I have a story to tell. If you have read my stuff in the past you know I like to try and paint a pretty good picture. This story is about a tradbow hunt with my son. It would be his first hunt for caribou in Alaska. Many of you have hunted around my son and or have read of his hunts. He is just twenty years old but has a great deal of experience bowhunting. He took his first deer with a bow at age 8 and has taken 11 species big game species with his recurve. He is passionate about bowhunting and is one of the truest sportsmen you may ever meet. He has always wanted to hunt Alaska and this is where this story takes off. This new Tradgang format is new to me so be patient with me as I try to navigate it and get some pictures posted....
Caribou have always been an addiction for me. It all started when I read the adventures
of Fred Bear in Alaska when I was just a boy. It started a fire that still burns hot in me
today. I made my first bow hunt for caribou in 1998 and just about lost my mind in that
wild place. I would return many times over the next 15 years. After taking my dream bull
of 402 P&Y in 2006, I decided to move on to other adventures around the world. As my
son Luke got older and my stories stirred his desire for Alaska, I knew the day would come
that I would take him there for a trad bow caribou hunt.
My biggest concern was getting him to an age that he could physically handle the rough
conditions and deal with any bear threat should the need arise. As he reached
graduation from high school, we began to plan for the trip. I had hunted an area of
Alaska that was a mixture of rugged tundra that is broken by some very steep and
rugged mountains. The caribou in this region will inhabit both landscapes. Approaching
the caribou on the open tundra is difficult as there is nearly zero cover but getting to the
high mountain bulls is difficult from a physical standpoint. Before every hunt that I have
made here, I have undertaken a serious training program. Even with this training,
Alaska will break your body down. Miles of walking the spongy tundra will sap your leg
strength and the steep mountain climbing, day after day will burn up your lungs. Simply put, there
is no "easy" caribou hunt.
A year of planning came and went, and we headed to Alaska where we met up with my
friend William Newman who would join us on this hunt. He was an experienced caribou
hunter, and after a couple days of jumper flights, we boarded our final float plane to our
destination on a remote river delta. The flight would carry us over rugged mountains
and glaciers where we would see countless mountain goats and brown bears. Watching
my son looking out over this beautiful landscape made for a great start to the trip. Over
and over he would exclaim how beautiful it was.
[attachment=1,msg2800090][attachment=2,msg2800090][attachment=3,msg2800090][attachment=4,msg2800090][attachment=5,msg2800090]A few pictures of the trip
We would be on the lookout for caribou and would land at a nearby lake when we saw a
good concentration of them. Well, that was the plan but unfortunately, we flew for
almost an hour without seeing a single caribou. A knot started to form in my gut as we
approached the final possible area to hunt. If the caribou were not here we would have
no choice but to just set down and hunt at that location--caribou or no caribou. We were
just a minute from the final landing spot when the plane erupted with "CARIBOU!" A
herd of about 150 animals could be seen in a vast tundra area adjacent to the river
delta. As encouraging as this was to see them, I quickly did the calculation on the
distance from our camp. A LOT of walking would be required to reach them. Under
normal conditions, that would not be an issue, but I was unsure of my ability to cover
that much ground with a heavy pack. I need to back up a few days to explain...
Just a couple days before our trip, I had shot a whitetail with my bow and had brought
my tracking dog to assist with the recovery. We were crossing a beaver swamp and
came to a deep creek. The dog jumped the creek and I attempted to do the same. As I
pushed off for the jump my left leg sunk in the mud, but my body kept going. I felt
excruciating pain and knew instantly that I had seriously injured myself with a groin pull
or hernia. It was all I could do to make it back to the house. I immediately began to
think about the brutal nature of this hunt but knew that if I had to crawl across that
tundra, I was going to Alaska.
We landed the plane on the river delta and began to task of setting our camp. We were
fortunate to have a very small band of spruce trees to help with wind and some old logs
brought in by the tide made for a neat cooking area. Salmon were dying by the
thousands within feet of camp, so we knew bears would be abundant. This would turn
out to be true as they would come near camp both day and night but never presented
any problems.
