Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Canada Moose and Elk Hunting Trip Report (long and picturesque)

I recently spent 10 days in the Northern BC bush hunting with Stone Mountain Safaris (www.stonemountainsafaris.com) and thought I�d share my experience. It�s pretty long so feel free to skim it, look at the pictures or read it all. It�s part trip report, part gear review, part outfitter review, and part diary.
Many who read this know that I was able to go on the trip because I won it in a raffle put on by the Aberdeen, SD chapter of the RMEF. I am truly grateful for being so lucky, I was just hoping to support a great organization, but it turned out to be much better than that. So take it from me, someone has to win these raffles, it just might be you.
Ever since I went to my first Sportsman�s Exposition when I was eleven or so I had dreamed of going on an outfitted hunt with my Dad. Back then I had no concept of cost or the planning involved but it has been an idea simmering in the back of my mind for over twenty years now. I had been trying to figure out to make an elk hunt happen somewhere here in the States the last couple of years, then, like Charlie in Chocolate Factory, I found my golden ticket. Golden it was.
The planning was long, from trying to figure out gear, to load development, driving directions and a whole host of other �I hadn�t thought about thats� we got it all together just in time. Anyway, on to the trip; it was a long way up to Toad River, BC (map), just over twenty hours of driving including hitting Calgary at 5pm on a Friday. We made it though, and were welcomed by Kellie (Olson) when we arrived. The base of operations at the lodge is pretty extensive, at any given time Leif can have up to 8 or so guides in the bush with clients at their various sites. Since this was all new to me it was fun to watch all the planning, and inventory that was processed as our trip was about to begin. The lodge though is more than just the base of operations it is also a home for Kellie and Leif and we were treated more like a guest of the home rather than a client. Not to mention the setting is beautiful, overlooking 20+ acres of open meadow (that doubles as a runway) with the Canadian Rockies as a backdrop. Each night, dozens of elk wandered out into the field feeding while the bulls were beginning to bugle. It�s hard not to get excited about elk hunting when the first night you are sung to sleep by bugling bulls.

We had a day to spare before we packed it which turned out to be pretty nice as we could unwind from the road, check out gear, sight in our rifles and just relax a bit. Dad and I took our rifles down to the bench to make sure they were still true. Once we were okay at 100, I took both rifles and shot at a plate of 1/2� steel at 285 yards. Both where fine, my 7 remington mag is in the center and Dads 300 WBY is the upper left.

The backside of the plate

This was my first hunt with the CDS dial that was calibrated to my specific load for my rifle (Barnes LRX 145gr bullet @ 3,100fps). Cranking the dial out to 285 put it dead on, and it was dead on at 300 too (more to come on that).
After shooting Isaac, our guide, came to our room with two pack boxes and said �put everything to want to take in here�. My initial thought was, �crap, I hope it all fits�.

Fortunately everything between Dad and I did. We were packed and ready to go all we needed was morning to come.
I didn�t sleep too well; there was too much excitement in my head. Morning came though, we grabbed breakfast and we drove back down the ALCAN toward Ft. Nelson for our trailhead. It was impressive to watch the process of loading all the gear and saddling the horses (though I still can�t figure out half the knots they tied). We had eleven in our initial string, six pack and five saddled. In addition to me, Dad and Isaac, we had Dallas who was our fulltime cook and wrangler and Mark who was going to be with us through the first camp until we go our moose.
Isaac (left) and Dallas (right) packing Coen, who I would ride quite a bit.

I even had a brand new scabbard for this trip. Which, wasn�t the most comfortable initially, but I think I broke it in properly.

