BC Moose Expedition 2013

[IronNoggin]

Couple notices here:
- Although the Matrix was with me, it was not deployed for several reasons.
- This thread will be Picture Heavy and somewhat lengthy.

That said, I thought some here would enjoy a ride-along on our expedition to the Northern area of British Columbia in search of moose...

For months we had the trip planned, and it seemed that the last few days took FOREVER to crawl by before our departure. Last minute delays put us a couple days behind schedule, and as Murphy would have it, a MEAN Storm rolled in the evening before we could roll. That meant the last three ferry sailings from Vancouver Island to the Mainland were cancelled due to extremely rough seas, creating a serious backlog of traffic scrambling to cross. That in turn meant a wait until the second sailing of the day for us, despite a 3:30 am awakening and 4:30 am departure:



After crossing, we wandered North for a considerably long ways, but the hours rolled by quickly as we discussed past and future hunts, and of course the one we were facing down right shortly. Neither my Partner nor I are new to the pursuit of moose, but the area we were heading for was an "unknown", as the closest either of us had been to it was via Google Earth maps...

Well into dark, we decided to camp a ways off the main road before making the run into the hunting area. Did not want to challenge a new area in the black, and am damn Happy we made that particular decision! That night was COLD, down to minus six, and little sleep was to come due to both that and the heavy anticipation of what was to come...

Next morning, we wandered in, and found the trail without too much problem. "Trail" is the right word. In retrospect had I known what is was, I am uncertain if I would have pushed the truck into there! Should have taken more pictures of that, but was preoccupied with simply trying to get to where we wanted to be...

Here's the first picture I took along our entrance point. You see the Pyramid Ridge (right of center) in this photo, below that was our intended destination:



The Valley we had our sights set on is Private Land, Posted, yet no-one had a vehicle or hunted in there for 12 - 14 years. The state of the "trail" well showed that!

After many tortuous miles with my stress level ever rising, we found another vantage point where we could once again peer towards The Target:



Another View:



More to come...

[IronNoggin]

We pushed our way in for around 4 hours from the black top. Damn Slow going. I was VERY hesitant on the last hill - uncertain if it was the last, and if I could even get back up it should I wander down! After a spell, the fellows that had been in previously with a quad came along, and talked me into believing my Partner's insistence that we could make it. So, off we went and set up a rather comfortable camp considering just how far back in we were!





And my Partner & I established what would be our Sleeping Quarters for the duration:



Relieved to be on-site, the stress slowly diffusing from my system with a few stiff shots, we gazed in awe at our surroundings. Downright Beautiful area, and the moose sign the last of the way in had the anticipation once again reaching new heights...

Minus 4 that night...

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[IronNoggin]

I was Damn Bagged after the long 2 day run, stress of the overly rugged drive in, and a few drinks that first night in there. So, very early the next morning my Partner and his Buddy wandered off without me to conduct an initial survey...

They worked the areas above camp, saw some sign, but decided to drop lower into the Valley. The further they went below us, the more the sign increased in frequency and freshness, and the simply Knew they were on the right path!

About 1,200 yards or so below camp, they were creeping along, and a Bull Moose challenged them from the heavy timber. They froze and readied as the Bull approached, antlers swinging in an open invitation to Combat, and grunting every second or third step to intimidate his opposition.

Over the course of bare minutes, the Bull closed to 20 yards, seeking a Fight! Selecting a shooting window in the brush was a damn tough proposition as the Ladz held their position... barely breathing at this point. (The heavy cover was one of the main reasons I chose afterwards to go to my rifle).

Then... a small window of opportunity - less than 20 yards now, and a single well placed bullet streaked to it's target! Bull DOWN!! Less than 2 hours into the first morning!!

My Partner was right Pleased with that outcome!



Having no quads or horses, the only way the moose was coming back was on the backs of the Hunters. So, my Partner & his Buddy did the initial cleaning, cut off two quarters and hauled them out the 1,200 yard trek to the trail-head in their packs. Rounding up the rest of the Crew, we then went in together to recover the rest, while another made excellent use of the chainsaw to open up the grown in and deadfall strewn "trail":



The fellow who established the camp is named Ricky. Slightly older than I (we were the two camp "Oldies") he turned out to be one of the Finest Gentlemen I have had the luxury of meeting and hunting with! Lots in common, and a man I learned easily to respect. Here he is hauling out the head of the first one down:



And yes, that is The Trail behind and to his left. Tough Slogging!!