After setting camp we climbed a bluff to set up a spotting scope to take inventory of the
valley. We were hopeful that we would find caribou on our side of the river but there was
none to be found. We could see the main herd some 3-4 miles away but getting to them
would present a couple challenges. First was the distance over the hip wreaking
tundra. The second problem was a river that had tidal influence. We had a tidal chart,
and this would control our movement across the one-mile wide river delta. The tides
would sweep in with unbelievable speed. The incoming water would come up the river
faster than a man could walk. Once across, you were there for 10-12 hours until low tide
returned.
[attachment=1,msg2800093][attachment=2,msg2800093][attachment=3,msg2800093]Camp views.
Day one of the hunt had us leaving camp after what can best be described as a
MONSTER breakfast prepared by William. That guy was a great cook and his
philosophy was to pack in the calories. We traveled together with a plan for Luke and
me to split from William after crossing the delta. As we approached the high bluff, I was
a half-step from sliding down to the river when a massive brown bear appeared just
below me on the beach. He was just 15 yards away and his size was incredible. I have
seen countless brown and grizzly bears on my hunts but never at this range. He was
unaware of us and walked along hunting for crabs and fish. It was a great experience to
share with my son. Moments later he looked up at up at us and turned and began to
walk toward our group. It was quite obvious he meant no harm and after a moment just
turned and walked away.
Big breakfast and BIG BEARS!
I had hunted the area many times and bears were normally pretty scarce. The timing of this hunt, however, had bears at just about every turn. At no time did we ever feel a threat. We simply avoided them and they us.
We dropped into the river delta and were happy to discover that it held firm sand and
traveling would be easier than we expected. My leg injury could be felt for sure and I
had no idea how long I would be able to carry on but to be completely honest, my hope
was to at least make it far enough to see my son take his first bull. His first chance
would come very quickly.
As we climbed out of the river delta and onto the tundra, a smaller group of about 20
caribou lay bedded before us. To say there is little cover is a big understatement. All
movement is via a belly crawl and "cover" is often no more than 12" willow brush or the
tiny undulations in the ground. We shadowed this group for some time and amazingly
we were able to get ahead of them as they approached the main group of 150
animals. With a quarter mile crawl, we inched into a group of 5-7 bulls. I held my breath
as Luke inched forward for the shot. It is difficult to estimate range in these open setting
and his shot passed an inch or so under the bull. Disappointed, we crawled away from
the big herd to regroup. Luke just kept repeating "this is awesome" over and over. I was
in heaven watching this unfold for him.
[attachment=1,msg2800101][attachment=2,msg2800101]Difficult stalking conditions on the sparse tundra.
The remainder of the day we shadowed the big group hoping a bull or two would peel
off to a position for a stalk, but it never happened. I knew form previous experience that
attempting a stalk on these big herds often results in pushing the entire group out of
your valley. We would be content to be patient and wait on stragglers and lone bulls.
Day two found us across the delta early. We split from William and headed East. We
reached an elevated glassing point and saw the big herd where we had left them the
night before. They were in a flat area that did not provide for a possible stalk. We did
see a lone bull off to our West, but I was sure that William would soon spot him and
attempt a stalk. This would be the case and William took the bull later that morning.
[attachment=1,msg2800103]William's nice bull
We made a two-mile circular stalk to get down wind of the big group and we did that to
reach a small brush area in hopes that they would split up to bed during midday. We did
this and then completed the stalk with a quarter mile belly slide into the willows. We set
up in the small willows and waited. A smaller group of bulls broke away and began to
feed our way. There were two bulls that we wanted a crack at but with 20 sets of eyes
on us, we could only hunker down in tundra holes as the group split around us. We had
several bulls within range but elected to pass on them. We would be forced to lay there
for several hours before the herd would be far enough away for our exit. One
noteworthy encounter we had was a big brown bear picking up our track and following
us for a few hundred yards. I assumed that he was just curious and simply faded back
into the river grass when we showed ourselves to him. We ended the day by meeting
up with William and helping him to pack out his bull. Before dropping into the river delta,
Luke glassed six bulls high above us on a steep mountain side. I noted how rugged and
steep the mountain was and told Luke that we would keep these bulls in our back
pocket should we run out of options.
