Spring Harvest

Early March always brings with it a case of cabin fever. I have found that one of the best remedies for this annual ailment is a trip up to the north slope in search of some caribou and some sun soaked adventure with my hunting partner Luke. This year, like the couple before proved to provide us with everything we hoped for: plenty of exercise, plenty of stories and plenty of red meat.
This year we invested in a new lightweight wall tent along with a folding wood stove. After a few modifications we were living large in a warm and spacious dwelling.

The trip into our normal site was a little brutal this year. We bucked a fairly stiff headwind that brought the windchill down in the -35 degree range.

Our new tent was pitched and Luke was dressed for action. Goggles and face shield for protection from the wind and cold, and the trusty Tyvek suit for winter camo.

This photo was a little staged (we had already shot a few caribou out of the herd behind Luke) but it is still pretty cool to see the herd of caribou moving away from us after we thinned the herd by three.

Luke with a nice mature cow.

There is just something spectacular about this hunt. I think it is a combination of solitude, good success, the time of the year and the memories that are created from each trip. I am already looking forward to next years outing.