Tikaani and his wife graciously invited me up to their home in Alaska for the fall moose season. After sitting down with my better half and checking our bank account, we decided it was a trip that I couldn't pass up and should definitely take. Having never hunted in Alaska before, I was really looking forward to the outdoor experience more than just bagging a moose. After all, an Alaskan moose at 1,600 pounds somewhat exceeds the airlines baggage limitation. :laf:
The scenery in Alaska is something that has to be experienced to truly appreciate it. Pictures simply do not do it justice. But here are a few of the many pictures I took while on the trip.
Before going after moose, John and I joined his friend Mark for a Dall sheep hunt. Mark had the tag and John and I were along to help bring back the meat if a legal ram was taken. The ground was very rocky going into a canyon with a glacier stream running though it. We must have crossed this stream 30 times in the course of the day.
(http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p28/aggiecat/Alaska%202011%20trip%20FnF/DSCN0120.jpg)
John with Mark leading the way. Mark is a life long Alaskan resident who in his younger years ran a trap line with his dad for several hundred miles per week. To say he knows something about Alaska hunting would be a gross understatement. He is also a part time taxidermist and, after seeing some of his work, it is absolutely beautiful.
(http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p28/aggiecat/Alaska%202011%20trip%20FnF/DSCN0115.jpg)
I also did double duty as the designated bear guy. Thankfully no grizzlies showed themselves although we did find fresh tracks. The rifle I'm holding belongs to Mark. Its a 45/70 Marlin loaded with Buffalo Bore ammo at 3550 foot pounds of energy. One hell of a bear gun.
(http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p28/aggiecat/Alaska%202011%20trip%20FnF/DSCN0125.jpg)
Some dall ewes
(http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p28/aggiecat/Alaska%202011%20trip%20FnF/DSCN0126.jpg)
(http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p28/aggiecat/Alaska%202011%20trip%20FnF/DSCN0131.jpg)
(http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p28/aggiecat/Alaska%202011%20trip%20FnF/DSCN0116.jpg)
A unicorn??
(http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p28/aggiecat/Alaska%202011%20trip%20FnF/DSCN0134.jpg)
No legal rams were found on this trip. But after 9 hours of scrambling over rocks and the back and forth over the glacier stream, I don't think I would have been much help in carrying one out if Mark had shot one. :nono:
I spotted this cow moose in a lake.
(http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p28/aggiecat/Alaska%202011%20trip%20FnF/DSCN0099.jpg)
(http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p28/aggiecat/Alaska%202011%20trip%20FnF/DSCN0101.jpg)
And this caribou
(http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p28/aggiecat/Alaska%202011%20trip%20FnF/DSCN0104.jpg)
We took off for a 7 day moose hunt in the wilderness in John's ARGO (which is another name for a tank :laf: ). That thing can go most anywhere as long as it doesn't get high centered. But then, that is what the winch is for. We had to winch the ARGO 3 times going in and then 6 times coming out. The trails were in horrible shape. Mud and water everywhere.
(http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p28/aggiecat/Alaska%202011%20trip%20FnF/DSCN0262.jpg)
(http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p28/aggiecat/Alaska%202011%20trip%20FnF/DSCN0261.jpg)
But we made it to our campsite in one piece. The camp was 9 1/2 miles as the crow flies from the trailhead. I think we actually went about 15-20 miles on the trails however. And it was worth every mile of it.
Sunrise
(http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p28/aggiecat/Alaska%202011%20trip%20FnF/DSCN0243.jpg)
(http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p28/aggiecat/Alaska%202011%20trip%20FnF/DSCN0237.jpg)
Moonrise
(http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p28/aggiecat/Alaska%202011%20trip%20FnF/DSCN0211.jpg)
Rainbow
(http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p28/aggiecat/Alaska%202011%20trip%20FnF/DSCN0176.jpg)
Our camp
(http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p28/aggiecat/Alaska%202011%20trip%20FnF/DSCN0155.jpg)
(http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p28/aggiecat/Alaska%202011%20trip%20FnF/DSCN0160.jpg)
(http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p28/aggiecat/Alaska%202011%20trip%20FnF/DSCN0193.jpg)
Moonset over the Sawtooth
(http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p28/aggiecat/Alaska%202011%20trip%20FnF/DSCN0233.jpg)
(http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p28/aggiecat/Alaska%202011%20trip%20FnF/DSCN0232.jpg)
Great white hunter
(http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p28/aggiecat/Alaska%202011%20trip%20FnF/DSCN0195.jpg)
Cow moose and calf
(http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p28/aggiecat/Alaska%202011%20trip%20FnF/DSCN0269.jpg)
No bulls were located on this trip. We continued to hunt in a different area after returning to John's home. But again no bulls were found. We did have a cow come to within 160 yards of us and we both thought a bull was right behind her by the way she kept looking over her shoulder back to the birch and spruce thicket. But none showed.
Although the moose hunting was unsuccessful, the trip was more than what I expected. I am so glad I went and want to thank John and his wife for putting up with me for the 3 plus weeks. Better folks can not be found.
A couple more pics of the Alaskan wilds.
(http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p28/aggiecat/Alaska%202011%20trip%20FnF/DSCN0056.jpg)
(http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p28/aggiecat/Alaska%202011%20trip%20FnF/DSCN0088.jpg)
Semp,
Those Moonsets are AWESOME! I am glad that you had a good time and that you enjoyed the scenery. While a moose would have been nice, I am sure that it was not the real reason that you went.
