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MrElite is just as his handle implies - great guy

As the caribou passed by, often less than a stones throw away it sounded as though they were walking on a hollow-tile floor. Click, click, click....as if they were walking across a sheet of ice. Instead, the ground was soft and spongy....silent to walk on (save the cursing every-time a tussock flips and turns and bends in an effort to break the ankle of the human who should step on it). The "clicking" sound was very intriguing to me. It wasn't until we returned to civilization and to the Museum of the North located at the University of Alaska Fairbanks that my questions were answered. Caribou have tendons that slip over the bones of their feet as they walk which creates the clicking sound I was hearing.

Again, I commend Alaska Fish and Game for their work. While I was not allowed to kill a caribou, I was afforded the opportunity to exist in their world at such close proximity that I could hear the movement of their tendons. That's a pretty special opportunity!

Days later JP actually encountered a grizzly cub in the thick willows. He is lucky to be alive. The cub retreated and the momma bear was never seen. As hunters we wanted to kill a moose. WE knew we were hunting an area that has a low-density of moose. The reduced density is largely attributed to the abnormally high grizzly population. About half-way through the trip we decided to hunt separately to double our chances of finding legal bull moose. This decision required a discussion.

The discussion dealt with how one of us should respond in the instance the other did not return to camp. We both agreed that each of us were qualified enough woodsman with enough resources [maps, GPS, common-sense] that neither of us would get lost. If one failed to make it back to camp it was likely not a rescue mission, but rather a search for remains. The other should act accordingly.

Quick question: in this particular unit you weren't allowed to hold both caribou & moose tags? Most areas in AK so long as season is open, you can shoot a "lesser/cheaper" animal with your tag. I.E. if you have a sheep tag you can shoot a moose because it costs less. Or if you hold a moose tag you can shoot a caribou or black bear, because it costs less.

That's only for units that aren't draw tags and the season has to be open for the species you shoot, obviously.

Keep the adventure coming!

Had we shot that bull no one on the planet would have ever known...except the two of us. Ethics are defined as moral principles. It wasn't a matter of whether or not we could get caught. We simply chose [as good men /women do] to do the right thing because it's the right thing to do. As much as I would have loved to have that meat and as impressive as those trophy photos would have been it was not worth compromising our ethics.

So, back to the question; Although weight restrictions were an enormous obstacle in preparing for this trip one thing we did bring was an Alaska Hunting Rules Book. I had never heard of the concept of "trading down" to a lesser/cheaper animal. When we got into the caribou though, I wanted one very bad. JP explained that rule which seems to be unique to Alaska. When we returned to camp that evening I consulted the rule book. As unique as it might be, where we were, we were limited to hunting ONLY the species specified on our tag. Shooting a caribou was not an option.

Prior to the trip both JP and I described this trip as a "once-in-a-lifetime" trip or as a "bucket-list" item or other descriptions which would infer that we would not be doing it again. I'm not sure how JP feels, but I'm pretty confident I'll be on those ridges and on that river again someday....hopefully sooner than later.

I'm not a wealthy man. This trip was expensive....in terms of my lifestyle anyway. I am a business owner and the sole income provider for my family. Besides the financial aspect, it's tough to leave business and family obligations for nearly a month. It won't be easy for me to do this trip again....but most things in life that are worth doing aren't easy.

Thanks for sharing your hunt guys.

Here's to good times and awesome hunts!!

We certainly discussed the challenges we would face with meat care if we shot a moose early on. The biggest concern was the river conditions which lay ahead. We planned to fly over the river(s) we were going to float down during the bush flight to our drop-off point. By doing that we could somewhat assess river conditions from the air. Unfortunately, our flight plans were adjusted last-minute and we never had the opportunity to see the waters we would be floating. I think our biggest concern was encountering long stretches of stream that were too shallow to float.

There was one spot where we could have potentially had an airplane land to pick up a moose. We thought we might be able to use the Sat. Phone to arrange that pickup so we wouldn't have to end the trip short. That potential landing spot (a long gravel bar) was still many, many miles from where we were hunting during the first few days of the hunt.

We had citric acid, plenty of game bags, and a reliable meat thermometer as meat care was/is always a top priority. Even so, not knowing the river conditions meant that bagging an animal early posed some risks. As it turned out, I think we could have made it all work out, but it definitely would have been exponentially more work than what we experienced without having harvested a moose. It's the fact that we didn't have the experience of all that extra work that keeps tearing at me to get back out there and try again.