Hunting with Luke in Northern British Columbia

"If you're going to take pictures of me and put me in your blog remember to tell them that I'm single. And put in lots of action pictures because girls like those."
Luke and I began hunting together a few years ago. I met him through his aunt. He'd gone hunting with his cousins in Australia before taking up hunting in BC.  I like that he's a carpenter and handy. This trip he helped me when my winch broke and also was great about chopping the wood and getting more with the chain saw.  I can trust him with machinery and also my dog. Gilbert loves him.  Laura thinks he's a gentleman.  In the truck hunting he tells great 'politically incorrect' jokes and definitely has his father's sense of humor. His father and I have been friends for years as well.  His dad rode  motorcycles in his younger days.
On this hunt we shot spruce grouse.  Both of us had good shots at black bear but missed. Luke was sure he hit his but when he went to see two other  bigger bears surprised him.  He figured he'd search for his 'wounded' bear in the morning.  So with Gilbert and me we did just that but didn't find any blood and figure his bear got well away.  Mine stood up behind a big stump. I saw the head and put a precise hole in the heart of the stump.  Canada is known for making the best body armour in the world.  Probably the designers watched the sneaky behavour of the Canadian black bear. This one ran away laughing at me.
When we were together in Luke's truck just pulling off the highway an immature moose with two forks graciously offered himself to us.  I screamed 'moose'.  Luke hit the brakes. I had my gun but fumbled with the ammunition while Luke was fumbling for his rifle.  Gilbert got fed up with both of us. The moose grew impatient and Gilbert ran after the moose figuring to show us what we're supposed to do.  It was gone in the woods leaving me to pick up shells by the side of the road.
The next bull moose ran across the road into the swamp. I was on the ATV. Luke was behind me in his truck with Gilbert who'd left my cold open air vehicle for the comfort and companionship of Luke's truck.  I was only afforded a head shot on the move, took it and nicked the moose's neck most likely. There was some blood but quickly it clotted and the bleeding stopped so neither Luke, whose a fine tracker or Gilbert could follow it. It had bounded away without even slowing so we figured there's a bear and moose out there that will live long lives hopefully wise to the ways of game hungry men.  Tracking the moose had taken us deep into the swamp and we were lucky to have compasses to find our way back to our vehicles. What a slog that hump was.
Luke and I had only the day before been target practicing with our rifles shooting bull s eyes with close patterns at 100 yards.  But neither of us had rests for our guns and moving targets are a lot more difficult to hit than stationary ones.  This was my first miss and reminded me of my guide friend who missed once when I was with him.  It brings out alot of self loathing and second guessing. If only I'd waited an extra second or if only I'd shot sooner.  Meanwhile we pray for the game.
I've lost ducks and know that this just feeds the foxes and wolves.  Everything is eaten in the wild.  First come the crows and then everything else is there for the feast. I'd rather have come home with bear and moose though.  We're game hunters and not trophy hunters loving the food most and happy to shoot younger animals than the old crones and elders the trophy hunters prefer.  Trophy hunters are the geriatric euthanasia service.
Luke was certainly good fun as a hunting companion.  We were sorry that Sonny couldn't get away from work for more of the hunt but the two of us made the best of it. We were up each day at 4 or 5 am. When I slept in Luke woke me and when he slept in I woke him. We'd come back mid day for a break and then be out for 4 or 5 pm coming in for 8 pm dinner. Laura had hot feasts prepared. We'd barbecued steaks, smokies, pasta and even ice cream for desert.  Luke made up porridge in the morning and I made up the coffee for thermos pluss the boiled eggs to carry with a protein bar and sardines in a jacket pocket.  The hunt started hot with full moon at night then got cold. The early morning cold brought on the moose rut which just started when Laura and I had to return to Vancouver for work.  Luke had a couple more days before he had to return so even now I'm hoping he gets a moose.