Our first day was to pack six hours to a Cairn Cabin, a �rustic and cozy� cabin built back in the late 70�s. I had guessed that I might have somewhere between six and ten hours total time in the saddle in my life, so six hours in one shot was surely going to warrant some ibuprofen. Cheating, I brought my bike shorts in hopes that it would make it a touch more comfortable which I�m not sure if it helped or not. We headed out up a main river valley then broke off into a drainage. Much of the area was boreal forest, dense spruce trees with lush groundcover of moss measuring several inches deep.
[img]http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h259/jryoung_38/Picture160.jpg[/img]
Six hours on a horse can lead to boredom or in other words, me screwing around with the camera.
[img]http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h259/jryoung_38/Picture161.jpg[/img]
We climbed our way out of the drainage though where the landscape opened up. We would continue up this valley to cross a saddle just to the right of the peak in the distance.
[img]http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h259/jryoung_38/Picture163.jpg[/img]

Once we crossed the saddle, we were overlooking a small lake with a couple of bathers enjoying the water.

As we continued on our way looking back to a hillside facing the lake was a bull moose. We didn�t get too excited about him as we were tired and the cabin was close, we�d be out on the hunt the next day. It was a good sign to start though, three moose in what looked like amazing moose country.
As we rode another twenty minutes or so we arrived at Cairn Cabin and had this lady waiting for us in the corral.

She didn�t spook easily, and made her way back to camp about ten minutes after she left, she was quite curious as to what we were doing.
Cairn Cabin

View out the door

After that long of a ride it was definitely time for some bourbon (between stretching, ibuprofen and bourbon, I was able to make it ten days on horseback).

The next morning we awoke to persistent rainfall, but Dallas was up and making us breakfast and I attempted to stand and shake off the pain.

The rain was a blessing though. Most likely the animals would be bedded down, so we took the morning to recover. We headed out around 9am as the weather broke a bit and made it just a short ways before the weather hit again. We took cover under some trees while the horses fed, but it did not look like it was going to break so we headed back to the cabin.
The rest was much needed as we kept and eye on the skies, everytime it looked as if it was going to clear, the skies to the west turned dark and the rains came. Finally around 2pm we got our best break yet so we opted to take a walk back up to the lake we passed the day prior. We settled in on a hillside above the lake in hopes something would start moving after the rains. Soon, once again the skies darkened and we headed back for the cabin. Funny enough, it was a brief rain followed by the skies completely clearing. We were close to camp at that point and decided to call it a day.
View of the cabin as we made our way back down.
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Dad and me
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The next morning would bring clear skies and refreshed bodies. My reins had broken so Mark put a quick fix on them and we were off to find a moose.
[img]http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h259/jryoung_38/Picture178.jpg[/img]

Not ten minutes from camp we came across them. Isaac was in the lead we spotted them about the same time 50 or so yards off at about 11 o�clock and he turned to tell me �two cows�. As he was saying that I saw antlers at 2 o�clock about 75 yards off. �Bull, 2 o�clock� I said. Isaac grabbed his binos, took a quick look and said �get off your horse, tie those two up and tell your Dad to get up here (he was behind me). It�s amazing how fast your heart can go from somewhere around 80 beats per minute to wanting to pound it�s way out of your chest without any increase in activity, and I wasn�t even the shooter. I tied the horses, and scrambled to get the video camera out of my pack. Isaac said to Dad, �he�s a good bull, I know we really haven�t been out yet so�.�. �Let�s go get him� Dad pretty much cut him off after hearing �good bull�. By this time I had the camera in hand and started to film. I was surprised that the moose didn�t really spook. Though we were somewhat inbetween him and his cows and the sun was low on the horizon at our backs so perhaps it was difficult to see us. As we moved to our right it appeared he had us pinned and the thick lower brush did not allow a shot. Then he turned and worked away from us to our right to which we followed, and then turned to his left where Dad had an opening for a shot. Dad�s 300 WBY broke the silence, soon to follow was a second shot, and just like that Dad got his bull. It was almost surreal how quickly it all happened
Here�s the video of the encounter.


He measured 47� and had some awesome long points with great symmetry all around.


After the photo session, it was time to get to work. It is amazing just how big these animals are, it is really hard to appreciate no matter how many pictures you�ve seen. Once one is in front of you and you have a knife in your hand you begin to realize how much work is ahead of you.
Obligatory bloody knife pic

After the shot Isaac had gone to get Mark and Dallas so it was nice to have ten hands to get the work done. We made pretty quick work of him with Isaac�s guidance and by noon, he was pack on horseback and on his way to the lodge and more importantly the walk in cooler.