This is awesome so far! Sounds like an incredible hunt.
I am really impressed with your story I feel I am there with you, there are some truly wild places left for us to be in awe and look forward to reading some more, regards Wayne.
ps I just looked at your web page, interesting to see you work a bavarian
Great read! I am looking forward to the rest of the story.
Quote from: wayne rollinson on June 03, 2018, 05:21:16 AM
I am really impressed with your story I feel I am there with you, there are some truly wild places left for us to be in awe and look forward to reading some more, regards Wayne.
ps I just looked at your web page, interesting to see you work a bavarian
My Bavarian Mountain Hound is a phenomenal tracker for bear, deer, hogs and turkey.
Day three began like the others with the long delta crossing. I was encouraged with the
pain level from my injury. I had developed a method of walking that reduced stress.
Only when my legs slid outward would I feel the blinding pain. I would go down like I
had been hammered to the ground and Luke would help drag me to my feet. I knew at
this point that I was going to make the rest of this adventure. There was absolutely no
way I was going to miss watching my son shoot his first caribou.
Glassing would not be needed today as the main group had moved to a point near the
river. We shadowed them, and they began to fragment for midday beds. I had used
this shadowing tactic many times with great success in the past. In some cases, waiting
on position, terrain and wind might take eight or more hours. Pushing the situation is not
something you want to do with so many eyes watching.
The group was in a terrible spot for a stalk due to their slight height advantage over us.
To get within our "shadow range" of 100-200 yards, we would have to drop our packs
and snake crawl 1/2 mile. That was bad enough but to complicate matters there was
significant water between us. This made the stalk miserable at times. We made the
crawl in about an hour and found ourselves following behind a group of 60 bulls as they
quartered away from us into the wind. I knew we would not be able to overtake them,
but my experience told me that at some point during the day they would try and rejoin
the main herd. I knew they would turn South when they made their move. Several hours
later, they made this move.
We were in a perfect position as all we needed to do was choose a couple good bulls
and make a lateral move to intercept them. There were two great bulls in the group and
we found ourselves at a great spot for the interception. We had a small ridge of about
two feet in height that allowed us to maneuver to where we wanted to be. As the bulls
got close I gave Luke a tiny bump in the ground to hide behind and I crawled ahead to a
spot where I could film his shot. This is where things got wild and crazy.
Hi Jerry I work one with deer and wild boar along with a Hannovarian they are superb workers it would be interesting to see them working bear, regards wayne
My YouTube channel- Russell Outdoor Guides, has several videos of Bear Dog tracking bears. He has found them as far as 3.7 miles and regularly tracks them 20-30 hours post shot. He saves the bacon of MANY bear hunters each year. A tremendous asset to my guide service.
[attachment=1,msg2800183]Waiting out the bulls on the open tundra requires knowing when to push and when to get into position and wait them out. A nap can pass the time...
I will check that out thanks for taking the time to reply, your adventure sounds amazing and even more special to have your son alongside, regards wayne
Luke and I had not discussed my desire for him to take a bull before me. To be honest, I
really could not have cared less if I had gone home empty handed. This hunt was all
about him. As the group came towards us my heart pounded when 6-8 bulls
approached Luke to within 10 yards. I was in a tiny clump of grass which allowed me to
sit up and see all sixty bulls approach. The biggest of the bulls split off and walked to
within 10 yards of me and began to drink from a stream. I looked back at Luke to see
the bulls advancing to within feet of him with one of them chewing grass less than two
FEET of his leafy head net. My brain was screaming for him to shoot but he just lay
there. This lasted about one minute and when the caribou tried to nibble on his head
net, the game was over.
