1 00:00:01,320 --> 00:00:04,640 Speaker 1: Welcome to the Wired to Hunt podcast, your guide to 2 00:00:04,680 --> 00:00:09,400 Speaker 1: the Whitetail Woods, presented by First Light, creating proven versatile 3 00:00:09,480 --> 00:00:13,399 Speaker 1: hunting apparel for the stand, saddle or blind. First Light 4 00:00:13,880 --> 00:00:18,799 Speaker 1: Go Farther, Stay Longer, and now your host, Mark Kenyon. 5 00:00:19,079 --> 00:00:22,919 Speaker 2: Welcome to the Wired to Hunt podcast. This week on 6 00:00:22,960 --> 00:00:26,160 Speaker 2: the show, I'm breaking down my first deer hunt of 7 00:00:26,200 --> 00:00:29,520 Speaker 2: the twenty twenty four season, and it was an Alaskan 8 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:52,519 Speaker 2: deer hunt. All right, Welcome back to the Wired to 9 00:00:52,680 --> 00:00:55,920 Speaker 2: Hunt podcast, brought to you by First Light and their 10 00:00:55,960 --> 00:00:59,640 Speaker 2: Camo for Conservation Initiative and the brand new Whitetail line 11 00:00:59,680 --> 00:01:01,840 Speaker 2: that came out this year. I hope you've heard all 12 00:01:01,840 --> 00:01:03,680 Speaker 2: about it. I won't belabor the point, but you can 13 00:01:03,800 --> 00:01:06,680 Speaker 2: check it out over at first light dot com. And 14 00:01:06,760 --> 00:01:13,000 Speaker 2: today it's storytime. It's just you and me. I'm telling 15 00:01:13,040 --> 00:01:16,959 Speaker 2: you a story. It's one of the most unique stories 16 00:01:17,160 --> 00:01:19,520 Speaker 2: that I've been able to ever share here on the 17 00:01:19,520 --> 00:01:23,800 Speaker 2: Wired Hunt podcast. And it is a deer hunt, which 18 00:01:23,800 --> 00:01:26,119 Speaker 2: you've heard about plenty before. But this is a very 19 00:01:26,160 --> 00:01:27,959 Speaker 2: different kind of deer hunt because this is a deer 20 00:01:28,040 --> 00:01:31,800 Speaker 2: hunt that took place not in Michigan, not in Iowa 21 00:01:32,000 --> 00:01:37,360 Speaker 2: or Ohio, or Nebraska, Pennsylvania, Texas, Nope, I went way 22 00:01:37,680 --> 00:01:41,880 Speaker 2: up north to Alaska. So today I want to tell 23 00:01:41,920 --> 00:01:45,200 Speaker 2: you about why I went to Alaska, how I went 24 00:01:45,240 --> 00:01:48,560 Speaker 2: to Alaska, what I was chasing, how I was chasing it, 25 00:01:49,000 --> 00:01:51,600 Speaker 2: and how that hunt went down, and a few things 26 00:01:51,640 --> 00:01:55,360 Speaker 2: about that location and the species up there that I 27 00:01:55,400 --> 00:02:00,000 Speaker 2: think are worth knowing. So that's the game plan today. 28 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:01,720 Speaker 2: The heck of an adventure up there, was up in 29 00:02:01,800 --> 00:02:04,760 Speaker 2: Alaska for almost two weeks. Just got back the other day, 30 00:02:05,240 --> 00:02:07,680 Speaker 2: and so so yeah, I want to share that story 31 00:02:07,720 --> 00:02:10,680 Speaker 2: with you and what I learned along the way, hopefully 32 00:02:10,840 --> 00:02:13,240 Speaker 2: maybe inspire a few of you to explore this part 33 00:02:13,280 --> 00:02:15,959 Speaker 2: of the country someday, maybe arm you with a little 34 00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:18,480 Speaker 2: bit of insight that can help you plan and execute 35 00:02:18,480 --> 00:02:22,440 Speaker 2: a trip like that and entertaining the rest of you 36 00:02:22,520 --> 00:02:25,560 Speaker 2: if nothing else. So that's the game plan for today's show. 37 00:02:26,400 --> 00:02:28,440 Speaker 2: A couple of house cleaning items before we do that. 38 00:02:29,280 --> 00:02:34,200 Speaker 2: The Whitetail Edu series, our educational whitetail series that Tony 39 00:02:34,200 --> 00:02:36,920 Speaker 2: and I have been doing on YouTube. That's wrapped up, 40 00:02:37,080 --> 00:02:39,440 Speaker 2: so the first season of white Tail Edu is done. 41 00:02:39,480 --> 00:02:42,680 Speaker 2: There are ten episodes now over on the meet either 42 00:02:42,800 --> 00:02:45,639 Speaker 2: Clips YouTube channel. So you can watch all ten now 43 00:02:46,280 --> 00:02:50,360 Speaker 2: the most recent episodes of covered topics such as choosing 44 00:02:50,360 --> 00:02:53,000 Speaker 2: euromounts or shoulder mounts, what's the right mount for you? 45 00:02:54,360 --> 00:02:56,760 Speaker 2: Shot placement on deer. We did a deep dive on that. 46 00:02:57,760 --> 00:03:02,080 Speaker 2: We did a video on callington sure bucks a few 47 00:03:02,160 --> 00:03:05,840 Speaker 2: weeks earlier, we did one about how mature bucks uniquely travel. 48 00:03:06,440 --> 00:03:08,280 Speaker 2: So if you want to get some last minute deer 49 00:03:08,360 --> 00:03:12,000 Speaker 2: hunting know how into your brain before the season kicks off, 50 00:03:12,080 --> 00:03:14,640 Speaker 2: or maybe you're already hunting and you're just wanting some 51 00:03:14,639 --> 00:03:19,959 Speaker 2: some refreshers before the next hunt, check those out. That's 52 00:03:19,960 --> 00:03:21,799 Speaker 2: really the only thing other than I I guess this 53 00:03:21,880 --> 00:03:23,840 Speaker 2: is just a general thing, but the rest of my 54 00:03:23,919 --> 00:03:25,919 Speaker 2: hunting season is going to be kicking off here pretty 55 00:03:25,919 --> 00:03:30,320 Speaker 2: soon across Michigan, Illinois, Kentucky, maybe some other spots. And 56 00:03:30,360 --> 00:03:32,160 Speaker 2: if you want to follow along with what I've got 57 00:03:32,320 --> 00:03:34,320 Speaker 2: going on personally, if you want to be able to 58 00:03:34,320 --> 00:03:39,360 Speaker 2: see videos and photos and more frequent updates on these adventures, uh, 59 00:03:39,400 --> 00:03:42,200 Speaker 2: make sure you're following me on Instagram. That's where I 60 00:03:42,240 --> 00:03:46,040 Speaker 2: share everything, that's my most active platform. So that the 61 00:03:46,080 --> 00:03:50,480 Speaker 2: handle is wired to hunt all words at you know 62 00:03:50,560 --> 00:03:52,880 Speaker 2: at wired to Hunt so head on over there if 63 00:03:52,880 --> 00:03:55,440 Speaker 2: you haven't already, if you're not signed up for our 64 00:03:55,520 --> 00:03:59,240 Speaker 2: white or sorry, are Wired to Hunt weekly newsletter. That's 65 00:03:59,280 --> 00:04:02,760 Speaker 2: another big one. If you go to themedia dot Com 66 00:04:02,760 --> 00:04:06,600 Speaker 2: website and go to the newsletter button where you can 67 00:04:06,600 --> 00:04:08,760 Speaker 2: sign up for the newsletters, there's a Wired to Hunt 68 00:04:08,800 --> 00:04:12,560 Speaker 2: newsletter option, and that gets you an email every Monday 69 00:04:12,880 --> 00:04:15,440 Speaker 2: with a note for me, sometimes with updates on my 70 00:04:15,520 --> 00:04:17,960 Speaker 2: hunts or a quick tip or an interesting idea I 71 00:04:18,040 --> 00:04:21,360 Speaker 2: ran across, and then links to all of our most 72 00:04:21,360 --> 00:04:25,760 Speaker 2: recent whitetail articles, podcasts, and videos put out across Media 73 00:04:26,080 --> 00:04:29,320 Speaker 2: and Wired Hunt. So lots and lots of stuff coming out. 74 00:04:29,320 --> 00:04:31,760 Speaker 2: You know that We've got a whole stable of different 75 00:04:31,800 --> 00:04:35,760 Speaker 2: writers who are sharing whitetail how to articles. You know. 76 00:04:35,880 --> 00:04:37,920 Speaker 2: On the podcast side, of course you've got this show, 77 00:04:37,920 --> 00:04:41,800 Speaker 2: but then of course Tony's Foundations podcast, the ret Fresh 78 00:04:41,880 --> 00:04:45,120 Speaker 2: Radio podcast that come out every Wednesday with updates from 79 00:04:45,160 --> 00:04:47,720 Speaker 2: all over the country on what deer doing right now. 80 00:04:47,920 --> 00:04:49,600 Speaker 2: Like all that stuff, you can stay up to date 81 00:04:49,680 --> 00:04:51,960 Speaker 2: with that newsletter, so highly recommend you do that too. 82 00:04:53,120 --> 00:04:56,200 Speaker 2: That's it, I guess as far as those quick little reminders. 83 00:04:57,279 --> 00:05:01,359 Speaker 2: Let's talk deer let's talk Alaska, talked this hunt. I 84 00:05:01,480 --> 00:05:11,000 Speaker 2: just came back from why did I want to go 85 00:05:11,080 --> 00:05:13,320 Speaker 2: to Alaska and why did I want to go to 86 00:05:13,400 --> 00:05:16,120 Speaker 2: hunt deer there. That's a good question, and it's where 87 00:05:16,160 --> 00:05:19,080 Speaker 2: we should start, and some of it I can explain 88 00:05:19,120 --> 00:05:20,720 Speaker 2: to you. Some of it I'm going to hold back 89 00:05:21,120 --> 00:05:24,680 Speaker 2: because part of what inspired me to go up to 90 00:05:24,720 --> 00:05:28,400 Speaker 2: Alaska for a deer hunt was a very interesting wildlife 91 00:05:28,480 --> 00:05:32,080 Speaker 2: ecology phenomena underway right now. There's some interesting stuff going 92 00:05:32,080 --> 00:05:36,359 Speaker 2: on in Alaska that I was interested in, and I 93 00:05:36,480 --> 00:05:39,520 Speaker 2: wanted to do some reporting on it, some learning about it, 94 00:05:39,560 --> 00:05:41,800 Speaker 2: some research on it, and I want to share it 95 00:05:41,600 --> 00:05:45,280 Speaker 2: with you folks and many others. But that's still kind 96 00:05:45,279 --> 00:05:47,440 Speaker 2: of in the midst of happening right now. This trip 97 00:05:47,520 --> 00:05:50,839 Speaker 2: was part of that research process. I'm still doing some now. 98 00:05:50,920 --> 00:05:53,760 Speaker 2: I want to wait to start talking about that until 99 00:05:53,800 --> 00:05:58,400 Speaker 2: I have a very clear, comprehensive handle on this situation. 100 00:05:58,560 --> 00:06:03,279 Speaker 2: But rest assured. We did a film. We produced a 101 00:06:03,320 --> 00:06:06,520 Speaker 2: film up there in Alaska about this hunt and about 102 00:06:06,560 --> 00:06:12,800 Speaker 2: this interesting ecological situation, and I will be diving into 103 00:06:12,880 --> 00:06:15,440 Speaker 2: all of that, you know, in the next six months 104 00:06:15,440 --> 00:06:17,640 Speaker 2: to a year, once we finally put all that together 105 00:06:17,760 --> 00:06:19,719 Speaker 2: and bring that out to the world. So that's like 106 00:06:20,040 --> 00:06:22,640 Speaker 2: I realized, like a ridiculous teaser to tell you there's 107 00:06:22,640 --> 00:06:24,000 Speaker 2: this interesting thing and I'm not going to tell you 108 00:06:24,000 --> 00:06:27,920 Speaker 2: about it, but I guess forgive me, I'm doing it anyways. 109 00:06:28,160 --> 00:06:30,920 Speaker 2: So there's some interesting stuff going on with wildlife up there. 110 00:06:31,400 --> 00:06:34,880 Speaker 2: That was one thing, and then as I found out 111 00:06:34,880 --> 00:06:36,719 Speaker 2: about this interesting stuff, it got me more and more 112 00:06:36,720 --> 00:06:40,640 Speaker 2: interested in blacktail deer and what their situation is up there, 113 00:06:40,760 --> 00:06:44,039 Speaker 2: and how healthy is that population, how healthy is their habitat, 114 00:06:44,120 --> 00:06:47,200 Speaker 2: what's the future look like for blacktail deer, what's the 115 00:06:47,240 --> 00:06:50,720 Speaker 2: future of the landscape they live in up there? What 116 00:06:51,080 --> 00:06:54,359 Speaker 2: do they need to survive and to thrive? What's going 117 00:06:54,400 --> 00:06:55,880 Speaker 2: on up in this part of the world. And this 118 00:06:55,920 --> 00:06:58,400 Speaker 2: part of the world is southeast Alaska. So for those 119 00:06:58,400 --> 00:07:00,440 Speaker 2: who aren't familiar, and if you're watching on video, I'm 120 00:07:00,440 --> 00:07:02,080 Speaker 2: gonna see if I can do this the right way. 121 00:07:02,080 --> 00:07:03,640 Speaker 2: If you're seeing on video, this is kind of what 122 00:07:03,680 --> 00:07:06,039 Speaker 2: Alaska looks like. I'm holding out my hand, my thumb's down, 123 00:07:06,120 --> 00:07:08,520 Speaker 2: my index fingers out a little bit, and then the 124 00:07:08,560 --> 00:07:11,600 Speaker 2: rest of my hand is kind of three fingers together. 125 00:07:11,880 --> 00:07:14,720 Speaker 2: You've got this peninsula that sticks out to the south. 126 00:07:14,840 --> 00:07:18,080 Speaker 2: That's southeast Alaska that branches down off the main body 127 00:07:18,080 --> 00:07:21,560 Speaker 2: of Alaska down along the edge of British Columbia. And 128 00:07:22,320 --> 00:07:24,880 Speaker 2: this is where Juno is. This is where Ketchikan is. 129 00:07:24,960 --> 00:07:27,480 Speaker 2: This is where Prince of Wales Island is. This is 130 00:07:27,480 --> 00:07:31,680 Speaker 2: where Steve's fishshack is. This is where, you know, the 131 00:07:31,840 --> 00:07:35,760 Speaker 2: largest tempered rainforest in North America is the Tongus National Force. 132 00:07:35,920 --> 00:07:42,760 Speaker 2: Is this incredible seventeen million acre rainforest in North America. 133 00:07:43,680 --> 00:07:46,640 Speaker 2: It's it's vast, it's home to some of the largest 134 00:07:46,640 --> 00:07:53,040 Speaker 2: trees in the world, an incredible breadth of biodiversity. And this, 135 00:07:53,480 --> 00:07:56,280 Speaker 2: you know, huge swath of wild country too. I mean 136 00:07:56,360 --> 00:08:00,760 Speaker 2: there's there's obviously some towns like ketch can do you know, 137 00:08:01,800 --> 00:08:05,280 Speaker 2: you know others I mentioned, but it is wild too, 138 00:08:05,960 --> 00:08:08,400 Speaker 2: and so you know, I wanted to get up there 139 00:08:08,480 --> 00:08:11,520 Speaker 2: and see this. You know, I've heard Steve telling stories 140 00:08:11,520 --> 00:08:13,920 Speaker 2: about this area. My buddy is you know, Yannis and 141 00:08:15,360 --> 00:08:17,160 Speaker 2: Brody and all these guys have been out there, have 142 00:08:17,200 --> 00:08:19,960 Speaker 2: seen these places. If hunted deer there, have experienced the 143 00:08:20,000 --> 00:08:23,560 Speaker 2: fishing there, have experienced this landscape. And I wanted to 144 00:08:23,560 --> 00:08:25,360 Speaker 2: see that too, And so I thought man, I can 145 00:08:25,440 --> 00:08:27,760 Speaker 2: learn about what's going on with black tailed deer up there. 