I was a beautiful day to enjoy the rest of the afternoon, and take a look to where we were headed the next day. Cabin Creek would be just below the far peak on the right (another six hours by horseback).
[img]http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h259/jryoung_38/Picture199-1.jpg[/img]
That night though, we�d dine on moose and it was nothing short of delicious. Dad had mentioned all the moose he had eaten before was tough. Apparently, if you get them before the rut they are the best eating, which makes perfect sense. This guy had a nice healthy layer of fat on him too.

The next day we packed up four horses and saddled the other four and made the trek deeper into the bush to Cabin Creek which is set in an amazing valley along the Chlotopectra River, which doubles as the border with the neighboring outfitter. It was a bit of a rough go as we had two yard sales with pack horses, but there damages were minor, one strap and Gus cut his foot just above his hoof pretty good.
In addition to that the rains had returned so half way though we stopped to put on our rain gear. As we were getting changed, Isaac said �grab your gun, there�s a bull caribou up here�. Once again heart rate went from 80bpm to trying to get out of my chest. Unfortunately, it was short lived as he had us spotted long before we saw him and never even got a chance to confirm if he was legal. It was a good sign though and we continued on to arrive at Cabin Creek.

These cabins were built in the 90�s and it appears they set up a portable saw mill for the planks, ceiling and window frames. They were very well put together and were great accommodations for the remainder of the trip. Though it took us two nights to figure out not to have a fire going after 6pm, with warmer temperatures we had, a fire brought the temp in the cabin up to north of 85 degrees.
The next morning it was elk hunting time. Initially we started to watch six or so cows up on the hillside in front of the cabins as we got our stuff together. The six hour ride the day before took its toll on Dad so he stayed back. I wasn�t too eager to shoot a bull this day, more hoping to get an idea of what was out there, but if something north of 300 came along I�d probably pull the trigger. Most bulls up there are around 280 because of shorter growing seasons, and are often quite narrow. From the cabins we were going to head west up the river to see what was out there. At the base of the next drainage we spotted a cow way up on a hillside about a mile away so we decided to head up the drainage and take a look. We climbed our way along the creek winding through the game trails until the valley opened up a bit and we climbed up an away from the creek. Without and creek noise impairing our hearing we heard bulls bugling on the hillside to our right(east). It was a steep hillside with thickets of cottonwoods, and several open areas as it had burnt sometime in the last 20 years. We got off the horses, and got into better position to watch the hillside. Way up at the top we spotted a 5x5, but quickly learned he was not the one bugling. There was one lower, but we could not see him as he was in a cottonwood thicket. Isaac then spotted a cottonwood thrashing in the middle and we had him pinpointed. However, at this point we were busted and the elk continued to move up the valley and the bugling faded.
This was my first time in the wilderness during the rut. I�ve seen videos and such, but it is really something else to hear elk bugling back and forth, and seeing trees being thrashed for the first time. You can�t help but smile and just be excited about the prospects.
After all was quiet we decided to head up into a saddle was across the drainage on the left (west) side. Up on top it was an elk haven a large flat meadow with a large water hole filled the saddle. We worked our way to the far side and glassed distant ridgetops several contained elk. All were very high on the hills which was promising in that we saw them, but it begged the question �how would we get to them�. After checking out the hilltops we worked our way onto a bench from the saddle to the north. It was about 500 yards long, thick trees, small open meadows, tons of feed and several water holes. We worked our way up the bench, near the end we heard a bugle dead ahead of us at approximately 200yds. Unfortunately that was the only bugle, so we settled in and watched the hillside above us waiting for some movement or bugles. There were a couple bugles over the next couple of hours and a couple of cows spotted, but we could never get a handle on where they were and the hillside was too steep to stalk in on efficiently. Since it was just the first day we opted to be patient.

Good sign!

