Well, we stopped at Winter Summit, and Eagle Summit both, the day before season. talked to folks both places, and in a couple others. Big camps not our piece of cake- some of those guys had been camped up there for 5 days already.
Curiously enough, everyone suggested a different place than their own plans for us walk-in hunters. Imagine that.
We had our own plan and stuck to it. Found a vacant pullout off the end of a spur ridge about 2 pm and settled in. Figured the ATV's back on the main plateau would be pushing caribou down to us on the end. By 9 there were 7 or 8 other rigs there in the pull-out, all with ATV's - maybe 16 or 17 in all. Disheartening, but not unexpected. They did an excellent job of arranging the parking so no one was blocked in in that confined space. No conflicts at all.
Next morning, starting about 4 am engines firing up, about half crossed the creek and went up the other-side ridge, half up our side. When we got hiked up on top, about a mile and half, there were ATV's - a dozen or more - parked all along the ridge as far as the eye could see. Some of them had come some little distance from up or down the road from our pullout. But again, they did an excellent job of spacing themselves out. For ATV [bleep], they were a friendly, considerate, polite bunch. Well, actually for any bunch. We picked a lookout spot midway between two of the ATV parties.
A bit later the action started when the caribou started getting pushed around. I shot a modest bull about 11 am, by 8 pm we had our gear and the meat all down to the truck, two trips each. A mile and half pack, every step downhill except for 250 yards at the road, which was level. Our lungs were happy- our legs not so much. Our rig was the only one left when we got down with our first load - everyone with their ATVs had limited out and had left by 2 pm or so. Had two other parties spent that night there, with 3 ATV hunters on 2 rigs.
We got started up the ridge next morning about 3 hours after light, in no hurry, a bit gimped up, and with a lot less company, only 2 ATVs up on top - the traffic going home had not stopped all night long, much like the night before season opened. Crazy! Danged near bumper to bumper both nights.
My wife had another modest bull, slightly bigger than mine, down by 9, just 4oo yards away from my gut pile, around the curve of the slope, and 20 feet higher in elevation. Repeat of the day before - all finished up & down to the truck by 6 p m
.
Drove on into Fairbanks, arriving at our son's place about 10:30, put a tarp on the ground for the meat, took it out of our camper, and covered it with another tarp. Hard rain that night. Slept in and drove home today, again in rain most of the way, getting in about 10:30 pm.
For another fugging scouting trip, it wasn't so bad.
Wife is talking 2nd ATV, we have one, and trailers to haul it (or them) with......... I guess she liked the circus!
I'm getting too old (71 in a couple weeks) for this backpacking crap, especially after 10 years of not doing any, hunting off my ass on a snowmachine or ATV during our time in Kotzebue instead. Too busy this summer to condition, or even to properly prepare for this trip. Murphy didn't come along, but he sent his Polish, Mongol, Vietnamese buddy instead. You know the guy - Clous Tur [bleep].
Going to bed- maybe post more details (some embarrassing) and pics in a few days- I got meat to process!
Oh yeah, hardly any parts fell off my repaired camper that ate my lunch for the last 3 months...