His son Ryan was also a wonderful fellow! He threw his weight more than into the tasks at hand, and I quickly grew to like him a lot. In fact chose him as my Hunting Partner for the forays to follow. Here is is, grinning over the fact we actually did manage to get the big bugger out to a place we could get his truck to:



And then of course we hung the meat a ways from camp, all in game bags, then wrapped in another over-sized game bag to keep the bugs at bay:



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[IronNoggin]

That same evening, Ryan and I wandered further down the valley to discover a series of nice and fairly large meadows. My Partner's I-Pad was invaluable in showing us the details of the area, and it was Impressively Accurate!



Upon entering the access trail to the Big Meadow, I gave a cow call and was Immediately answered by a young sounding bull! The bugger stalled out about 50 yards away behind heavy bush, and would come no further despite pleading calls to do so. So, after 45 minutes we made the decision to go in on him. He did not like that much, and presented us with but a fleeting glimpse presenting no shot as he rounded the corner into the meadow. Very small antlers, looking like exactly what I was hoping for! Ryan went into the bush after him, while I sat up where you see Ryan positioned above. Immediately a cow and calf wandered out in front of me at less than 30 yards - stopped and stared for a few minutes, then casually wandered off. The bull though made his escape by sticking to the timber. So, we sat up for a spell and called some more. A few distant answers, but no other action forthcoming and darkness impending, we made our way back to camp.

An excellent dinner wherein no less than 10 wing (double) chops and all the trimmings were eagerly consumed, and down for the count for the night.

Minus 6 again that night...

The next morning Ryan and I set off early, right back to the same spot of course. On our way in, a somewhat bigger bull than we had seen the previous evening heard us and grunted a challenge. We quickly made our way to the vantage point, and I cow called in response. He answered immediately, but then went quiet. 20 minutes or so went by with no further responses, so I cow called again and followed up with a calf call. This time we could hear him moving towards us through the timber at the far end of the meadow, so we sat quietly hoping he would close. Another 25 minutes with only the odd sound coming from where we knew him to be, so I threw out a long, drawn out and very plaintive cow call. That did it, and he broke into the open about 300 yards off, headed right at us. Hearts pounding, we watched as he approached, but he would not present anything but a head on approach. Swinging antlers in open aggression he closed every so cautiously, stopping every 10 or so yards to glare in our direction...

At 165 yards he did finally turn, and began to wander into the brush. I cow chirped and he stopped. Broadside now, but with a shot-preventing screen of willows preventing us from capitalizing. Painful moments those, as I tried to entice him back into the open while he pondered the situation. In the end, he was not convinced, and slowly ambled off into the heavier timber. DAMN!! So Bloody Close!!

A few more calls trying to turn him, and suddenly a MASSIVE Old Bull burst into the meadow - at less than 20 yards!! Many things raced through my mind - could have easily taken this fellow with the bow Dammit; he is FAR to BIG to take down here, now over 2,000 yards from camp - I honestly do not believe even with our Capable Crew we could get him out inside of 3 days, and... he will be like chewing Rubber Boots methinks!!

As our adrenaline glands worked overtime, I made the judgement call to let him walk. I have shot Big Old Boys in the past, and have NO need for another large set of moose antlers (and no place to hang them!). And all of those Giants I have been in on were not to my liking when on the dinner plate. So, decision made we watched him wander the full length of the meadow away from us, his huge dewlap dragging at every step through the marsh grass. Hell of an EXCITING Encounter!!

With no other sighting beyond a couple cows and calves and no further responses to my calls, we wandered back to camp for lunch.There I set about the task of preparing a moose heart dinner for the Ladz to enjoy. Ryan set off early in the afternoon to the same vantage point we had occupied in the morning, while I poured over the Google Maps on Partner's I-Pad. Recognizing there was yet another big meadow in behind the one we had been hunting, I decided to follow in Ryan's tracks, go beyond him, and circle into the next meadow below...

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[IronNoggin]

It took quite a spell to wander down and sneak past where Ryan was positioned, and then find the entrance to two little oxbows that would present something of an access to the next lower big meadow. The second oxbow was pretty full of water, and quite tricky to circumnavigate. I recalled the Google Map suggested the way in from there was about 1/2 way around it's outside bend, but I could not find a definitive trail leading that direction. Trusting to what I had seen on those maps, I decided to bushwhack and see if I couldn't find that next meadow. a couple hundred yards of crawling through the thick, and I did just that...

