2015 Caribou Hunt

Any trip in Alaska is an adventure, and as the saying goes “an Alaskan’s weekend is another man’s dream vacation.” As the truck left the lights of Anchorage behind us I reflected on this saying. The frustration of this year’s sheep hunt was countered by the realization of the blessed opportunity to have spent time in sheep country. However, this was the last chance to put meat in the freezer, and with beef and pork allergies in the house, we needed some wild game. I love getting out, but this was a trip where success was needed!

As the miles and hours flew by, the conversations ebbed and flowed around hunting, gear, chances of success, and our friends and family left behind. We arrived at the trailhead late that night, downloaded the Yamaha Rhinos, and crashed in the truck. The next morning we hit the trail before light, desperate to put some miles behind us and get into hunting territory.

Trail conditions were surprisingly easy, and we made record time getting to the hunting grounds. We set up camp, boiled some water, grabbed our Mountain House meals and headed for the hill behind camp. As we sat down to eat dinner and glass, we were serenaded by a large pack of wolves. While we could not see them, it was by far the largest group any of us had ever heard.

As we glassed the terrain we begin to see signs that the area had been hunted earlier in the season. A few caribou were spotted far out in the distance and several cow moose wandered through our view. However, game were not as plentiful as in previous years. We went to bed hoping the morning would bring new opportunities.

The next four days were a mixture of fog, rain, snow, sleet, and cold winds. We had limited windows of visibility, but were able to see a few cow moose and another group of caribou off in the distance. One dense foggy morning, while preparing breakfast, we heard the sounds of a bull moose scraping off in the distance. Visibility was 20 yards at best, but a bull that close was worth a gamble. Berke gave a few calls and before we knew it two bulls were responding.

Within a few moments both bulls had moved below camp to battle it out. We could the grunting and clashing of horns, but the fog continued to get thicker, and we were never able to see the fight! We hoped that when the fog lifted the winner would be hanging out. However, when a brief window of visibility occurred later that day, no bulls were visible.

The next day was even worse weather wise, and frustration was starting to set in. It was a long day hoping for a break in the weather. The next morning we arose to the best weather yet. We quickly grabbed breakfast and headed up the hill to do some glassing.  We watched an amazing sunrise and to our excitement two Caribou bulls crested the ridge and headed our way. We grabbed rifles, moved into position, and 10 minutes later we were standing beside two amazing creatures.