Consolation Caribou

The sheep hunt didn’t produce a ram. I had five days left before I needed to return to work. I had a caribou tag in my pocket, and a proxy tag to accompany it, so I planned to take advantage of those available days and try to bag a couple caribou. I wouldn’t take Tundra with me to optimize my chances of bagging some animals.

We got home late from the sheep hunt, but before dark. This gave me a little time to play with the kids before they went to bed. I then got busy unpacking from the sheep hunt and packing for the caribou hunt. I was up late, but had everything changed out and ready to go by morning.

Day 1 (Tuesday, August 25)

I decided to have breakfast with the kids and hang out a little while before leaving. I finally took off at 10AM with the ATV in tow. It was dumping rain the whole way, so I wasn’t looking forward to riding into my hunt during bad weather.

Along the way, there were two hitch hikers looking for a ride. My truck had empty seats, so I stopped to help them out. They were extremely thankful for me stopping. It was a couple from Colorado in Alaska to hike and explore. They weren’t going far, just to a trail head a few miles down the highway. They parked their car at the end of the trail and needed a ride to the beginning. We chatted for the short drive and soon parted ways, wishing each other luck on our adventures.

When I finally arrived at the trail head and parking area, I was pleasantly surprised to find it not raining there. I was able to unload and pack the ATV while staying dry. I hit the trail to find another surprise, it was actually in great condition. I was expecting it to be a swampy mess, but that wasn’t the case either.

The rain greeted me as I progressed on the trail. I spotted three moose early in the ride, a legal bull with a couple cows. As for caribou, they were absent. Toward the end of the trail, I stopped to talk with a lady and her daughter, glassing from a small hill. They let me know they saw a couple caribou each of the last three days, but no bulls and nothing allowing a stalk.

I got to the end of the trail and started establishing my camp. I planned on putting the tent up last in case it stopped raining. Luckily, that plan worked out perfectly. The rain stopped close to sunset, and I was able to erect the tent without getting anything wet that needed its protection. In addition to the tent, I brought a tarp to put over the tent and create an awning in front of it to create a dry area for sitting outside the tent. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out like I wanted and it literally took over an hour of trying different things and failing to put up a functional awning that would withstand the high winds of this mountain.

After setting everything up, I remembered that I forgot to eat lunch; this made dinner even more enjoyable. I ate outside under the awning, however it was extremely cold and windy heading into the nighttime. The campsite was beautiful, overlooking a massive valley with beaver dams and lodges, creeks, caribou trails, and plains before transitioning four miles away into massive peaks ending the other side of this valley floor. I was by myself because nobody else stays out here. Other hunters choose to sleep in comfort of their campers on the road. The best time to hunt is right after sunrise and before sunset, and there’s no better way to do that than to be camping in the area you are hunting.

I went to bed to the sound of ptarmigan calling all around me. I had high hopes of dropping a couple caribou and rolling out early on… I dreamed of that possibility all night.

Day 2

I slept great overnight. It was fairly warm, no wind, and very peaceful. My alarm sounded at 6AM and coincidentally, that’s also when the rain started. The rain didn’t damper my ambition though; I eagerly got up and ready to hunt.

The clouds were low this morning, sporadically covering the mountains and the ability to see much of anything. I decided to climb to the top of the mountain I was camped on (only about a quarter mile hike). From the top, I spotted two caribou down in the massive valley my tent was overlooking. I decided I would move and watch their movement from a rock closer to a pass on this side of the valley caribou typically accessed. This is when I spotted six more caribou deeper in the valley, behind these first two. Unfortunately, the two caribou joined up with the other six and all eight of them walked off in the opposite direction.

I sat on the rock longer, huddled in a ball and hesitant to move in order to retain heat. I then spotted a single caribou near the base of the mountains on the other side of the valley. He too was walking in the opposite direction of me. I then saw two more caribou close to the same spot I saw the first pair. I was unable to watch them for long because the clouds dropped and the valley floor was covered in white and grey.