146 00:08:28,200 --> 00:08:31,200 Speaker 2: I can go see this place firsthand for myself and 147 00:08:31,600 --> 00:08:33,280 Speaker 2: learn a little bit more about why this place is 148 00:08:33,280 --> 00:08:36,000 Speaker 2: so important and worth protecting. Even though I'm a michigan Er, 149 00:08:36,000 --> 00:08:38,600 Speaker 2: I'm a guy who lives thousands and thousands of miles away. 150 00:08:38,840 --> 00:08:41,600 Speaker 2: I keep hearing about the Tongus National Forest. I keep 151 00:08:41,640 --> 00:08:44,400 Speaker 2: hearing about why some people call this the salmon forest 152 00:08:44,480 --> 00:08:49,760 Speaker 2: or the climate forest, because this forest has an unbelievable 153 00:08:49,840 --> 00:08:55,440 Speaker 2: set of dependencies I guess on The forest sucks up 154 00:08:55,440 --> 00:08:57,600 Speaker 2: a tremendous amount of carbon, so it's helping with that 155 00:08:57,600 --> 00:09:02,160 Speaker 2: whole situation. It provides much of the habitat that vast 156 00:09:02,960 --> 00:09:06,720 Speaker 2: swaths of the salmon in the world depend on. The 157 00:09:06,800 --> 00:09:10,680 Speaker 2: forest itself is actually built in part by salmon because 158 00:09:10,720 --> 00:09:15,160 Speaker 2: salmon run up all these thousands of streams across Southeast Alaska, 159 00:09:15,520 --> 00:09:19,200 Speaker 2: and as many of you probably know, salmon when they spawn, 160 00:09:19,240 --> 00:09:22,280 Speaker 2: so when they lay their eggs, they then die. So 161 00:09:22,520 --> 00:09:27,360 Speaker 2: salmon lay their eggs in these streams, deep into these 162 00:09:27,360 --> 00:09:31,440 Speaker 2: islands or deep inside the interior of Southeast Alaska. Little 163 00:09:31,480 --> 00:09:35,160 Speaker 2: baby salmon are hatched. They eventually get larger and then 164 00:09:35,240 --> 00:09:37,360 Speaker 2: swim out of the rivers and streams into the ocean. 165 00:09:37,400 --> 00:09:39,720 Speaker 2: They spend some number of years in the ocean. They 166 00:09:39,800 --> 00:09:42,000 Speaker 2: grow and grow and grow and collect all these ocean 167 00:09:42,080 --> 00:09:45,040 Speaker 2: nutrients in their bodies. They then when they are going 168 00:09:45,040 --> 00:09:47,240 Speaker 2: to spawn at the end of their life, they swim 169 00:09:47,280 --> 00:09:50,040 Speaker 2: back up those streams to the very exact same place 170 00:09:50,040 --> 00:09:53,040 Speaker 2: they were born, They lay their eggs, and then they 171 00:09:53,080 --> 00:09:57,199 Speaker 2: die there, effectively bringing all of those ocean nutrients back 172 00:09:57,240 --> 00:10:01,520 Speaker 2: into the interior into these four forests, where then they 173 00:10:01,559 --> 00:10:06,120 Speaker 2: provide the best fertilizer in the world and essentially are 174 00:10:06,280 --> 00:10:10,240 Speaker 2: the nutrient source for these massive trees and forests. So 175 00:10:10,240 --> 00:10:13,880 Speaker 2: it's a very very interesting cycle that's going on there. 176 00:10:14,679 --> 00:10:17,120 Speaker 2: So that's a long winded way of saying, there's some 177 00:10:17,160 --> 00:10:19,559 Speaker 2: really cool shit in southeast Alaska that I wanted to 178 00:10:19,640 --> 00:10:23,360 Speaker 2: learn about and that I wanted to see. So that's 179 00:10:23,360 --> 00:10:26,080 Speaker 2: what kicked all this off. I became fascinated with this 180 00:10:26,160 --> 00:10:28,760 Speaker 2: idea of learning about this deer species that lives there, 181 00:10:28,800 --> 00:10:32,080 Speaker 2: Sikka black tail deer. They are a you know, one 182 00:10:32,120 --> 00:10:36,200 Speaker 2: of the three ish main species of deer in North America. 183 00:10:36,200 --> 00:10:38,600 Speaker 2: We've got white tailed deer of course, Then you've got 184 00:10:38,679 --> 00:10:41,760 Speaker 2: mule deer, and then there's like a couple versions of 185 00:10:41,800 --> 00:10:44,480 Speaker 2: black tail that you've got Colombian black tail deer, which 186 00:10:44,480 --> 00:10:47,400 Speaker 2: are like a subspecies ish of mule deer. I don't 187 00:10:47,400 --> 00:10:50,120 Speaker 2: even know enough about how they differentiate. I remember hearing 188 00:10:50,160 --> 00:10:52,559 Speaker 2: at one point that there's basically just like a highway 189 00:10:52,920 --> 00:10:54,880 Speaker 2: and they say, one side of the highways a mule deer, 190 00:10:54,880 --> 00:10:57,880 Speaker 2: one side of the highways a black tail deer. But 191 00:10:57,920 --> 00:11:00,160 Speaker 2: then if you go north, north north, you get to 192 00:11:00,280 --> 00:11:04,360 Speaker 2: a very different blacktail, which is the Sikka blacktail deer. 193 00:11:04,360 --> 00:11:09,360 Speaker 2: And these deer are stout and short and compact compared 194 00:11:09,400 --> 00:11:15,160 Speaker 2: to their cousins down south. They have smaller antlers, darker. 195 00:11:17,360 --> 00:11:20,200 Speaker 2: They live in these rainforest environments. They're native to southeast 196 00:11:20,240 --> 00:11:24,200 Speaker 2: Alaska in that region, and they're super cool, these dark 197 00:11:24,240 --> 00:11:28,400 Speaker 2: black foreheads a blacktail, as their name of course would 198 00:11:28,440 --> 00:11:32,319 Speaker 2: clue you in on. And they live in wild places. 199 00:11:32,360 --> 00:11:34,680 Speaker 2: Not only do they live in these rainforest environments, but 200 00:11:34,720 --> 00:11:37,560 Speaker 2: they also can live up in the alpine kind of 201 00:11:37,600 --> 00:11:39,880 Speaker 2: like you know, like the alpine mule deer habitat that 202 00:11:39,920 --> 00:11:42,800 Speaker 2: some of us are used to seeing in Colorado or 203 00:11:42,880 --> 00:11:46,040 Speaker 2: Nevada or something. Well, they're up high in these peaks 204 00:11:46,160 --> 00:11:49,440 Speaker 2: in Alaska too, and so I got to thinking, how 205 00:11:49,520 --> 00:11:52,679 Speaker 2: awesome would it be to go see this rainforest, climb 206 00:11:52,800 --> 00:11:54,560 Speaker 2: through it, get to the top of the mountains, and 207 00:11:54,600 --> 00:11:57,160 Speaker 2: find black tailed deer up there. So that's what I 208 00:11:57,200 --> 00:12:00,880 Speaker 2: started exploring and researching and thinking about, which led me 209 00:12:00,960 --> 00:12:04,880 Speaker 2: to reaching out to someone who has written about these 210 00:12:04,960 --> 00:12:07,680 Speaker 2: topics in the past, written about a bunch of interesting 211 00:12:07,760 --> 00:12:13,600 Speaker 2: things around Alaska and blacktail deer and bears a lot. 212 00:12:13,760 --> 00:12:16,640 Speaker 2: And that's a guy named Bjorn Dila. Bjorn is a 213 00:12:16,679 --> 00:12:22,360 Speaker 2: resident of southeast Alaska, there in Juno and one of 214 00:12:22,400 --> 00:12:28,600 Speaker 2: the wildest, most wilderness savvy mountain men I've ever met. 215 00:12:29,080 --> 00:12:33,640 Speaker 2: I mean, this guy is a legend as far as 216 00:12:33,640 --> 00:12:37,600 Speaker 2: I'm concerned. And we started chatting. I started asking him 217 00:12:37,679 --> 00:12:40,600 Speaker 2: questions about his experience his hunting blacktails in this area 218 00:12:40,600 --> 00:12:45,280 Speaker 2: and this habitat, and the guy was kind enough to say, Man, 219 00:12:45,440 --> 00:12:47,480 Speaker 2: why don't we just spend some time together. Let's go 220 00:12:47,600 --> 00:12:49,559 Speaker 2: just hunt together. I can show you around, teach you 221 00:12:49,600 --> 00:12:51,600 Speaker 2: a thing or two, and so that's what we decided 222 00:12:51,640 --> 00:12:54,160 Speaker 2: to do. So Bjorn and I were going to meet 223 00:12:54,240 --> 00:12:57,560 Speaker 2: up and we're going to do a black tailed deer 224 00:12:57,640 --> 00:13:02,080 Speaker 2: hunt together in a place called Admiral t Island, which 225 00:13:02,120 --> 00:13:05,400 Speaker 2: is an island just off the coast of southeast Alaska. 226 00:13:05,840 --> 00:13:09,480 Speaker 2: It's a sixteen hundred square mile island that is mostly 227 00:13:09,880 --> 00:13:16,000 Speaker 2: designated wilderness, mostly public land, a super super wild place, 228 00:13:17,040 --> 00:13:23,920 Speaker 2: and home to approximately sixteen hundred brown bears, So sixteen 229 00:13:24,000 --> 00:13:28,880 Speaker 2: hundred square miles sixteen hundred brown bears. Brown bears, you know, 230 00:13:28,920 --> 00:13:33,280 Speaker 2: those are grizzlies, coastal grizzlies, very very big grizzlies that 231 00:13:33,800 --> 00:13:38,040 Speaker 2: live on the coast. Subsist in a large way by 232 00:13:38,080 --> 00:13:41,839 Speaker 2: way of fish and salmon. So there's about a brown 233 00:13:41,880 --> 00:13:44,040 Speaker 2: bear per square mile on this island. There's a whole 234 00:13:44,040 --> 00:13:46,840 Speaker 2: pile of them. So I also had some bear questions 235 00:13:46,840 --> 00:13:49,760 Speaker 2: for Bjorn leading into the strip, and fortunately he's a 236 00:13:49,760 --> 00:13:51,839 Speaker 2: guy who has a lot of experience with that, which 237 00:13:51,880 --> 00:13:54,360 Speaker 2: gave me some peace of mind because not only is 238 00:13:54,360 --> 00:13:58,640 Speaker 2: he an outdoor writer and an experienced hunter, but he's 239 00:13:58,679 --> 00:14:01,360 Speaker 2: also been a bear viewing guy, which led to some 240 00:14:01,480 --> 00:14:04,600 Speaker 2: very interesting stories. We're like, you know, he was part 241 00:14:04,600 --> 00:14:06,360 Speaker 2: of a company where he would take people out to 242 00:14:06,400 --> 00:14:10,800 Speaker 2: go experience brown bears relatively close. And then he's also 243 00:14:11,040 --> 00:14:15,640 Speaker 2: a guy who natural history documentarians. So the people who 244 00:14:15,720 --> 00:14:18,320 Speaker 2: make shows like you know, like Planet Earth or One Planet, 245 00:14:18,440 --> 00:14:22,720 Speaker 2: or you know, all the Netflix, BBC National Geographic animal 246 00:14:22,840 --> 00:14:26,600 Speaker 2: documentary films and shows, they hire Bjorn to be the 247 00:14:26,640 --> 00:14:28,600 Speaker 2: guy who goes sets up all the logistics and who 248 00:14:28,640 --> 00:14:31,760 Speaker 2: guides them safely to film bears and that kind of stuff. 249 00:14:31,760 --> 00:14:34,080 Speaker 2: So the guy knows how to handle himself in big 250 00:14:34,120 --> 00:14:37,960 Speaker 2: bear country and made it so I felt, you know, 251 00:14:38,080 --> 00:14:41,680 Speaker 2: comfortable exploring a new place in a density of bears 252 00:14:41,720 --> 00:14:43,000 Speaker 2: that I'm not used to. I've spent a lot of 253 00:14:43,040 --> 00:14:44,920 Speaker 2: time in grizzly country down the lower forty eight, but 254 00:14:45,000 --> 00:14:47,920 Speaker 2: this was just like another level. So so Bjorn was 255 00:14:47,960 --> 00:14:50,200 Speaker 2: great to make sure I was on the right program, 256 00:14:50,320 --> 00:14:52,840 Speaker 2: and then just the stories he has, I'm gonna I 257 00:14:52,840 --> 00:14:54,800 Speaker 2: couldn't get him on the show this week, but he 258 00:14:54,960 --> 00:14:57,440 Speaker 2: is going to come on the show sometime this fall 259 00:14:57,640 --> 00:14:59,600 Speaker 2: or this winter, and we're going to talk about some 260 00:14:59,640 --> 00:15:02,560 Speaker 2: of the stuf more detail with him, because he's fascinating. 261 00:15:03,160 --> 00:15:07,600 Speaker 2: He is, lack of a better term, just legit, Like 262 00:15:07,640 --> 00:15:12,400 Speaker 2: he is one of the most legit wilderness I don't 263 00:15:12,400 --> 00:15:15,120 Speaker 2: know how to subscribe wilderness savvy. The dude has done 264 00:15:15,120 --> 00:15:17,520 Speaker 2: some wild stuff and I want you guys to hear 265 00:15:17,560 --> 00:15:19,840 Speaker 2: about it at some point. He's also a phenomenal writer. 266 00:15:20,200 --> 00:15:22,480 Speaker 2: I'm gonna plug one of his books right here while 267 00:15:22,480 --> 00:15:25,760 Speaker 2: we're talking. The beginning this book, A Shape in the Dark, 268 00:15:26,200 --> 00:15:28,440 Speaker 2: Living and Dying with Brown Bears. I don't care if 269 00:15:28,440 --> 00:15:31,920 Speaker 2: you never plan on going to Alaska, if you have 270 00:15:32,000 --> 00:15:34,640 Speaker 2: any interest in grizzly bears and brown bears, if they 271 00:15:34,680 --> 00:15:37,400 Speaker 2: fascinate you or they terrify you, or you just think 272 00:15:37,400 --> 00:15:39,720 Speaker 2: they're really cool, or you want to hunt him someday, 273 00:15:39,800 --> 00:15:41,480 Speaker 2: or you just want to see him. I just want 274 00:15:41,520 --> 00:15:44,960 Speaker 2: to learn about him. This is an excellent book about 275 00:15:45,040 --> 00:15:47,880 Speaker 2: brown bears and the history of brown bears in America 276 00:15:48,320 --> 00:15:52,760 Speaker 2: and his many, many crazy stories with them. It's just 277 00:15:52,880 --> 00:15:55,200 Speaker 2: really well done. So go buy that book right now. 278 00:15:55,560 --> 00:15:59,240 Speaker 2: Highly recommend it, A Shape in the Dark. Okay, So 279 00:16:00,040 --> 00:16:02,240 Speaker 2: Jorden's the guy who I spent time with. That's why 280 00:16:02,280 --> 00:16:04,960 Speaker 2: I spent time with him. Admiralty Island is the place 281 00:16:04,960 --> 00:16:09,040 Speaker 2: that I went to at the beginning of the trip. 282 00:16:09,440 --> 00:16:11,440 Speaker 2: I went and spent some time with a biologist with 283 00:16:11,440 --> 00:16:16,200 Speaker 2: Alaska fishing game talking about this ecological phenomena that I'll 284 00:16:16,200 --> 00:16:18,760 Speaker 2: be sharing with you guys. At a later date I 285 00:16:18,840 --> 00:16:22,440 Speaker 2: went and hiked and checked out a massive glacier from 286 00:16:22,520 --> 00:16:25,160 Speaker 2: the Juno ice field to see some stuff going on 287 00:16:25,240 --> 00:16:28,880 Speaker 2: with that glacier, which was really interesting and eye opening 288 00:16:28,920 --> 00:16:31,920 Speaker 2: to see that was cool. But all that was kind 289 00:16:31,920 --> 00:16:34,360 Speaker 2: of the preamble to the actual hunt. The plan for 290 00:16:34,400 --> 00:16:37,040 Speaker 2: the hunt was that we were going to fly in 291 00:16:37,160 --> 00:16:39,560 Speaker 2: a beaver I think it was super beaver. This one 292 00:16:39,640 --> 00:16:43,440 Speaker 2: was called from Juno to Admiralty Island and get dropped 293 00:16:43,440 --> 00:16:46,240 Speaker 2: off at a lake there, and then from there we 294 00:16:46,280 --> 00:16:49,760 Speaker 2: would load up our backpacks and spike out make a 295 00:16:49,800 --> 00:16:52,160 Speaker 2: spike camp up in the alpine on top of a mountain. 