Just got back from a great trip! On paper, we were moose hunting, but really it was just an opportunity to reconnect with old friends out in the bush, and play around with canoes and guns. Life doesn’t get much better.
My buddy Rob (another one) had found a sweet spot close to town. A half hour drive down highway 11 lead down a side road for a couple of kilometres.
Fall is short lived up here, but it definitely my favourite time of year. I came out Thursday night to make sure we could get the spot before anyone else. Opening weekend usually sees a few thousand people in this area, most from Southern Ontario. I breathed a sigh of relief when I finally pulled into the place, as no-one was there. I spent most of the night setting a tarp and my new Atuk tent. As you can see, I had limited success getting a good pitch on my Atuk, but by the end of the weekend, I had that under control.
Friday morning was cold and crisp, perfect partridge hunting weather, so I walked the old bush road. Can’t get enough of the fall colours!
The tamarack is one of my favorite fall trees, the only conifer to loose it needles. It goes from yellow to rich gold, and really lights up the bush.
Found an odd site, looked like a large animal’s hip bone hanging in a tree.
Further exploration revealed an old bear baiting site.
It was quite windy that morning, so the ruffies were spooky. I heard two fly before I could see them. Finally, a big sharp tail came into view, so I popped him with my new pump action .410. It’s a fun little gun, nice and light to carry through the bush.
When I got backed, I cooked up the sharpie. Although dark meat, it differs in taste from the sprucies, with almost a beefy flavour.
About and hour later, my buddy Rob arrived. After he set up his snow trekker, we sat around shooting the breeze and drinking several Bud Lites, getting ready for moose season to open in the morning.
On Saturday morning, I walked out of the tent, and another big Sharp-tail was walking on the ridge behind my tent. I shot him, and he rolled right down the hill to my feet. Breakfast was delivered!
Later that day, I went back into town to pick up Irene, who was going to spend the next couple of days with us. I picked up several 12 inch spikes too, and completely reset my Kanguk tent. With the spikes, I was able to pound them in exactly where they needed to go, and the tent took on it’s full form. I was quite impressed with the room in it.
On Thursday and Friday night, I roasted myself out of the tent after I went to bed. On Saturday, I spent some time playing with the stove, and finally figured it out so that I wouldn’t become pizza in a sleeping bag.
While my buddy went hunting on Saturday, Irene and I just sat around camp and relaxed. The gun shown below, my .22 pellet rifle, is the one that probably saw the most action, plinking cans for most of Saturday afternoon.
At around 6:30, our other buddy and his daughter rolled into camp. We had a gut busting meal of steak and baked potatoes that Irene prepared on the fire, and then we had a great night of conversation and fun around the fire.
Later that night, after a couple of beers, I took a shaky pic of my tent.
Sunday was going to be hunting day for Irene and I. The day dawned cold, calm and beautiful. I had built a primo crapter for this trip, and parked it in a room with a view.
The view from El Crapper.
Here’s where a canoe actually comes into the trip report. Irene and I paddled up the little lake we were on, with the plan of exploring a creek system for moose,
The creek turned into one of the most gorgeous paddles I have ever done. There was lots of water, even though sometimes it was only three feet wide. There were cliff faces, moose meadows and lots of heart stopping scenery.
We paddled until it got a little to rough to continue, and the returned to a moose meadow we had found. Irene comes from a long line of moose hunters, her mother being one of them. We sat in the canoe while she tried a few very convincing calls.
Eventually, we headed back to camp, with Irene trolling a jig behind the canoe. Two pike were caught quickly ad released. When we got back, the temperature was up to 24 C, way to hot for moose hunting. We decided to pack up and head back to town. Everyone else had left for turkey dinner, so we followed shortly after.
It was a great trip, hoping to get out again next weekend!
My buddy Rob (another one) had found a sweet spot close to town. A half hour drive down highway 11 lead down a side road for a couple of kilometres.
Fall is short lived up here, but it definitely my favourite time of year. I came out Thursday night to make sure we could get the spot before anyone else. Opening weekend usually sees a few thousand people in this area, most from Southern Ontario. I breathed a sigh of relief when I finally pulled into the place, as no-one was there. I spent most of the night setting a tarp and my new Atuk tent. As you can see, I had limited success getting a good pitch on my Atuk, but by the end of the weekend, I had that under control.
Friday morning was cold and crisp, perfect partridge hunting weather, so I walked the old bush road. Can’t get enough of the fall colours!
The tamarack is one of my favorite fall trees, the only conifer to loose it needles. It goes from yellow to rich gold, and really lights up the bush.
Found an odd site, looked like a large animal’s hip bone hanging in a tree.
Further exploration revealed an old bear baiting site.
It was quite windy that morning, so the ruffies were spooky. I heard two fly before I could see them. Finally, a big sharp tail came into view, so I popped him with my new pump action .410. It’s a fun little gun, nice and light to carry through the bush.
When I got backed, I cooked up the sharpie. Although dark meat, it differs in taste from the sprucies, with almost a beefy flavour.
About and hour later, my buddy Rob arrived. After he set up his snow trekker, we sat around shooting the breeze and drinking several Bud Lites, getting ready for moose season to open in the morning.
On Saturday morning, I walked out of the tent, and another big Sharp-tail was walking on the ridge behind my tent. I shot him, and he rolled right down the hill to my feet. Breakfast was delivered!
Later that day, I went back into town to pick up Irene, who was going to spend the next couple of days with us. I picked up several 12 inch spikes too, and completely reset my Kanguk tent. With the spikes, I was able to pound them in exactly where they needed to go, and the tent took on it’s full form. I was quite impressed with the room in it.
On Thursday and Friday night, I roasted myself out of the tent after I went to bed. On Saturday, I spent some time playing with the stove, and finally figured it out so that I wouldn’t become pizza in a sleeping bag.
While my buddy went hunting on Saturday, Irene and I just sat around camp and relaxed. The gun shown below, my .22 pellet rifle, is the one that probably saw the most action, plinking cans for most of Saturday afternoon.
At around 6:30, our other buddy and his daughter rolled into camp. We had a gut busting meal of steak and baked potatoes that Irene prepared on the fire, and then we had a great night of conversation and fun around the fire.
Later that night, after a couple of beers, I took a shaky pic of my tent.
Sunday was going to be hunting day for Irene and I. The day dawned cold, calm and beautiful. I had built a primo crapter for this trip, and parked it in a room with a view.
The view from El Crapper.
Here’s where a canoe actually comes into the trip report. Irene and I paddled up the little lake we were on, with the plan of exploring a creek system for moose,
The creek turned into one of the most gorgeous paddles I have ever done. There was lots of water, even though sometimes it was only three feet wide. There were cliff faces, moose meadows and lots of heart stopping scenery.
We paddled until it got a little to rough to continue, and the returned to a moose meadow we had found. Irene comes from a long line of moose hunters, her mother being one of them. We sat in the canoe while she tried a few very convincing calls.
Eventually, we headed back to camp, with Irene trolling a jig behind the canoe. Two pike were caught quickly ad released. When we got back, the temperature was up to 24 C, way to hot for moose hunting. We decided to pack up and head back to town. Everyone else had left for turkey dinner, so we followed shortly after.
It was a great trip, hoping to get out again next weekend!
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