- Location
- Somewhere on the Hudson Bay Coast
Our cabin is in a great moose and caribou area. We are on part of a large forested hill, where the lake is on our west side then to the east the ridge drops off sharply to the barrens which extend to the horizon. I got my moose licence early, but there was so much sign around I wasn't in any rush, preferring to wait until the flies were done.
Yesterday morning I left home in the dark and got there just as a bit of color started to show in the eastern sky. The temperature was -10 (felt colder in the cabin) and there was a couple of inches of snow on the ground - not a bug in sight. By the time I had a bit of heat in the cabin it was light enough to head out. The lake was pretty much froze over - just a couple of deep pools remained open. The snow was crunchy making silent walking impossible, but I did my best walking a few steps then waiting several minutes straining to hear anything that might betray the presance of game. Once an eagle landed on a tree right next to me, silouetted against the sky, but I just moved my hand towards the camera and he was gone...just that much movement. Throughout the morning I moved very slowly, probably covering less than a mile and a half over nearly four hours. Where there had been lots, I didn't see any fresh sign.
By 11:00 I was back at the cabin for my first coffeee of the day and some toast. I hadn't seen a track all morning so perhaps "my moose" had already been harvested or perhaps had been taken by the wolf who left the huge tracks on the trail I #####-crossed. We had actually seen him last weekend out in the barrens, black against the yellow tundra and curiously a flock of snow geese landed almost right beside him. Now with the sun up and the promise of a beautiful day it was time for plan "B".
Because I had seen no tracks earlier I travelled quickly through the bush until I was better than a mile north of the cabin. Then I turned east and went through more thick stuff for a half mile or so before turning south. The trees soon thinned out and I was on the edge of the barrens where I could glass ahead while I moved. I payed close attention to the little lakes and ponds which dotted the barrens, clumps of willows, and tuffs of grass on top of hummocks. I had walked out there before and knew that the flat looking ground was an illusion. Four foot high hummocks spaced just far enough apart that you had to jump from one to another stretched out about a mile before flattening into a gooey bog. Little streams which came off the side of the hill were covered in a thin layer of ice which broke like glass when stepped on, and sometimes would break when my weight pushed down the tundra moss beside them. Here and there were big flocks of ptarmigan, but they weren't on the list for today. The snow had melted here, but again I could see no fresh tracks or fresh droppings. In a few hours I was again back at the cabin for a quick snack and to close up. I had time to check one more area before dark.
I drove into the west side of the burn. From where I parked the Jeep it was a mile to the south end of the ridge, and I followed this until it dropped down to low ground. There was still a little bit of snow here, but it was going quickly. I saw a small set of tracks - must of been a calf which lost it's mother no large tracks around. The tracks dissapeared near a tundra pond, and I didn't hunt around to try to find where they showed up. The sun was dropping now. I slowly walked north following the edge of the ridge, stopping often to glass an open area, or just to get a better look at something that didn't look quite right. No luck and no tracks other than the small ones I would see from time to time.
Almost sunset now and time to head home. There were places just the other side of the cutting area where I could glass from the top of the ridge and have a good look around, and I would do that on the way out. I came to the creek and headed down the bank - I had crossed this often and it had never been a problem before. But there was an inch of ice on it now, and because of the rain over the last couple of weeks it was higher than normal for this time of year. Sure enough the front wheels broke through and all 4 wheels (lockers) spun with no effect.
Oh well, at least the Jeep didn't fill with that black water when I opened the door. On top of the opposite bank was a good solid tree that would serve as an anchor. Here on the trail were those little moose tracks again, but here there was more snow I could also see wolf tracks. I wonder how that played out. I hadn't seen the wolf tracks where I had first seen the calf tracks, but there hadn't been as much snow there. Anyway, I pulled the winch line out and went around the tree with tree strap which I attatched to the winch line with a shackle. Thankfully winching out was uneventful. I was a little worried that the ice would bust the rad, but the winch line kept the front end high and out of trouble. Soaked past the knees and covered in that fine silty mud that lays on the bottom of muskeg streams it was time to go home.