Peering into the meadow, I could see a finger of brush extended into the middle of it on it's far side, providing a decent vantage point of the entire area. So, I decided to make my way there to see what I could. Didn't get 25 yards and I saw two young bulls feeding at the far end of the meadow! A couple hundred or so out, so I tried a cow call. Both lifted their heads from grazing, then ignored me and went back to feeding. "Too Young to think of the rut" I thought. Tried a calf call with the same response...

I watched these two fellows for 15 to twenty minutes, worrying over the now greatly increased distance to camp, and even more worried about the impending darkness as the light rapidly failed. Tried another cow call, and there was a distant deep response from the far hill above the two bulls. Dammit! If that Giant wanders out, these Tender Vittles WILL fly right out of here...

Decision made, I tried to settle the crosshairs on the larger of the two young bull's neck, and let one go. Could tell immediately it was a hit, but NOT the response (dropping) a neck shot should produce. Then the bugger decided to depart in a Hurry! 3/4ing away from me, I settled the crosshairs on the offside shoulder. Close to the onside ham I recall thinking. But with the bush rapidly closing on him, I decided to let another go. Immediate reaction. Good, VERY Solid hit.

Usually give them a while to settle down, but felt that hit was more than good enough, so slowly made my way over to where I'd last seen him. Sneaking down the trail I last saw him on, I heard his death rattle 20 yards off on the other side of a group of willows. Peeked over, and there he lay...

Made certain he was down for the count, and the first thought was Awesome Munchies!! LOL!

Not wanting to go back through the way I had come in when pitch black, I quickly wandered in the direction of the meadow above. IF Ryan was till there, a possibility of help. Even if not, a MUCH better way to extract after the job ahead of me was done...

Once again the Google Map burned into my memory did not fail, and I came out in the far end of the first big meadow. Excellent!

Back to the downed bull, and on with the task at hand. Not easy when alone, darkness right on me, and only having a smallish penlight! But I persisted, managed to get him cleaned properly, and the top side legs lifted as high as I could, supported with sticks to keep them off the ground so he would cool down properly. The way back to camp in the Pitch Black was a little treacherous, but I found my way, only managing to face plant twice.

A good evening that one! Two bulls down in but two days, and multiple other sightings! The Ladz had carefully cooked the well wrapped and stuffed heart from the day before, and it was downright DELICIOUS!!

Just a smidge above 0 degrees that night with a light drizzle...

The next day we all set off together, Ricky following behind with the chainsaw to make our extraction easier (a desperately needed requirement!). We arrived to discover that no Grizzlies had found the young bull, in fact not even a raven! Sweet!

Pictures of Where He Lay:





Then the work began! With lots of hands it did go reasonably quick though:





While I continued with the butchering tasks on the second half, the Crew packed the first half the ~ 2,500+ yards back to the trailhead. Hell of a haul and Damn Happy for Strong Backed Younger Buddies!!

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[IronNoggin]

Ricky soon showed up and gave a great helping hand on the last of the cutting. Then the Crew also came back for the second Hellish load, and we packed the bags for the final extraction:



Still Grinning there! Likely a Good Thing we didn't take pictures when we actually got back to the trailhead!! Methinks the grins were likely a tad more subtle then...

And within a few Sore and Tired hours, Bull number two was hanging in the trees:



Having seen NO sign of bears, and only the occasional Wolf sighting, we decided to hang this one a little closer...

Another Fine Evening, during which I must admit to "celebrating" a tad more than was reasonable! The next morning was sore, both in body and in the mind...

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[IronNoggin]

That night was windy, rainy but cool enough to heat sink the meat well. Took the time to capture a couple of headshots before loading up:





The meat alone was a LOT of weight, and the truck noticeably sagged under the strain despite pumping the rear air bags to capacity!



Then of course we had to load the camp, and three men's worth of gear! Tight fit, but we made it work!!





Upwards and OUT!

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[Normous]

Matt, might you consider writing a book of hunting & fishing adventures one day? I would be honoured to have a copy.
You just made my day!
Thanks.

