North Idaho bear

JakeD · June 11, 2019, 01:47:31 PM

Last year sometime, my wife and I decided it might be fun to go try for spring bear somewhere. She had never been on any out of state hunt, and neither of us had any experience with bears. So, we decided to go with an outfitter and booked a hunt with Clark Fork Outfitters.

I had hunted with them once before in 2015. My brothers, dad and I chased elk in the mountains with them and had a great time. My dad was lucky enough to get an elk and we loved the environment. Due to that prior trip, it was an easy decision to go back again.

Since we hadn't been on a vacation recently, we decided to make it an extended trip and see some other sites along the way. We loaded up the 4Runner about as full as it would go, and headed out midday on May 17th. We wouldn't be home again until June 2nd.

huckbuck · June 11, 2019, 02:06:26 PM

lablover · June 11, 2019, 05:35:55 PM

JakeD · June 11, 2019, 08:32:41 PM

Since we decided to make a long trip of it, we had to stop at several places along the way. From our home to Clark Fork is a 27 hour drive, so you can imagine there is a lot in between to see and do. My wife and I enjoy the national parks, so that was our main agenda on the way there. South Dakota was our first real stopping point. We went to Badlands National Park, Mount Rushmore, Wind Cave National Park, Crazy Horse monument, and spent a little time in Deadwood. For those who haven't been to that part of South Dakota, it's worth the trip. There are several places to visit and the country is beautiful in my opinion.

JakeD · June 11, 2019, 08:39:02 PM

Hmm... I'm trying to add pics, but for some reason it won't let me.

JakeD · June 12, 2019, 10:43:51 AM

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JakeD · June 12, 2019, 10:45:32 AM

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JakeD · June 12, 2019, 10:47:33 AM

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JakeD · June 12, 2019, 10:53:17 AM

Since it wasn't very far away, we decided to swing over and check out Devils Tower in Wyoming. We both really enjoyed the place. Pictures don't really do it justice. It's very impressive up close. From there we made our way to Theodore Roosevelt National Park. It's not an overly popular place, but I thought the scenery was great. The highlight for me was seeing the feral horses. And of course, the icon of the west......

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JakeD · June 12, 2019, 10:57:03 AM

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JakeD · June 12, 2019, 11:20:04 AM

Continuing west from there, we made our way across Montana. Glacier National Park is where we were heading, and the scenery was spectacular. It didn't take us long once we got there to see our first bear of the trip.

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Since neither of us had any experience with bears, this was a really cool encounter being this close to a bear. And it really got us fired up and ready to start hunting.

We had to drive around to the other side of the park since the going to the sun road was still closed due to snow. We didn't mind though, it was just more great country to see.

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Car54 · June 12, 2019, 11:38:48 AM

Wow, what wonderful places to see. Thank you.

JakeD · June 12, 2019, 01:50:43 PM

We spent the next few days around glacier, flathead lake, and kalispell without any real agenda. It was definitely time well spent.

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Heading south after that, we spent the next couple days around Missoula. We got to check out the local breweries and restaurants. We both were having a good time, but we were getting antsy and ready to go after some bears. On Sunday the 26th, we headed over into Idaho to buy our licenses and meet up with the outfitter. The weather looked great for the next 5 days, and we both had expectations to have a great time.

Benoli · June 12, 2019, 02:13:04 PM

It appears to be well worth the trip so far. Thanks for sharing and the pics!

Butchie · June 12, 2019, 08:57:03 PM

Looking forward to more of your adventure.

Hud · June 13, 2019, 01:10:53 AM

Thanks for sharing.

chris K. · June 13, 2019, 07:21:45 AM

It is some real beautiful land out there. Thanks for sharing.

JakeD · June 13, 2019, 09:23:04 AM

We arrived at the outfitters and saw a few familiar faces, as well as some new ones. Sheldon was our guide, and he started to show us pics of some bears that were coming in to the baits. We discussed a plan for the hunts, which would consist of late nights and sleeping in each day.

We got settled in and checked out all our equipment. That evening would consist of meeting some other hunters, having drinks, and eating a great home cooked meal. Food was plentiful throughout the trip, and it was excellent.

Day 1

I took my lone wolf and sticks along to ensure that I could get up close and personal. I was about 15 yards from the bait and hadn't been there long when a gobble rang out. Turns out that a gobbler and his two lady friends had been frequenting the bait site and he was a talker. They hung around for close to 5 hours, keeping me entertained and giving me a show.

Around 7:30 I caught movement on the other side of the bait. It was a young cinnamon bear that was coming in, and was my first real encounter with a bear. It amazed me how quiet it was. I got to watch it at the bait for several minutes before it got up to leave.

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It wasn't leaving quite yet though. It caught a whiff of something it wasn't sure about. Turned out that it was a curious little bear and decided to come to the tree to find the source of the smell. As it stood up at my tree and checked me out I wasn't worried, it was actually the kind of encounter I was hoping for.

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It finally had enough of my stench though, and decided that it had better places to be. I couldn't have asked for much more out of the first evening. Darkness came and I packed things up as I saw the lights from our guide coming to pick me up.

kevsuperg · June 13, 2019, 10:56:26 AM

Nice bears, the real question is... Where did the quides take you??.
I have a brother in law coming out for fall bear. Been scouring the maps looking for a sweet spot away from all the forest roads.
It is beautiful up here huh.

JakeD · June 13, 2019, 11:02:56 AM

Quote from: kevsuperg on June 13, 2019, 10:56:26 AM
Nice bears, the real question is... Where did the quides take you??.
I have a brother in law coming out for fall bear. Been scouring the maps looking for a sweet spot away from all the forest roads.
It is beautiful up here huh.

Oddly enough, we really weren't too far off of the service roads. I could see how it would be a really tough hunt without bait. Not a lot of glassing opportunity where we hunted. I think it would be a lot like hunting whitetails without the bait. And yes, it is beautiful there.