Up Into the Mountains Tomorrow

[DrMike]

We're heading high at four tomorrow. Elk and moose appear to be holding high, and Gil needs a moose and I need an elk. Susan is asking me to take a black bear as she needs the far for her saddles, and I need some for my arthritis. Gil speaks of shooting a grizzly to make the ointment for my hands. Fascinating.

 

[Greg Nolan]

It sounds like you have quite a shopping list to fill and you're just the man to do it. Best of luck and please be safe.

 

[sask boy]

Good luck Mike, can't wait for your photos & story.

Blessings,
Dan

 

[Elkman]

Good luck Mike
Bring back meat and pictures. Have a great hunt

 

[onesonek]

Sounds like a great time Mike,,,wish I was going!!

Good Luck!!!!

 

[DrMike]

Three thirty, and I'm chomping at the bit. The wind has died down and it is 1C here. Should be below zero in the mountains. We have about an hour and a half drive. My sole concern is that predators have grown so numerous in that area that ungulate populations have been depressed for about two years. We should, however, see some wolves and grizzlies, as they are reasonably numerous in the area. Whilst black bears are nervous because of the high grizzly population right now, we should still see black bears. If these conditions are as described, as quite possible, then ungulate hunting will be challenging and necessitate a move to another area. I grilled moose rib eye and roasted potatoes last evening for a big feed. Now, to fill the larder.

 

[gerry]

Good luck Mike.

 

[LD375]

Good luck Mike ..Lou

 

[DrMike]

It was 0 C when I awakened at 2:30 this morning, and stayed near that temperature until about seven or eight, by which time we were well into hunting. Well, first rattle out of the box, driving up into the Alpine area, we encountered a large mountain grizzly. He froze in the middle of the road, giving us ample time to really look him over. He was about seventy yards from where we rounded the corner and stopped. He was beautifully coloured (solid without any grizzling), a massive head and smallish feet. He finally darted off the road and into the bush. It was all over in about eight seconds, not enough time to grab a camera. I don't have a grizzly tag, and Gil was loath to take a poke if he couldn't verify it wasn't a sow with a cub. Consequently, he was gone in short order. We also saw about twenty goats early in the morning. When we got to the alpine, we found tracks of some large moose and some large elk and tracks of a couple of grizzlies. However, we saw no animals the remainder of the day in that area. We finally left about four in the afternoon and travelled north to a new spot. There, we encountered a very fat three-year-old black bear. I put a stalk on him and had him at about sixty yards, but opted to let him go. We had seen him ghosting through the trees and managed to sneak to this close range where we could get a good look at him. It was apparent that he was young, and that was the deciding factor for me. Immediately after this, we found two nice bull moose, and Gil is looking for a moose. However, had we shot one, it would have been a pretty good pack up some steep terrain. Cowards that we are, we opted to move to another location and then check on them when we came back by that valley. I managed to shoot four grouse and a snowshoe hare (they are already beginning to get white feet). We returned to where we had seen the moose, and they were not to be seen. We cut a circle to come back into the valley from the opposite side, and there were the two moose. They were moving steadily toward where we had arrived. We scrambled to a treeline and watched. The younger of the two beasts kept looking across the valley and below us, though we never could see what drew his attention. The older moose was occasionally looking back as if there was something that had startled them and driven them around the side of the mountain, though again, we never could determine what had unnerved him. They engaged in some gentle sparring, pushing one another in a desultory manner. Again, we closed the gap to 450 yards before they began to move at a rapid clip away from us. Gil cow called, which at first arrested them, and then seemed to alarm them causing them to move farther away. As it was getting dark by this time, we decided to leave them and perhaps look at them at a later time. They will be hanging around this valley for a few days. Interestingly, I saw not a single elk all day. We may have heard one answer to a bugle, though it was a long way away. There was bear sign in every area, including sign indicating some very large bears. However, we only saw the two in the course of the day. There'll have to be another day in the mountains, I'm afraid.

 

[SJB358]

Great trip report Mike. It really sounds like it was a great trip. Sounds like the place to be for bears..

 

[DrMike]

It was a beautiful trip, though I didn't take my camera out. Susan took a few pictures, and when she forwards them to me, I'll post them. I chided Gil that his cow call must have said something dreadful to those poor moose. I suspect that he said something like, "Hey, Big Boy, come up here and I'll eat you." Man, when he moaned out that tune, I just felt weak all over, imagine what it must have done to those poor moose!

 

[PJGunner]

"There'll have to be another day in the mountains, I'm afraid."

And that's a bad thing? :roll: :lol: Sounds like you had a good day, even if no meat came home with you. There' always tomorrow. I can understand not wanting to haul one uphill. These days, if it ain't uphill, I don't shoot. :wink:
Paul B.

 

[JD338]

Mike


That was a great story. Its just a matter of time until you fill tags.
Best of luck on the next outing.

JD338

 

[longwinters]

Sounds like great fun. From a Michiganders point of view a real adventure.

Long

 

[Elkman]

Mike says There'll have to be another day in the mountains, I'm afraid.

Darn it all, you will have to go at it again, I am really feeling sorry for you. The pain of it all ! Great write up enjoyed the narrative. Luck will be with you!

 

[DrMike]

Look, Bill, this is tough work; but someone has to do it. For the good of nature, in order to maintain a balance in the ecosystem, I'm prepared to make the sacrifice and go up into the mountains once again--likely, late in this week.