To be honest I was frustrated as to why he didn't take a shot on such a sure thing.
There had been several good bulls at less than ten yards. I crawled over to him and
asked him in frustration why had he just laid there. Boy, did I feel like a jerk when he
answered. He said, "the big bull was right on top of you and I didn't want to mess up
your chance". This was classic Luke. He has always been an unselfish person. I was
certainly proud of him at this moment, but I made it clear to him that his getting a bull
was priority one. We let the bulls settle and begin to feed away before heading back to
the river crossing in fading light. Luke pointed out that the six caribou bulls were still
high on the mountain above us. We would get our chance to meet them the next day.
Day four began with a terrible change in weather. We crossed the river to our glassing
point and were met with a completely empty tundra. We could see for many miles and
there was not a single caribou in sight. I knew where they had gone but following them
would require a 10-mile round trip and the risk of bumping them ever further from reach.
I hated to burn up a day, but I knew that they would return.
We decided to skirt the mountain and glass another valley. We reached a glassing
point and were met with another empty landscape. The cold rains had intensified, and
winds were making it difficult to stay in the open areas. We were pretty bummed at this
point when suddenly we looked up to find the mountain bulls directly above us. Although
they were 2,000 yards away, they had us pinned down. They were within yards of a
jagged rocky peak and our hope was for them to drop over, so our climb would be
possible. This did not happen. We hunkered down in the freezing rain for three hours
and the caribou stayed on the sheltered side of the rocky peak. When we reached our
limit of endurance, we made the decision to walk away from them and begin a long hike
around another mountain so that we could approach them from the back side. The
steep climb would take us almost two hours.
A brutal climb ended with spectacular views. Of the valley below.
Nice story and pictures.
You posted thumbnail pictures, which is fine.
After you select your picture from your PC or phone, just to the right of the little window where the picture name appears, click ( Insert Attachment 1 ). That will make the picture full size in your post.
[attachment=1]
What an adventure keep it coming. :campfire:
Once on top of the mountain, the walking was quite easy. Jagged house size boulders
littered the peaks and made movement into position fairly easy. We found ourselves
slithering down the mountain to rocky ledges above the relaxed bulls. While we had
plenty of time and a favorable wind, I was aware that we did not want to try and get off
this dangerous mountain in the dark. We crawled up to an outcrop and as I peered over
I could see several bull racks just ten yards away. It would have been easy to get to
within touching distance, but a big bull was bedded in a cave to our left. I feel certain
that I could have touched his antler tip, but his body was tucked back in the rocks. No
shot was available on any of the bulls and anxiety built as I knew an eddy wind current
would come soon to wreck things. It did.
These bulls knew something wasn't right but didn't panic. They started to move below
us but in a parallel direction to the spine of the mountain. This made getting ahead of
them possible. We leap frogged them several times and Luke did get a long shot at one
point and his arrow shaved hair on a bull. The steepness of the mountain made
shooting very difficult as the animals at only 25-30 yards were 60+ feet below us. We
were running out of rocks to hide behind so I sent Luke ahead to the last spot and I
eased out onto a huge outcrop to try and watch. The group was fading down the
mountain and it looked like all hope was lost when a good bull that had fallen behind
stepped out from my outcrop at thirty-five yards. Seeing that it was over for Luke, I
drew my black widow recurve and sent an arrow down the mountain side. The shot was
perfect and as the bull caught up with the group he laid down in a mountain
saddle. The other bulls were unfazed and simple fed away un-spooked. I knew they
would stay on the mountain.
With darkness falling we didn't even go over to the bull. We tore down the oppisite side of the mountain
towards camp as fast as we could in an effort to beat darkness. We crossed the river delta in
the dark and rolled into camp wet, tired and hungry.
A little footnote to this story. I carried a video camera and filmed much of the hunt. I will produce the video after I return from bear camp in late June. I can promise you that the video will be worth watching as we shot it in HD and many of the stalks described in this story were captured of video along with some great close up bear encounters. The scenery was breath taking on the hunt and we also captured some great halibut fishing on video as a bonus.
