Last
September has to be considered in the Top Ten hunts of my
life.
To
begin with, it marked the 42nd year that I have carried a
rifle in the woods ... or tundra ... or savanna. Each year
seems to get better than the year before--so far.
My
friend and I had been planning for over a year and were finally
able to hunt in three different Canadian provinces for three
different sub-species of caribou in three weeks.
QUEBEC
The
Odyssey began in Quebec at a newly-built and well-appointed
camp on a 55 square mile lake. We had it all to ourselves.
From the camp we were taken to several strategic points in
fiberglass boats powered by 55 HIP outboard motors. Leaving
the boats, we would walk and climb upwards to settle in for
a few hours of overwatching the various approaches across
the flats or low points in ridges for the Quebec-Labrador
caribou. The landscape was beautiful. I had learned in a historical
geology class over 35 years ago about the Laurentian Shield
which was scoured by the glaciers 10,000 years ago, and I
could now clearly see that the current depth of the thin soil
does not support much in the way of vegetation. Except for
a few trees that are able to grow close to the water's edge,
low lying bushes are the only thing to project above the heather,
lichens and moss. The landscape is punctuated by gray granite
boulders of every size imaginable and bare granite flat areas
that were clear reminders of the geological history of the
region.
We
encountered many small herds of 4 to 20 bulls. Nothing but
bulls, bulls, and more bulls--most of which were still in
velvet during the second week of September. We never saw a
cow or calf and its this way every year. On the second day,
the blue skies and no wind gave us perfect conditions and
we were able to limit out with two bulls each (all of which
qualified for the SCI trophy book). Three were doubleshovels
and one qualified for the Boone and Crockett trophy book with
a 19 3/8 inch wide shovel! This was clearly a trophy hunter's
paradise.
The
quality of the camp, food, hot showers, boats, guides, and
field care of the trophies was simply first class. Going through
Schefferville and having to confront the Copernican attitude
of the various French outfits and French bushplane operators
was the singular derogatory aspect of this leg of the trip.
Our outfitter has a battle with them as he comes from purely
English speaking stock.
NEWFOUNDLAND
We
flew to Stephenville on the west coast of the island province
of Newfoundland arriving after dark. After an overnight stay
in the cookie-cutter Holiday Inn, we were driven out of town
to the south to rendezvous with the outfitter for our trip
by a Bell Jet Ranger helicopter to the base camp in the Long
Range Mountains. The island is referred to by local "Newfys"
as The Rock as it too has been glaciated in eons past and
the resultant soil is practically non-existent. To my knowledge
there are no great herds of caribou as observed elsewhere
in Canada or Alaska. The animals are lightly disbursed over
the terrain. Most sport hunters that book into this region
are disappointed that there are not waves of caribou on the
horizon. It has never been like that. You have to hunt here.
Robert Raurk said, that the intrinsic value of a given trophy
is directly proportional to the effort spent during the hunt
for it. So true.
The
flora is radically different compared to any other location
in which I have hunted In North America or northern Europe.
In this case the low-lying spruce grows only from 6 to 24
inches above the surface. It is springy to walk upon and is
akin to walking in deep snow ... for hours and hours. I have
to say the most memorable aspect of the 5-, 8- and 13-mile
hikes through this very unique eco-system was unquestionably
the vegetation--it is clearly the most difficult stuff to
walk through short of the damnable bamboo forests I encountered
in the valleys of the Highlands of Vietnam.
The
weather is very similar to our late October-early November
with mixed rain, fog and drizzles punctuated by wind. One
clearly has to want to be there to hunt and one must constantly
keep that in mind or "Creature Comfort" will drive
the faint of heart back to the lodge where hot coffee, a wood
burning stove, dry clothes and a hearty meal beckon.
We
persevered from dawn to dark every day until we both finally
tipped over our Woodland caribou. The antlers are smaller
that the other more common subspecies of caribou; the color
is much lighter than its cousins, but the body size is only
slightly smaller than other sub-species. All things considered,
the Woodland caribou is a worthy trophy to be pursued in a
very unique landscape. I must add hunting with a geographically
and culturally isolated English-speaking population in eastern
Canada was an experience not to be forgotten.
The
camp was dry, warm, and adequate. The hearty food was certainly
the highlight of the base camp. We had to ride 4x4 ATVs out
to the pickup point as the helicopter could not fly in the
fog and rain.
As
a footnote, mid- to late-October is the best time to pursue
the Eastern Canadian moose as the Rut comes much later than
any other region where moose are found.
NORTHWEST
TERRITORIES
After
refueling in Churchill, we continued to fly west to arrive
in Yellowknife while it was still light. Fortunately, I did
not lose anything in Churchill so there is no reason to go
back! Yellowknife was a welcomed sight after the stark barrenness
of Churchill.
The
next day we flew in a twin-engine Otter northeast to MacKay
Lake to the best large-sized base camp I have every visited.
We had separate cabins with hot showers and sheets, blankets
and pillows. A separate dining facility produced excellent
meals for up to 20 hunters at one time without a bit of trouble.
The separate lounge was an extra added attraction where the
nightly card games continued into the late hours.
The
lake is 157 miles in length and is shaped like a lazy "L"
and serves as a catch feature for the multitudes of Central
Canadian Barren Ground caribou which were migrating south
for the on-coming winter. We would be transported for a minimum
of an hour each way each day to where the caribou where suspected
to be somewhere along the convoluted 1000-mile shoreline.
On
the fourth day of the 6-day hunt, I finally connected with
a caribou with a "legal" double-shovel. I knew a
storm front was imminent so I did not hold out for my dream
head with 50-inch main beams and huge top tines. I just received
this head last week which was shipped by truck to my home
and it looks simply great with its high, wide rack, beautiful
white mane and almost black face and shoulder hair. I am really
proud of it. This lodge is a place to go back to!
All
the heads taken on this Caribou Odyssey will qualify for the
SCI book as high silver and gold in their respective categories.
Now
I have a serious dilemma. I do not have enough room in my
house to hang three caribou in any configuration which must
include my Reindeer from Sweden (1985). To make matters worse,
I am returning to Alaska this September for the third time
to try again for the 'Bou of my dreams--one that has 50-inch
mainbeams, legitimate double-shovels, huge multi-tined bezes,
and lots of top tines which are at least 10 to 12 inches long!
I have not found the right one in Alaska yet ... for I am
a Hunter not a killer.
It
just gets better every year.
