I could probably fill a few pages just trying to recall the events of the rest of that night. Instead I’ll try and wrap this thing up as it has already turned into more of a novel that I had intended.
After a quick conversation with Tim we decided to head back up the hill and deal with my animal first. It was farther from camp, had been down for a bit longer, and was closer to the wolves that were beginning to howl closer than we would have cared to have heard them.
And what a night it was. Clear, cool but not cold, and the northern lights were dancing overheard as vividly as I have ever seen them. Wolves howling somewhere in the blackness and us with a shitton of work to do before we could even think of resting our weary bones.
Back up the hill we went, navigating almost entirely by GPS now through the somewhat featureless landscape and eventually thick bushes and steep slopes. Just getting the machines to my moose through the loose and at times downright dangerous terrain was a mini-epic unto itself. Eventually we made our way back to him and dug in. A moose is a huge animal and even with three people to help hoist legs, cut ribs, and wrestle quarters there is nothing easy about it. The hindquarter of a big bull can easily weight two hundred pounds and it took everything we had left to get this thing cut up, loaded up and back to camp, and then hung. It was 4am by the time we completed those tasks and we were falling down tired, our continued efforts were more liability than help and we had to call it.
We scooted down the hill to dump the guts out of Tim’s moose and prop the cavity open to get it cooling down at least. One upside down 4-wheeler and broken tailbone later we were back at camp yet again and at 430am after 24 hours on the go we hit our sleeping bags and were asleep before we could get them zipped up.
Tim and his moose in the morningFeeling a lot of pressure to get moose #2 dealt with in a timely manner we managed about three hours of sleep and woke more or less with the sunrise to set in on Tim’s beast. Things went quickly by comparison with the first. A little daylight, food, and a rest were just what we needed to put a little wind back in our sails.
With moose #2 chunked and bagged we started the process of shuttling 1300 pounds of animal and probably that much in gear back to the trailhead, a process that would take us three days of nearly constant effort to complete. To make it through the numerous bogs, swamps, mud holes, and of course the river crossings we had to ferry partial loads ahead and return for the rest. Each time meat had to be hung and tarped and gear secured so bears or other mischievous critters wouldn’t spoil our party. With the exception of a blown Argo tire and a broken idler chain things went fairly smooth over the three laps we did on the 20-mile slog back to the trailhead.
Four days, three dudes, two moose and one of the more memorable adventures I’ve been fortunate to experience. The work of course wasn’t over once back at the trailhead of course, but the hardest hard parts were over and things were far less stressful at least.
Shooting at last light is something generally to be avoided in big game hunting I know. In hindsight neither of us would do it any different though. In moose hunting, especially when working with small windows of opportunity, passing up chances isn’t generally recommended.
Was it worth it? You bet. We’ve got two freezers full of grade A free-range organic protein and some memories that will last a lifetime. The experience didn’t kill us though it tried, so we must be stronger in mind and body for it.
My "shed shed" will have to be renamed as it finally has a complete set.
In closing I want to share something I came across in a old squatters cabin I found while in the woods this fall. It speaks, to me at least, of living your life as fully as you are able and to not dwelling on the past.
Tomorrow is certainly no place to place your better days.
Good luck out there.
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