Day five had us at the base of the mountain very early with a plan to process my bull
and then find the remaining mountain bulls. We were encouraged to see the main herd
reentering the valley several miles away. We glassed what we could see of the
surrounding mountainside and then made quick work of my bull. Our plan was to cache
my bull and hunt the tops for the day. We were actually taking some photos when I
looked over Luke's shoulder to see three bulls just a quarter mile away on our mountain. This photo session was interrupted by the nearby bulls....
Quote from: Roy from Pa on June 03, 2018, 08:54:25 AM
Nice story and pictures.
You posted thumbnail pictures, which is fine.
After you select your picture from your PC or phone, just to the right of the little window where the picture name appears, click ( Insert Attachment 1 ). That will make the picture full size in your post.
[attachment=1,msg2800189]
I tried that but I get an error message saying that the picture cant be saved or it may be too large for the site... I hate it because I have tons more that I cant post...
Day five had us at the base of the mountain very early with a plan to process my bull
and then find the remaining mountain bulls. We were encouraged to see the main herd
reentering the valley several miles away. We glassed what we could see of the
surrounding mountainside and then made quick work of my bull. Our plan was to cache
my bull and hunt the tops for the day. We were actually taking some photos when I
looked over Luke's shoulder to see three bulls just a quarter mile away on our mountain. This photo session was interrupted by the nearby bulls...
2nd bull down. [attachment=1]
[attachment=2][attachment=3]
It is important that you understand the rugged nature of these mountain tops that this stalk took place in. VERY steep and jagged rocks. In some cases it is very much like hunting mountain goats. Along with the difficulty of terrain comes the crazy eddy wind currents that will get you busted even when you are down wind. Patience is critical in these situations as sometimes you can easily get close given the cover but you will blow these bulls off the mountain with a swirling eddy wind...
We dropped all our gear and started their way. We had a perfect wind and the bulls fed
away from us and just yards below the rocky spine of the mountain. I told Luke that we
had hours to get a perfect shooting setup and we could shadow them all day if needed.
At this point, with two days left, I was starting to feel a touch of pressure for my son to
get a bull. I knew we had plenty of time, but the dad thing sometimes impacts
reasoning. I said a prayer as we approached and peeked over at the bulls. The wind
did not allow us to really get ahead of the bulls and we were forced to approach from
their side. As caribou feed at a crazy speed, we did this a few times but would fall
behind, making the shots just a bit too far. I knew with patience the right shot would
come.
The bulls had fed around a corner and we could only guess their position. I crawled to
the rocky mountain top and peeked over to find all three bulls at ten yards distance and
just fifteen feet below us. Luke crawled in beside me and moved to a position for a
shot. We knew that when he exposed himself for the shot that he would have 1-2
seconds and they would be gone.
I wanted to film the shot, but I knew that it could cost him a caribou, so I laid just a
couple feet behind him and prayed the things that a father prays in these situations. He
rose to his knees, drew his bow and sent an arrow down the mountain....
The mountain where the stalk took place. Amazingly deceptive from a distance. A very tough hike to get to it's base and a body crushing climb to the top. [attachment=1]
The sound of the arrow hitting was unmistakable. I looked over the edge just in time to
see the bulls tearing down the mountain. Within seconds two bulls emerged on the
valley floor and began to climb the adjacent mountain. We soon spotted Luke's bull
walking in the valley with what appeared to be a high, single lung hit. I felt like he would
bed and allow a stalk, but the two other bulls returned and gathered him up. They were
on a trail that would carry them into a distant valley and I knew that once the bull
reached the top of the next mountain that the downhill glide might carry him for miles.
It was not possible to follow him directly as we were in plain sight. Luke suggested a
crazy plan to run all the way around the mountain and attempt to get ahead of the bull.
