Hunting BC - South Kootenay Boundary

Thanksgiving is usually the annual hunt. In previous years I’ve shot  deer, bear, turkey. It’s also usually autumn with the forest colours at the their finest. Yellows, oranges, reds and greens.  Sometimes the snow begins but usually it’s just chilly autumn. The air is so sweet too.
With so many forest fires this year it was a challenge to think where to hunt.  I reviewed the maps of the fire areas. We really like deer hunting Hundred Mile House and have had great years in Nakusp, enjoying the hunting and the famous hot springs. My friend Laura comes along, mostly staying in the motels. Gilbert, blind now, keeps her company.
I have a camper which we loved but thought there might be snow this year and decided to go with a motel, a bad mistake, I wrote Motels from Hell about our Midway and Greenwood experience. The scenery and terrain was terrific.
I love BC, God’s country.  We’d travelled on this Crownest Pass #3 highway back from Nakusp last year enjoying the towns along the way, Grandforks to Osooyos. I love the cowboy sage country and rugged douglas fir.
Because of the horrible motel situations we cut the 5 days trip short. It’s a 6 hour drive from Vancouver but that leaves 3 days of hunting with morning and evening hunts most profitable.  The mule deer were plentiful but I was to find they were hiding out in the sanctuary farms with so few in the backwoods.  It was four point buck season for black tail and any buck for white tail. I asked someone if that was reverse racism but they only frowned. .
While I did some stalking one day and another day at dawn waiting in ambush, mostly I drove around the back woods. I enjoyed the comfort and pleasure of exploring in my 2017 Lariat Edition Ford F350 pick up truck. The weather was overcast and chilly first day but I was saved from rain.
Saturday was sunny and warm and I rode my KTM 690 enduro.motorcycle. I’ve a rack on front to carry the 20 gauge shotgun for grouse and rabbits and carry my Winchester 300 win mag short rifle own a strap cross my back.
I’ve also got my favourite bolt action Ruger Stainless Steel 30:06 rifle but the strap is shorter and I can’t get it over my helmut like I can the Winchester. It’s that stupid a reason for my choice in rifle while I’m on the motorcycle. I also carry a semi auto Ruger Mini 14 which takes 223 in the truck. I didn’t see any 4 points at all on this trip. The bucks I saw were safe in farmers private property.
I did shoot a grouse though missed 4 other grouse. If Gilbert my grouse hunting cockapoo hadn’t gone blind and was with me I suspect I’d have got two more. He used to find and flush them for me.  I saw lots of quail but none where they were legal to shoot, too close to private property. I did see a bear that might have made great ham and sausage. It was sitting by the side of the road but there was a cabin behind it. I have to be certain of what is behind whatever I shoot. As it turned out the cabin was abandoned.
I had a great drive up to the top of Mount Dhu where they have all the cell tower and communication antennas. An old cabin is up there at the top and looked like it was still being used at times by work crews.  Someone would just need to sweep out the rat droppings.
I loved the folk at Jewel Lake. I’d just been driving about exploring.  I took my ocean inflatable kayak with me, having an idea that I might shoot ducks and geese and use it to retrieve them. I never did get to a lake suitable for that.  Jewel Lake had a great RV campground and was a significant fishing concern. The lake is stocked each year and they have pictures of big trout they’ve caught there. Lots of boats for rent and cabins with heat and electricity.  They invited me in and I had coffee in the clubhouse looking out on the fabulous lake view.  In addition to the $120 a night cabins they had some hunter cabins without amenities they rented for $55 a night.  The fishing lodge part closed by the end of October because they don’t have insulated water lines. The hunter cabins were rented well into November.  Nice people, nice place.  I’d love to go fishing there some summer day.
On the way to Jewel Lake a full grown moose at full gallop cut in front of me out of the bush. There is a spike fork immature moose season in November but no mature moose with great rack season at all.  I was driving behind the magnificent beast bouncing about trying to get my iPhone to believe I
wasn’t driving to take a picture.

