Whatever anyone says, muskeg has a great beauty of its own. The micro (perhaps, mini- is more appropriate?) plant world is quite amazing. I probably have gazillion pictures of all kinds of stuff hiking it elsewhere. Just a few from today:
There is a reason, aside from lack of food, why moose aren’t particularly fans though:
You go in up to knee deep every so often and probably deeper once in a while. And it is somewhat frozen at the moment.
One can probably notice that hunting is a bit more for me than just finding an animal and harvesting it. I really enjoy being out there and taking it all in.
However, sometimes I need to remember and ask myself, what the heck am I here for? Well, in this case - moose, which ain’t there. At this point I had to come up with another plan because, suddenly, what I was doing seemed like a big waste of time as far as the main goal is concerned. It was around three, if I recall correctly. The best thing I could come up with is to go back to the area where I was yesterday and maybe do a bit of driving around to see other available options there. All of a sudden, the spot I was at yesterday seemed like a goldmine in comparison, lol. Funny how that works.
So I did drive to East Haul Road again. I drove a bit further than I did yesterday and then turned into a trail. Instead of walking, I decided to drive further in and it seemed to be going way deep. Why not. Of course, the first thing I saw was that someone shot my moose earlier in the day, lol:
Lots of grouse around. If I had my .22 with me, I’d probably hit the limit fairly quickly. I will probably bring it next time, just in case. I doubt I will be driving lots next time though. Who knows.
Anyway… it’s getting a bit long, lol. I dove that trail for a while. Happened to see a lynx, which at first I thought was a coyote from a distance. By the time I realized what it was and grabbed my phone, it jumped off the trail and I couldn’t, of course, find it (just looking into the bush). Sucks because I would have loved to take a pic to show the kids. On the way out, I also saw an owl whose wing span was pretty close to the width of my vehicle (4Runner). Amazing. Missed out with a pic too.
The cool thing about that particular trail is that it crosses some great looking moose habitat every so often. Of course, I stopped once in a while to look at willow, among other things. It looks good. Except that someone already shot the moose I was after. Laughing.
The thing that isn’t cool at all though, I turned around (way in) when I saw a couple of quads heading out. It was obvious someone drove there before (aside from the moose remains way behind), but I didn’t expect there was someone ahead of me at the time. It was a good time to turn around too anyway because I still wanted to hit the spot I was at yesterday. On the way out, I also met two trucks coming in, lol. “Road hinting” is a competitive sport, lol.
With about 45 minutes left, I drove to the spot I was at yesterday. Parked at the same spot and simply walked the quad trail, taking a few quick strolls off.
Someone was mad as hell:
Found some very fresh bites, almost wet still:
Not sure if it was heading into or out of the valley. I am going to say in because in all likelihood that is what I am doing next time. Also, by looking at the pic above, my hands desperately need some cream. Hahaha.
I need to get way further away from the road, trails and whatever in general. Just didn’t find the right place to do so yet. Also need to get closer to Peace. Not sure if it is the familiarity and “comfort” I am after, but I feel like I will have no problems finding a bull there. Oh well, we will see…
A couple more pics just because:
Cadotte one way:
And the other:
A solid size nest I wish was within reach, but it is on the other side of the river:
Rain in the forecast tomorrow and Friday, possibly. Snow on Saturday, possibly. Saturday is the next day I might be able to get out. If no rain on Friday, I might hit the valley for an elk. Will see.
Side note, I drove just over 220 km today in over 8 hours that I was out. That is likely the most I drove in one day while hunting.
Side note #2, with most still water being frozen, rivers are about the only places to kill the thirst, so valleys aren’t a bad spot to be presently hunting. Whatever little rain they are expecting shouldn’t change much. Snow, on the other hand, might.
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