coming so I ran up there. Kevin said he's coming! I grabbed my bow and ran up the trail 30 yards.  I had zero cover. I saw his antlers coming over the rise in the ground. 

I ranged him at 41. My mind raced. Do I try to stop him or let him come. I ranged him again at 31. He was now completely broadside. I drew. He saw me and instantly reversed course. He started running back. I swung my bow along his body and just past his ribs. I released the arrow. I instantly knew it was going to be low. I had used my 2nd pin. I was thinking 30 yards and not the 40 he was at. I knew by his reaction that he had been hit but I didn't know how bad. I was sick. How had I missed? All the training. All the practice. To get a shot at a bull like that. And I had blown it. He started running up the mountain. His mouth was open. Maybe I had hit him more than I thought. I saw blood on his leg. I was hoping maybe I had hit an artery. He wasn't moving really fast. He was limping. The direction he was headed I thought maybe he would go over the top of the mountain and come down the backside. I ran last Kevin and said I'm going to the backside of the mountain to see if he goes that way. Maybe if he did he would bed down and I could get another chance. I pretty much ran and climbed the mountain to get as high as I could get.  I was winded. My lungs burned. My legs screamed. I kept thinking you can rest when you get to Kansas. That's what kept me going. Don't let pain get in the way of what you want.  That kept running through my head. I was getting on the other side of the mountain and there were caribou everywhere but I wasn't seeing my bull. I kept going up the site but dropping down into the valley between another mountain. I saw another good bull so I contained to watch him as I kept climbing. I kept waiting to see that big rack peak over the top. I waited at least an hour. He never came. I had gained enough elevation that I was at 4800 ft. Base is at 3126. I decided to go back and try to find Kevin. I kept my elevation as I walked back around. I had quite the view. I started going a little bit lower. I was almost right above where I had left Kevin and I saw a huge bull below. Then I saw a flash.  Kevin was taking pictures of another really good bull 6 yards away from him. I couldn't believe it. I knew the direction the bull had come from and the direction he was going to go. I started to run down the side of the mountain to try to get in front of him. I didn't think I had enough energy left to make it all the way down. I kept going. A fast jog down the side. I hadn't had water for over 3 hours. I thought I was going to get sick. Don't let pain...I got down to the base and got in front of the bull just enough. I had him at 50. I drew and just as I released he bolted. My arrow was perfect. Except he had moved...I was beyond disappointed. When they talk about the bow as the struggle stick they are right. It's a funny definition but only because it's true. I had the long walk back to Kevin and knew he would see I had only 2 arrows left. As soon as I got back he said did you shoot again? So I had to relive the miss again for the 2nd time. Then I had to listen to him tell me he had climbed up the mountain from his side and had found...

My bull bedded down. At 60 yards. What?!?! He said he also watched him graze and he appeared fine. Well, I could live with that. The bull had earned the right to live another day at least. 

We got back to camp to listen to stories from David and Larry and how many caribou had come by the camp all day long. 

We got some food and rested up a little. We had been gone for 5 hours. We had split a power bar and a bottle of water. 

I put a stalk on a big herd at the end of the day.  We watched a big group come down the valley to the south. We had plenty of time to get a good look. There were 5 really good bulls. I thought it was going to happen  I was positioned in a really good spot. I also has a rifle just in case they didn't get into bow range. Most of the bulls were 80 yards away.  Moving my way. What I didn't see was a cow that had come down off the mountain opposite of where the herd had come from. She saw me the same time that I saw her. Thought she would go back the way she came. Nope. She took off for the herd and blew. Took the whole herd with her. Had them at 240 yards but I didn't pick up the rifle. I was so disappointed but glad with myself that I hasn't used the rifle. All year long I had committed to using only my bow. Using the rifle as a last resort. We had only hunted 3 days.  Tomorrow will be another day of opportunities. Just stick with the plan.

I had hiked 11 miles.Had run up and down a mountain. Missed a monster bull. I was a little more than sad. I was worn out. I tried calling my dad. It was 11:30 back home. He didn't answer. I'm sure he was asleep. I knew my Uncle Jim would be up since it was only 8:30 his time. I told him the story of the day. He could tell I was exhausted. He said he could hear it in my voice. He told me I would get another chance  tomorrow. That there was another big one out there. I said goodbye feeling better. It was time for bed. Time for a new day.

I killed my bull. Started off the day by seeing three decent size herds come our way. As we have sent the last four days it's just a matter of which trail they are going to take and which one you try to sit on since you need to make a pretty good guess with archery. I watch two of the herds meld into one. Then a big herd of bulls comes straight down the river. It looks like they are going to stay on our side. There are two bulls I have my eyes on but I need a better look. Larry and Kevin are sitting up by the camp on top of a hill. I watch a bull go up right by them then come right back down running and comes within 15 yards. It looks like the herd is going to bust. Then all of a sudden they just bed down. I'm only 80 yards from the farthest. 70 yards from the biggest one. I just can't convince myself to sneak closer for a shot. He's just not what I came for. I back out and come around to catch up with Larry and Kevin. They have watched it all along with David. There are caribou everywhere. It's another one of those days where everywhere you look there are caribou. They key is trying to find the right one to go after. The one you have dreamed about for the last year. 

