I booked this hunt with Robert Fithian and his son Cody of Alaskan Mountain Safaris at SCI three years ago. I was planning to hunt with my good friend Gary but sadly he had a knee injury about six weeks from our departure date. I flew on a scheduled charter to the tiny village of McGrath and stayed at the hotel there to await my flight to camp. It is a comfortable hotel but there are few services there. The only store in town was next door and was my only option for food. I spent one night in McGrath and Cody picked me up the next day in his Piper Cub. The weather was great and we saw moose from the air as we made the 40 minute trek to camp. As soon as I arrived at the main camp (GMU 19C) I was amazed at how hunt able this area was. There were great landmarks and I could have easily made my way back to camp if I had to.
Weather varied from nice cool days to cold, rainy, and very windy on the mountains. By the end of the hunt we got snow and freezing weather. With all of the forethought and planning I still needed some better clothes for this Alaskan weather. Sitting and glassing all day on a hilltop with strong winds chilled me daily. There are some things to rethink before next time.
We spotted moose, grizzly, caribou, black bear, and Dall Sheep on this trip along with all kinds of birds and small animals. I took a shot at a black bear at 320 yards on day three and missed. What a disappointment after climbing all the way up a mountain. It was eating blue berries. A grizzly sow with a cub was headed our way and we had to scare them off! What a sight it was to see them run.
The fog and rain has made glassing difficult and we lost many days to the weather. Sitting in a warm cabin was welcomed but also compounded the frustration of missing a bear. My time was running out and that inevitable sense of urgency came over me.
September 17, day 12 of the hunt. I went outside in the night to answer natures call. Bleary eyed I looked up at the sky to see the northern lights for the very first time! They were white and moving to and fro. I took this as a sign of good luck and hoped for a good day. I hunted with Cody and went for a moose across the river that we had spotted along with some others. It was a far trek and the wind was changing on us. We got to the valley where the moose were and immediately a cow was spotted. Unfortunately she had spotted us as well. I prepared for a shot off my knee and waited for the bull. Cody grunted and raked the tree to get his attention. He came out facing us or so I thought. He was actually slightly quartering to our left. I was expecting him to move to my right but he moved left just a bit giving me the broadside shot I was hoping for. At 270 yards it was a bit of a poke but a large target on the other end. I shot and immediately reloaded for a follow up. He disappeared for a minute then we saw him go down. He had not made it 5 yards. The .300 Winchester shooting 180g Barnes TTSX did the job quickly. Upon inspection the bullet must have hit a small tree limb that was not clearly visible as the bullet entry was quite large and the result of a bullet tumbling. A good reason to use a large caliber was once again demonstrated to me.
Sept. 20 Last day of the season
With freezing temperatures I found myself on the last day of the 15 day hunt. All bundled up we headed out for caribou. I shot a wolf at 420 yards and even with a good shot we lost him in the willows. We searched for an hour but had to continue our caribou hunt.
At 2:00 on the last day I finally got a caribou! There were so many moving that day. We stalked them for 1.5 miles and were only able to get to 360 yards. It was quite windy. I was able to range and dial and think about the wind for a minute before taking the shot. Finally I have my second trophy of this hunt. We loaded the whole caribou and all our gear on the ATV and headed back. Of course since my gun was strapped down on the bottom underneath all kinds of gear and meat we see a wolverine in the wide open hunting ground squirrels. As hunters we all know that if we don't have a gun we will see some incredible game!
This was an exhausting and very long hunt but an incredible experience. I hope to return to Alaska someday.
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