Jerry
Some real nice pics Semp and glad ya enjoyed it. :congrats: Maybe next time. :biggrin:
I looked at that picture of you standing there Johnny with rifle in hand, and thought you looked like you belonged there. :highclap: Thanks to you and John for taking us along. The photos and scenery are magnificent!
Dave
Real nice Semp!! I would love to go to Alaska one of these days :biggrin:
Quote from: Todd Rahm on September 28, 2011, 03:00:18 PM
Some real nice pics Semp and glad ya enjoyed it. :congrats: Maybe next time. :biggrin:
My wife and I are planning to go back to Alaska late next spring *if* all works out OK. But we will be doing the RV thing and just tour through the interior of the state. I really want to get back to Denali and spend some time there. That place is awesome!
Very cool Semp ! I know ya had a great time regardless of the harvest of a moose.
Lookin at your pics brought back some good memories. :wink:
Thanks for sharin it with us, appreciate it !
Wow, Semp, great pictures and story. I got to go in late August and thought Denali was awesome. My pictures are still in the camera. I need to get them organized and posted. Your post has motivated me to get with it!
Jim
Man that's cool as heck Semp! AWESOME trip!!! :yoyo:
I gotta go through this one again tonight after work when I got more time. But right off the bat...I'm jealous :laf:
Great pictures and story, Semp. Pleased as punch you got to make that trip. What was the main cause for those trails to be that torn up. Do they have a lot of logging or something of that nature going on in that area? It sort of reminded me of some of the farm roads where these farmers take those big diesel 4WD tractors when tending their cattle. They get them so torn up, they have to take a grader in there once in a while and level up. I've seen some of them where a regular ATV might not get through unless it is one that will swim through mud lake.
Wow, Semp, that looks like it was an awesome trip. And a two for one, too. You got exposed to sheep hunting, to boot. I've heard that's a tough hunt.
Really enjoyed your post and pics!!!
Thanks for posting that story and pictures, really enjoed it. As a matter of fact I went back several times just to look at the pictures.
Three weeks stomping around in Alaskan paradise..... you SUCK!!! :biggrin:
Looks and sounds like quite the adventure. Beautiful scenery!
Dig the moonrise picture. The moon looks humongous.
Thanks for sharing!!
As jealous as I am, I'm glad you got to go Johnny. Thats like a trip of a lifetime ...especially considering your experienced and gracious host. Kudos to you John :wink:
Those pics you call Moonset over the Sawtooth are awesome Semp. They almost look like they are painted.
Thanks for sharing the trip.
Sorry I am just getting to this, I am working 200 miles south of home this week and just got some time to sit at a computer. Johnny I am glad you had a good time during your stay here in Alaska. It was a pleasure having you as a guest in our home, Dian and I enjoyed our time with you and never felt that you were a "guest" more like a family member. We just commented the other day that we miss the green light at five in the morning making coffee. I am sorry that we could not connect with a moose, it was not from a lack of effort, but that is hunting as you well know. The pictures are beautiful, I am once again glad that Dian and I could share our wonderful state with you, and we will see you next year.
Hunt Hard, Die Tired
John
By the way, anyone who can hike up Gunnysack looking for Dall Sheep, can hunt with Mark and me anytime.
Great post and beautiful pictures Johnny. :congrats: :congrats: I hope to get back up to Alaska myself sometime soon.
Pat
Looks like an AWESOME trip Johnny!! Great pictures!! :yoyo: And kudos to Big John Tikanni for taking you along. :yoyo:
:bowingsmilie: I never get tired of seeing those pics from John's Country! Great story and stunning photos Semp!
Quote from: Hawks Feather on September 28, 2011, 01:55:24 PM
Semp,
Those Moonsets are AWESOME!
Here is a couple more, Jerry.
(http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p28/aggiecat/Alaska%202011%20trip%20FnF/DSCN0250.jpg)
(http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p28/aggiecat/Alaska%202011%20trip%20FnF/DSCN0249.jpg)
Thanks for the good account and great photos. Enjoyed the trip with you!
I spent last week after moose near the Yukon border, with no luck. We had an odd year, with nobody in our area seeing moose or caribou, not even a track in two day old snow. We camped where the parties around us did well last year, with five moose and four caribou. This year the same hunters had not seen a single animal: 16 days of hunting for one party, nine days of hunting for another party of four, etc.
We saw saw 4 moose (no bulls) two caribou (one nice bull a steep rough mile and a half away) and one Mt. goat. However, in an area where I have never seen a black bear, we saw 9 black bears and three grizzly in our first 27 hours. Some kind of odd migration going on, moose away and bears moved in. Also the best grouse year I've seen, and of course I didn't take a .22. Bonked one with a rock.
Gorgeous country and good company made for a good trip. We did the loop north up the Alaska highway and back down a ways due to a closed road and saw over 200 buffalo on our way up.
Ft. Nelson is a boom town full of oil workers. That sleepy little isolated place has big new hotels either just built or under construction, big new restaurants, parking lots full of muddy 4x4 pick-ups and service trucks, no vacancy signs on the motels and in the evening the restaurants are full of men in dirty work clothes with pockets full of money.
It felt good to see a place booming with productive work and jobs. It is not as busy but there is a gold rush going on around Dease Lake, choppers and planes shuttling men and equipment, hauling slings of ore, or doing some kind of mineral prospecting with probes on choppers flying low and slow. Jade boulders as big as cars on flat decks heading to a port for a ship to China.