It was another short season, up in the Mackenzie Mountains, but a good one.

We had a building burn down last season, so the crew headed up a few weeks early to take care of that project. We got a good start on it; then the rain came. Well we've come to the conclusion that hunting in the rain holds more interest to most than building in it.

With grins from ear to ear we greeted the first group of hunters on August 13. Other than a couple of misty mornings and one miserable afternoon, we had two weeks of prime hunting. The group split in two and hunted our Delta Dawn camp and Canyon Creek. After taking 1 ram, 2 caribou and a wolf, we moved camps. Everyone's thoughts were the same," when the sun is shining, don't get in a rush." Covered a lot of country and passed up some good sheep. By the end of the hunt all four hunters had their rams; there were even a couple of spare days to get that building completed.

August 27th was the start of our next hunt. Five hunters made their way down Hook Creek, splitting up half way, half continued downstream to the Rouge Range. Another was flying in a couple of days later and had decided to use the helicopter.

Seven rams were taken, six measuring 38" plus, and two passing the 42" and 43" marks. While the slump in the economy has taken a toll on all of us, the game has definitely strengthened from it.

Forgot to mention, the above was done in the first half, now with each passing day we watched the caribou herds start to increase and move in around Hook Lake. Six caribou completed this great weathered hunt.

Kind of stuck for words to explain this next hunt. We took three young brothers, a father-son duo, husband and wife and two others. Most of this group was staying for ten days, while others were leaving on the fifth day and some came in then. Cannot explain what an experience these next ten days were for both hunters and guides. While half had never been on a guided hunt before, the other half were well seasoned. The laughs never stopped and neither did the stories. It was very enjoyable to be part of a new world for some and to see the interactions between the two different, yet the same, hunters.

The weather was decent, clear days and cool evenings. All got to experience the northern lights, some a little more than the rest due to their late night adventures. 3 sheep were taken, 11 caribou, and one moose over the ten day period. It was busy to say the least; no one would have changed a thing, with the exception of the odd caping day.

Wouldn't you know it, the moose hunt followed, along with the snow, wind and chilling temperatures. I know, "that's what you want for hunting moose." It's true, moose like weather, but I can't say that it made for a good hunt. It was tuff... 3 of 5 moose were taken, while another was wounded. It seemed like one day they were calling and the next they were on the move again. Seen a lot of great moose and very strong numbers, things just didn't click.