Yukon Stone's 2008 Newsletter
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We’ve come to the end of another successful season in the Pelly Mountains. November has just begun and I can’t help but wonder where the time goes. It seems like just last week we were heading north.
I drove up to Whitehorse in April to attend Outfitter Spring meetings. The roads were clear and weather great until arriving in Whitehorse to a snow storm. It looked the same as the storm I left in Six months earlier! But after a day the sun was back out and reminding me that though it can be harsh in the Yukon that is not always the case.
July 1st found, Skyler, Glenda, Byron, Logan and myself rounding up the horses for the Yukon once again. After a week of sweating under 42 head of big mountain horses, trying our best to put on shoes that would last 90 days and many more miles, we were heading north. We were at lappie lakes for a few extra days waiting for Trailer parts but on the 16th of July the crew hit the trail. This being the first year I had to watch the pack string ride away without me, I was a little disappointed. But 2 days later Trevor Needham arrived in Whitehorse and we flew in and met the Pack String at the Head of the McNeil River.
By the 29th of July Jamie Connors and Dick Henry had arrived along with our First group of sheep hunters. Tom Foss along with his son Cam headed into Dave Clarkes camp, to see if they could get our First Bow Ram. Glenn Summers and Brent Bunger headed to the McNeil river area to hunt with Jamie and Trevor. Glenda and Byron headed into Twin Mountain Country to scout sheep for the second Hunt.
After a week of hunting we had no rams and to make matters worse I damaged my super cub landing on one of our strips in sheep country. After Riding 5 hours to McNeil Lake to get a flight back to town, no rams yet and my plane off the side of a strip in the willows, I was feeling a little sorry for myself. But when we rode into camp and saw Glen Summers Holding a beautiful 11 year old ram that was just shy of the 40 inch mark, spirits were right back up. I was reminded how quickly things can change when I checked my messages and discovered that Tom Foss harvested our first bow ram! My dad flew up the next day to help with the flying until we could find another cub. When we flew to McConnell we were thrilled to see that Tom Foss’s Ram was Heavy and truly a once in a lifetime trophy with a bow. Cam Foss hunted hard after his dad harvested and though he had trophy rams in bow range could not get the shot he needed. Gregg Almond arrived a week late for the first hunt and although he got a beautiful ram last year did not have enough time to find that big boy he was chasing. Tom Hoffman arrived on the 8th of August and after 8 days of Backpacking with Dustin Roe, couldn’t find rams that we usually have in that area. Tom was as excited on the last day as the first as anyone who’s had the pleasure of hunting with Tom will tell you. I think Tom may have been extra thankful to have Dustin with him on the last day though!
Our Second hunt brought Sara and Brenda Potterfield, Ed Torowski, Richard Bedger and Evan Prichette. Sara and Brenda were the first mother/daughter sheep hunting team we’ve ever had and Sara was the first to Harvest on the hunt. She was very fortunate to find a large 10 year old ram alone early in the hunt. With the help of Trevor, and after a very long hike in the dark, they had the ram back in camp. Dick Bedger and Byron were lucky and found a good band of rams early in the hunt. But their luck ran out at the worst time and after wounding one of the rams they spent the rest of the hunt trying to find him without success. The last half of the hunt brought rain fog and very little visibility that is so crucial to sheep hunting. Evan Prichette harvested a nice ram in the last couple days but Brenda and Ed would not be as fortunate.
Stephen Booth and Bill Angelfly arrived on the 25th of August. They headed out to spike camp with guides Timber Peck, Jamie Connors and wrangler Trenton. After over a week of hard riding (which Stephen pointed out several times!) they were back in Camp with two more beautiful old rams. On the other side of the Range Jim Alexander and Ned Greer were hunting with Dave and Trevor. Dave and Jim got a nice ram late in the Hunt with a rifle. Much to my disappointment Ned went home for the second time empty handed bow hunting with us. Ned bow hunted sheep in the 2006 season and though rams were spotted both years he could not connect.
September 7th brought the first of the moose hunters into camp along with sheep hunters Bruce Miller and Robert Lewis. Bob and Byron headed out backpacking on the first day and were fortunate enough to be back in camp 2 days later with a nice Ram! Bob also harvested our widest moose of the year later in the hunt (65inches!). Janos and wife Dora hunted at McNeil Lake and each took home a nice moose and caribou. TJ Shwanky was videoing for his girlfriend Vanessa and she harvested an old bull caribou late in the hunt. Bruce Miller and Dave Clarke went out after 2 large rams Dave saw on the previous hunt but came up empty handed.
The rest of moose season was a success most of all for the Bow hunters. We were 100% success on bow hunts for moose in 2008. This included bulls for Don Keady, Fred Eichler, John May, Darrin Dickey and Charles Hunt. The Bow hunters averaged over 54 inches on their moose! High in the mountains the moose were moving well but the lakes were a different story. The float hunters had a tough time this year. Very few of the big bulls were coming to the lakes because of the warm weather.
Jack Peterson, Dennis Huotari, Ed Brecke Jr, and Bill Bruner were hunting at Moss Lake and Nisitlin Lake. The boys had good success at Nisutlin harvesting one moose and a great Caribou. Moss Lake was quiet, very few moose moving around and unfortunately the boys came up empty handed.
Tom and Doug Connelly arrived for the last hunt. These two brothers hunted at Moss Lake and McNeil Lake. Both were successful in harvesting moose before we packed up camp and headed for the highway.
2008 was another great year at Yukon Stone. We look forward to seeing our good friends again in 2009 and hopefully making some new ones. We would like to thank all of our past clients and wish everyone a great new year and happy hunting!
Mac Watson