I decided to hike for a while at this elevation in search of a clearing. During my hike, I could tell a huge heard of caribou were in the area recently; there was caribou poop and tracks EVERYWHERE. I couldn’t take a step without kicking up a pile of caribou poop, it was amazing. It made me wonder how many were here and when they left the area… if only that heard was here now!

The rain didn’t ease up at all during the day, and actually seemed to progressively get worse. This is when I discovered that my rain pants were starting to fail and soaking through to my clothes. Not surprising, my boots and socks were also soaked after a day of exposure to rain. I decided to retreat back to the tent to warm up and dry off. I could change and dry off, but my boots and rain pants had no chance seeing that we were camping in the middle of a cloud.

On the way back to the tent, I stumbled across a dead caribou. It was a young caribou and he was the victim of a hunter, likely over a week ago. This was close to a 100 yards from my tent. I dream of the day I can open my tent door, find a legal animal standing right there, and take it down while wearing my pajamas.

The rest of the day was shot. Once I got in the tent to warm up, my body shut down and refused to get back up. The rain never eased so I was fine with only hunting 8 hours that day, and decided to take it easy the rest of the night.

Day 3

It dumped all night. The temperature dropped low enough that it actually snowed. It wasn’t cold enough to stick near the tent, but the tops of the mountains had a fresh coat of white on them. My alarm went off at 6AM, and I snoozed it after hearing the rain was still present. Luckily, it stopped raining 30 minutes later at which time I got up to get ready for the day.

I had to put on my ATV riding gear because my rain pants and hiking boots were still soaked. Luckily, I could see some clear sky to the east, so that was promising for some descent weather. I then got ready for my morning bathroom routine, when I noticed something moving along the valley floor. I grabbed my binoculars and immediately saw a lone caribou traveling along what I call the parallel trail (a set of game trails at the base of the mountain and valley floor, about 1000 feet below me, that follow the path of the mountain ridge base).

The caribou was directly in front of me, so that meant if I was going to cut it off, I had to hurry up and outpace it to beat it to a spot. I quickly grabbed the items I needed and hurried down the mountain at an angle to where I thought I could cut it off. In my haste, I lost sight of the caribou, but I assumed I was moving faster than it was and it was going to stay on the trail. My assumption was wrong… I never saw the caribou again. Although I got to a place I knew I would intercept it, the caribou never showed up. I think it may have beat me to that spot and was already gone.

Defeated, I climbed back up the mountain to the tent to fully pack for a day of hunting. I decided to head back above the pass I was at yesterday in hopes more caribou were there now that the clouds weren’t obstructing the view. I immediate saw a solo caribou in the far distance by a lake, and then a group of four closer be a plateau type hill in the very middle of the valley. Three of those caribou started to walk toward my direction.

I decided to drop down to a flat area between the pass and valley floor, hoping to cut them off and have a good shooting lane. They continued walking directly to me, until all of a sudden, they made a 90 degree turn and continued their trek straight up the mountain! There is no way they knew I was there, but that’s caribou for you, often unpredictable. As a result, I had to sprint up hill and out of sight in an attempt to catch up and possibly get a shot at one of them. Again, I failed to ever put eyes on them again. Adam - 0, caribou - 2.

I decided to sit down and watch the valley some more from this new spot. From here, I spotted a group of four about eight miles away across the lake, a group of two walking away from me a couple miles up the parallel trail, and a single caribou that I think was bedded down within earshot of me that likely heard me and started sprinting away. I saw all of this within an hour of climbing the mountain and failing to intercept that group of three. However, for the next four hours, I didn’t see a thing.

I decided to hike to the top of the mountain so I could get a 360 degree view of everything happening around me. From there, caribou were also nowhere to be found. I saw a couple ATVs on the horizon, but they turned around when they noticed I was setup at the end of the trail.