Wilderness Camping in Luxury

Laura, Gilbert and I joined Luke at Tacheeda Lake Recreational Site. Luke had driven up in his Toyota truck carrying the Honda 230 CRF motorcycle on the back with a tent and sleeping bag in his cab. . I'd come up in my Ford F350 Diesel Harley Davidson Edition Truck with a Polaris 500 Sportsman ATV in the back towing a 26 foot Forest River Mini Lite Trailer.
After we set up camp it wasn't long before Luke was hanging out for dinner in the trailer and having showers there as well.  He slept in his 2 man tent and built great fires in the outdoor fire pit.  Sometimes we'd sit about his fire and sometimes he'd hang out in my heated trailer.  Gilbert liked being inside and outside. We were ostensibly on a moose hunt but we had fun doing other things as well.
All that goes with camping and RVing took place. We target practiced with bow and with rifle.  Luke and I swam in the lake and he even got an air mattress out for sun tanning while floating about the lake. I had a Honda 2500 generator going to provide electricity. It served all our needs. It even worked with a sump pump in the lake and hose that ran to our water tank. A switch of a switch and I had the tank refilled in minutes. No hauling water and no trips back to civilization for basics.
We did pick up more fuel at Bear Creek gas station and Convenience store, about an hour drive away on logging road and highway.  It was the closest town. We were about 120 km north of Prince George on the Cuchinka Red Forest Service Road just south of Mackenzie Junction. Since we drove up some mornings to the logging roads by Kennedy Siding we picked up fuel at the Mackenzie Junction gas station and restaurant too. So we did add fresh bread and coffee to our stock. We were using about 5 to 10 gal a day of gasoline for the ATV and Generator.  A couple of gals of fuel ran the generator 8 hours and 5 gals of fuel let me drive the ATV all day.  We used less really, those being max numbers since we were walking and sitting alot as well.  At first we had a couple of really sunny days  and I had the solar panels out charging the battery When the wind came up I put these away and settled for the generator.  I had a 'honey bucket' for emptying grey and black water.  Grey water is the water from washing and I just dragged this on it's wheels   to the nearby sand dump.  The septic tank served us for the whole week only needing emptying on the way home at an outlet.  Partly that was because we were away most of the day using the woods for a toilet. Laura was back at the RV guarding the site and as everyone knows girls don't shit.
I'm always amazed at all the wilderness activities that are encompassed in a hunt.  This time it involved camping, photography, hikin,g, swimming, 4x4 ing, RV'ing, offroad motorcycling, and ATV'ing.  Gilbert, Laura, and Luke were great companions.   The only lack of cooperation was with the bear, moose and deer who outsmarted us.  The grouse on the other hand hung around long enough so that we could bring them back to the barbecue.

Northern Beaver and Muskrat

The Beaver is a symbol of Canada.  Trappers loved beaver hats for their warmth.  Natives say 'beaver tail' soup is the best. I've never shot a beaver. I've known that were I to be in a survival situation they'd be up their on the menu list.  The natives cherished them for the 'fat' supplies since 'fat' was hard to come by, most animals being lean and kentucky fried chicken not being available till the last decades.  Goose is popular for it's fat too.
I come across beaver and muskrat when I'm hunting deer and moose.  The beaver was in the woods by the side of the trail near a swamp and I noted the brush moving and heard him chomping first.  When I came over to take his picture, being shy he left. The muskrat however was swimming and quite happy to watch me.  He didn't like Gilbert and Gilbert didn't like him but he was near his wood house so felt safe with a near by exit. One of true joys of back country hiking is watching wildlife in the wild.  I watched the beaver for a while before I let him know I was near and the muskrat went back to it's business of buidling a damn as if I wasn't there even with Gilbert whining.  The beaver is rounder and bigger than the muskrat.  Beaver are more wary usually.  One road to a guiding area was flooded thanks to these fellows. We came by later in the week when the guides had returned to prepare their lodge for American customers. They'd broken the damn and the road was clear for travel.  These industrious little fellows will just build another damn so I expect the guiding operation has to do this a few times a season to keep it's lodges available to the outside world. 

