Took a little road trip. No ducks for sure.

Yukon Mike

Well-known member
Dani's pictures from Churchill inspired me to make a trip to look for bears I've been talking about for years. Rumor has it that there are a couple of places were big grizzlies come to get late run salmon in November. I have a tag and the season is still on so I decided to go with the intent to take pictures and if a bruiser showed himself I'd consider shooting him. Here's few pics.

On the way out of town I was scouting for bison and elk for another day and saw two wolves moving along the edge of the trees, so I shot the bigger one of the two. Since my dog is 85lbs, I estimate this guy to be 100lbs, which is not the biggest wolf ever, but a real interesting color for sure. Residents are allowed to shoot 7 each per year, and especially in the elk herd core hunters are encouraged to shoot wolves. I've seen a few over the years but never shot one before. Not sure what I'm going to do with this hide.

I stopped in a friend's place for the night and we skinned it out right away.

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The next day I was up before dawn and headed down the Haines Highway. I must have been the first vehicle down that section as the grouse were plentiful where the highways guys had sanded.


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There is a culvert under the road that is a good spot to see spawning salmon in the summer so I stopped and saw bear tracks right away. Bear tracks are really easy to follow in snow. I followed them for a while to the Native fish camp. The people were long gone.

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This is a rubbing tree. Bears mark territory in a couple of ways. Some trees get clawed and bit, others get rubbed on. There were three different bears in the area according to the tracks, and all converged on this one tree to mark it. That's the bears trail leading to the lake.

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Close up.

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Zombie fish.

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I poked around in that spot for an hour but never did see any bears, so I headed a different direction that took me past a hill where the sheep get together this time of year for sex and sports. Their rut is just beginning and all the young punks were there bugging ewes, but no mature rams so no classic full speed ahead head butting. Maybe in one more week? When they really get all horned up and fight you can hear the smack from a long way off. It sounds like a shotgun in the distance.

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A ewe and lamb. They sure do get fuzzy in the winter.

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Two sheep beds overlooking a river plain. You can totally smell them when you find a spot like this, and they smell just like farm sheep.

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The second bear spot on the Kluane River. From here I could see lots of eagles hanging around back channels feeding on dead salmon and decided to get a closer look.

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Sure enough, a fresh track.

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I followed the track as far as I could before he went across a channel too deep for me. With binos I could see where he'd sat and ate fish but could not find that bear. The day was getting late and I had a long way to go so I pulled the pin and said goodbye to the bears.

Its a ways between stops on the Alaska Highway, and you know its a good place to eat if people drive tractors all the way there.

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Along Kluane (kloo-onee) Lake.


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Today was nice and sunny and one of the CO's told me of a decent grizzly he saw hanging around bison gut piles up an old road, so off we went.

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My friend and I saw a few birds along the way.

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Spruce hens are not the wariest bird in the world.

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This time of year, with the snow cover, its essential that the grouse find an exposed gravel source for their gizzards. You can see that this spot was heavily used.

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We went to where the CO had last seen that bear (6 days ago), but couldn't pick up a track so that's it for bear hunting 2013 I'm afraid. I passed up 6 bears this spring and three this fall so I don't feel too bad at all. I had wanted to not harvest one until the end of the season so that's the way it goes.

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Thanks,

Mike
 
Thanks for all those pictures, Mike. A beautiful time of the year. I love that Kluane Lake country. I remember seeing my first dall sheep there when I was heading for Anchorage, AK back in 1966. I think you had a fantastic year. Keep warm.
Al
 
You put a few miles on that drive, great write-up! I was enchanted by the color of Kluane Lake, I had wanted to catch a laker out of that lake in the worse way. Ever fish it?
 
Just another routine day in the life of Yukon Mike :) Yaaa; a day that many of us would gladly share. I've fished that lake and had breakfast at that ? resort. A $5.00 bowel of oatmeal with a big pad of butter in the middle on the way to Anchorage. Great memories.Thanks for a great post Mike!
wis boz
 
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Jay, a good way to get a good deal on a wolf pelt, or any fur, is to contact a Trappers Association directly. Collectors often are looking for fur that the garment industry isn't interested in. Like this wolf is considered off color because most wolf fur is used for trim so the really pale ones do best at the auctions. I often go into the depot here near Christmas and sometimes there are some really good deals on unusual colored stuff.

Mike
 
Not yet. It is a beautiful lake isn't it? In 20 years that's only the second time I've ever been near Kluane Lake and my first trip to Burwash. I actually turned around at the Donjek River, but that's a pretty long drive.

Mike
 
Yeah Mike,
I used to go on a Montana hunt every year, (for 10 yrs). One year we stopped at a place that specialized in stuff like that. I think the name of the place was "Antler Art" located in Livingston, Mt.. (But I'm not so sure? I Need to look it up), the shop owner had a wolf pelt and he wanted $600 for it. And it was slightly damaged. I wasn't sure if that price was because he knew I was from NY? Lol.
 
That is a very interesting trip.
Nice wolf. I'm hoping for one like that now that wolves as legal game here in SD. No we don't really have any but they are legal now. :)

Tim
 
Not yet. It is a beautiful lake isn't it? In 20 years that's only the second time I've ever been near Kluane Lake and my first trip to Burwash. I actually turned around at the Donjek River, but that's a pretty long drive.

Mike


Get that lake dialed in for trolling and send me an invite once you have the big slobs in there figgured out :). Lakers have a special spot in my heart, but I've never fished where there were real honest to goodness slobs to catch. I will one day.
 
Mike that looks like a great trip you made. Glad you got out and shared the pictures with us. That's a very pretty wolf you've got there too. Have you decided what to do with his hide yet? Do you eat the meat? I've heard coyote is good. Or can be. I know mountain lion is delicious.

Is there a difference in tanning hides by different animal or are they all pretty much the same process?

Gorgeous country you've got there. Would love to make it up your way to visit sometime. But great pictures you posted and looks like a fun trip.

Dani
 
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