From the Saddle
[img]http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h259/jryoung_38/Picture217.jpg[/img]
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Everything was quiet as dusk approached, no movement, no bugles so we packed back to camp. Overall it was a great first day with some excitement, a better feel for the area.
On our way back

When we arrived back I went to say hi to Dallas in the cook cabin and she was working on this.


That�s right, apple pie with latticed top. I can be a bit anal in the kitchen as I always seek to improve my food�Dallas is much the same way and it is a trait I can truly appreciate. The pie was delicious, Dallas was a little unsatisfied with the crust, but it all ate the same and it was nicely washed down with some Pappy Van Winkle bourbon.
The next morning brought a touch of frost on the ground. a welcome sight to just about any hunter out in September. Dad was refreshed so we saddled up three horses and we�re off to head further into the drainage that we were in the day prior. Instead of climbing into the saddle that was half way up we would head all the way into the head of the drainage.
Dad and me ready to go

I hoped that entering the same drainage would yield the initial excitement of the day prior, but all was quiet. We made our way all the way to the head where it climbed up to another saddle that bordered a nearly identical drainage on the opposite side. Near the saddle, it wreaked of elk with several beds imprinted in the tall grass like a crop circle.
The thing we quickly learned about this country is that it was �elk country�, in that every corner we turned, saddle we climbed or draw we looked into just looked like incredible elk country.
Here�s an couple of examples


From the top of the saddle we were overlooking the water hole in the picture above, where we settled in and waited for some action. We saw a few elk several miles past the watering hole, but better yet heard a few bugles closer than that. As it got closer to 11am, Isaac and I decided to climb the ridge to our right and get a view of this drainage as well as the large valley on the other side (which was the valley we packed through two days prior when we moved camps). In the next valley we spotted a couple of cow elk, a couple of cow moose and a black bear. No big bulls though, and no caribou. We snacked on some lunch and decided to return back to where we left Dad. At this point we had worked our way down the ridgeback, past the water hole and were trying to decide whether we wanted to backtrack the ridgeback, or drop down and come up through the bottom of the drainage by the waterhole.
A bugle by and elk helped us make our decision, he was on the opposite side of the drainage a little further down so we worked our way down at an angle. At this point I grabbed my call and let out a few cow calls to see if we could locate him. He answered back and we were able to spot him. A nice 5x5 with good 5ths, but not something I wanted on day two. I bugled at him, he�d bugle back, I�d let out some cow calls and he�d continue to answer. It was fun for me because I had never really called (live) before so I thought it was pretty good practice. Soon he was bored and he bedded so we continued the trek back to Dad. By now it was about 3pm so we decided to let the horses feed some while we crossed the saddle and watched the drainage we originally came through hours earlier. Unfortunately, there was no activity the rest of the day. The downside of this day was that while there was frost in the morning, it became brutally hot probably close to 80 and this would be the beginning of a four day stretch of heat.
Day three of elk hunting was a warm morning and we decided to continue up the river (to the west) to a place called �Phil�s Hole�. The area we were trying to get to was a large flat completely blocked in by peaks except for a small opening to the south side. Unfortunately, the trail was blocked by several blow downs and was pretty much impassible. Isaac kept trying to find a viable trail for us and the horses but nothing would seem to open. On one of his jaunts on foot he heard a bugle on an adjacent little spine so we took interest. There was a solid game trail up it so we followed; once again it yielded another amazing elk spot with a great vantage spot below a steep hillside and a large valley behind us. The hillside we settled below was one that Isaac and I had spotted elk on two days prior. All was pretty quiet but Dad and I spotted a cow on the hillside. After an hour or so I decided to work my way down the little saddle we were in to an opening to our left.
[img]http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h259/jryoung_38/Picture241.jpg[/img]
I sat there for a half hour or so until Dad came by (you can see him in the picture about 100yds from me). I whistled to get his attention and made my way to him. About 25yards from him, an elk bugled about 350yards to our left.
We froze and grabbed our binos. I cow called and got him to bugle, and there he was about 425yards from us. By now Isaac, had made his way over to us and had his spotter. He was a 6x6 and plenty of bull for me so we put the stalk on him. The elk was on the same hillside I was originally on from the picture above, so Isaac and I worked our way down the in the trees just past Dad in the picture. We had Dad stay put to keep and eye on him in case we lost him. The downside was the video camera was in my pack about a 150yards back.
It was a slow stalk to get in position, but we kept an eye on the bull who was chasing a cow around the hillside. Soon we got to 350 yards and I tried to settle for a shot. There was no good rest in addition there was standing dead trees with limbs crossing and I didn�t feel good about the shot. We moved a little more and there was a nice elevated clump of moss and I could lay prone on. As I was settling in, the elk had bedded down. He was at 300yards on the nose, but behind several bushes. Now remember when I mentioned about your heart rate going from 80bpm to thumping out of your chest? Laying prone I was short of breath and my heart was pounding� and I had no aerobic activity. He wasn�t going anywhere so Isaac said just breath and settle, I�ll get him up. I had dialed my scope to 300 yards and was ready so Isaac let out a bull moose call. It got his attention, but he still didn�t move. I let out a cow call and he bugled in return, but would not get up. Trying to remain calm was no easy task, my breath was short and my heart raced. I later thought about Dad and what he was thinking as we were out of sight to him and he was anxiously awaiting a shot. Finally, from prone, I bugled as best I could. I didn�t care if it sounded like crap, I needed that boy to move and see if I could just possibly make my buck fever any more intense [/sarcasm].
He stood and was in the clear. From there my summer of practice took over. Settle the crosshairs, exhale, squeeze, bang. Instantly Isaac said �hit him again�, and I fired. He said �a little low�, �low hit or low miss� I said. It didn�t matter; six or so steps and he fell over hard. My excitement was hard to contain ask Isaac and I high fived and let out a couple of cheers in the event Dad could not see the elk.
He was a fine bull for the area as they don�t get as big as the monsters in the States.
[img]http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h259/jryoung_38/Picture242.jpg[/img]
Looking at his far shoulder when I got to him I noticed this bump.
[img]http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h259/jryoung_38/Picture243.jpg[/img]