I could see heavy rain was blowing in from the east, so I made my way back to the tent. I decided I would glass for caribou from my tent area until I needed to shelter or the weather blew over. As I glassed the valley, a side by side drove the trail behind me to the top of the mountain. A few minutes later, he turned around and headed back down. I waved, but I was either ignored or unseen. It then started to rain so jumped in the tent to wait it out.

I emerged after the quick dumping passed. I noticed the side by side was now parked at the base of the mountain far to the east, near the valley floor. The driver pulled out a hunting pack, put it on, and began hiking up the parallel trail toward my overlook area and in the direction of the caribou area I was watching. The hunter had an icepick as a trekking stick, so I knew he was headed sheep hunting. I watched him as he hiked through the exact areas caribou were moving through (dang him). He eventually made it to the base of the mountains on the other side of the valley, where he then disappeared from the heavy rain that blew in. Again, I dove into my tent to stay dry.

The rain cleared late in the evening. I came out of the tent to fix dinner and glass the valley some more. I saw four caribou about 6 miles away on the other side of the lake. I watched them undecidedly move around while downed my dinner.

I could tell it was going to be a cold night. The skies were clearing and the clouds wouldn’t be around to insulate the air. I desperately wanted the clear skies to stay so I could have a day without worrying about rain. The plan for tomorrow was to hike down to the valley floor, and sit on the plateau type hill in the very middle of the valley. This seemed to be an intersecting area that many of the caribou were passing by. I knew that if I dropped a caribou there, it would be a ton of work getting it back to the tent, but that seemed like my only option since I wasn’t seeing anything remotely close to the ATV trail. To make matters worse, my boots still were not dry so I would have to make the hike in my hip waders.

Day 4

It didn’t rain at all overnight. In fact, it stayed clear, and as a result, dropped below 27 degrees. It was very chilly, but that also meant it would likely be extremely hot that day too.

I side hilled the mountain until I got to the pass. A quick glance through the binoculars didn’t show any caribou in the valley, however, it was still fairly dark and seeing much was difficult. I then dropped down off the mountain into the valley, and headed towards the plateau hill. I was about 300 yards from the plateau when I spotted a caribou stick up out of the brush only 100 yards in front of me. I quickly pulled up my rifle, but the caribou was mostly covered by brush so I didn’t have a clear shot. It eventually dropped over the edge in the opposite direction. I pursued it and once I got to the brush I spotted him on, he was already gone.

It took a little while of searching, but I eventually found him. He was drinking from a small creek about 250 yards away. I went to put my rifle on him, but the combination of looking directly in the sun and the zoom on my variable scope being dialed all the way, resulted in an impossible situation for locating it through the scope. By the time I finally zeroed it in, the caribou was trotting off and headed up and over the pass. Adam – 0, caribou – 3.

I made my way to the plateau and setup for a long day of waiting. Once the frost burnt off, it got hot and buggy. I ended up sitting there for 11 straight hours, and didn’t see a single caribou! Frustrated, I decided to make the long hike back to the tent for the night. On the way, I made a stop at the top of the mountain to get a glance of my surroundings. As I peered down at the base of the mountain where the ATV trail cuts through, I noticed a caribou butt. Excited, I sat down to get more comfortable while I studied it, but I couldn’t find it again.

It was cold, very windy, getting late, and I was hungry. I ended up saying, “oh well” and headed for the tent. I fixed some dinner and tidied up camp. While the freeze dried meal was rehydrating, I decided to see if I could find the caribou I lost track of. As I sat down on a pile of rocks to glass in that direction, I immediately spotted it. I was now faced with a decision… what do I do? The caribou was at the base of the mountain about a mile away. The sun already set, but there was plenty of daylight left. If I shot it before dark I could get my ATV and retrieve it whole. I decided to go for it.