Bear Banger

The joke about black bear and grizzly bear scat goes like this.  Asked what the difference was, the old hunter told the newcomer, "you know how people tell you to carry pepper spray and where little bells when you're in grizzly territory. Well, black bear scat looks pretty much the same as grizzly bear scat.  Black or red depending on the berries the bears been eating, with little bits of fur and generally a good sized heaped.  With grizzly though there's more of it and it oftens smells like pepper and you can find these little silver bells in it.

If you're hiking in the Canadian woods and you don't want to be attacked by bears know the following cardinal rules:

1) You probably can't outrun a bear but because polar bear think you're a seal and food it's the only bear it's worth a try with. On the open tundra where polar bear are there's little choice. I outran a polar bear when I was younger making to safety seconds before the bear.

2) Don't run from black bear. They are opportunistic bullies and will attack you for sure if you show cowardice.  They often charge and stop 10 to 20 yards away as a bluff.  I've charged them to get them to run away shouting and throwing rocks.  I've punched one too and been knocked down by one but those are other stories.

3) Grizzly are territorial and they will attack. I've encountered grizzly several times but been fortunate to ease away without them getting wind of me.  Also I've been carrying a bow or a rifle so had some advantage.  Wounded bear travel at 40 miles an hour and can live for a half an hour with a heart wound so it's not television.  Best avoided. I did have the priviledge of hearing an amazing forestry specialist on bear at a Wilderness Medicine Conference and he recommended curling up like a ball if there was no other escape. I have met survivors of grizzly attacks and they said they just tried to cover their face and head.

2) Carry a "bear banger". I prefer a 12 guage shot gun loaded with buck shot followed by two slugs but if you're not packing the 'bear banger' is the next best thing. They're the size of a pen. They are idiot proof. They cost about $35 for the pen launcher and the the bangers themselves come in packages of six at anywhere from $3 to $5 each. I've got one loaded in my pocket at all times when I'm hiking without a gun.  I used to hike grizzly bear country, doing wilderness photography for a decade or so in my vegetarian non hunter days.  I've carried bear bangers, pepper spray and flare guns but as I've said I prefer a 12 guage. My favourite guide carried a 45 pistol and I'd prefer carrying a hand gun but it requires a special license.

3) The bear banger makes a loud noise sounding just like a 12 guage shot gun. You can also shoot off a flare that goes hundreds of feet in the air. They're come as kits or separately and really should be standard issue for hikers.

4) Be aware of whether you're hiking upwind or down wind.  Grizzly bear are especially annoyed by being surprised.  Either make a lot of noise or don't make any noise at all. I stalk in the woods, tai chi walking Canadian style, so my encounters with grizzly cubs have allowed me the option off backing away from an obviously dubious family affair. When I was younger I made a lot of noise with whistles and singing and talking loud and that's a fair alternative for those who don't know how to be quiet and aren't particularly interested in seeing any wildlife at all.

I loved hearing Sarah Palin, one very bright and truly accomplished woman, say, to paraphrase her, "If you're taking children camping in Alaska and you're not prepared for bear we consider that 'child abuse' here."
The bear attacks I've personally seen were in campsites where campers stored food in their tents and on the roadside where tourists vying for the Darwin Awards were trying to feed black bears.
http://www.macecanada.com/wilderness/Signal_Kits1.htm

Bear Scat, Deer Scat and Tracks

When hunting we look for 'sign'.  Sign is evidence of the animals in the region where we are hunting. The best evidence is the animal itself.  Alternatively we see their tracks but say "tracks make a thin soup".  Even better is fresh 'scat'.  Bear shit. Deer shit. Moose shit.  Hunters talk alot about shit.  We encourage newcomers to taste it for freshness and occasionally get a 'mark'.

I did find a hairy spiral shaped mass that made me first think of a my cat and it's fur balls. I wondered if it was a cougar fir ball but figured it was more likely wolf scat.
Needless to say we saw lots of tracks and lots of scat. The full mood and good weather meant that the animals had a lot of time at night for carousing so were less likely to be seen during the day.

