It’s always hard to pack for the first trip of the year, especially when its 90 degrees here in Minnesota and I need to prepare for weather in Northern Quebec. There the weather could be 80 or it could be snowing, but you had better be prepared for it all.
I’ve been lucky enough to go on two caribou trips prior to this one, but as a photographer there is always a huge sense of excitement prior to a caribou hunt. Just maybe you’ll hit the migration and be surrounded by hundreds of animals making it into a filming paradise.
Got bug spray?
Gordy Krahn and I were lucky enough to arrive at camp in style. We got to take a sweet helicopter ride to the lodge and film the entire way. Upon arrival we realized the migration was still in Labrador, east of Quebec. However we were surrounded by, not hundreds, but millions of black flies. I’ve been to some buggy areas before, but this topped the charts! In all 70 pounds of gear, all I packed for bugs was a little head net and a bottle of spray. Big Problem.
Gordy and I hiked out for our first sit and I was feeling lucky with my bug net and spray. That is until they got under the net and started chewing up my neck and face. Gordy was sitting only feet away and hardly got bit, but I was nearly eaten alive! I counted 47 fly bites on my neck and face! Three daring little flies even bit my eyelid causing it to swell shut. Now I’ve been given a lot of nicknames, but my new camp names were “lumpy” and the “little troll.”
It’s all about the people
I could still see the viewfinder on the camera so after popping a few Benadryl, Gordy and I were right back at it. One of the best parts about caribou camp is truly the people. We were able to share camp with a father and son, several groups of friends, and two young fellas who were 86 and 83 years old. These two jokesters had been hunting together for more than 50 years! They both decided it was time to try a caribou hunt together in Quebec and hope to return for years to come.
I can only hope that I am alive, hunting, laughing and joking around when I’m in my eighties. These two guys had a great sense of humor and the camp joke was what would get stolen next. Upon arrival in Montreal these two guys had their vehicle stolen with all their gear. The outfitter got them suited up, and instead of moping around they only joked about who’s fault it was. It was refreshing to see two people enjoying each other’s company and truly having a great time.
Getting down to business
Gordy and I did some hard hunting in the following days. We did a lot of walking, glassing, and waiting, in that order. In fact, we did four solid days of it. The second to last afternoon was when everything changed. We got into caribou!
First we found a small group of bulls and we made a stalk. Two bulls busted but there was still one left. We searched the tundra and finally spotted the bull. We scurried up toward him and got setup. Our guide, Perry, put his hands straight up and started swaying back and forth. I only caught a glimpse of this out of the corner of my eye. There was no time to question him now. That big bull spotted him and started walking right in, just like we were reeling him in.
Caribou are incredibly curious animals and this bull wanted to know what in the world was invading his space on the tundra. We got several minutes of beautiful footage before Gordy squeezed the trigger and made a perfect kill. What a relief, one caribou down and if we could get another that would be bonus.
Well, here came the bonus round. We switched locations and found even more caribou. It was like a mini-migration and we were right in the middle of it. Almost everywhere you looked you could see a caribou. Instead of rushing ourselves we sat back, glassed and filmed until we found two giants. There were to big bulls off in the distance that were way bigger than everything else. We zeroed in on these and made our stalk.
Lots of caribou is great for filming but not so great for stalking. No matter which way you turn you would possibly bump caribou. We decided to go straightforward but take it slow. None of the caribou spooked, but we didn’t interest them much. Caribou are primarily concerned with wolves or bears, and we definitely didn’t match that description. They obviously thought we didn’t pose a threat, big mistake.
After several minutes of beautiful footage Gordy squeezed the trigger on an even bigger bull. This trip is proof everything can change in just one afternoon. We went from getting skunked day after day to fabulous hunting in only a matter of hours.
Melissa Bachman
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