We see The Bull. They come fairly close to camp but it looks like they are going to follow the trail along the mountain on the other side of the river. Kevin decides to come along as support and to maybe film it. We run north along the river and find a good place to cross but we have to take the time to take our boots off. We get across and there are three cows. We freeze but they have already seen us. And instead of running away they come back by us and head to where the bull is. We get our boots on and I'm thinking this stalk is already over. We get up to where we can see and one of the small bulls that was with the one we are after isn't that far away. But the wind is wrong. He starts moving to the west.  I’m pretty sure the jig is up but I'm determined to see it through. I hand my pack to Kevin and tell him I'm going after him. I keep headed north and west to try to get to an ambush spot. I see the little bull again so I know I have a chance. I wait about 10 minutes looking for the big silver velvet antlers. I spot a flash of them. I'm still ahead of him so I keep moving nw. It's all uphill. I'm trying to control my breathing. My legs and lungs are burning again. Yesterday is still lingering with me. I stop to catch my breath and glass again. I'm only 200 yards away from the place I think I need to be. I spot his antlers. It looks like he is eating and then he will shake his antlers up against small trees. The wind is all bad. I can't control it though and I keep moving. I don't have much left to go but I need to get my heart rate down and my breathing under control. As I walk I can see glimpses of him through the brush. He's still headed my way. He acts like he knows something is ahead.  Does he smell me or is it something else? He is now within 150 yards. I find my spot. It's where the mountain really starts to go vertical. After having watched bulls skirt along the edge the last 4 days I'm pretty sure I know where I need to be. I range a big pile of rocks. 30 yards. I range a big red bush. 40 yards. He won't go up higher than that because of the terrain. I see him now. 80 yards and closing. Is this really going to happen? He's big. Better than I thought. I take my binos off me. He's at 60 and behind some brush. I draw. No way am I going to spook this one. 50. 40. 30. I raise up  just a little. He stops to look at me. The year of training. Practicing. Long hikes on dirt roads in Kansas. Climbing flights of stairs with an 80 pound pack. Chest day. Leg day. Back day. Shoulders. It all comes down to this...Tension increases on my trigger. Release. I see the arrow slide right behind his front shoulder. Center punch. The arrow clangs behind him on the rocks.

He runs 10 yards up and falls on the rocks. He's done. He's not getting up. I feel emotion come over me. It's over. I have killed my first Alaskan caribou with a bow. The challenge to kill one with archery tackle is real but that makes the reward just that much better. Getting within 40-50 yards of a caribou isn't easy because they move so much and are constantly changing directions. I let out a war whoop to let Kevin know I've killed. He doesn't hear me but the wind carried it back to camp. They can see me raising my Hoyt Carbon Defiant in the air. Kevin starts headed my way and I keep yelling to let him know my location. I have to sit down. My legs are jello. He's a magnificent bull. Good bottoms and awesome palmated tops. Just what I was looking for. And he's in full velvet.  Silver looking. He tore some off when he fell on the rocks. He's beautiful. I thank the Lord for the opportunity.  Can't believe it just happened. Kevin makes it up to me. After putting my blue locking tag and notching my harvest ticket we start to take pictures after looking at the rack for awhile. We can see Larry and David headed our way. They make it up we take more pictures. Then we start taking the bull apart. It doesn't take long but we are meticulous in making sure we take every bit of meat we can. I pack the two back quarters, back strap and rack on my own. My bull, my pack should be the heaviest. We all slip on our Kuiu packs. Mine is an Icon Pro 5200.   think I might go with the 7200 next trip. The heavy pack feels good. It's a sign you have been successful. It takes us about an hour to get back to camp. It's mainly downhill which can be pretty tricky with all the brush that we had to go through. We make it back and that completes our hunt for caribou. We are all tagged out.

Spent the day around camp. Hauled meat down to the airstrip and made shelter for the meat. We shot 3 ptarmigans. Larry worked on my cape.

41 degrees. Hiked up a mountain with Kevin. We did just over 11 miles. Hiked up to an elevation of 5423. Camp is at 3126. The view was unbelievable. It was well worth the pain and sweat. Got caught in a rainstorm. Ice droplets were coming down as well. It was super windy. Saw a double rainbow. Caribou coming through has trickled to a stand still. Tried hunting ptarmigan. Couldn't find any when we had our bows. 

32 degrees. Mainly cloudy. The day started off raining. I tried to get a picture of stars last night. Was cloudy and wasn't really that dark. In the tent getting caught up on my journal.  Called Zach. He won't be pulling us today. He'll try tomorrow. The tent has done extremely well. Doesn't leak at all and we have had some killer rainstorms. Sleeping bag has also kept me warm even though it's hasn't really gotten what I would consider cold.  The time here has been one to remember but I'm ready to get pulled. Get back to Anchorage and see Jarad and Jim. Looking forward to being able to talk to people and the fishing trip to Ninilchik. Then home. It has rained pretty much all day. Have looked at the inside of this tent a little longer than I would have liked. It's 4:21p and still raining. The only time we have been out was when Zach came to get my antlers and Larry and David's meat.  Other than that, it has been wet. Much time to think about my relationship with Christ and ready to be back home.

Headed home after another great weekend of fishing with Uncle Jim.

Jarad caught one silver on Friday. 6 on Saturday and 5 pinks. One dolly. 2 silvers on Sunday.

I caught 5 silvers 15 pinks and a steelhead on Saturday that absolutely went ballistic. 3 silvers a couple pinks and another steelhead on Sunday.

Jim caught a couple silvers over the weekend.

Just a fantastic weekend of fishing with Jim. Also shot a widgeon. Loved hearing stories of Jim and Alaska. Heard stories about him getting hypothermia on Kodiak Island, him drawing a coveted Dall sheep tag and then getting three ribs broken and not being able to go.  Stories of steelhead getting stacked up in the river he loves to fish. 

I can't wait to do another caribou hunt at some point.