Polaris Sportsman 500 and hunting in Northern BC

British Columbia is divided into different hunting regions with their own rules of conservation.  Depending on the year some areas you can hunt deer in one area where you can't in another.  Within each region there are management units.  Again each unit has even more specific regulations about when and what you can hunt.  We had camped in M.U. 7.16 but had Limitted Entry tags for Management Unit 7.23.  Limited Entry is a 'draw' that occurs each year and hunters who win the draw are allowed to hunt a specific animal not allowed in that time or place.  All of this 'game management' is paid for by hunter licenses, each species cost $20 dollars a tag or more and the overall hunter license around $50.
The principle support for ecological conservation of wildlife and fishing and their environment comes from the fees paid by hunters and fishermen.  There are hundreds of thousands of us. Whenever I hear "activists' 'talking' ad infinitum about their contribution and their concern for 'wilderness', 'old growth forest', 'endangered species' etc I remember that the hard earned cash of hunter's and fisherman are the principle means of maintaining conservation officers and ensuring that accurate counts of game and intimate knowledge of habitat is maintained by our government.  We're the ones who have the real invested interest in ensuring that game survive and annually we can enjoy the outdoors and harvest. . I commonly  spend several hundred dollars a year on licenses and tags for hunting and fishing.  Almost as commonly I'll be lucky if I catch a fish and shoot a deer.  I pay for the priviledge of hunting. I don't get a refund for what I don't catch or shoot.
The Polarais was perfect for the logging roads and back country trails and off road terrain.  I had to travel about 17 km over rough active twisting logging roads to get from where I was camped on the Cuchinka Red Forest Service  to the Cuchinka Anzac Forest Service Road where we could hunt bull moose.  Because the bridge was out some days we'd load the ATV in the back of my Ford F350 and drive the north to the northern entrance of the Cuchinka Colbourne Forest Service Road where my friend Luke and I would ride on the Polaris..  We'd see bull moose in both places.
In the 17 km stretch I drove the Polaris ATV in 2wheel drive mode like a mad man. It was usually dark with just the beginning of light. I started at 30 miles an hour but soon was doing 50 miles an hour, the machine hugging the road and me feeling like a 1930's racing car driver.  Sometimes when I hit bumps and was airborne I felt like I was Snoopy racing through the air to take on the Red Barron. Gilbert, my daring cockapoo rode behind me with a leash to his dashing orange and black Harley Davidson vest keeping him from flying out.  Up to 30 miles an hour he was standing with his nose and face stretched out beside me taking in the wind and scents.  Around 40 he'd tuck in behind me for the shelter from the cold since the mornings were chilly.
When we got to our destination road I'd  switch to 4 wheel drive mode.  The machine did amazingly well over the over grown side roads bashing through willows and even riding over the churned up forest bed where recent logging had been. There and in the thick mud after a couple of nights rain I'd had to use the low gear 4 wd.  Mostly the low gear served me best coming down steep mountain slopes, just walking the machine safely down while I felt like we'd begin tumbling head over heels at any moment.
It had amazing power. 500 hp being more than one needs for hunting but at times I'd take my buddy Luke along and with the 2 of us I certainly appreciated the size of engine. I never did get the pleasure of carrying out a moose on the Polaris but it would do that job well indeed. Luke also drove the ATV about some days when I was off walking and absolutely loved it.
Gilbert and I had a whole lot of fun exploring on the Sportsman 500.  I'd drive to my hunting spot and sit waiting in ambush for an hour or so then I'd walk about stalking somewhere else for another hour. After that I'd be careening all over the countryside going whereever my hearts desire took me.  I startled moose on the road who ran across my path while I tried to get a gun loaded to take a shot.  I missed. The bear were faster though. One young black bear out ran me down a trail and was off in the woods before I even had time to stop.  I saw other bear on the spruce and pine lined ridges but they were often more than 300 yards off.  It was just a delight to be able to drive around the country side putting a hundred miles a day of off road ATV'ing  in seeing some of the most beautiful wilderness in the world.  I probably used around 5 gallons of gas a day so the saving compared to using my truck was extraordinary. Besides the paint job on my Harley Davidson edition Ford F350 wasn't meant to be bush burned.  In contrast I think that Polaris is using something NASA developed for it's paint job because despite all the beating the machine took it didn't loose it's pristine good looks.