Elk, Moose and Caribou

Ever since my first ride in a canoe, I’ve dreamed of someday paddling with my dad, Denny, on a wilderness moose hunt, much like how the voyageurs of the past used to pursue their quarry.

“Fifteen, 16 and one more makes 17,” I counted to myself as a group of wary Merriam’s turkeys cautiously sided up to the small impoundment for a drink.

I fell asleep on a horse last fall, an event that’s significant for two reasons.

Caribou are one of the coolest big game animals you’ll ever hunt. A “here today, gone tomorrow” kind of creature, they live in some of the last true remaining wildernesses in North America.

Even though I was there, the scene didn’t seem real. Mile after mile of barren tundra sailed beneath the freshly refurbished, million-dollar DeHavilland Beaver floats.

Imagine you’re on stand late one fall afternoon. Suddenly before you appears the most magnificent buck you’ve ever seen.

It all started after I drew a late-season cow elk tag for my local hunting unit near my home in Garden Valley, Idaho.

"It was Sept. 22, 2003, and the second day of my moose hunt. I was hunting on Thompson Lake in northern Manitoba, Canada, with Lynn Lake Fly-In Outpost Camps.

It’s important to be familiar with rules of the state you hunt before heading out with a muzzleloader, since some states have restrictions on firearms and accessories.

Recently, I had the privilege of going on a bull elk hunt in Wyoming courtesy of Hunt of a Lifetime, an organization that grants hunting and fishing wishes to children with life-threatening injuries or diseases. I thought you all might enjoy getting in on the action with me, so here are my journal entries from my 2006 hunt.