ACE Hardware in Midway and McMinn’s family foods were great places.  I loved the Midway restaurant ukrainian meal there too.   6 am they also served eggs, hashbowns and sausage or bacon breakfasts.
Greenwood had the best coffee house and bakery.  I had delicious quiche and lemon and cranberry muffins.  They opened early morning too.
In my travels about I talked with a Guide from Kettle Guiding, a good looking outfit, offering 2 deier, 3 day meat hunts for $2500. Given the high costs of equipment, accommodation,   wear and tear on equipment and all the private land in the area, it really would be a good deal for a successful hunt. I”m as much out in the woods for 4x4ing, motorcycling, hiking and photography.  I want to shoot the big game and maybe one day will go to a guide like the Kettle folk as there is less public land for hunting and more restrictions.  My dad used to call guiding ‘pimping’ but I think the times have changed and guides could be a real asset today.  It’s a long time since I hunted with my dad in his old pick up truck with $100 guns we’d bought at Army Navy and none of the Liberal Government hysteria, scapegoating and taxing of rural folk and hunters. You didn't need a lawyer to hunt with back then either.
Not getting any deer I stumbled on Mulligan logging road.  Golfing with Dr. Gutowski we'd take a mulligan when we hit a ball into the woods. I was kind of hoping this trail would be my hunting Mulligan but no such luck. I did have a great time shooting off a $50 or so of ammunition at cans and targets in the backwoods.  I really liked Christian Valley as well as the further east Boundary and Wallace backwoods terrain.
I used the 4x4 to go up to the top of Mount Dhu almost getting stuck in the snow and rocks and tree falls near the top. Hard to turn a long box truck with a motorcycle on rack out the back on a logging road meant only for Smart Car turn arounds.
Given the motel problems we opted to head home a day early avoiding the anticipatedtraffic back up at Langley on the long weekend Monday.  We stopped at Parson’s in Keremeos and got a haul of fruit and jams and chutneys.  Laura wanted pumpkins for Halloween decorations too.  We got the best pepperoni in Keremeos and at Stemwinder near Princeton.
I shot a couple of rabbits on a logging road paralleling #3.  It was just at dusk and one kindly stopped right beside the road so I could shoot him close with the 20 gauge and #4 shot.  The other one was sitting at a far distance believing itself invisible until I got a head shot with my 223.  I field dressed them and now have them in the refrigerator with the grouse. I’ll clean them up later for the freezer. I might even make a stew with the fresh tomatoes and garlic I got at Parsons, Keremeos.
No deer so far this year.  I hope I’ll get out again.  I really do like having barbecue and venison stew in the winter months.  The main thing is the adventure and certainly the Motels from Hell were an adventure.
The landscape and towns were really quaint in their own way. Rock Creek is a going concern and Greenwood had a lot of tourist appeal with it’s colorful history. I could see coming back with the camper and enjoying one of the great recreational campsites along the rivers.

Cariboo Lodge, Clinton and BC Hunting

We had so hoped to meet up with young Mewhort and his hunting wife. We’d all made plans last year but mandatory work arose and I missed them.  They shot a deer.  I shot a rabbit.  I usually shot a moose when I was with the young Mewhort’s father. Indeed it was nearly 30 years ago I shot my first moose at Circle H Ranch in Clinton.
This trip was a joy. A great drive north leaving the maddening city of Vancouver for God’s Country of British Columbia.  Friday afternoon. Laura and I had completed morning clinics and blind Gilbert was excited to be on a hunting trip.  The 2017 Ford F350 Lariat edition truck is a joy to drive.  The 450 km of driving, starting in light in the valley ending in dark on the plateau.  I love passing the tumble weeds.  I’ve travelled up and down the canyon for 4O years. I came first to Vancouver by that route as a child a decade before that with my father driving, my brother and I awed first by the Rockies then this great river passage.
