Headed out at 05:30 this morning with Rando. There was an omen immediately; as we crossed the Athanasca R, a hawk came flying across and it had a muskrat in it's talons. It is always amazing to me the way that hawks hold their prey so that it cuts the wind!
We saw a wolf and then 3 bears. The last bear was a big one but we could not get a good look at him due to the wind and the way the bear was positioned; in other words we screwed up the stalk.
It's been raining for the past couple days so the roads were really slick. I decided to head down a road into a valley and the surface was pure Alberta "loon s**t". All I did was try to slow down and my truck went sideways and we were f**ked. I tried to get back to the center of the road but just spun sideways down into the ditch. If you've ever tried to drive on central Alberta clay then you know what I mean.
There was only one way to get out but I didn't see it and buried my truck!
So we unloaded the quad and headed out towards a small compressor station we had seen. By a stroke of luck a couple of guys from the U of A came along and they had a 3/4 ton Ford 4x4 with an 8,000lb winch. Those guys were great! They agreed to head down in and try to help us, which was a pretty risky venture on their part.
They were able to winch my truck just enough to get me up out of the ruts I had cut when I sunk. I had walked the ditch and knew the one chance I had to get out was to gun the s**t out of it and run down the ditch for 30 yards to where the slope of the bank was a bit less.
So I did that and blasted 'er back up onto the road! What BS luck that those guys showed up!
We went back to Whitecourt for a mid-day break. Saw a big eagle eating a dead deer in the ditch, just on the edge of town. Cool.
So this aft' we went back and we were interested to see if that big bear was back out. Sure enough he was. We stalked the bear and got to within 20 yards before he knew we were there. I got one pic of him that is any good, then he ran off. He's a big bear. Every time I looked at the bear that was all I kept saying to myself. At that time I was not considering shooting him.
Off went went to another area and as we were driving I spotted grizzly tracks crossing the road. I measured them at 7" across the pads and a relaxed stride of 58". A good bear for sure. His tracks were all over the place on the roads, for the next mile! He has been walking back and forth and across that road. I bet if a person spent the day in there they would see him for sure!
So after that we decided to go back and check on "our bear". Sure enough he was back out again. The roadside has lush fresh green clover, that is just sprouting and he seems to be crazy for that stuff!
This was the third time we had stalked the bear today...
And he did not like it! Right away he bluff charged. Then he started bouncing and huffing. He then grabbed a pine tree and bent it over and began biting it and slapping it! It was pretty cool to watch. Meanwhile, Rando and I were like 35-40 yards away. I had the scope on him and I was very tempted to shoot. He has the seam in his head, big gut, big ass. The only thing was his ears did not look like they were quite far enough to the side, but maybe that was cuz he was fired up and pissed off. Like he was all aggression and on alert then.
About 3 times I guess I had the gun on him ready to shoot and couldn't pull the trigger, I just wasn't sure, but I believe he is probably in the 6'8"-7'0" range and 350-400 lbs give or take... I know he's real close to the size of the brute I shot 2 years ago.
Rando think he's for sure 7' and 450 lbs but I don't know. I'd have to knock him down and roll him around to be sure.
Oh yeah. He's got the most distinct light yellow muzzle I have ever seen on a bear. I could pick that yellow face out of a line-up, I tell ya'!
He did a bunch more dominance display before finally running off, but he didn't go far. Bugger is guaranteed to be back on that feed right now!
P.S.
Rando got one good pic that shows a side view and I will post that when I get it.
We saw a wolf and then 3 bears. The last bear was a big one but we could not get a good look at him due to the wind and the way the bear was positioned; in other words we screwed up the stalk.
It's been raining for the past couple days so the roads were really slick. I decided to head down a road into a valley and the surface was pure Alberta "loon s**t". All I did was try to slow down and my truck went sideways and we were f**ked. I tried to get back to the center of the road but just spun sideways down into the ditch. If you've ever tried to drive on central Alberta clay then you know what I mean.
There was only one way to get out but I didn't see it and buried my truck!
So we unloaded the quad and headed out towards a small compressor station we had seen. By a stroke of luck a couple of guys from the U of A came along and they had a 3/4 ton Ford 4x4 with an 8,000lb winch. Those guys were great! They agreed to head down in and try to help us, which was a pretty risky venture on their part.
They were able to winch my truck just enough to get me up out of the ruts I had cut when I sunk. I had walked the ditch and knew the one chance I had to get out was to gun the s**t out of it and run down the ditch for 30 yards to where the slope of the bank was a bit less.
So I did that and blasted 'er back up onto the road! What BS luck that those guys showed up!
We went back to Whitecourt for a mid-day break. Saw a big eagle eating a dead deer in the ditch, just on the edge of town. Cool.
So this aft' we went back and we were interested to see if that big bear was back out. Sure enough he was. We stalked the bear and got to within 20 yards before he knew we were there. I got one pic of him that is any good, then he ran off. He's a big bear. Every time I looked at the bear that was all I kept saying to myself. At that time I was not considering shooting him.
Off went went to another area and as we were driving I spotted grizzly tracks crossing the road. I measured them at 7" across the pads and a relaxed stride of 58". A good bear for sure. His tracks were all over the place on the roads, for the next mile! He has been walking back and forth and across that road. I bet if a person spent the day in there they would see him for sure!
So after that we decided to go back and check on "our bear". Sure enough he was back out again. The roadside has lush fresh green clover, that is just sprouting and he seems to be crazy for that stuff!
This was the third time we had stalked the bear today...
And he did not like it! Right away he bluff charged. Then he started bouncing and huffing. He then grabbed a pine tree and bent it over and began biting it and slapping it! It was pretty cool to watch. Meanwhile, Rando and I were like 35-40 yards away. I had the scope on him and I was very tempted to shoot. He has the seam in his head, big gut, big ass. The only thing was his ears did not look like they were quite far enough to the side, but maybe that was cuz he was fired up and pissed off. Like he was all aggression and on alert then.
About 3 times I guess I had the gun on him ready to shoot and couldn't pull the trigger, I just wasn't sure, but I believe he is probably in the 6'8"-7'0" range and 350-400 lbs give or take... I know he's real close to the size of the brute I shot 2 years ago.
Rando think he's for sure 7' and 450 lbs but I don't know. I'd have to knock him down and roll him around to be sure.
Oh yeah. He's got the most distinct light yellow muzzle I have ever seen on a bear. I could pick that yellow face out of a line-up, I tell ya'!
He did a bunch more dominance display before finally running off, but he didn't go far. Bugger is guaranteed to be back on that feed right now!
P.S.
Rando got one good pic that shows a side view and I will post that when I get it.