296 00:16:52,680 --> 00:16:54,440 Speaker 2: The problem was that the day we're supposed to fly 297 00:16:54,520 --> 00:16:58,200 Speaker 2: out it was rainy, foggy, cloudy and nasty mess and 298 00:16:58,680 --> 00:17:01,000 Speaker 2: it pushed back our flight. So we went to a diner. 299 00:17:01,120 --> 00:17:03,320 Speaker 2: Pushed back another hour, so we had a second cup 300 00:17:03,360 --> 00:17:05,359 Speaker 2: of coffee. Pushed back another hour, so we ate lunch. 301 00:17:05,600 --> 00:17:07,560 Speaker 2: Pushed back another two hours. So we went to Bjorn's 302 00:17:07,560 --> 00:17:09,159 Speaker 2: house and hung out for a while and worked, and 303 00:17:09,640 --> 00:17:12,560 Speaker 2: long story short, they eventually at like four four thirty 304 00:17:12,640 --> 00:17:14,880 Speaker 2: something like that, they called and just said, hey, we're 305 00:17:14,880 --> 00:17:17,680 Speaker 2: not going to fly today. We're gonna try again tomorrow. 306 00:17:18,160 --> 00:17:22,479 Speaker 2: So that was a bummer. But my camera operator Colin, 307 00:17:22,560 --> 00:17:26,400 Speaker 2: and I went and went fishing, went for a hike, 308 00:17:26,600 --> 00:17:29,359 Speaker 2: so it was cool. Made the best of our off day. 309 00:17:30,160 --> 00:17:33,000 Speaker 2: Saw some beautiful stuff. So hundreds and hundreds of hundreds 310 00:17:33,040 --> 00:17:36,120 Speaker 2: of eagles, all these bald eagles congregating around this river 311 00:17:36,520 --> 00:17:40,560 Speaker 2: where all these salmon were coming in. If you've never 312 00:17:40,680 --> 00:17:44,200 Speaker 2: been to the Pacific Northwest, especially to Alaska or British 313 00:17:44,240 --> 00:17:48,640 Speaker 2: Columbia where we still have salmon runs, just this incredible 314 00:17:49,040 --> 00:17:51,680 Speaker 2: flow of life in and out of these river systems 315 00:17:51,880 --> 00:17:56,479 Speaker 2: is just unbelievable. You have to see it and experience it. 316 00:17:57,680 --> 00:18:03,840 Speaker 2: The the fecundity of it. I guess, it's just so alive, 317 00:18:03,960 --> 00:18:07,560 Speaker 2: there's so much going on. You're like seeing the world, 318 00:18:07,640 --> 00:18:11,000 Speaker 2: like mother Nature, playing out right in front of you 319 00:18:11,040 --> 00:18:16,240 Speaker 2: in a very tangible way. It was just very very powerful, 320 00:18:16,320 --> 00:18:19,240 Speaker 2: I guess to see that that's neither here nor there, 321 00:18:19,320 --> 00:18:21,359 Speaker 2: not related to the deer, but that's something I kept 322 00:18:21,400 --> 00:18:23,360 Speaker 2: seeing over and over again. That just kind of took 323 00:18:23,400 --> 00:18:28,359 Speaker 2: my breathway. Anyways, the flight got delayed twenty four hours, 324 00:18:28,359 --> 00:18:30,760 Speaker 2: but luckily the next day, even though it's pouring rain, 325 00:18:30,800 --> 00:18:32,480 Speaker 2: they said Hey, we can do it. We're gonna give 326 00:18:32,480 --> 00:18:36,520 Speaker 2: a shot. So we kind of race to the plane. 327 00:18:36,720 --> 00:18:39,040 Speaker 2: It's a float plane. We load everything up in the rain, 328 00:18:39,240 --> 00:18:42,160 Speaker 2: hop in the plane. I'm in the front seat, takes off. 329 00:18:42,440 --> 00:18:45,120 Speaker 2: I'll be honest, I was a little bit sketched out 330 00:18:45,119 --> 00:18:48,399 Speaker 2: because it was still pretty darn cloudy and windy and rainy. 331 00:18:48,440 --> 00:18:51,680 Speaker 2: I'm thinking, how's this guy gonna get us there? Because 332 00:18:51,720 --> 00:18:55,760 Speaker 2: these planes, these guys fly by sight mostly maybe entirely 333 00:18:56,560 --> 00:19:00,280 Speaker 2: with these guys, and we were at times like to 334 00:19:00,280 --> 00:19:01,879 Speaker 2: flying blind and then you'd come in and out of 335 00:19:01,880 --> 00:19:04,520 Speaker 2: clouds and he's weaving his way across like gaps in 336 00:19:04,560 --> 00:19:06,720 Speaker 2: the mountains and overwater bodies where there's a little bit 337 00:19:06,760 --> 00:19:11,280 Speaker 2: more visibility. But it was also really cool, beautiful, and 338 00:19:11,520 --> 00:19:14,120 Speaker 2: we did make it to the lake. Dropped us down 339 00:19:14,119 --> 00:19:16,320 Speaker 2: at the lake and there was a four service cabin 340 00:19:16,359 --> 00:19:18,639 Speaker 2: there that we'd rented as like a as like a 341 00:19:18,680 --> 00:19:21,119 Speaker 2: backup base of operations. If we couldn't be in the 342 00:19:21,119 --> 00:19:22,840 Speaker 2: alpine or if we needed to have someone to keep 343 00:19:22,840 --> 00:19:25,000 Speaker 2: stuff dry, we'd have this little one room cabin. So 344 00:19:25,000 --> 00:19:27,480 Speaker 2: we had that and we got dropped off, but the 345 00:19:27,520 --> 00:19:30,119 Speaker 2: weather got worse and it got socked in and based 346 00:19:30,119 --> 00:19:31,879 Speaker 2: on the forecast it looked like the rest of the 347 00:19:31,920 --> 00:19:33,240 Speaker 2: day it was going to be like that. So we 348 00:19:33,320 --> 00:19:38,840 Speaker 2: decided to kind of unload, reorganize, chill at the cabin. 349 00:19:38,960 --> 00:19:41,240 Speaker 2: That first day do some fishing. There was a lake 350 00:19:41,359 --> 00:19:43,720 Speaker 2: like I mentioned, and then a really cool creek coming 351 00:19:43,760 --> 00:19:45,840 Speaker 2: out of it, so we fished and caught a pile 352 00:19:45,920 --> 00:19:49,080 Speaker 2: a coastal cutthroat trout, which was a lot of fun. 353 00:19:49,720 --> 00:19:51,800 Speaker 2: And then the next morning the weather was supposed to 354 00:19:51,800 --> 00:19:54,520 Speaker 2: clear and we would be able to hike up the mountain, 355 00:19:54,640 --> 00:19:57,000 Speaker 2: up into the alpine and actually start the deer hunt. 356 00:19:57,760 --> 00:20:01,399 Speaker 2: So we did that. The next they got up, loaded 357 00:20:01,400 --> 00:20:04,280 Speaker 2: everything in the backpacks for like three or four days 358 00:20:04,320 --> 00:20:06,879 Speaker 2: up there in the mountains. Had to take a boat. 359 00:20:07,000 --> 00:20:08,440 Speaker 2: We had like a little John boat in a pack 360 00:20:08,440 --> 00:20:10,560 Speaker 2: craft that we had to take across the lake to 361 00:20:10,760 --> 00:20:14,240 Speaker 2: the side where this mountain was that We're gonna hunt. Unloaded, 362 00:20:14,400 --> 00:20:19,200 Speaker 2: and then started hiking. And you know, the crazy thing 363 00:20:19,200 --> 00:20:23,520 Speaker 2: about this place is the terrain and the actual vegetation 364 00:20:23,720 --> 00:20:27,280 Speaker 2: is just so different than anything that I'm used to 365 00:20:27,280 --> 00:20:31,000 Speaker 2: deer hunting. Of course, the vegetation is the biggest thing. 366 00:20:31,040 --> 00:20:32,840 Speaker 2: Like I mentioned, this is a rainforest, This is an 367 00:20:32,840 --> 00:20:36,320 Speaker 2: absolute jungle. And so you'll go through some stretches where 368 00:20:36,320 --> 00:20:39,119 Speaker 2: it's just open timber, like big old growth timber, and 369 00:20:39,160 --> 00:20:42,760 Speaker 2: that's beautiful and not so bad to get through, except 370 00:20:42,800 --> 00:20:45,439 Speaker 2: for the fact that there's dead trees everywhere, and so 371 00:20:45,480 --> 00:20:49,200 Speaker 2: you're constantly going over dead falls and you're constantly falling 372 00:20:49,240 --> 00:20:52,560 Speaker 2: into holes. Because if you can imagine like a thousand 373 00:20:52,640 --> 00:20:55,200 Speaker 2: year old forest with all these dead trees falling down 374 00:20:55,200 --> 00:20:58,280 Speaker 2: and slowly rotting away from all the moisture, you get 375 00:20:58,359 --> 00:21:02,720 Speaker 2: just like a spongy floor of and you'll fall through 376 00:21:02,760 --> 00:21:05,639 Speaker 2: that floor sometimes because it's rotten wood. So sometimes there 377 00:21:05,640 --> 00:21:07,600 Speaker 2: would just be like a little bit of moss covering 378 00:21:07,600 --> 00:21:10,800 Speaker 2: a hole or a thin veneer of rotten wood, and 379 00:21:10,840 --> 00:21:12,159 Speaker 2: then as soon as you step on it with a 380 00:21:12,160 --> 00:21:15,880 Speaker 2: heavy backpack on, you fall through. So you'd be hiking 381 00:21:15,920 --> 00:21:17,639 Speaker 2: and walking and then all of a sudden, it's like 382 00:21:17,680 --> 00:21:20,160 Speaker 2: you're post hauling in deep snow, but you're just falling. 383 00:21:21,520 --> 00:21:23,680 Speaker 2: So that was interesting. And then you'd get to other 384 00:21:23,720 --> 00:21:26,600 Speaker 2: spots where you didn't have the old trees, you had 385 00:21:26,600 --> 00:21:29,000 Speaker 2: like younger growth spots where sunlight came in. Then you 386 00:21:29,080 --> 00:21:33,919 Speaker 2: had like the low underbrush, just absolute nightmare. Jungle kind 387 00:21:33,920 --> 00:21:36,920 Speaker 2: of situation that you're bushwhacking through it. There's no trials here, 388 00:21:36,920 --> 00:21:39,159 Speaker 2: so we're just bushwhacking finding our way through this stuff. 389 00:21:40,040 --> 00:21:43,000 Speaker 2: And the worst stuff was something called Devil's Club, which 390 00:21:43,040 --> 00:21:45,959 Speaker 2: is like a I don't I gotta, I gotta go 391 00:21:46,000 --> 00:21:48,239 Speaker 2: look and find like something I can compare it to. 392 00:21:48,359 --> 00:21:50,959 Speaker 2: But it's like a long, tall, stocky plant with a 393 00:21:50,960 --> 00:21:54,159 Speaker 2: big leaf at the end and then just spines all 394 00:21:54,200 --> 00:21:55,920 Speaker 2: the way up and down it, and there's some kind 395 00:21:55,920 --> 00:21:59,160 Speaker 2: of toxin in it because it causes you to blister 396 00:22:00,119 --> 00:22:02,320 Speaker 2: different than like the regular thorns and stuff we have 397 00:22:02,520 --> 00:22:06,719 Speaker 2: in the Midwest. These thorns would create these nasty, big 398 00:22:06,880 --> 00:22:10,880 Speaker 2: red and then eventually white pussy blisters everywhere you got poked. 399 00:22:11,160 --> 00:22:12,959 Speaker 2: And I got them all over my hands, and if 400 00:22:12,960 --> 00:22:14,960 Speaker 2: you're watching the video, you can still see, like, I've 401 00:22:14,960 --> 00:22:18,919 Speaker 2: got these blood blisters all over my hands that are 402 00:22:18,960 --> 00:22:21,520 Speaker 2: just kind of the remnants of them. There's one right there, 403 00:22:22,080 --> 00:22:25,600 Speaker 2: but it was like white pussy blisters all over my 404 00:22:25,680 --> 00:22:28,159 Speaker 2: hand and parts of my shoulders and back and stuff. 405 00:22:28,200 --> 00:22:32,520 Speaker 2: So just made it, you know, an adventure. And then 406 00:22:32,560 --> 00:22:34,639 Speaker 2: you'd get to spots where it would just be so 407 00:22:34,800 --> 00:22:38,440 Speaker 2: steep that you were basically, you know, using your hands 408 00:22:38,520 --> 00:22:41,720 Speaker 2: to climb up the mountain side. It wasn't even like walkable. 409 00:22:41,760 --> 00:22:44,400 Speaker 2: You were just like hands and feet and knees and everything, 410 00:22:44,440 --> 00:22:46,800 Speaker 2: pulling your way up with a you know, fifty to 411 00:22:46,840 --> 00:22:49,280 Speaker 2: sixty pound pack with your rifle, with all this stuff. 412 00:22:49,320 --> 00:22:51,919 Speaker 2: So it was an adventure getting up there. It was 413 00:22:51,920 --> 00:22:54,080 Speaker 2: obviously all wet still and muddy, so you're slipping and 414 00:22:54,119 --> 00:22:59,199 Speaker 2: sliding to and this was an easy approach according to Bjorn, 415 00:22:59,760 --> 00:23:01,760 Speaker 2: So you know, what I thought was kind of a 416 00:23:01,800 --> 00:23:04,000 Speaker 2: death march. He's like, oh, this isn't that bad. So 417 00:23:04,160 --> 00:23:06,560 Speaker 2: these guys, these guys are used to some tough stuff, 418 00:23:06,560 --> 00:23:09,840 Speaker 2: and I definitely admire them for that. I thought I 419 00:23:09,920 --> 00:23:13,119 Speaker 2: was pretty mountain you know, experienced in mountain savvy, and 420 00:23:13,160 --> 00:23:16,240 Speaker 2: you know, I did fine. But it definitely was you know, 421 00:23:16,480 --> 00:23:18,760 Speaker 2: it worked me, I guess, is what I'm saying. So 422 00:23:19,560 --> 00:23:21,840 Speaker 2: we did that for how many hours and then punched 423 00:23:21,840 --> 00:23:25,560 Speaker 2: out finally into the alpine a tree line, and then 424 00:23:25,560 --> 00:23:29,040 Speaker 2: you're going up big like rock faces and shale slides 425 00:23:29,080 --> 00:23:31,560 Speaker 2: and avalanche shoots and different stuff. So now we're like 426 00:23:31,640 --> 00:23:33,720 Speaker 2: up in the mountains and we come finally up this 427 00:23:33,960 --> 00:23:36,680 Speaker 2: steep cliffy side and get over top, and we'd get 428 00:23:36,680 --> 00:23:40,840 Speaker 2: into this finally alpine plateau and right away, stay deer. 429 00:23:40,960 --> 00:23:44,399 Speaker 2: There's like two little does and a spike buck and 430 00:23:44,440 --> 00:23:46,520 Speaker 2: my first black tail deer of the trip. So really 431 00:23:46,520 --> 00:23:51,639 Speaker 2: cool to finally see them, this beautiful deer. And I 432 00:23:51,640 --> 00:23:53,560 Speaker 2: don't think they saw us, or if they did, they 433 00:23:53,640 --> 00:23:56,200 Speaker 2: just weren't too terribly concerned. And that was one thing 434 00:23:56,200 --> 00:23:58,159 Speaker 2: we found was that, you know, this is one of 435 00:23:58,200 --> 00:23:59,760 Speaker 2: those kinds of places and one of those kinds of 436 00:23:59,760 --> 00:24:02,000 Speaker 2: honey that you know, because of how hard it is 437 00:24:02,040 --> 00:24:05,119 Speaker 2: to get there, they just don't see many people. So 438 00:24:06,200 --> 00:24:08,120 Speaker 2: I do think that the deer were a little bit 439 00:24:08,160 --> 00:24:11,560 Speaker 2: forgiving of our presence, definitely forgiving of our of our 440 00:24:11,600 --> 00:24:15,000 Speaker 2: presence compared to like whitetail deer