When the imagination conjures up images of the Arctic, the legendary Inukshuk instantly comes to mind!
It had haunted my thoughts for years, such a far away land filled with mystery and steeped in tradition. Victoria Island, NWT and the prehistoric creatures, known to the local Inuit as Umingmak (Muskox), provide an amazing bowhunting adventure. As my hunting career has evolved my thirst for adventure seems impossible to quench. I regularly find myself daydreaming about far away reaches that would provide adrenaline charged adventure.
“A dream doesn’t become reality through magic, it takes sweat, determination and hard work”.
Colin Powell
There is no better way to break up the daily routine than a dose of exotic travel mixed with some bowhunting adventure!
A pile of gear ready for the duffle. I enjoy the preparation as much as the hunt itself; the anticipation, shopping for new gear & gadgets, shooting and working out.
And that is exactly the philosophy I adopted New Years Eve, 2013. I chose to act on my international bowhunting dreams; through planning, budgeting, working out, shooting 3D and sheer dogged determination I found myself boarding a 737 destined for Yellowknife, NWT on August 15th. The travel was simple, although I avoided disaster when I deplaned into the one room airport in Kugluktuk, searching for my bags that were nowhere to be seen, panic was settling in to think my gear was lost! The flight attendant witnessed my dazed and confused look and asked where I was going, and with a great laugh at my expense I was shocked to learn I wasn’t in Ulukhatok. With her guidance I arrived safely early on a Friday afternoon at my planned destination. Key learning, don’t miss your plane, there isn’t another one for 5 days!
Hunting & Trapping is still a way of life that is being passed on down through the generations, it was refreshing to feel how the culture embraced age old traditions.
It was fun meeting my guide and guides helper, lifetime residents of the Arctic. When asked where they had traveled the response was “been to Edmonton once, I was 12, didn’t like it”, and he was 72! As this was the first hunt of the season energies were high and they were equally excited to head out on the Tundra. The summer hunts are conducted using ATV’s. I highly recommend renting your own as the thought of being doubled for 4 days over the very rough tundra would certainly leave evidence of the experience where there really shouldn’t be any. I was shocked to see sleds loaded up behind the ATV’s, all handcrafted and skidding along on steel lined wooden runners, amazingly simple, efficient and tough.
Sleds loaded and ready to head out - Quad trailers... Inuit style!
We headed out mid-afternoon the day of my arrival, moving 20km down the coast to a small cabin that would be our home base. Meandering from hill to hill and glassing along the way, the first afternoon was cold, wet & uneventful. The weather was suspect as cold winds and rain rolled in from the SW off the Arctic Ocean. Despite the challenging conditions, my spirits were high in anticipation of what was yet to come.
The culture shock and language barrier kept things interesting throughout the evening. Picture the 3 of us huddled around a Coleman stove and a pot of tea in the middle of the floor of the small, simple 10 X 12ft plywood shack. Sitting cross legged on the floor, they were very excited to set a large bag of fresh, dried caribou meat and long, thick chunks of fat in front of us. Like kids at the candy store they cut strips of meat off and added large bites of fat, yum, dinner. Bite number one I struggled to swallow. Bite number two they tossed a salt shaker to me. There was no bite number three. Thank god for MRE’s. All the while the bright red VHF radio in the corner squawked native language, peppered with broken English. From Banks Island to Cambridge Bay to Inuvik, my guides listened with a strained ear as if we were watching Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals.
The UHF radio, a lifeline as well as an endless source of entertainment.
Our simple plywood cabin; rustic, functional, very basic. The Coleman stove doubled as a heater as well as a stove.
Dinner on the evening of the first night in the field - a glad bag full of caribou fat, dried meat and tea... Thank god for MRE's!
As the sun never really sets this time of year, Day 2 started early with a hot bowl of oatmeal and some coffee. We headed NW with a sled full of gear and fuel, repeating the previous days strategy of hill hopping and glassing. As the sun peeked over the eastern horizon, we were greeted with blue skies and magnificent views. Our vantage points offered tremendous viewscapes, yet after 5 hours of quadding & glassing hundreds of square miles I had yet to spy a Muskox. Around noon, peering due north, several miles away we finally spotted a lone bull making his way across the Tundra in search of a companion.
Traveling by ATV and glassing was the recipe for success, covering many miles of the vast landscape.
The rolling broken terrain, wind conditions and the bulls intended travel route lent itself well to the stalking conditions. Upon closer inspection the lead guide nodded his head in approval and I was off like a shot, stalking on the heels of a beautiful muskox bull. As the bull disappeared behind a hill, I quickly handed the Canon Mark II DSLR to the guide’s helper, not expecting much in the way of results as I didn’t have time to offer tech support or any guidance. I dashed off and double timed it behind the height of land as they rode ahead at the foot of the backside of the hill, out of sight of the bull and myself.
Approaching the crest of the hill, I pulled an arrow from that familiar first slot of my quiver, nocked it and set my release in the D loop with nervous tension. Tip toeing like a cat over the hard rocks, slicing slivers off the horizon as I rounded the sharp hill top, revealing a sweeping vista of the Arctic Ocean and beautiful green carpet of Tundra. Suddenly, that last few steps before the steep drop off, my line of sight revealed the shoulder of my bull, brilliantly lit up, long mane and hair blowing in the Arctic wind. Time froze as I crouched, came to full draw and rose up, bending at the waist, settling my 20 yard pin directly behind the front shoulder, 1/3 of the way up from his brisket. Amazingly, this moment was frozen in time from my guide’s vantage point, as he nonchalantly released the shutter dozens of times through my shot sequence. The arrow found its mark, and in that instant my Arctic dreams became a reality.
A magical moment frozen in time... I couldn't have asked for a more timely photo!
It was with mixed emotions I approached and relished in the moment, I wasn't ready for my adventure to end.
One of the coolest things I learned on this trip was the fact that Muskox hair is the warmest natural fibre on the planet, 8 times more efficient than wool.
Once the bull was down, it was a marvelous experience sitting back against the sled taking in the scene while we enjoyed some hot tea and bannock. My archery muskox, silhouetted against the crisp, clear blue sky and sweeping tundra giving way to the icy shores of the Arctic.
With slight remorse I approached the Muskox bull that lay on the Tundra, wishing my adventure didn’t have to end so soon. The dream, the anticipation, the preparation and the travel were more a source of enjoyment than the harvest itself. Vowing to return, I am certain I will find my way north again in search of one of the most unique bowhunting adventures available in North America. Don’t be surprised to find a Spey rod on the luggage carousel as the world class Char fishery would be an incredible bonus!
The trip wasn't complete without a tour of the local village prior to departure, you never know what interesting highlights you'll discover!
A view from the ridge overlooking the settlement of Ulukhaktok, NWT (Holman).