Physically I just didn't think it was possible. It would be all up hill and a great distance
with very limited time before they reached the pass. Luke looked at me and said, "I
need to finish this". With that, he was off and running up and around the mountain
side. What followed was one of the coolest endings to a hunt I have ever seen.
The caribou slowly continued along a path that was taking them past the only cover that
would make an approach possible. A small pile of rocks would be a hiding place if Luke
could reach it in time. Luke had long disappeared from my view but suddenly his head
popped into view in the rock pile. The two unwounded bulls were on top of him, but his
bull stood close to forty yards away and was about to take a turn down the mountain. I
was watching this unfold with binoculars and while focused on his bull, an arrow zipped
through behind the shoulder and the bull crashed down the mountain. He piled up a
short distance away. After an amazing physical display, Luke had finished what he
started.
We gathered up our gear and I made a satellite phone call to our flight service to check
in. They told us that terrible weather was about to hit and that we may be stranded for
days unless they picked us up early the next morning. Getting out ahead of a big storm
sounded great but we already had one bull in our packs and another to
process. Getting all the meat back to camp before dark would be the only possible
option as time and a high river tide would prevent coming back in the morning before
pickup. While we were discussing our options, William appeared from the mountain
top. He had watched all of this unfold and had arrived with his pack frame. This made
things at least possible.
We took some quick pictures and loaded the packs to an obscene weight level and
started down the steep mountain. We clung to grass and bushes to prevent falling
down the slick slope and dropped onto the tundra. An hour later we made the river
delta and crossed the last mile to camp. I have packed many a caribou in my time but
never have I been in so much pain and so happy at the same time. Luke had taken his
Alaska bull.
Luke's bull and the brutal pack down the mountain to beat the tide and darkness. [attachment=1]
[attachment=2][attachment=3]
Awesome job guys. That's definitely a trip to remember.
That is an amazing story, and very well told. I really read through the topic hoping you would complete it before I got to the end! Congratulations to you and your son, that was a great adventure to go through together
:clapper:
A few more. [attachment=1][attachment=2][attachment=3][attachment=4]
Our flight out was a bumpy one and we would end the trip by visiting with friends and catching some big halibut. Luke would remark that this was the greatest trip of his life. I agree, and I am sure that wild place will call us back again.
As always, I am hopeful that the story was enjoyable but I am also hopeful that those with a desire to chase their dream on a hunt like this will do so. If you can dream it there really is a way to get there. Good hunting.
Fishing and more. [attachment=1][attachment=2][attachment=3][attachment=4][attachment=6][attachment=5]
Thanks for sharing such a great adventure for father and son. Having met Luke a few years back it did not surprise me that he was waiting for you to take the first shot. Great kid, top notch outdoorsman and you should be proud!
Clay
What an awesome story, pictures and memories to share with us! Thank you and glad it all came out safe for all! :campfire: :thumbsup:
Great story Jerry and way to give Luke a memory of a lifetime.
Might need that kid for our bear opener. I pay $8 an hour and include room and board. Need him saturday through monday. thanks. Cant wait!
That was an amazing story! thank you for all the detail and the pictures, I really enjoyed reading it!
And tell him to bring some halibut and stonefish fillets.
Good job guys!! Thanks for sharing and good luck in Bear camp.
WHAT AN AMAIZING STORY, CONGRATS ON A HUNT OF A LIFETIME.
Great story and photos!
Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for bring us along. What an amazing place to hunt.
Awesome story and pictures!
Great story, thanks for sharing.
Congratulations boys! A great story and adventure!
Lee
Sounds amazing congratulations to all of you guys
Great adventure and story, with pictures to explain the difficulty of your undertaking. Congratulations to all of you and I'm sure we'll hear more of this father/son team in the future.
Man what an adventure!!!!
Great pics to go along with a great Story, congrats to you and Luke :clapper:
Good stuff Jerry. Thanks for sharing. Congrats to you and Luke
Jerry. Great story, well told, great photography. Between the hunt and sharing this with your son, I cannot imagine a better memory.