down here where if 441 00:24:15,040 --> 00:24:17,240 Speaker 2: you know, if they see you walking across an opening, 442 00:24:17,280 --> 00:24:19,800 Speaker 2: like they're gone. These deer, like if they saw a 443 00:24:19,800 --> 00:24:21,879 Speaker 2: walk across an opening, some of them, at least the 444 00:24:21,920 --> 00:24:24,359 Speaker 2: doughs would just stare at you for a while and 445 00:24:24,640 --> 00:24:29,240 Speaker 2: think like, what's that about. So that was an interesting 446 00:24:29,359 --> 00:24:32,600 Speaker 2: difference there, just you know, a totally different set of 447 00:24:35,440 --> 00:24:37,920 Speaker 2: you know, just just they've learned different things over the years, 448 00:24:38,000 --> 00:24:39,879 Speaker 2: right they have not been exposed to humans over and 449 00:24:39,920 --> 00:24:43,200 Speaker 2: over and had negative interactions with them. So we get 450 00:24:43,240 --> 00:24:45,600 Speaker 2: up there, these deer eventually move away. We go find 451 00:24:45,600 --> 00:24:47,720 Speaker 2: a place it's got water and kind of hidden from 452 00:24:47,720 --> 00:24:50,199 Speaker 2: the rest of the cliffs and mountain side that we 453 00:24:50,240 --> 00:24:52,320 Speaker 2: can get hidden away and set up tents, set up 454 00:24:52,320 --> 00:24:56,000 Speaker 2: our camp, and then after that we kind of regroup, 455 00:24:56,119 --> 00:24:59,680 Speaker 2: talk about strategy, and headed out for the first hunt. 456 00:25:01,320 --> 00:25:03,159 Speaker 2: The name of the game for this kind of hunt 457 00:25:03,600 --> 00:25:05,760 Speaker 2: was that we would get high. It kind of approached 458 00:25:05,800 --> 00:25:07,920 Speaker 2: like a like a mule or hunt, I think, in 459 00:25:07,960 --> 00:25:11,480 Speaker 2: that we would get up high in glass and check 460 00:25:11,560 --> 00:25:13,600 Speaker 2: different bulls like we would actually were going to the 461 00:25:13,720 --> 00:25:16,280 Speaker 2: very summit of this mountain, and there's all these different 462 00:25:16,359 --> 00:25:20,800 Speaker 2: like hanging valleys, like these different glacial cirques, I guess, 463 00:25:20,800 --> 00:25:23,080 Speaker 2: these bowls coming off of the different three or four 464 00:25:23,080 --> 00:25:25,119 Speaker 2: different sides of the mountain. And then you can get 465 00:25:25,119 --> 00:25:27,520 Speaker 2: to the summit and then walk one direction, peer down 466 00:25:27,560 --> 00:25:29,160 Speaker 2: to that bowl for a while, and then walk another 467 00:25:29,160 --> 00:25:31,399 Speaker 2: fifty yards to one hundred yards to the other side 468 00:25:31,440 --> 00:25:34,040 Speaker 2: and peer down there, and walk fifty yards another direction 469 00:25:34,080 --> 00:25:35,600 Speaker 2: and peer down that side. And so you could see 470 00:25:35,600 --> 00:25:39,040 Speaker 2: all these different little valleys that were still all above 471 00:25:39,080 --> 00:25:41,280 Speaker 2: tree line, and there was different groups of deer in 472 00:25:41,320 --> 00:25:44,199 Speaker 2: every one of those. So the first one we went to, 473 00:25:44,960 --> 00:25:50,320 Speaker 2: we saw what was in there. We saw I spotted 474 00:25:50,320 --> 00:25:53,000 Speaker 2: a bed of buck and a couple of beded does 475 00:25:53,119 --> 00:25:57,119 Speaker 2: and a few other dos up and feeding, and that 476 00:25:57,240 --> 00:25:59,520 Speaker 2: was exciting just to kind of see some deer doing 477 00:25:59,560 --> 00:26:01,399 Speaker 2: deer things. In that first buck, you know, looked like 478 00:26:01,440 --> 00:26:04,800 Speaker 2: a decent one, you know. I spent some time talking 479 00:26:04,800 --> 00:26:07,000 Speaker 2: to Bjorn about what I should expect as far as 480 00:26:07,040 --> 00:26:09,119 Speaker 2: the deer heard up there, you know, as far as 481 00:26:09,160 --> 00:26:12,720 Speaker 2: like what's the deer you should take. And Bjorn was 482 00:26:12,840 --> 00:26:16,680 Speaker 2: very much like, if you see antlers, shoot because you're 483 00:26:16,680 --> 00:26:21,200 Speaker 2: not guaranteed anything up in these places. And he traditionally 484 00:26:21,320 --> 00:26:23,000 Speaker 2: has been you know, hunting up here just you know, 485 00:26:23,720 --> 00:26:25,480 Speaker 2: just for meat and getting as much meat as he 486 00:26:25,520 --> 00:26:28,959 Speaker 2: can get, and you know, not much for passing up 487 00:26:29,000 --> 00:26:31,840 Speaker 2: bucks and waiting to see what else was out there. 488 00:26:31,880 --> 00:26:34,440 Speaker 2: So he was very much all about, like, man, take 489 00:26:34,440 --> 00:26:36,800 Speaker 2: a crack if you can get one, which I respect him, 490 00:26:36,800 --> 00:26:39,240 Speaker 2: was not opposed to. At the same time, though, like 491 00:26:39,280 --> 00:26:41,399 Speaker 2: this is my first time seeing blacktail deer, this is 492 00:26:41,440 --> 00:26:43,520 Speaker 2: my first time in this place. I didn't really want 493 00:26:43,560 --> 00:26:45,439 Speaker 2: to just like rush to get over with. I wanted 494 00:26:45,480 --> 00:26:47,560 Speaker 2: to kind of savor it a little bit and see 495 00:26:47,560 --> 00:26:49,239 Speaker 2: some of these critters and learn about some of these 496 00:26:49,240 --> 00:26:52,879 Speaker 2: critters before I, you know, hunted and killed one. So 497 00:26:53,400 --> 00:26:56,320 Speaker 2: that first valley we explored and glassed. You know, we said, 498 00:26:56,359 --> 00:26:58,960 Speaker 2: all right, that's cool, let's let's keep looking, let's keep exploring. 499 00:27:00,200 --> 00:27:04,320 Speaker 2: So then we hiked up this other big ridge line 500 00:27:04,359 --> 00:27:07,359 Speaker 2: heading to the summit and peeled over and looked on 501 00:27:07,400 --> 00:27:09,480 Speaker 2: this other side and on this other side the orange 502 00:27:09,480 --> 00:27:13,000 Speaker 2: spotted dough. And then I started glassing. And as I'm glassing, 503 00:27:13,000 --> 00:27:15,840 Speaker 2: I finally spot antlers. Here's a buck, a beded buck, 504 00:27:16,200 --> 00:27:29,080 Speaker 2: and it looks like a pretty nice one. It looks 505 00:27:29,080 --> 00:27:30,920 Speaker 2: like a pretty nice one to me, but I don't 506 00:27:30,960 --> 00:27:32,639 Speaker 2: really know what a nice one is. I mean, I 507 00:27:32,680 --> 00:27:35,200 Speaker 2: think it's a nice one, but yeah, I don't have 508 00:27:35,280 --> 00:27:37,399 Speaker 2: that context. So I'm like Bjorn, what do you think 509 00:27:37,400 --> 00:27:39,800 Speaker 2: about this deer? And he's like, oh man, that's a 510 00:27:39,920 --> 00:27:44,720 Speaker 2: that's a really good buck. That's top shelf. And you 511 00:27:44,760 --> 00:27:47,160 Speaker 2: got to you gotta know, like siic of black tailed 512 00:27:47,160 --> 00:27:50,080 Speaker 2: deer much smaller antlers than mule deer or white tailed 513 00:27:50,080 --> 00:27:52,399 Speaker 2: deer or even black tailed deer down on the west coast, 514 00:27:53,480 --> 00:27:55,840 Speaker 2: these are smaller antler deer. And then even as far 515 00:27:55,880 --> 00:27:58,959 Speaker 2: as Sika black tail deer's deer go, the ones on 516 00:27:59,000 --> 00:28:01,919 Speaker 2: this island are small, antlerd than the ones on somewhere 517 00:28:01,960 --> 00:28:04,919 Speaker 2: like Kodiak Island. So yeah, we're just not dealing with 518 00:28:04,960 --> 00:28:07,920 Speaker 2: big racks here. But they're like stout body, super cool deer. Still. 519 00:28:08,000 --> 00:28:09,840 Speaker 2: So what I was looking for, and what I eventually 520 00:28:09,840 --> 00:28:12,719 Speaker 2: explained to Bjorn was, you know, I'm looking for a 521 00:28:12,760 --> 00:28:16,360 Speaker 2: good representative of the species. So Biorn's like, gay, man, 522 00:28:16,400 --> 00:28:17,920 Speaker 2: that's a good one. But let me just peek over 523 00:28:17,960 --> 00:28:19,880 Speaker 2: this last little bowl and see what else is there. 524 00:28:19,920 --> 00:28:22,160 Speaker 2: So I sit there with the digits scope. I start 525 00:28:22,160 --> 00:28:25,320 Speaker 2: filming this buck. He's I think in Michigan we would 526 00:28:25,359 --> 00:28:29,480 Speaker 2: call him an eight pointer or a nine pointer. These 527 00:28:29,520 --> 00:28:32,040 Speaker 2: guys were calling him like a three by three because 528 00:28:32,040 --> 00:28:34,760 Speaker 2: they subtract the brow times and make it all confusing. 529 00:28:35,680 --> 00:28:37,080 Speaker 2: But it was, it was, It was a cool buck. 530 00:28:37,520 --> 00:28:39,960 Speaker 2: Biorn comes back eventually, after I watched this deer for 531 00:28:39,960 --> 00:28:41,520 Speaker 2: a while, he says, man, there's like four or five 532 00:28:41,560 --> 00:28:44,520 Speaker 2: bucks on the other side within two hundred and fifty 533 00:28:44,560 --> 00:28:47,120 Speaker 2: yards so maybe you should go take one of those. 534 00:28:47,160 --> 00:28:49,360 Speaker 2: I'm like, well what about this one. He's like, well, yeah, 535 00:28:49,360 --> 00:28:52,880 Speaker 2: they're probably smaller than that one. I said, well, I'm 536 00:28:52,920 --> 00:28:54,520 Speaker 2: kind of falling in love with this dear. I've been 537 00:28:54,560 --> 00:28:59,080 Speaker 2: watching him and like really cool, wide, big brow times 538 00:29:00,200 --> 00:29:04,640 Speaker 2: obviously a big body. So we kind of think about 539 00:29:04,640 --> 00:29:06,280 Speaker 2: it a little bit and then decide, hey, you know what, 540 00:29:06,320 --> 00:29:09,840 Speaker 2: they're separate, like they're in different bowls. I could stalk 541 00:29:09,840 --> 00:29:11,640 Speaker 2: and try to hunt this deer, and if I blow it, 542 00:29:11,880 --> 00:29:13,600 Speaker 2: I could always go back to the summit and go 543 00:29:13,680 --> 00:29:15,680 Speaker 2: to this other group and hopefully they would still be there. 544 00:29:15,680 --> 00:29:19,120 Speaker 2: So that's what we end up deciding to do. To 545 00:29:19,240 --> 00:29:22,360 Speaker 2: get around on this deer, we had to drop down 546 00:29:22,400 --> 00:29:24,720 Speaker 2: off the summit and do a big, wide stalk, like 547 00:29:24,800 --> 00:29:27,360 Speaker 2: a big loop to get down wind and behind him, 548 00:29:27,760 --> 00:29:30,280 Speaker 2: and then to try to be able to creep in 549 00:29:30,360 --> 00:29:32,240 Speaker 2: and get an angle and come over the crest of 550 00:29:32,280 --> 00:29:33,760 Speaker 2: the mountain to be able to see him because he 551 00:29:33,800 --> 00:29:36,360 Speaker 2: was bedded down next to a patch of pine trees, 552 00:29:37,000 --> 00:29:40,080 Speaker 2: and so I kind of, you know, looked at stuff 553 00:29:40,120 --> 00:29:42,400 Speaker 2: as best I could, took some pictures to try to identify, 554 00:29:42,560 --> 00:29:47,320 Speaker 2: like to have like reference points visually so I could remember, Okay, 555 00:29:47,400 --> 00:29:49,240 Speaker 2: that's what this bush looks like, that's where he was. 556 00:29:50,320 --> 00:29:52,200 Speaker 2: I used ONYX to try to look at the aerial 557 00:29:52,320 --> 00:29:55,520 Speaker 2: view and try to match up the aerial view with 558 00:29:55,600 --> 00:29:57,440 Speaker 2: what I thought I was seeing in front of me, 559 00:29:57,480 --> 00:29:59,200 Speaker 2: and then I tried to mark where I thought he 560 00:29:59,400 --> 00:30:01,200 Speaker 2: was on the map. So I tried to have all 561 00:30:01,200 --> 00:30:04,240 Speaker 2: these different reference points so that when I re you know, 562 00:30:04,320 --> 00:30:06,320 Speaker 2: when I circled around and relocated, I hope I could 563 00:30:06,320 --> 00:30:09,000 Speaker 2: find him again. So we get over there after that 564 00:30:09,000 --> 00:30:11,880 Speaker 2: big hike around to get there, and as I'm creeping 565 00:30:11,920 --> 00:30:13,560 Speaker 2: into where I think I should be able to see him, 566 00:30:13,560 --> 00:30:16,880 Speaker 2: I spot other deer. And what ended up happening was 567 00:30:16,920 --> 00:30:19,360 Speaker 2: that there was a whole bunch of deer in between 568 00:30:19,360 --> 00:30:23,000 Speaker 2: me and him that I never saw earlier. I think 569 00:30:23,040 --> 00:30:27,000 Speaker 2: there was I don't know, five dos, two or three 570 00:30:27,040 --> 00:30:33,040 Speaker 2: little forks, a bigger like six point buck, a bunch 571 00:30:33,040 --> 00:30:36,760 Speaker 2: of deer in there, and basically one of them had 572 00:30:36,800 --> 00:30:39,120 Speaker 2: me kind of pegged, and the others, you know, I 573 00:30:39,160 --> 00:30:40,680 Speaker 2: was worried that they're going to see me if I 574 00:30:40,880 --> 00:30:42,960 Speaker 2: moved any more. And I could never get an angle 575 00:30:43,080 --> 00:30:45,160 Speaker 2: to see this big buck. So for a while it's 576 00:30:45,200 --> 00:30:46,880 Speaker 2: laid on my belly until it's seen that those deer 577 00:30:46,920 --> 00:30:49,360 Speaker 2: will calm again. And then I realized, all right, I 578 00:30:49,400 --> 00:30:53,280 Speaker 2: gotta reposition do something different here to try to you know, 579 00:30:53,480 --> 00:30:55,880 Speaker 2: get closer or get an angle on the big buck 580 00:30:56,920 --> 00:31:00,200 Speaker 2: without those deer seeing me. So the new plan was 581 00:31:00,240 --> 00:31:03,200 Speaker 2: to belly crawl backwards out of sight and then do 582 00:31:03,320 --> 00:31:06,600 Speaker 2: another loop back behind this set of pine trees and 583 00:31:06,640 --> 00:31:08,680 Speaker 2: then try to come in like right above where that 584 00:31:08,680 --> 00:31:12,160 Speaker 2: big one was. So we try to do that and 585 00:31:13,640 --> 00:31:16,640 Speaker 2: make the move, me and Bjorn, and then we're followed 586 00:31:16,640 --> 00:31:20,040 Speaker 2: by Colin, who is our camera operator, who is also 587 00:31:20,480 --> 00:31:24,320 Speaker 2: awesome guy. He's produced some really good films. This isn't 588 00:31:24,320 --> 00:31:26,560 Speaker 2: a side again, I'm going off another one of my tangents, 589 00:31:26,560 --> 00:31:29,080 Speaker 2: but I want to plug him because he's produced some 590 00:31:29,160 --> 00:31:34,160 Speaker 2: great work. He just had a tremendous film called House 591 00:31:34,200 --> 00:31:38,400 Speaker 2: of School of Fish that is exploring the salmon situation 592 00:31:38,560 --> 00:31:41,080 Speaker 2: up in Bristol Bay. Would highly recommend checking that one 593 00:31:41,120 --> 00:31:43,640 Speaker 2: out if you want to learn more about the Tongus 594 00:31:43,760 --> 00:31:46,720 Speaker 2: National Forest. He had a great film called The Understory. 