And knew it was my bullet

I recovered both bullets and for the gun geeks like myself it was pretty cool to see they retained 99.2% and 99.6% of their weight. Killer performance out of this load that took me several weeks to refine.




Once again, after the photo session it was time to get to work.

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It was late in the afternoon, so we boned him out and left the meat until the morning. It was a great ride back, beautiful evening and even saw another 5x5. Coming back into camp with a tagged notched was a great feeling. We still had a few days to chase an elusive caribou, but at this point I really couldn�t ask for much more. It had been a fantastic week of hunting.
The next morning Isaac and I headed back up to pack out the meat.
[img]http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h259/jryoung_38/Picture259.jpg[/img]
We had a pack on Scout as I rode Coen. About 500 yards from the carcass Isaac put a bell on Scout to warn any bears that might have been dining on the elk. About 100 yards off, we dismounted and chambered rounds as we paralleled each other up the hillside. We were just about to the meat when Isaac said �There�s a bear� as he pointed down the slope to just past the center of the drainage about 150 yards away. One quick look through his binos and he went on to say �that�s a big f@#$ing bear�. Isaac estimated him to be eight or nine feet. To me, it was my first grizzly I had ever seen in the wild, his face looked like a giant frying pan as he looked at us, just huge and when he turned to walk away his ass looked like it was bigger than a smart car. It was an incredibly intense moment. I reached for my camera in my pants, but had previously put it in my backpack�which I though I left with the horses, but was too awestruck to realize it was on my back.
After the initial moment of shock and awe, Isaac said �let�s get the meat and get out of here, do not take your eye off him�. The bear continued to mosey away from us, then took a sharp right turn to head downwind as he ducked into some trees. The area around the carcass was completely raked back. Just about every bit of moss, loose dirt, pine needles, leaves, you name it was all piled on top of it. Again, I was too dumbfounded to realize I had my camera on my back. The pictures would have been great to have because it was such an awesome sight. Isaac twisted the tarp full of meat up, and I grabbed the antlers and skull and we quickly dropped back down to the horses. It was as this point I realized I had my pack on, but the bear was out of sight and I wasn�t about to dilly dally for a couple of pictures. We loaded up the elk and were headed downhill in just a couple of minutes and made it back to camp before noon.
[img]http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h259/jryoung_38/Picture263.jpg[/img]

The next three days brought very warm temperatures, so much so that all of the elk meat would spoil. It was disappointing to lose all that meat, but there isn�t much you can do. Mother nature will win every time.