No moose, so you might wonder why I wrote this on a hunting forum....well I was hunting, and I had a great day.
Yesterday morning I left home in the dark and got there just as a bit of color started to show in the eastern sky. The temperature was -10 (felt colder in the cabin) and there was a couple of inches of snow on the ground - not a bug in sight. By the time I had a bit of heat in the cabin it was light enough to head out. The lake was pretty much froze over - just a couple of deep pools remained open. The snow was crunchy making silent walking impossible, but I did my best walking a few steps then waiting several minutes straining to hear anything that might betray the presance of game. Once an eagle landed on a tree right next to me, silouetted against the sky, but I just moved my hand towards the camera and he was gone...just that much movement. Throughout the morning I moved very slowly, probably covering less than a mile and a half over nearly four hours. Where there had been lots, I didn't see any fresh sign.
By 11:00 I was back at the cabin for my first coffeee of the day and some toast. I hadn't seen a track all morning so perhaps "my moose" had already been harvested or perhaps had been taken by the wolf who left the huge tracks on the trail I #####-crossed. We had actually seen him last weekend out in the barrens, black against the yellow tundra and curiously a flock of snow geese landed almost right beside him. Now with the sun up and the promise of a beautiful day it was time for plan "B".
Because I had seen no tracks earlier I travelled quickly through the bush until I was better than a mile north of the cabin. Then I turned east and went through more thick stuff for a half mile or so before turning south. The trees soon thinned out and I was on the edge of the barrens where I could glass ahead while I moved. I payed close attention to the little lakes and ponds which dotted the barrens, clumps of willows, and tuffs of grass on top of hummocks. I had walked out there before and knew that the flat looking ground was an illusion. Four foot high hummocks spaced just far enough apart that you had to jump from one to another stretched out about a mile before flattening into a gooey bog. Little streams which came off the side of the hill were covered in a thin layer of ice which broke like glass when stepped on, and sometimes would break when my weight pushed down the tundra moss beside them. Here and there were big flocks of ptarmigan, but they weren't on the list for today. The snow had melted here, but again I could see no fresh tracks or fresh droppings. In a few hours I was again back at the cabin for a quick snack and to close up. I had time to check one more area before dark.
I drove into the west side of the burn. From where I parked the Jeep it was a mile to the south end of the ridge, and I followed this until it dropped down to low ground. There was still a little bit of snow here, but it was going quickly. I saw a small set of tracks - must of been a calf which lost it's mother no large tracks around. The tracks dissapeared near a tundra pond, and I didn't hunt around to try to find where they showed up. The sun was dropping now. I slowly walked north following the edge of the ridge, stopping often to glass an open area, or just to get a better look at something that didn't look quite right. No luck and no tracks other than the small ones I would see from time to time.
Almost sunset now and time to head home. There were places just the other side of the cutting area where I could glass from the top of the ridge and have a good look around, and I would do that on the way out. I came to the creek and headed down the bank - I had crossed this often and it had never been a problem before. But there was an inch of ice on it now, and because of the rain over the last couple of weeks it was higher than normal for this time of year. Sure enough the front wheels broke through and all 4 wheels (lockers) spun with no effect.
Oh well, at least the Jeep didn't fill with that black water when I opened the door. On top of the opposite bank was a good solid tree that would serve as an anchor. Here on the trail were those little moose tracks again, but here there was more snow I could also see wolf tracks. I wonder how that played out. I hadn't seen the wolf tracks where I had first seen the calf tracks, but there hadn't been as much snow there. Anyway, I pulled the winch line out and went around the tree with tree strap which I attatched to the winch line with a shackle. Thankfully winching out was uneventful. I was a little worried that the ice would bust the rad, but the winch line kept the front end high and out of trouble. Soaked past the knees and covered in that fine silty mud that lays on the bottom of muskeg streams it was time to go home.
No moose, so you might wonder why I wrote this on a hunting forum....well I was hunting, and I had a great day.
