Kai with his beautiful blonde grizzly bear
Ed and Eddie with their caribou
It was an exciting and successful season in the Brooks Range this fall. We had the privilege of working with 10 clients from the Yakima Indian Reservation in Yakima, Washington—all coworkers hunting together on a 10-day trip.
With 10 guys and 9 staff including myself and my wife covering 5 camps, we had quite the crew. Our fearless and ever-cheerful pilot Kirk helped pull of the feat of getting all 19 of us, plus gear and tents, food for 15 days, and four rafts into the field in the course of a couple of days, and then out again just before the weather turned bad.
We had three floating camps and two stationary camps, with about half the clients floating down the river and the other half remaining in two base camps, one of which was managed by our guide Richard “Stew” Stewart, and the other by me and Alexandra, my wife.
Photo credit: Ryan Keener
Both stationary and floating camps enjoyed great food, fantastic fishing opportunities, and plenty of beautiful but very cold weather.
Randy stays warm against the Arctic wind
Clients and guides alike kept warm in their own unique ways …
Alexandra and Nate prepare breakfast in the cook tent
… While we made sure that there was plenty of warm food to eat for every meal.
Randy cleans his caribou skull
We were fortunate to have clients who were well-experienced hunters who didn’t mind getting their hands dirty with some of their trophies.
Terry and his guide, Richard, with Terry's wolverine
Overall, the season was a great success, with 13 caribou in all taken, plus two wolves, two wolverines (a rarity for guided hunts in the Brooks!) and four grizzly bear, we had a group of happy guides and satisfied clients who we hope to see again sometime in the future!
Pat, Kanim and Randy with their caribou
On the river - Photo by Ryan Keener
One of our guides, Keele Johnson, master of the river
The group at camp with the first wolf of the season.
Front row (from L-R): Nate, our packer; Kanim; Scott
Back row (from L-R): Jeff, our guide; Randy; Pat; Alexandra and Lyle, owner and outfitter
Ed and his guide, Mark Knapp, with Ed's caribou