595 00:31:46,800 --> 00:31:50,400 Speaker 2: I'd recommend that one. Those are two pieces of work 596 00:31:50,640 --> 00:31:53,360 Speaker 2: that would definitely suggest you check out from Colin so 597 00:31:53,560 --> 00:31:58,320 Speaker 2: great dude, great camera operator, cinematographer, photographer, whatever you want 598 00:31:58,320 --> 00:32:01,400 Speaker 2: to call him. So he's with this too. So we 599 00:32:01,520 --> 00:32:04,640 Speaker 2: do this second loop, get into these trees, trying to 600 00:32:04,720 --> 00:32:06,520 Speaker 2: edge our way out to try to see something, and 601 00:32:06,600 --> 00:32:09,080 Speaker 2: again I get into a spot where I can't get 602 00:32:09,120 --> 00:32:11,600 Speaker 2: around them enough to see down to him without this 603 00:32:11,680 --> 00:32:14,280 Speaker 2: other group of deer seeing So I've kind of stuck there, 604 00:32:15,040 --> 00:32:17,800 Speaker 2: edging forward a little bit every time that these other 605 00:32:17,840 --> 00:32:21,040 Speaker 2: deer look away. But it just it wasn't a good situation, 606 00:32:21,360 --> 00:32:24,040 Speaker 2: and I just kept thinking to myself, like I want 607 00:32:24,080 --> 00:32:26,280 Speaker 2: to push forward to see this buck, but I just 608 00:32:26,440 --> 00:32:28,400 Speaker 2: don't see how I'm possibly gonna be able to pull 609 00:32:28,400 --> 00:32:31,560 Speaker 2: that off without him seeing us or without them seeing us. 610 00:32:31,840 --> 00:32:33,920 Speaker 2: And then as I'm kind of debating that in my 611 00:32:33,960 --> 00:32:36,760 Speaker 2: head and thinking like, is there any third option, I 612 00:32:36,880 --> 00:32:41,560 Speaker 2: hear b you hear kind of like leaping away, and 613 00:32:41,600 --> 00:32:43,600 Speaker 2: I look over a Bjorn he like points down beneath 614 00:32:43,680 --> 00:32:45,760 Speaker 2: us and like mouths that, like there's a deer running 615 00:32:45,800 --> 00:32:49,480 Speaker 2: with So in that moment, I was hopeful that that 616 00:32:49,720 --> 00:32:52,360 Speaker 2: wasn't the end of our hunt and the end of 617 00:32:52,400 --> 00:32:54,960 Speaker 2: our stock. But what I found later over the course 618 00:32:55,040 --> 00:32:57,480 Speaker 2: like the next hours I continue to try to slowly 619 00:32:57,560 --> 00:33:00,200 Speaker 2: squeeze or slip my way up. There was that I 620 00:33:00,240 --> 00:33:02,360 Speaker 2: had ended up stalking him because of having to take 621 00:33:02,360 --> 00:33:04,560 Speaker 2: this second like two different loops to try to get 622 00:33:04,560 --> 00:33:07,920 Speaker 2: different angles, and ended up getting much closer to his 623 00:33:08,040 --> 00:33:11,000 Speaker 2: bed location than I realized. And I think what ended 624 00:33:11,080 --> 00:33:13,440 Speaker 2: up happening is that we end up getting within like 625 00:33:14,520 --> 00:33:17,480 Speaker 2: seventy yards maybe of where he was betted. And I 626 00:33:17,520 --> 00:33:20,360 Speaker 2: think that our wind dropped or swirled enough that it 627 00:33:20,400 --> 00:33:23,560 Speaker 2: spooked him because we hear this deer run off, one solitary, 628 00:33:23,640 --> 00:33:26,280 Speaker 2: big sounding deer, and then all the other deer look 629 00:33:26,320 --> 00:33:28,680 Speaker 2: over in that direction, and then they just stayed latched 630 00:33:28,760 --> 00:33:31,760 Speaker 2: on that area for like half an hour, and they 631 00:33:31,800 --> 00:33:34,120 Speaker 2: didn't spook off, but they just kept staring over there. 632 00:33:35,000 --> 00:33:37,600 Speaker 2: And then finally after thirty minutes or whatever it was, 633 00:33:37,640 --> 00:33:40,800 Speaker 2: they finally started like moving off. There's like one bigger 634 00:33:40,840 --> 00:33:44,040 Speaker 2: buck in that group, which maybe I mean, he had 635 00:33:44,040 --> 00:33:45,520 Speaker 2: a much bigger buye than the other year, so he 636 00:33:45,640 --> 00:33:48,040 Speaker 2: might have been mature compared to the others. I was 637 00:33:48,040 --> 00:33:50,840 Speaker 2: still like trying to figure that out. He moved off, 638 00:33:50,920 --> 00:33:52,920 Speaker 2: and then the two or three other little four kis 639 00:33:52,960 --> 00:33:55,320 Speaker 2: moved off, and then the dos slowly over the course, 640 00:33:55,400 --> 00:33:57,680 Speaker 2: like ten fifteen minutes, all kind of followed him away, 641 00:33:58,680 --> 00:34:00,880 Speaker 2: and then I got up and moved and tried to 642 00:34:00,920 --> 00:34:02,840 Speaker 2: look where it was, but there was no deal there, 643 00:34:02,880 --> 00:34:08,120 Speaker 2: so blew that first stalk, which was disappointing, but at 644 00:34:08,120 --> 00:34:11,520 Speaker 2: the same time, it was really cool to see a 645 00:34:11,560 --> 00:34:14,160 Speaker 2: bunch of deer. It was fun to have my first 646 00:34:14,320 --> 00:34:17,799 Speaker 2: attempt at one of these deer, and it was you know, 647 00:34:17,920 --> 00:34:20,000 Speaker 2: especially nice to know that there was a backup option, 648 00:34:20,080 --> 00:34:24,520 Speaker 2: there was a fallback plan. So we regrouped, talked about 649 00:34:24,520 --> 00:34:27,239 Speaker 2: what happened, and then you know, decided, hey, let's try 650 00:34:27,239 --> 00:34:28,919 Speaker 2: to go back to the sum of the mountain, hike 651 00:34:29,000 --> 00:34:31,480 Speaker 2: back up there and get over to that other bowl 652 00:34:31,760 --> 00:34:34,399 Speaker 2: and see if those other bucks are there. So that's 653 00:34:34,440 --> 00:34:36,520 Speaker 2: what we start doing. But up to this point, I 654 00:34:36,520 --> 00:34:39,479 Speaker 2: should point out, you know, it was cloudy and rainy 655 00:34:39,520 --> 00:34:42,360 Speaker 2: all the day prior, and then as we were hiking 656 00:34:42,400 --> 00:34:44,680 Speaker 2: up the mountain in the morning, it started to clear up. 657 00:34:44,719 --> 00:34:46,520 Speaker 2: So everything was still muddy and wet, but at least 658 00:34:46,560 --> 00:34:48,839 Speaker 2: it wasn't pouring rain anymore. And then by the time 659 00:34:48,880 --> 00:34:51,680 Speaker 2: we got out to the alpine, it had cleared up 660 00:34:51,760 --> 00:34:53,719 Speaker 2: enough that we were starting to see the mountains around us, 661 00:34:53,760 --> 00:34:56,200 Speaker 2: and we could see sunshine and ended up getting really nice. 662 00:34:57,040 --> 00:34:59,440 Speaker 2: So it was very pretty and open and visible for 663 00:34:59,480 --> 00:35:02,080 Speaker 2: that first and for you know, when we first went 664 00:35:02,120 --> 00:35:04,080 Speaker 2: to the summit. But now we're hiking back to the 665 00:35:04,120 --> 00:35:07,520 Speaker 2: summit and now clouds rolling and it's like you're completely 666 00:35:07,880 --> 00:35:12,720 Speaker 2: socked in, like you're in a cloud. So my worry 667 00:35:12,760 --> 00:35:15,120 Speaker 2: as I was hiking up there was did I just 668 00:35:15,160 --> 00:35:17,640 Speaker 2: blow my only opportunity to be able sea deer? Even? 669 00:35:17,800 --> 00:35:19,680 Speaker 2: Like are we going to be stuck in this stuff 670 00:35:19,719 --> 00:35:21,560 Speaker 2: for the rest of the day and the rest of tomorrow, 671 00:35:22,400 --> 00:35:24,439 Speaker 2: you know, because we missed a day of the hunt 672 00:35:24,480 --> 00:35:27,040 Speaker 2: because of the flight. You know, our hunt time was 673 00:35:27,040 --> 00:35:30,080 Speaker 2: now significantly shortened because not only did we get our 674 00:35:30,440 --> 00:35:33,600 Speaker 2: our day a flying was pushed back twenty four hours, 675 00:35:33,640 --> 00:35:35,480 Speaker 2: but then when we finally did get here, we had 676 00:35:35,480 --> 00:35:37,439 Speaker 2: to wait another day because the weather was too bad 677 00:35:37,480 --> 00:35:41,040 Speaker 2: to get up into the mountains. So, you know, I 678 00:35:41,080 --> 00:35:42,919 Speaker 2: was working with much less time than I originally thought 679 00:35:42,920 --> 00:35:45,799 Speaker 2: it was going to So we're hiking up, we're in 680 00:35:45,840 --> 00:35:49,040 Speaker 2: the clouds. I'm worrying a little bit about you know, 681 00:35:49,080 --> 00:35:53,680 Speaker 2: what's going to happen now? And we hike up up up, up, up, 682 00:35:54,880 --> 00:35:56,440 Speaker 2: get to the top of this mountain. It's like a 683 00:35:56,520 --> 00:35:59,400 Speaker 2: knife edge ridge, very thin ridge that we're climbing at 684 00:35:59,400 --> 00:36:02,759 Speaker 2: this point, and we get to the spot where I 685 00:36:02,800 --> 00:36:08,960 Speaker 2: see these big, deeply imprinted round tracks on this ridge. 686 00:36:08,960 --> 00:36:10,799 Speaker 2: And the ridge, like the tops of the mountains, is 687 00:36:10,920 --> 00:36:14,480 Speaker 2: like like tundra, which you would imagine thunder like lichen 688 00:36:14,600 --> 00:36:18,480 Speaker 2: and moss almost on the surface of the soil. And 689 00:36:18,880 --> 00:36:23,839 Speaker 2: I asked the Armley, so what's this and he explains 690 00:36:23,880 --> 00:36:27,480 Speaker 2: something that is one of the absolute coolest things I 691 00:36:27,520 --> 00:36:31,200 Speaker 2: have ever seen out in the natural world, one of 692 00:36:31,239 --> 00:36:34,080 Speaker 2: the coolest things I've ever seen. This was something that 693 00:36:34,120 --> 00:36:38,120 Speaker 2: he called in what is known as a grandfather trail, 694 00:36:38,600 --> 00:36:42,480 Speaker 2: and a grandfather trail is a spot on these knife 695 00:36:42,600 --> 00:36:46,200 Speaker 2: edged ridges throughout Alaska and maybe other brown bear territory 696 00:36:46,640 --> 00:36:51,520 Speaker 2: where grizzly bears, where brown bears will step into these footprints, 697 00:36:51,680 --> 00:36:57,560 Speaker 2: the same footprints year after year after year. So imagine 698 00:36:57,600 --> 00:37:01,560 Speaker 2: like seeing bear tracks, right, you were to imagine the 699 00:37:01,640 --> 00:37:03,359 Speaker 2: path of a bear, and you would see each bear 700 00:37:03,480 --> 00:37:05,640 Speaker 2: track in the dirt or the mud, but instead of 701 00:37:05,640 --> 00:37:07,560 Speaker 2: it being in the dirt or the mud, it is 702 00:37:07,680 --> 00:37:10,960 Speaker 2: pressed like twelve inches deep into the moss into the 703 00:37:11,040 --> 00:37:13,920 Speaker 2: mountain's surface, into the soil, but like a foot deep, 704 00:37:14,840 --> 00:37:17,799 Speaker 2: and just like perfectly laid out tracks, so it's not 705 00:37:17,880 --> 00:37:21,560 Speaker 2: like it's a trail. It's just like track track, but 706 00:37:21,719 --> 00:37:26,439 Speaker 2: twelve inches deep, pressed into the surface. And what these 707 00:37:26,440 --> 00:37:30,000 Speaker 2: bear do is they step into those prints every year 708 00:37:30,320 --> 00:37:32,640 Speaker 2: and they push their paws down there and they leave 709 00:37:32,760 --> 00:37:35,600 Speaker 2: scent deposits. I'm imagining it's kind of like a buck 710 00:37:35,640 --> 00:37:38,960 Speaker 2: making a scrape. They're leaving a chemical signature, a message 711 00:37:38,960 --> 00:37:43,520 Speaker 2: of sorts, to communicate their presence, their dominance, anything else 712 00:37:43,600 --> 00:37:46,640 Speaker 2: like that. And so all sorts of different bears come 713 00:37:46,719 --> 00:37:48,600 Speaker 2: up and they walk these trails, and when they walk 714 00:37:48,680 --> 00:37:52,640 Speaker 2: these trails, they carefully press their feet exactly into those 715 00:37:52,680 --> 00:37:55,760 Speaker 2: steps as they walk across the ridge to leave this message. 716 00:37:56,280 --> 00:38:00,239 Speaker 2: And what Biorna explained was that in these places is 717 00:38:00,719 --> 00:38:04,600 Speaker 2: these same trails have been used since the glaciers melted away, 718 00:38:04,640 --> 00:38:10,239 Speaker 2: so thousands of years, these trails, these prints have been 719 00:38:10,440 --> 00:38:13,319 Speaker 2: pressed into by different brown bears over the course of 720 00:38:13,560 --> 00:38:17,840 Speaker 2: hundreds and hundreds of generations of different bears. So I 721 00:38:17,920 --> 00:38:21,319 Speaker 2: was standing there on top of a mountain looking at 722 00:38:21,360 --> 00:38:24,400 Speaker 2: the tracks that thousands of different brown bears over the 723 00:38:24,440 --> 00:38:27,759 Speaker 2: course of thousands of years, had pressed their paws into 724 00:38:30,000 --> 00:38:33,840 Speaker 2: I mean, it was just a wild thing to consider 725 00:38:33,960 --> 00:38:37,160 Speaker 2: and to see. I mean, as far as I'm concerned, 726 00:38:37,160 --> 00:38:43,400 Speaker 2: grizzly bears are the epitome of wildness. And here was 727 00:38:44,600 --> 00:38:50,120 Speaker 2: a place to see and touch something that had been 728 00:38:50,200 --> 00:38:57,040 Speaker 2: created by and touched by that emblem of wildness for 729 00:38:57,200 --> 00:38:59,359 Speaker 2: thousands of years. It was like one of the most 730 00:38:59,400 --> 00:39:03,040 Speaker 2: direct connections I've ever had to something that happened so 731 00:39:03,040 --> 00:39:09,000 Speaker 2: so so long ago. It connected me back to I 732 00:39:09,080 --> 00:39:11,520 Speaker 2: don't know. I don't have the words yet. I have 733 00:39:11,640 --> 00:39:14,480 Speaker 2: not had the time yet to think about exactly how 734 00:39:14,520 --> 00:39:18,360 Speaker 2: to explain this, except to say that it was a 735 00:39:18,400 --> 00:39:21,680 Speaker 2: powerful experience and something to see and something to be 736 00:39:21,920 --> 00:39:27,200 Speaker 2: near and to imagine all the wild stuff that happened 737 00:39:27,360 --> 00:39:31,240 Speaker 2: right there where I was standing. So very cool moment, 738 00:39:31,400 --> 00:39:33,520 Speaker 2: and I kind of was talking to Biorn about this. 739 00:39:33,480 --> 00:39:35,200 