i return a mud-encrusted, smelly, itchy, boy with no moose.
the day before opening we woke up at 2 in the morning to hit the road, set up camp. was rather nice too, a fifth wheel trailer that sleeps 4, couple atv's in prime moose country.
the day the hunt opened, there was two inches of snow on the ground and it was still flying. visibility down to 150 yards at best. so we sat in the truck and glassed as much as we could.
saw one cow, but the unit we were in was only open for bulls with 50" racks, or four brow tines, or spike forks. heard a couple of shots from other hunters. no self respecting moose is going to move around in that weather, so we hunkered down in camp and woke up the next morning to bright blue skies and enough sun to make coats unnecessary.
one guy in our group saw a bull across from our camp but it dipped out of sight before he could get the spotting scope on him. then he saw another one down the hill but didnt think there was an easy way to get him out of the ravine even with the four wheelers and three of us. so he didnt take the shot. kicked himself afterwards when he did find a way to get down there on the atv.
we saw a bull a mile off but other hunters spooked it and it ran away before we could get a closer look.
then the winds came. oh, wait, before that, i got my initiation to riding a 4-wheeler. lived up here my whole life and have never rode an atv or snowmobile or any of that fun stuff. i learned the hard way that following another rider who doesnt know where they are going is adventurous. we scaled a freakin mountain before he admitted he didnt know where he was. the whole ride up i was cursing up a storm, but the ride back down had me calling for my mommy. yes i'm man enough to admit i wanted the safety and security of my mother. you would too if you were bouncing down the mud holes and tundra of a mountain at a 30 degree angle. on your first ride on a quad.
but we made it back to camp in one piece. and then the winds picked up. a constant 40 mph wind, gusting to about 100. could still be blowing up there for all i know. we left after 48 hours of it. but not after i got a second initiation to the atv, but this time i played it safe and stuck to the bumpy tundra instead of going down in the mudholes like my riding partner. had to pull him out a couple times.
so we came back without any kills. two illegal moose had been harvested by another party, not far from our camp. hope the troopers catch the bas*****, we had a good idea who it was, unfortunately the only description anyone could come up with was 'three white guys, one wearing a yellow rainsuit and riding a red atv'.
but the season isnt over yet. theres still time for me to become a man.