I’d booked ahead with the Cariboo Lodge. Great people. Great accommodation.  I remember when I was young how much I loved the happy loud pub music and dancing. Older I just love the food and hospitality. This time we had rooms in main lodge, log cabin walls.  I was even able to order a Cariboo special pizza when I signed in.
While we’d missed the young Mewhort’s,  Derek and Naomi were there this weekend.  We’d been at their amazing wedding with the incredible ballroom dance routines that reminded me of my youth.   When I saw Derek I said, ‘You know we’re the losers. The other hunters and us are here because we’ve not got game earlier in the season.”  This was the last spike moose and 4 point mule deer weekend.  Princeton, where I might otherwise have hunted was already closed for moose.
Since we were both hunting Derek and I were up at 5 am and headed out at 6 am.  I almost immediately shot a white cotton tail with my Argentinian 20 gauge.  While Derek had shot bear he’d not shot a rabbit and I was delighted to show him how to clean one. Memories of my father and brother and all the rabbit we’d hunted growing up came back.  “I think of deer as just kind of big rabbits and the dressing isn’t all that much different.”  The weather couldn’t have been better. Brisk long john weather. Snow on the fields and in the mountains but sunshine and blue sky. Lots of tracks but no big animals interested in making an appearance  I encouraged Derek to take the Honda 500 down a side trail while I happily stayed in my truck enjoying the comfort watching an open field and marsh for the night hunt.
I learned from Laura that she and Naomi had a terrific day walking Gilbert about town, talking about pregnancy and babies. Laura thinks the world of Naomi.  I told her Derek was as easy to be with, knowledgeable and responsible.  Dinner in the pub was a great evening, the women chatting up a storm while each bite of wonderful food made me realize how full and tired I was . It really was good to get to bed feeling every muscle.  Again 5 am we were up again Derek was glad to take Charles my Honda 500 Side by Side down the side roads..  I really was enjoying the F350 Lariat.   I had new snow tires and the carpet of snow had taken out all the pot holes making the main country road ride as sweet as pavement.  I also liked the heat and comfort.  I  was glad that Derek enjoyed taking the ATV deep in the back woods. He had a Colorado.  The Honda Pioneer is made for the bad back roads.
Still no game.  Another spectacular day.  We came across a herd of wild horses and the cutest little colt. Then some cowboys passed us herding cattle down the road.
More great meals at Caribou Lodge. Derek and Naomi had to leave to get back for work and study the next day. . Laura and I walked Gilbert some more. I road hunted that evening. Echo Valley.  Lots of sign but no big animals.  I did raise some grouse.  I left the truck and hiked a whole lot too.  No luck  Apparently another hunter group got a deer and young Mewhort got his.
In the morning Laura and I packed up . Ugh  Gilbert, we drove off for the last morning hunt.  I saw a coyote crossing the road and actually got a picture from a far. The real delight was the grouse I saw and shot with the 20 gauge. Laura in the truck said Gilbert was ecstatic when the gun went off running circles on the front seat.  I called for her to let him out and the poor blind dog ran right into the ditch. Calling him I got him to find his way back to the road through the snow and plants and finally to the bird still flopping a bit on reflex.  Gilbert the great hunting dog pounced.  He grabbed the throat and killed it proudly. He has his smell and hearing and was obviously delighted to be part of the hunt.
Laura and I were so glad to see his excitement and watch him puff up with pride. He was so disheartened and dejected when he lost his sight but everyday he’s getting better and better.
The drive home was beautiful taking the Duffy Lake Road from Lillouette through Pemberton and down the magnificent Sea to Sky Highway.  I love the Marble rock in the sun light.  We left the snow and returned to the fall colours of trees and leaves..  It was raining as we came into the valley.  I loved passing Howe Sound where I sailed so many years.   I  unloaded all my gear and Charles then  stopped to  store guns and ammo in the gun storage locker before heading home.
I figured the hunting season was over till Spring. There is winter bow hunting but older I confess I’m more of a fair weather hunter than when I was younger.