Speaker 2: I went, manly, this is one of the coolest things 740 00:39:35,200 --> 00:39:37,319 Speaker 2: I've ever seen. And then he says to me, well, 741 00:39:37,360 --> 00:39:39,440 Speaker 2: what's also really cool is that there's probably still some 742 00:39:39,560 --> 00:39:41,359 Speaker 2: bucks on the other side of this cliff, so maybe 743 00:39:41,400 --> 00:39:43,200 Speaker 2: we should go check that out before it gets dark, 744 00:39:44,239 --> 00:39:46,680 Speaker 2: which was a good point, and so We kind of 745 00:39:46,760 --> 00:39:48,480 Speaker 2: sneak our way over to the edge and then eventually 746 00:39:48,560 --> 00:39:50,560 Speaker 2: have to lay down and belly crawl up to this 747 00:39:50,680 --> 00:39:54,719 Speaker 2: cliff because there's a sheer cliff drop down into one 748 00:39:54,760 --> 00:39:58,080 Speaker 2: of these bowls, and just as we're getting there, the 749 00:39:58,120 --> 00:40:01,279 Speaker 2: clouds parked and the sun setting just this beautiful light 750 00:40:01,400 --> 00:40:03,360 Speaker 2: is kind of shining in now from the side, and 751 00:40:03,400 --> 00:40:05,560 Speaker 2: we creep over the edge and look down to this 752 00:40:05,600 --> 00:40:09,319 Speaker 2: bowl and here is like, I don't know, like an 753 00:40:09,320 --> 00:40:16,560 Speaker 2: Alaskan Eden, this perfect landscape, bright green, open meadows with 754 00:40:16,640 --> 00:40:22,080 Speaker 2: scattered trees and boulders and deer everywhere. There's does feeding 755 00:40:22,120 --> 00:40:25,319 Speaker 2: over here. There's bucks feeding over there, there's does better there, 756 00:40:25,320 --> 00:40:27,480 Speaker 2: there's a buck better over there, there's two bucks fighting here. 757 00:40:27,480 --> 00:40:30,520 Speaker 2: There's just every different place you looked there was deer 758 00:40:30,719 --> 00:40:33,440 Speaker 2: doing their thing, and you're viewing it all from like 759 00:40:33,440 --> 00:40:35,080 Speaker 2: a bird's eye view. I'm way at the top of 760 00:40:35,080 --> 00:40:38,560 Speaker 2: the mountain looking down at the deer. I don't know. 761 00:40:38,560 --> 00:40:41,680 Speaker 2: It was like being a drone looking over all top 762 00:40:41,719 --> 00:40:43,239 Speaker 2: of her beat. Like I said, a bird's I view 763 00:40:43,280 --> 00:40:45,319 Speaker 2: an eagle flying over top of this scene. It was 764 00:40:45,400 --> 00:40:48,879 Speaker 2: really kind of bizarre to experience and see deer from 765 00:40:48,880 --> 00:40:53,440 Speaker 2: this perspective and just absolutely beautiful. So we're up there 766 00:40:53,480 --> 00:40:57,000 Speaker 2: and I'm just watching. Bijorn's like, well, you're gonna shoot one, 767 00:40:57,440 --> 00:41:02,319 Speaker 2: and I know, I was kind of like, I don't 768 00:41:02,360 --> 00:41:03,360 Speaker 2: know if I want to shoot one. I don't know, 769 00:41:03,480 --> 00:41:04,960 Speaker 2: I don't know what I want to do in this situation. 770 00:41:05,040 --> 00:41:08,279 Speaker 2: I just kind of want to watch right now. So 771 00:41:08,360 --> 00:41:10,440 Speaker 2: I just pulled up my binoculars and just watched for 772 00:41:10,480 --> 00:41:12,319 Speaker 2: a while and looked at all the different deer and 773 00:41:13,560 --> 00:41:15,640 Speaker 2: started wrestling with, you know, whether or not I wanted 774 00:41:15,640 --> 00:41:19,400 Speaker 2: to shoot one. And I'm trying to also figure out, like, 775 00:41:19,520 --> 00:41:23,680 Speaker 2: you know, are these young bucks, are these mature bucks? 776 00:41:23,719 --> 00:41:25,799 Speaker 2: Or these big bucks? Are these small bucks? Is this 777 00:41:26,080 --> 00:41:27,879 Speaker 2: you know, is this the right situation to shoot one? 778 00:41:27,960 --> 00:41:30,040 Speaker 2: Is it not? Is it too soon? Is it just right? 779 00:41:30,200 --> 00:41:32,120 Speaker 2: Is it? You know? Am I running out of time? 780 00:41:32,480 --> 00:41:35,000 Speaker 2: All of these things started, you know, rushing through my head. 781 00:41:35,040 --> 00:41:37,480 Speaker 2: After I first was taken aback by the whole thing 782 00:41:37,520 --> 00:41:40,160 Speaker 2: and took it in, that next phase was like, okay, 783 00:41:40,400 --> 00:41:41,880 Speaker 2: now what I had all these different things I had 784 00:41:41,880 --> 00:41:44,279 Speaker 2: to think about, And so I'm looking at deer and 785 00:41:44,960 --> 00:41:47,400 Speaker 2: Biora was kind of joking about how he never watched 786 00:41:47,400 --> 00:41:50,279 Speaker 2: deer so much in his life as he does when 787 00:41:50,280 --> 00:41:54,040 Speaker 2: it's with me. Because again, I'm taking my time with this. 788 00:41:54,360 --> 00:41:59,080 Speaker 2: And as I'm sitting there thinking about stuff and debating 789 00:41:59,120 --> 00:42:01,400 Speaker 2: about whether or not I want to take one, clouds 790 00:42:01,480 --> 00:42:05,640 Speaker 2: rolled back in and we're just completely and everything's invisible again, 791 00:42:05,960 --> 00:42:09,359 Speaker 2: and I'm thinking, like, ah, geez, I guess like mother 792 00:42:09,480 --> 00:42:12,560 Speaker 2: Nature might just made the decision for me, because this 793 00:42:12,640 --> 00:42:15,800 Speaker 2: looked like a big cloud. It looked like everything was cloudy. 794 00:42:16,200 --> 00:42:19,120 Speaker 2: And it's funny how when you're in it, it feels 795 00:42:19,160 --> 00:42:21,880 Speaker 2: like everything is cloudy and socked in. It kind of 796 00:42:21,880 --> 00:42:24,440 Speaker 2: looks like, okay, this is everywhere. But somehow, every time 797 00:42:24,480 --> 00:42:28,319 Speaker 2: I ever got to thinking that, relatively quickly it would 798 00:42:28,320 --> 00:42:30,480 Speaker 2: open up and then you realized you were just in 799 00:42:30,480 --> 00:42:33,120 Speaker 2: this little world that felt that way, but there's a 800 00:42:33,200 --> 00:42:36,799 Speaker 2: much larger world around you that was open. And so 801 00:42:37,440 --> 00:42:39,960 Speaker 2: as we're all stocked in it's cloudy, I start to, 802 00:42:40,040 --> 00:42:42,719 Speaker 2: you know, chat with Beorn about kind of how you know, 803 00:42:43,000 --> 00:42:45,480 Speaker 2: just started verbalizing what was inside my mind, how I 804 00:42:45,480 --> 00:42:47,719 Speaker 2: didn't want to end it too soon, but at the 805 00:42:47,719 --> 00:42:49,440 Speaker 2: same time I want I knew that we were running 806 00:42:49,440 --> 00:42:52,360 Speaker 2: out of time, and really what I wanted was ah 807 00:42:52,600 --> 00:42:56,200 Speaker 2: as I said earlier, like a good representative of the species, 808 00:42:56,200 --> 00:42:58,640 Speaker 2: a mature buck. I didn't really care about the antlers. 809 00:42:58,640 --> 00:43:02,200 Speaker 2: I wanted a deer that was relatively mature, that would 810 00:43:02,239 --> 00:43:05,439 Speaker 2: you know, have, you know, a good bit of meat 811 00:43:05,760 --> 00:43:11,359 Speaker 2: and you know, be a good average illustration of what 812 00:43:11,440 --> 00:43:13,719 Speaker 2: blacktail deer are all about. That was kind of my 813 00:43:13,920 --> 00:43:17,160 Speaker 2: realistic goal for this trip. And so he says, well, 814 00:43:17,160 --> 00:43:19,359 Speaker 2: you know there's probably at least one, if not two 815 00:43:19,400 --> 00:43:21,640 Speaker 2: down there that would be at least four. I was like, oh, really, 816 00:43:21,680 --> 00:43:23,000 Speaker 2: like a four year old. That's you know, in my 817 00:43:23,120 --> 00:43:24,480 Speaker 2: world of white tails, like a four year old is 818 00:43:24,520 --> 00:43:28,319 Speaker 2: a pretty damn good deer. So he kind of explained it, like, 819 00:43:28,320 --> 00:43:30,680 Speaker 2: you got to remember these are different, obviously different than 820 00:43:30,719 --> 00:43:33,600 Speaker 2: white tails, even different from black tail deer and Prince 821 00:43:33,600 --> 00:43:36,120 Speaker 2: of Wales Island or kodiak. These are smaller antler deer 822 00:43:36,200 --> 00:43:39,440 Speaker 2: up here because of the habitat and the elevation and everything. 823 00:43:40,360 --> 00:43:44,000 Speaker 2: So you know, you gotta don't assess too much by 824 00:43:44,000 --> 00:43:45,920 Speaker 2: the antlers, which is a good reminder for us down 825 00:43:45,920 --> 00:43:50,160 Speaker 2: here in the lower forty eight two. So lucky, luck luckily, 826 00:43:50,360 --> 00:43:53,359 Speaker 2: that's what I'm trying to say. Luckily, the clouds part 827 00:43:53,360 --> 00:43:56,600 Speaker 2: again and we can see everything again, and Jorn's like, yeah, 828 00:43:56,600 --> 00:43:58,880 Speaker 2: like that one right down there, I bet you he's 829 00:43:58,920 --> 00:44:01,640 Speaker 2: a four year old. I have all this deer and 830 00:44:02,000 --> 00:44:05,520 Speaker 2: he is what I would call this, Well, they were 831 00:44:05,560 --> 00:44:09,600 Speaker 2: calling a fork. I would call a six pointer, almost 832 00:44:09,640 --> 00:44:11,600 Speaker 2: a seven pointer, because you kind of hang a ring. 833 00:44:11,960 --> 00:44:13,279 Speaker 2: You know, in Michigan we say if you can hang 834 00:44:13,280 --> 00:44:14,560 Speaker 2: a ring on it, you can count as a point. 835 00:44:14,560 --> 00:44:17,880 Speaker 2: So I'm gonna call him a seven pointer. But like 836 00:44:18,000 --> 00:44:20,480 Speaker 2: you could tell, the antlers were heavier and darker than 837 00:44:20,480 --> 00:44:24,359 Speaker 2: the other deer. His g twos were kind of thick 838 00:44:24,400 --> 00:44:27,279 Speaker 2: and bladed, which I thought was pretty cool. And then 839 00:44:27,320 --> 00:44:30,400 Speaker 2: he's got this pudgy belly and these deer, like I mentioned, 840 00:44:30,480 --> 00:44:33,440 Speaker 2: they're short and stocky, and they're like they've got pot bellies. 841 00:44:33,680 --> 00:44:35,480 Speaker 2: So that kind of ended up being the way you 842 00:44:35,480 --> 00:44:37,000 Speaker 2: could tell if it was a mature deer because the 843 00:44:37,520 --> 00:44:41,239 Speaker 2: fat ones were those older bucks. So there ends up 844 00:44:41,280 --> 00:44:44,759 Speaker 2: being one of these pot belly deer that is relatively 845 00:44:44,800 --> 00:44:47,319 Speaker 2: close to me broadside and feeding, and two bucks are 846 00:44:47,360 --> 00:44:49,200 Speaker 2: like sparring right in front of him. It was like 847 00:44:49,320 --> 00:44:51,960 Speaker 2: very cool taking it all in. So when I see that, 848 00:44:52,160 --> 00:44:54,719 Speaker 2: and Beorna explained that was a mature bouck. Guy just said, okay, 849 00:44:54,760 --> 00:44:56,879 Speaker 2: you know what, that's that's the deer I want. Then, 850 00:44:57,800 --> 00:45:02,680 Speaker 2: so got lined up, got comfortable. It was, you know, 851 00:45:02,680 --> 00:45:05,480 Speaker 2: a perfect shooting position. Again, this is a rifle hunt, 852 00:45:05,760 --> 00:45:08,680 Speaker 2: which is something I don't do a lot of, but enough. 853 00:45:09,280 --> 00:45:11,719 Speaker 2: But was nice that I could be laying down. I 854 00:45:11,760 --> 00:45:14,120 Speaker 2: was like in a prone position, elbows on the ground, 855 00:45:14,239 --> 00:45:16,080 Speaker 2: I had a little bipod in the front of my rifles. 856 00:45:16,080 --> 00:45:19,839 Speaker 2: I had like great support and yeah, got a shot 857 00:45:19,920 --> 00:45:25,160 Speaker 2: in broadside, dropped him in his tracks. Absolutely gorgeous. You know, 858 00:45:25,280 --> 00:45:30,080 Speaker 2: the whole thing was just gorgeous, and it was pretty wild. 859 00:45:30,160 --> 00:45:31,879 Speaker 2: I mean, it was just like a marathon of a day. 860 00:45:33,120 --> 00:45:35,959 Speaker 2: Shot this blacktail got a really good, quick ethical kill. 861 00:45:36,640 --> 00:45:39,120 Speaker 2: We hiked down off the mountain down into that bowl. 862 00:45:39,640 --> 00:45:44,400 Speaker 2: We're able to recover the deer, do some work, and 863 00:45:44,440 --> 00:45:46,319 Speaker 2: then we kind of got to realize and like, oh, well, 864 00:45:47,000 --> 00:45:49,640 Speaker 2: it's gonna get dark really quickly here and this is 865 00:45:49,719 --> 00:45:53,960 Speaker 2: super thick bear country. We're gonna have to either figure 866 00:45:54,000 --> 00:45:55,279 Speaker 2: we're going to figure out how to get this deer 867 00:45:55,320 --> 00:45:59,160 Speaker 2: out here quick and ideally not after dark. So we 868 00:45:59,239 --> 00:46:03,680 Speaker 2: just got to work skinning, quartering, packing, you know, gutting 869 00:46:03,719 --> 00:46:06,799 Speaker 2: ahead of all that, and you know, from Bjorn's perspective, 870 00:46:07,120 --> 00:46:09,439 Speaker 2: the best thing would be to just get the deer 871 00:46:09,480 --> 00:46:14,640 Speaker 2: back to camp and then just do it fast and 872 00:46:15,080 --> 00:46:18,600 Speaker 2: you know, make some noise, have your gun close to you, 873 00:46:18,719 --> 00:46:20,680 Speaker 2: have a bullet chambered while you're doing all this because 874 00:46:20,719 --> 00:46:23,080 Speaker 2: you don't want all this smell and blood and gust 875 00:46:23,120 --> 00:46:24,680 Speaker 2: to be around you, and then have your back to 876 00:46:24,719 --> 00:46:28,279 Speaker 2: a bear approaching. So you know, he chambered around and 877 00:46:28,400 --> 00:46:30,400 Speaker 2: just kind of kept an eye on things while we 878 00:46:30,480 --> 00:46:34,960 Speaker 2: got to work. And fortunately, no bear problems, no issues. 