JES Adventures
AH elite
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I had arrived Kodiak Island, Alaska Saturday evening from Juneau via Anchorage and there must’ve been 75 hunters on the plane! It took me nearly an hour to get my gun then headed over to the Best Western and settled in. My am scheduled for a Monday afternoon flight to camp which worked out well as most of the planes were grounded Sunday due to high winds. I had a leisurely Sunday, went to Mass then caught up on messages before being out of comm’s for another week. The weather forecast looks fair for the balance of the week, always a chance of rain or snow. I will be hunting with Scott Mileur for Sitka Blacktail, #22 on my quest for the North American 29.
Day 1
I was up early and with the three hour time difference was able to make my calls and do a bit of office work before signing off for the week. One of the pilots from Island Air picked me up from the hotel about 1:40 and I was at the floatplane base by 2. The beaver took off at 2:50 for the 1 hr flight to Scott’s Bear Creek Camp on the Red River which is on the south end of the island. Kodiak is gorgeous with the first half of the trip having clear skies and amazing views.
About 40 minutes into the flight going through a mountain pass I looked out the window and saw 4 goats running from the plane! Looked like a billy with 2 nannies and a kid. That was very cool having just spent a week hunting these elusive critters.
We dropped into a Valley about 20 minutes later and I could see a tent camp next to the river below. The pilot circled and came in for a landing and Scott was on the bank ready to grab a line.
I got my gear up the hill to my tent and organized. I asked Scott if he wanted me to check my rifle since I’ve flown and he nonchalantly said “if you want to”. He gave me a cardboard box and sharpie for a target and I set up down by the river. I fired one shot and the RUM was on so back in the case it went.
Camp was a basic Alaskan Bush Camp. Two, 4 man cabin tents and a smaller toilet tent. There was a two strand electric fence around the tents to deter the inquisitive Brown Bear from making a mess. At the riverside, is a small inflatable boat with a 15HP outboard was tied off, also with an electric fence protecting it.
Scott cooked up some pork chops, potatoes and mixed salad dinner. We had a good visit over dinner, Scott is a long time veteran of Guiding and Outhitting on Kodiak Island. He got there in 1977 as an assistant guide for Pinnel and Morgan two famous bear guides. He took over from them in ‘93 and has run the business since. It’s not often you get to hunt with someone that has this kind of history in an area so this is going to be fun. The bear hunting stories have been great and I look forward to the next few days hunting with him and hearing more.
I retired to my tent by 8 and did a bit of reading. Always carry a couple of paperbacks whenever you go hunting in Alaska. Trust me, you’ll need them when you get socked in.
Sunrise is at 8:44 tomorrow morning so we will be out of camp about 8:30. Scott saw several deer in the general area while hunting bear the last couple of weeks so we should be able to take a mature buck in the next few days. I continue to pray the weather holds out.
Day 1
I was up early and with the three hour time difference was able to make my calls and do a bit of office work before signing off for the week. One of the pilots from Island Air picked me up from the hotel about 1:40 and I was at the floatplane base by 2. The beaver took off at 2:50 for the 1 hr flight to Scott’s Bear Creek Camp on the Red River which is on the south end of the island. Kodiak is gorgeous with the first half of the trip having clear skies and amazing views.
About 40 minutes into the flight going through a mountain pass I looked out the window and saw 4 goats running from the plane! Looked like a billy with 2 nannies and a kid. That was very cool having just spent a week hunting these elusive critters.
We dropped into a Valley about 20 minutes later and I could see a tent camp next to the river below. The pilot circled and came in for a landing and Scott was on the bank ready to grab a line.
I got my gear up the hill to my tent and organized. I asked Scott if he wanted me to check my rifle since I’ve flown and he nonchalantly said “if you want to”. He gave me a cardboard box and sharpie for a target and I set up down by the river. I fired one shot and the RUM was on so back in the case it went.
Camp was a basic Alaskan Bush Camp. Two, 4 man cabin tents and a smaller toilet tent. There was a two strand electric fence around the tents to deter the inquisitive Brown Bear from making a mess. At the riverside, is a small inflatable boat with a 15HP outboard was tied off, also with an electric fence protecting it.
Scott cooked up some pork chops, potatoes and mixed salad dinner. We had a good visit over dinner, Scott is a long time veteran of Guiding and Outhitting on Kodiak Island. He got there in 1977 as an assistant guide for Pinnel and Morgan two famous bear guides. He took over from them in ‘93 and has run the business since. It’s not often you get to hunt with someone that has this kind of history in an area so this is going to be fun. The bear hunting stories have been great and I look forward to the next few days hunting with him and hearing more.
I retired to my tent by 8 and did a bit of reading. Always carry a couple of paperbacks whenever you go hunting in Alaska. Trust me, you’ll need them when you get socked in.
Sunrise is at 8:44 tomorrow morning so we will be out of camp about 8:30. Scott saw several deer in the general area while hunting bear the last couple of weeks so we should be able to take a mature buck in the next few days. I continue to pray the weather holds out.