[IronNoggin]

As previously noted, the trail in was "rough" by any standards, and I do wish I had taken another few shots just to show that! Here is but a minor example:



The planks you see in the foreground were stripped from a collapsed bridge adjacent to this hill. A little better once in place, but still "interesting"!

The truck struggled under all the weight she was carrying, but still managed to persevere! Last mile or so on on particularly interesting washout, she did slide and clip a boulder hard enough to rip the passenger air suspension bag right apart! Luckily I managed to keep her from tumbling into the washout, and the pavement was not too far distant so she managed to limp her way there!

Managed to keep her on the road most of the way down to Cache Creek when darkness once again overtook us. I can no longer drive much at night due to oncoming headlights literally searing into my skull, and was Damn Happy to have a couple of Very Capable Buddies who could take it over!
Recognizing we could not possibly make the final ferry back to The Rock, we contacted another Good Buddy who offered us shelter for the night...

The next morning we arose quite early, and struggled into the truck once again. A Mad Dash for the ferry, which we barely made for one of the Ladz!



LOT's of Looky-Lou's along our route home, and a Gathering of other hunters in the ferry line up! Appears we did well from those conversations, as most had not enjoyed the Success we fortunately had!

Back on the Island, the weather was Too Damn Warm, so we ran Hard for home! Another good Buddy already had a Big Bull in his cold room, but he & his Partner were madly butchering that when we rolled in. A little effort on our part, and now the moose is safely stored awaiting the next stage in the operation. Thankfully a day or two off so a fellow can recover!!



All in all one of the Best Moose Hunts I have EVER been on! Many animals, and it certainly showed that the area had not been hunted in many years! Very susceptible to calling, and did not spook from the areas we hunted. 2 down in 2 days is almost unheard of these years, especially so with 6 or 7 Bull sightings in the same period! Could not have picked a Better Crew! Hat's off to them, and especially so to our Wonderful Hosts in this operation! That trail might be rough, but methinks we will eventually work that one out! Hope to be invited back for many more!!

My poor truck needs some work BADLY!
Have to replace the bracket and suspension bag on one side, and the exhaust, which tore off no less than three times on the way, out will require some effort. Not too bad overall considering that was a 2,000+ Kilometer run (1,200+ miles for those who, like I, still think in miles) there and back! And of course the way she dealt with the extreme overload was downright Impressive! Methinks I'll be keeping her!

And that folks is a wrap. Still a fair bit of work to go, but at a somewhat more leisurely pace now. A Mountain of Great Grits for the winter, and still more Hunting Opportunities that await! Shaping up to be a Most Excellent Fall!

Got my sights set on a couple of rather Outstanding Blacktail Bucks here on the Island, and can now be right fussy in their pursuit! The Matrix WILL Sing this year yet!!

Best Of Luck to all those still Engaged In The Pursuit!!
Safe Hunting & Straight Shooting!!

Cheers!
Matt

[IronNoggin]

Matt, might you consider writing a book of hunting & fishing adventures one day? I would be honoured to have a copy.
You just made my day! Thanks.

Why Many THANKS Norman! Your Kind Words are Sincerely Appreciated!

I have a couple of Good Buddies who write, and they are always trying to encourage me to get into that. Damn Little Reward for your efforts from what I understand from them, but one day, perhaps when I get too worn out to actually hunt or pack deer, moose and elk out any more, I may consider just that...

Perhaps...

IF my aging memory cells don't completely fail me by then...

Cheers,
Nog

[mbc4]

i swear i was right there on that very hunt, just listening to the bravado and gusto in witch this exciting and masterful recounting unfolded. dam i really wish i was, sounds like a heck of a lot a fun; congrats!

[maple]

Thanks for taking the time to post your excellent adventure!! After a trip like that it must have been a pleasure to be able to sit down while doing it.

You definitely have some good hunting buddies right there. Not a shirker in the lot.

Congrats on the well deserved fine harvests. Enjoy.

[Hester0305]

Nog, thanks for sharing such a great experience and Congrats to all of you that shared in the adventure. Sounds like each of you had a great time but some real hard work to get those Moose packed out.

[onebigskittle]

Great story and beautiful scenery plus everyone had a smile on their faces from the successful hunt and great time I am sure you all shared together....It don't get any better than that

[UPSMAN]

Really enjoyed the story and pictures. Congrats on a successful hunt.