Because of the heat, we didn�t hunt terribly hard. But we checked out another valley and just continued to enjoy our time out in the wilderness.

More �boredom� on horseback.

We did some camp chores as well, we made �witches brew�.


The last couple of trips out we headed to a knob that was just a twenty minute walk from camp. It overlooked a mineral lick that was just on the other side of the boundary of the hunting area, but there was plenty of game heading to and from it during the mornings and evenings. Moose, elk, caribou, and mule deer were all in and out of it. None of them were bothered by the horses who had made there way over there.
Here�s a mashup of several pieces of footage that I shot from that knob.
[video:youtube] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSLPi5jKrIo[/video]
It was a great little vantage point to watch a lot of game and get to practice some more calling. Not to mention it was a lot easier on the body after several long days on horseback and hunting. It was a great way to finish out the adventure.

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[img]http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h259/jryoung_38/Picture732.jpg[/img]

The trip came to a close with 42 minute flight in a super cub from camp back to the lodge.


Unfortunately, there was a nine hour delay between Dad�s flight and my flight, as the pilot couldn�t get back out after flying Dad in because of fog. Despite the delay we made it back safe, I�ve never ridden in a super cub before and there were moments I wasn�t sure it was going to be a safe flight.
This was an amazing trip that was a long time coming. Like I said earlier, it was something I had always dreamed of doing with my Dad and to do it in such grand fashion was just unbelievable. We got to see an amazing part of the world, experience some tremendous wilderness, watch Dad get his first moose, and see a ginormous grizzly bear. Our services were excellent, I would recommend Leif and Kellie to anyone, they run a tremendous operation. Our gear got put through the ringer as well and performed flawlessly. You never know about buying first year gear, but it�s not like Jason @ KUIU doesn�t have experience in this area.
Maybe someday down the road I�ll get to do something like this again, but for now I have some amazing memories as this was a trip I won�t soon forget.
On the way home we came across the northern lights as we were just north of Jasper National Park. An epic sight to conclude an epic trip.

CONGRATULATIONS TO BOTH OF YOU ON THE ANIMALS TAKEN.Your story and pictures were OUTSTANDING,made me feel like I was on the hunt with you.Skeeter

Awesome trip!! I am a little unsure how your elk meat spoiled during three days of warm weather?

jryoung;
Thanks for the fine hunting story and wonderful photos.

I think it's especially cool that you got to share this memorable hunt with your father.

I'm glad to hear that the folks in the northern part of our province treated you well, it is indeed - to use an overused phrase - awesome country - up there.

Thanks again and good luck on the rest of your hunts this fall.

Regards,
Dwayne

Fabulous story and pics! Thanks for sharing and congrats on a fine hunt.

Great story...thanks for sharing all the pics! It was like being there myself, glad you enjoyed it so well.

One of the best trip reports I have seen. Congrats on a wonderful adventure.


ddj

Nice indeed. Congrats!

Almost like I was there. Happy for you to get to spend time with your pop. I suspect it was the hunt of hunts. I look forward to my opp to get to NWT in 2 years.

Thank you again for sharing your memories.

Joseph

Congrats on a great trip.

My brother lost his elk meat in heat like that. Seems to spoil faster than deer and antelope. Coolers aren't always available

Supercubs work...

Outstanding story and pics!

jr: Excellent!

Man, it seems almost sinful to have fresh-baked apple pie on a hunt out in the boonies like that!

Excellent write-up and pictures!

John