879 00:46:35,080 --> 00:46:37,880 Speaker 2: We got that deer all packed away. After dark. We 880 00:46:37,960 --> 00:46:39,600 Speaker 2: ended up having to hike in the dark, but that 881 00:46:39,680 --> 00:46:44,320 Speaker 2: was fine. Traversed around this mountain, got back to camp, 882 00:46:45,000 --> 00:46:47,719 Speaker 2: and you know, there's no big trees up high in 883 00:46:47,719 --> 00:46:49,960 Speaker 2: the alpine. There's that kind of scrubby stuff. So we 884 00:46:50,040 --> 00:46:53,479 Speaker 2: basically just had to hang the meat on these little 885 00:46:53,480 --> 00:46:55,920 Speaker 2: scrub pines like three feet off the ground, which was 886 00:46:55,960 --> 00:46:58,080 Speaker 2: not gonna help with bears at all, but it would 887 00:46:58,280 --> 00:47:02,359 Speaker 2: hopefully help with Martin's American Martins, which I guess can 888 00:47:02,400 --> 00:47:05,160 Speaker 2: be kind of aggressive and get into your food. So 889 00:47:05,200 --> 00:47:09,239 Speaker 2: we did that. Turns out that didn't help. We did 890 00:47:09,239 --> 00:47:11,240 Speaker 2: not have bear problems, but we did have a martin 891 00:47:11,320 --> 00:47:13,439 Speaker 2: get into my meat and eat some of the meat, 892 00:47:13,760 --> 00:47:18,840 Speaker 2: and he actually stole my knife. I had a Montana knife, 893 00:47:18,880 --> 00:47:21,200 Speaker 2: like one of their ultra lights that has the handle 894 00:47:21,239 --> 00:47:24,000 Speaker 2: wrapped in para cord, and I'd use that to gut 895 00:47:24,040 --> 00:47:26,439 Speaker 2: my deer. So that paracord had soaked up a lot 896 00:47:26,440 --> 00:47:30,239 Speaker 2: of you know, just blood and bile and who knows 897 00:47:30,280 --> 00:47:32,760 Speaker 2: whatever else's liquids and stuff. So I'm sure it smelled 898 00:47:32,800 --> 00:47:35,440 Speaker 2: really bad and there's some dangling cord off of it. 899 00:47:35,520 --> 00:47:37,600 Speaker 2: So instead of putting that in my tent or something, 900 00:47:37,640 --> 00:47:39,120 Speaker 2: I just left it there with the meat on the 901 00:47:39,120 --> 00:47:40,600 Speaker 2: ground because I didn't want that in my tent and 902 00:47:40,640 --> 00:47:43,040 Speaker 2: attract bears. So the next morning that when I go 903 00:47:43,080 --> 00:47:44,719 Speaker 2: over there to check the meat, not only was the 904 00:47:44,760 --> 00:47:48,440 Speaker 2: meat bag chewed up, but my knife gone. So my 905 00:47:48,480 --> 00:47:51,680 Speaker 2: assumption is that that martin took it, dragged it off somewhere, 906 00:47:51,719 --> 00:47:54,240 Speaker 2: and it's hidden underneath some bush or in a hole 907 00:47:54,400 --> 00:47:57,360 Speaker 2: or something. But we actually follow the martin up in 908 00:47:57,440 --> 00:47:59,720 Speaker 2: the tree over top of us, just hanging out there watching, 909 00:48:00,719 --> 00:48:05,280 Speaker 2: which was interesting. Cute little critter, but that was a hunt. 910 00:48:05,719 --> 00:48:08,200 Speaker 2: That was the hunt well, the next morning we actually 911 00:48:08,280 --> 00:48:09,800 Speaker 2: hiked back up to the summit because we had a 912 00:48:09,840 --> 00:48:12,719 Speaker 2: little more time that day. Hiked up there and just 913 00:48:12,840 --> 00:48:14,680 Speaker 2: glassed that bowl and watched to see if a bear 914 00:48:14,719 --> 00:48:18,200 Speaker 2: would come on the gut pile. Nothing did, but we 915 00:48:18,239 --> 00:48:19,560 Speaker 2: saw a bunch of deer still in there, so I 916 00:48:19,640 --> 00:48:21,680 Speaker 2: got to watch some more deer, have some good chats, 917 00:48:22,680 --> 00:48:25,839 Speaker 2: got to check out that Grandfather trail again. And then 918 00:48:25,880 --> 00:48:27,960 Speaker 2: that afternoon did the hike down the mountain back to 919 00:48:28,000 --> 00:48:30,080 Speaker 2: the cabin. And that was a death march because now 920 00:48:30,080 --> 00:48:32,600 Speaker 2: I've got a full deer in my back. Bjorn actually 921 00:48:32,600 --> 00:48:34,440 Speaker 2: shot a deer that morning too, so Bjorn had a 922 00:48:34,480 --> 00:48:36,239 Speaker 2: deer in his back and all of his backpacking and 923 00:48:36,440 --> 00:48:39,000 Speaker 2: hunting gear. I had a deer in my back and 924 00:48:39,000 --> 00:48:42,759 Speaker 2: all my backpacking and hunting gear, so heavy packs. Going 925 00:48:42,800 --> 00:48:47,040 Speaker 2: down this super steep, wet jungle mountain. Every step you're 926 00:48:47,120 --> 00:48:49,440 Speaker 2: like falling down and something or tripping on one of 927 00:48:49,480 --> 00:48:52,040 Speaker 2: these bushes. Your gun stuff, Your gun's getting caught up 928 00:48:52,080 --> 00:48:54,600 Speaker 2: in the Devil's club and hanging up on things. It 929 00:48:54,680 --> 00:48:58,600 Speaker 2: was just kind of a It was a trip, but 930 00:48:59,360 --> 00:49:03,120 Speaker 2: made it down and survived it. Just find grilled up 931 00:49:03,239 --> 00:49:06,239 Speaker 2: some backstrap and heart on the open fire that night. 932 00:49:06,320 --> 00:49:10,480 Speaker 2: Back of the cabin told a lot of good stories. 933 00:49:10,600 --> 00:49:12,319 Speaker 2: Colin and Bjorn had a lot of fun stuff to 934 00:49:12,320 --> 00:49:15,879 Speaker 2: share from their previous adventures, and it was just a 935 00:49:15,920 --> 00:49:21,560 Speaker 2: hell of a trip, a great experience. I learned that, 936 00:49:22,080 --> 00:49:26,440 Speaker 2: you know, there's some things about deer that like deer deer, right, 937 00:49:26,560 --> 00:49:28,880 Speaker 2: like white tails, black tails, mule deer, that there's some 938 00:49:28,920 --> 00:49:31,799 Speaker 2: things they share in common, you know, like they lived 939 00:49:31,840 --> 00:49:35,520 Speaker 2: by their noses. That was a big one, right, That 940 00:49:35,640 --> 00:49:37,520 Speaker 2: was something that kicked me in the butt on this 941 00:49:37,640 --> 00:49:40,520 Speaker 2: first stock. But at the same time, it's so interesting 942 00:49:40,560 --> 00:49:43,240 Speaker 2: to hunt these different versions of deer in these different 943 00:49:43,280 --> 00:49:46,200 Speaker 2: kinds of places, to see how they operate differently. You know, 944 00:49:46,239 --> 00:49:48,759 Speaker 2: in this case, you know, these deer felt very comfortable 945 00:49:48,800 --> 00:49:51,880 Speaker 2: on the open because they're not used to humans messing 946 00:49:51,920 --> 00:49:56,120 Speaker 2: with them. So basically, if you could get to this place, 947 00:49:56,280 --> 00:49:59,799 Speaker 2: you could find you know, virgin territory where deer were 948 00:49:59,840 --> 00:50:04,080 Speaker 2: being deer hanging out in these wide open meadows because 949 00:50:04,080 --> 00:50:06,920 Speaker 2: they weren't threatened by us, And that was cool to see. 950 00:50:07,000 --> 00:50:11,320 Speaker 2: I think one special thing about traveling to these still 951 00:50:11,360 --> 00:50:14,840 Speaker 2: wild places is that you get to see deer operating 952 00:50:16,120 --> 00:50:19,120 Speaker 2: as they did before they learned to associate, you know, 953 00:50:19,520 --> 00:50:23,080 Speaker 2: humans with danger, and so I found that to be 954 00:50:23,239 --> 00:50:28,319 Speaker 2: really special and valuable and worthwhile to see. So I 955 00:50:28,360 --> 00:50:30,080 Speaker 2: just came await from this trip with a new found 956 00:50:30,120 --> 00:50:33,600 Speaker 2: respect for sick of blacktail deer, a new found respect 957 00:50:33,600 --> 00:50:35,879 Speaker 2: for the terrain they live in. I felt like when 958 00:50:35,920 --> 00:50:38,960 Speaker 2: I had seen previous blacktail deer hunts, like on you know, 959 00:50:39,080 --> 00:50:42,240 Speaker 2: people in Kodiak or Steve's hunts on Prince of Wales, 960 00:50:42,600 --> 00:50:45,319 Speaker 2: it never looked that rugged. Maybe I just hadn't been 961 00:50:45,360 --> 00:50:47,200 Speaker 2: paying attention enough, but it always kind of seemed like 962 00:50:47,200 --> 00:50:49,080 Speaker 2: there's some kind of like nice easy hills and it 963 00:50:49,120 --> 00:50:52,920 Speaker 2: didn't seem like tough country. But at least this hunt, 964 00:50:53,000 --> 00:50:55,520 Speaker 2: I felt like we were in some you know, we're 965 00:50:55,520 --> 00:50:59,239 Speaker 2: in some stuff. We're up there, you know, we're traversing 966 00:50:59,440 --> 00:51:01,600 Speaker 2: ridgeline that if I took one wrong step, I'd be 967 00:51:01,640 --> 00:51:05,560 Speaker 2: sliding down along ways. We are steep stuff with heavy packs. 968 00:51:06,160 --> 00:51:10,320 Speaker 2: That you just had to respect the territory and respect 969 00:51:10,320 --> 00:51:14,200 Speaker 2: the deer that lived there, And that was eye opening 970 00:51:14,719 --> 00:51:17,319 Speaker 2: and impressive. So I took that away from this hunt too. 971 00:51:19,280 --> 00:51:23,560 Speaker 2: And I think if I were to, you know, provide 972 00:51:23,560 --> 00:51:25,960 Speaker 2: any kind of guidance for somebody who wanted to do 973 00:51:26,040 --> 00:51:30,600 Speaker 2: a black tail deer hunt themselves, you know, still having 974 00:51:30,640 --> 00:51:32,920 Speaker 2: relatively little experience myself, I would tell you a couple 975 00:51:32,960 --> 00:51:36,719 Speaker 2: of things. Number One, if you can find a way 976 00:51:36,800 --> 00:51:39,160 Speaker 2: to get to one of these places away from people, 977 00:51:39,200 --> 00:51:41,880 Speaker 2: I think you're going to have a really special experience. 978 00:51:42,000 --> 00:51:43,880 Speaker 2: That's first and foremost. So I talked to, you know, 979 00:51:43,920 --> 00:51:46,439 Speaker 2: the people I talked to mentionally, Hey, it's different when 980 00:51:46,440 --> 00:51:48,080 Speaker 2: you're on a road system, and there is there are 981 00:51:48,120 --> 00:51:50,360 Speaker 2: places you can hunt black tails on the road system 982 00:51:50,920 --> 00:51:54,280 Speaker 2: in southeast Alaska and you can have success, but they're 983 00:51:54,440 --> 00:51:56,080 Speaker 2: they're going to be more like your white tails. They're 984 00:51:56,120 --> 00:51:59,880 Speaker 2: much more edgy, they're much more cover dependent, they're pressured, 985 00:52:00,120 --> 00:52:01,680 Speaker 2: and so you would have to hunt them like you 986 00:52:01,760 --> 00:52:06,040 Speaker 2: hunt pressure deer down here. But if you can find 987 00:52:06,080 --> 00:52:08,640 Speaker 2: a way to get a floatplane trip or a bush 988 00:52:08,680 --> 00:52:11,360 Speaker 2: plane and get dropped off into one of these places, 989 00:52:11,400 --> 00:52:13,839 Speaker 2: and yet that does take some extra money and resources 990 00:52:13,840 --> 00:52:16,920 Speaker 2: in time, so that's not realistic in every situation. But 991 00:52:16,960 --> 00:52:19,600 Speaker 2: if you can get some bodies together and pull some 992 00:52:19,640 --> 00:52:22,000 Speaker 2: money to get that and go into one of these 993 00:52:22,000 --> 00:52:26,040 Speaker 2: places that's really off the beaten path. Even if it's 994 00:52:26,200 --> 00:52:30,440 Speaker 2: once in your lifetime to see these deer in their 995 00:52:30,520 --> 00:52:33,760 Speaker 2: natural environment doing the things they were doing three hundred, 996 00:52:33,800 --> 00:52:37,640 Speaker 2: four hundred, five hundred years ago. It's, as far as 997 00:52:37,680 --> 00:52:40,440 Speaker 2: I'm concerned, worth seeing once. And maybe it's not blacktail. 998 00:52:40,560 --> 00:52:43,200 Speaker 2: Maybe maybe you are going to do one hunt like 999 00:52:43,239 --> 00:52:47,720 Speaker 2: this in Alaska or Canada or somewhere. Maybe it's caribal, 1000 00:52:47,960 --> 00:52:52,120 Speaker 2: maybe it's moose, maybe it's black bear. Whatever it is, 1001 00:52:53,400 --> 00:52:59,680 Speaker 2: I would say that every hunter an angler, it would 1002 00:52:59,680 --> 00:53:01,960 Speaker 2: be worse while if you could somehow save up the 1003 00:53:02,000 --> 00:53:03,960 Speaker 2: money to go up to one of these places and 1004 00:53:04,000 --> 00:53:06,240 Speaker 2: experience it just once, at least once in your life, 1005 00:53:06,360 --> 00:53:10,080 Speaker 2: just to see how it used to be. I think 1006 00:53:10,120 --> 00:53:12,400 Speaker 2: that was one of the biggest epiphanies. I had. One 1007 00:53:12,400 --> 00:53:14,440 Speaker 2: of the greatest things that kept coming up over and 1008 00:53:14,480 --> 00:53:16,480 Speaker 2: over and over again during my couple weeks up there. 1009 00:53:17,440 --> 00:53:21,719 Speaker 2: It was that we used to have this, We used 1010 00:53:21,719 --> 00:53:23,959 Speaker 2: to have some version of this down in the lower 1011 00:53:24,000 --> 00:53:28,440 Speaker 2: forty eight, whether it be millions and millions and millions 1012 00:53:28,480 --> 00:53:31,640 Speaker 2: of salmon running up our rivers every year, or whether 1013 00:53:31,680 --> 00:53:37,160 Speaker 2: it was great, big herds of deer that were relatively 1014 00:53:37,239 --> 00:53:40,520 Speaker 2: comfortable in the open and feeding and not constantly on 1015 00:53:40,719 --> 00:53:44,440 Speaker 2: edge and not constantly threatened. We used to have places 1016 00:53:44,480 --> 00:53:47,200 Speaker 2: you could hike out and hunt in where there was 1017 00:53:48,160 --> 00:53:53,000 Speaker 2: the most impressive predator in the world present all over 1018 00:53:53,040 --> 00:53:55,280 Speaker 2: the place. We used to have grizzlies and brown bears 1019 00:53:55,320 --> 00:53:58,120 Speaker 2: all over the lower forty eight states. This was a 1020 00:53:58,320 --> 00:54:02,680 Speaker 2: wild country and you had to respect that. And when 1021 00:54:02,680 --> 00:54:07,560 Speaker 2: you walked across North Dakota, you were in grizzly country 1022 00:54:07,719 --> 00:54:11,200 Speaker 2: and you were respecting the land and the wild critters 1023 00:54:11,239 --> 00:54:13,360 Speaker 2: out there, and your senses were turned up to eleven 1024 00:54:13,920 --> 00:54:15,480 Speaker 2: because you weren't at the top of the food chain. 