I left my dinner, downed a snickers bar, packed a light bag, and started jogging toward the caribou. This time, I kept a visual on the caribou as I made my way to intercept it. The further I dropped on the mountain, the more I realized I wasn’t really gaining any ground. The caribou was heading in the opposite direction. Knowing this, I decided to call off the pursuit because chasing a caribou almost never works, and with a small window of opportunity, I didn’t have much chance of success. Adam – 0, caribou 4.

Bummed by missing another opportunity, I sulked back up the mountain and to my tent. I was fairly depressed by the small number of accessible caribou I was seeing, but the kicker was the few opportunities I had to possibly drop some meat, didn’t pan out. Not firing my rifle at all this week was starting to wear on me. I was beginning to feel guilty not being successful while not spending time with my family. In other words, I could have had the same outcome if I was home spending quality time with my kids and wife. It really hit home when I realized that the next day was my daughter’s second birthday… and that’s when I felt extremely selfish.

I reached the tent, ate my dinner, and climbed into bed. It was going to be another cold night. Instead of hunting until Sunday, I made a plan to wake up at 4:30AM, head to the plateau (assuming today was a fluke since caribou were seen all around it days prior), and hunt there until the heat arrives (9ish). If I wasn’t pursuing anything by that time, I would plan on returning to camp, tearing down, and heading home to have ice cream with the birthday girl.

Day 5

Indeed it was another cold night getting close to 25 degrees overnight (I have a thermometer on my watch). I got up as planned, hiked to the plateau in the dark, and sat still the entire morning. The only difference this morning was my hiking boots were dry and I could finally travel faster and with amazing ankle support.

Similarly to the day before, I didn’t see a single caribou while I was sitting on the plateau. The only factors I could think of that may have caused this was either the sheep hunter that walked through the entire area the night before I decided to setup on the plateau, or the change in weather resulting in hot days and buggy conditions. Either way, I was on the losing end of the gamble.

I packed up my gear, and headed back to the tent a little after 9AM. It took me about an hour to get to the tent, and then another hour to tear everything down and load it onto the machine. On my way out, I stopped to talk to a guy day hunting. I told him about my hunt and where I was seeing them. He then pointed out a couple caribou… and go figure… on top of the mountain I was camped on. He said he was going to check them out. I wished him luck and I continued down the trail.

About 30 minutes later, I stopped to look around and noticed the hunter was at the top of the mountain. The caribou I was chasing all week never stood still, but for some reason, these two caribou didn’t more a single inch the entire time it took this guy to ride all the way up the mountain (even with the noise he made to get there). I was in shock as I watched him walk around the mountain, and get within a couple hundred yards of the caribou. I was frustrated knowing how hard I hunted and how bad I wanted to bag something, and this guy drives in on his ATV, sees something, drives directly to it, the caribou never moves an inch, and it basically begs for this hunter to take it home. Unfortunately for the hunter, he took a route too low on the mountain and came around a side, unable to see the caribou. The caribou were literally a couple hundred yards above him, but from his vantage point, he had no idea they were there. I think he believed the place he looked is where he last saw them, but in reality, he was too low. I then watched him return to his ATV and retrace back down the ATV trail.

I decided to stop my glassing pauses and just get the heck out of the area. My goal now was to get home as fast as I could to spend the rest of the day with my newly turned two year old. It took me half the time to get out than it did to get in.

Once in the parking lot, I noticed a blue truck with a familiar trailer behind it. That’s when it clicked… the guy on the side by side that was sheep hunting lived on my street three houses down from me! We don’t really talk much, but what a crazy place to see your neighbor without knowing much about them. I hope to one day catch him outside, ask him about his August 2020 sheep hunt, and drop hints about knowing where he went until it drives him crazy, and I’m forced to tell him I saw him in the mountains.

I got back to the truck and quickly packed it up for driving home. I accomplished one goal that day… getting home soon enough to spend some quality time with my daughter and stuffing ourselves with birthday ice-cream!