1025 00:54:16,120 --> 00:54:19,480 Speaker 2: And I don't care what you think about that. It 1026 00:54:19,600 --> 00:54:22,920 Speaker 2: changes the dynamic. It makes it more electric. And if 1027 00:54:22,920 --> 00:54:26,520 Speaker 2: you've never spent time in brown bear or grizzly country, 1028 00:54:27,400 --> 00:54:30,920 Speaker 2: I can tell you that it changes your relationship with it. 1029 00:54:31,400 --> 00:54:34,640 Speaker 2: And I personally believe it changes it in a positive way, 1030 00:54:34,880 --> 00:54:39,320 Speaker 2: in a way that you are humbled by the landscape 1031 00:54:39,320 --> 00:54:41,480 Speaker 2: and the animals around you, and because of that, you 1032 00:54:41,560 --> 00:54:53,400 Speaker 2: appreciate it more. I don't know how to describe this 1033 00:54:53,440 --> 00:54:57,239 Speaker 2: in any other kind of way, but imagine that kind 1034 00:54:57,239 --> 00:55:00,120 Speaker 2: of feeling, like where you're driving down the highway and 1035 00:55:00,160 --> 00:55:02,600 Speaker 2: then all of a sudden, like you witness a car 1036 00:55:02,640 --> 00:55:04,400 Speaker 2: accident right in front of you, or someone swerves in 1037 00:55:04,400 --> 00:55:06,160 Speaker 2: front of you and you almost hit them and you 1038 00:55:06,360 --> 00:55:09,319 Speaker 2: just narrowly escape, or whatever. You get this massive adrenaline 1039 00:55:09,400 --> 00:55:12,840 Speaker 2: dumb right, or some other thing almost happens to you, 1040 00:55:12,840 --> 00:55:15,080 Speaker 2: like a bad thing almost happens. You have this huge 1041 00:55:15,280 --> 00:55:19,400 Speaker 2: rush of adrenaline, hyperventilating. Your whole body is on fire 1042 00:55:19,480 --> 00:55:22,720 Speaker 2: for a second, right, for many of us, In those moments, 1043 00:55:22,800 --> 00:55:26,479 Speaker 2: your memory goes into hyperdriver, or you almost go into 1044 00:55:26,840 --> 00:55:30,520 Speaker 2: a slow motion where like everything is clearer and crisper, 1045 00:55:30,600 --> 00:55:33,000 Speaker 2: and you remember it all. It like imprints into your 1046 00:55:33,040 --> 00:55:35,799 Speaker 2: brain so perfectly. You can remember those moments as if 1047 00:55:35,800 --> 00:55:38,280 Speaker 2: they were yesterday, as if it was a movie playing 1048 00:55:38,280 --> 00:55:40,680 Speaker 2: out in your mind. Right, that's what happens in these 1049 00:55:40,719 --> 00:55:45,720 Speaker 2: intense moments. Well, that same kind of thing, to a degree, 1050 00:55:45,920 --> 00:55:49,719 Speaker 2: occurs when you are in such a wild landscape that 1051 00:55:49,800 --> 00:55:52,359 Speaker 2: you are no longer top of the pole, not top 1052 00:55:52,400 --> 00:55:56,560 Speaker 2: of the totem pole. Right, Everything is more vivid, the 1053 00:55:56,640 --> 00:56:00,400 Speaker 2: colors are richer, the sounds matter more, the smell are 1054 00:56:00,440 --> 00:56:04,680 Speaker 2: more pungent. And that was like every day in Alaska 1055 00:56:04,840 --> 00:56:07,520 Speaker 2: you felt like that. And so this is a long 1056 00:56:07,560 --> 00:56:11,200 Speaker 2: winded way of saying that we used to have these 1057 00:56:11,239 --> 00:56:15,880 Speaker 2: incredible wildlife populations and these wild, wild wild places and 1058 00:56:15,960 --> 00:56:19,759 Speaker 2: these infinitely dark skies. This was everywhere down here, and 1059 00:56:19,800 --> 00:56:22,640 Speaker 2: we've lost much of it. We still have pockets, We 1060 00:56:22,760 --> 00:56:25,480 Speaker 2: still got our things. We still have white tailed deer, 1061 00:56:25,520 --> 00:56:28,160 Speaker 2: we still have elk, and it's incredible that we don't 1062 00:56:28,160 --> 00:56:33,400 Speaker 2: bring these animals back. But it used to be so 1063 00:56:33,560 --> 00:56:36,880 Speaker 2: much more and you can still experience it in British 1064 00:56:36,920 --> 00:56:41,160 Speaker 2: Columbia or Alaska or the Yukon, different places like this, 1065 00:56:41,360 --> 00:56:45,720 Speaker 2: and I think it's worth seeing and worth remembering, worth 1066 00:56:45,760 --> 00:56:49,040 Speaker 2: remembering that there's still stuff like that worth fighting for, 1067 00:56:49,880 --> 00:56:52,319 Speaker 2: and that we have so far to go still down 1068 00:56:52,320 --> 00:56:55,239 Speaker 2: here in the lower forty eight. Like there's this risk 1069 00:56:55,320 --> 00:56:58,080 Speaker 2: of shifting baseline syndrome, which we've talked about before, But 1070 00:56:58,160 --> 00:57:01,040 Speaker 2: basically this idea is that every one of us, when 1071 00:57:01,040 --> 00:57:03,960 Speaker 2: we're born and we're kids and we experienced the natural world, 1072 00:57:04,360 --> 00:57:06,960 Speaker 2: we kind of set our baseline of what wild is 1073 00:57:07,160 --> 00:57:10,120 Speaker 2: from what we experience as young people. So what my 1074 00:57:10,280 --> 00:57:12,560 Speaker 2: wild was is what I experienced in the nineties and 1075 00:57:12,600 --> 00:57:17,640 Speaker 2: early two thousands that felt wild to me, those levels 1076 00:57:17,640 --> 00:57:20,600 Speaker 2: of wildlife that felt good to me, right that was 1077 00:57:20,640 --> 00:57:24,240 Speaker 2: my baseline, And if I didn't know anything else other 1078 00:57:24,280 --> 00:57:25,640 Speaker 2: than that, I might think, well, that's how it used 1079 00:57:25,680 --> 00:57:27,040 Speaker 2: to be, that was those of the good old days. 1080 00:57:27,640 --> 00:57:31,000 Speaker 2: But I wouldn't know that. Fifty years prior to that, 1081 00:57:31,600 --> 00:57:33,920 Speaker 2: or eighty years prior to that, or one hundred and 1082 00:57:33,960 --> 00:57:36,920 Speaker 2: fifty years prior to that, things were so much different, 1083 00:57:36,960 --> 00:57:39,680 Speaker 2: maybe so much wilder, maybe so much more undeveloped, so 1084 00:57:39,840 --> 00:57:43,200 Speaker 2: many more animals. That baseline keeps changing, and we keep 1085 00:57:43,440 --> 00:57:47,000 Speaker 2: accepting this new baseline because all we've personally ever known, 1086 00:57:47,560 --> 00:57:51,760 Speaker 2: so our new normal, though, might be god awful compared 1087 00:57:51,760 --> 00:57:54,400 Speaker 2: to what the normal baseline was for someone twenty years before, 1088 00:57:54,480 --> 00:57:57,360 Speaker 2: and twenty years before and twenty years before. And so 1089 00:57:57,440 --> 00:57:59,520 Speaker 2: by going up north to this place that was still 1090 00:57:59,560 --> 00:58:02,200 Speaker 2: relative untouched, it was kind of a resetting of the 1091 00:58:02,200 --> 00:58:04,640 Speaker 2: baseline for me, and I realized, and I was reminded 1092 00:58:04,680 --> 00:58:08,640 Speaker 2: of the fact that, man, maybe if I had been 1093 00:58:08,640 --> 00:58:10,600 Speaker 2: born two hundred years earlier, I would have seen this 1094 00:58:10,680 --> 00:58:15,040 Speaker 2: down in northern Michigan or Montana. But we we lost 1095 00:58:15,040 --> 00:58:16,959 Speaker 2: a lot of it. I'm very thankful we haven't lost 1096 00:58:16,960 --> 00:58:18,520 Speaker 2: all of it, and I'm gonna fight hard to make 1097 00:58:18,560 --> 00:58:20,720 Speaker 2: sure we don't lose the rest of it, but let's 1098 00:58:20,760 --> 00:58:24,360 Speaker 2: make sure we don't screw up these last best places too, 1099 00:58:24,720 --> 00:58:26,840 Speaker 2: And I think it'd be worth, like I said, everyone 1100 00:58:26,920 --> 00:58:30,800 Speaker 2: having that experience at least once. So that's one thought. 1101 00:58:31,040 --> 00:58:37,440 Speaker 2: Second thought, Southeast Alaska's wet. That's no surprise. That's not 1102 00:58:37,600 --> 00:58:40,760 Speaker 2: news to anyone's ears. That's been said many times before. 1103 00:58:41,240 --> 00:58:42,840 Speaker 2: But it's one thing to hear, it's another thing to 1104 00:58:42,880 --> 00:58:45,720 Speaker 2: experience it. Make sure you've got really good rain gear. 1105 00:58:46,080 --> 00:58:50,360 Speaker 2: Make sure you've got rain proof boots. I brought waterproof 1106 00:58:51,120 --> 00:58:54,160 Speaker 2: leather boots, but I also brought knee high rubber boots 1107 00:58:54,200 --> 00:58:56,600 Speaker 2: based on Berange recommendation, and I ended up wearing those 1108 00:58:56,640 --> 00:58:59,400 Speaker 2: a lot, just like in day to day life around 1109 00:58:59,440 --> 00:59:02,960 Speaker 2: the camp. Around Juno fishing, like was almost always in 1110 00:59:03,040 --> 00:59:05,280 Speaker 2: the high rubber boots, and a lot of guys do 1111 00:59:05,320 --> 00:59:09,040 Speaker 2: that there they're wearing their extra toughs and now I 1112 00:59:09,120 --> 00:59:12,520 Speaker 2: understand why. So definitely bring rubber boots. Definitely bring the 1113 00:59:12,520 --> 00:59:15,480 Speaker 2: best waterproof stuff you can bring. I had waterproof stuff, sacks, 1114 00:59:15,560 --> 00:59:21,280 Speaker 2: waterproof backpack liner for my big backpack, waterproof everything, and 1115 00:59:21,400 --> 00:59:28,200 Speaker 2: it was needed. So recommend that, you know, definitely come 1116 00:59:28,240 --> 00:59:32,440 Speaker 2: prepared for bears. That's again, that's nothing no surprise I 1117 00:59:32,440 --> 00:59:34,680 Speaker 2: think for anybody. But I do think like you just 1118 00:59:34,720 --> 00:59:36,840 Speaker 2: have to be really respectful of that fact in these 1119 00:59:36,880 --> 00:59:39,439 Speaker 2: places that they're there. You don't need to fear them, 1120 00:59:39,560 --> 00:59:41,919 Speaker 2: you don't need to let them stop you from going 1121 00:59:41,920 --> 00:59:44,720 Speaker 2: and experience in these places. You just have to respect 1122 00:59:44,720 --> 00:59:47,680 Speaker 2: it and be properly prepared. And if I learned anything 1123 00:59:47,720 --> 00:59:49,480 Speaker 2: from Bejorn, it was that it was that you need 1124 00:59:49,520 --> 00:59:52,680 Speaker 2: to be prepared for all circumstances, but also understand that 1125 00:59:53,000 --> 00:59:55,480 Speaker 2: they don't want to mess with you. Nine point nine 1126 00:59:55,480 --> 00:59:59,120 Speaker 2: times out of ten, read their body language, talk to them, 1127 00:59:59,520 --> 01:00:03,400 Speaker 2: avoid if need be, don't escalate the situation, and most 1128 01:00:03,400 --> 01:00:06,800 Speaker 2: of the time they're gonna go on their way. So 1129 01:00:06,800 --> 01:00:10,280 Speaker 2: so that was that was a good reminder. And I 1130 01:00:10,360 --> 01:00:13,280 Speaker 2: brought bear spray. I had my rifle, of course, and 1131 01:00:13,360 --> 01:00:16,760 Speaker 2: I also brought a ten milimeters pistol. And the key 1132 01:00:16,800 --> 01:00:18,280 Speaker 2: thing is to always make sure you have stuff with 1133 01:00:18,360 --> 01:00:20,560 Speaker 2: you like a gun or bear spray is never going 1134 01:00:20,640 --> 01:00:23,160 Speaker 2: to do any good if it's in your backpack, on 1135 01:00:23,200 --> 01:00:25,560 Speaker 2: your back, or if it's ten feet away while you're 1136 01:00:25,880 --> 01:00:29,320 Speaker 2: taking a piss. Always have your thing. That was a 1137 01:00:29,400 --> 01:00:31,840 Speaker 2: key thing that Bjorn mentioned, like you know, don't even 1138 01:00:31,880 --> 01:00:34,480 Speaker 2: go to the outhouse without spray or your pistol or 1139 01:00:34,520 --> 01:00:37,280 Speaker 2: something like, always be prepared just in case. So that 1140 01:00:37,320 --> 01:00:39,720 Speaker 2: would be something else I would note for anyone planning 1141 01:00:39,760 --> 01:00:42,920 Speaker 2: a trip like this for the first time. And I 1142 01:00:42,920 --> 01:00:46,280 Speaker 2: guess the last thing I would say, and again, this 1143 01:00:46,400 --> 01:00:48,240 Speaker 2: is not like a thorough how to of this trip. 1144 01:00:48,240 --> 01:00:50,520 Speaker 2: These are just more some overarching thoughts. But the last 1145 01:00:50,520 --> 01:00:53,320 Speaker 2: thing I would say is that this trip also I 1146 01:00:53,400 --> 01:00:56,080 Speaker 2: realized like an aft like looking back on it, and 1147 01:00:56,200 --> 01:00:59,600 Speaker 2: Alaska in general is more accessible than maybe I realized. 1148 01:00:59,840 --> 01:01:03,040 Speaker 2: I kind of always looked at Alaska as out of reach. 1149 01:01:03,640 --> 01:01:06,880 Speaker 2: I kind of looked as like prohibitively expensive, like out 1150 01:01:06,880 --> 01:01:11,240 Speaker 2: of my league. And by doing this trip, this is 1151 01:01:11,240 --> 01:01:13,920 Speaker 2: my second time to Alaska and the most I've been 1152 01:01:13,920 --> 01:01:18,040 Speaker 2: involved in like planning logistics and doing stuff myself, I 1153 01:01:18,120 --> 01:01:22,240 Speaker 2: kind of realized that it's not that much different than 1154 01:01:22,280 --> 01:01:24,920 Speaker 2: planning any other kind of big trip like this, like 1155 01:01:25,040 --> 01:01:26,680 Speaker 2: whether it be going to the Rocky Mountains for the 1156 01:01:26,680 --> 01:01:29,520 Speaker 2: first time or going on a camping trip to the 1157 01:01:29,520 --> 01:01:33,560 Speaker 2: Grand Canyon, whatever. Like there's planning, there's logistics, there's definitely 1158 01:01:33,560 --> 01:01:36,160 Speaker 2: things you need to have, you know, in order and 1159 01:01:36,200 --> 01:01:38,920 Speaker 2: it definitely is an investment in some travel costs, but 1160 01:01:39,120 --> 01:01:42,320 Speaker 2: not disproportionately more those other things, Like a plane ticket 1161 01:01:42,400 --> 01:01:44,760 Speaker 2: up to Juno was no different than if I wanted 1162 01:01:44,760 --> 01:01:47,720 Speaker 2: to take a plane ticket to California or something. So 1163 01:01:47,800 --> 01:01:50,360 Speaker 2: I definitely came out of this trip realizing that I 1164 01:01:50,400 --> 01:01:52,600 Speaker 2: could do this more often, and I could take my 1165 01:01:52,680 --> 01:01:55,680 Speaker 2: family there more often, Like this is not out of 1166 01:01:55,720 --> 01:01:58,760 Speaker 2: my league, nor is it out of yours. And as 1167 01:01:58,800 --> 01:02:01,680 Speaker 2: I said a few minutes ago, I think my big 1168 01:02:01,720 --> 01:02:05,920 Speaker 2: thing is see it at least once, experience it at 1169 01:02:06,000 --> 01:02:10,640 Speaker 2: least once. It's your country just as much as anybody else's, 1170 01:02:11,280 --> 01:02:14,640 Speaker 2: and it is an unbelievable gift that we still have 1171 01:02:14,760 --> 01:02:18,040 Speaker 2: places like this. If we're going to keep places like this, 1172 01:02:18,160 --> 01:02:20,840 Speaker 2: we need to experience them so we can care about 1173 01:02:20,840 --> 01:02:24,840 Speaker 2: them and know them enough to continue that fight. So 1174 01:02:25,600 --> 01:02:28,160 Speaker 2: that is kind of where I end on this whole thing. 1175 01:02:28,240 --> 01:02:31,320 Speaker 2: I'm looking forward to getting back up there get I'm 1176 01:02:31,360 --> 01:02:34,880 Speaker 2: looking forward to continue to follow what's going on in 1177 01:02:34,920 --> 01:02:38,000 Speaker 2: Alaska and caring about the issues up there in Alaska, 1178 01:02:38,160 --> 01:02:39,720 Speaker 2: just like I care about things down in here in 1179 01:02:39,920 --> 01:02:44,000 Speaker 2: Michigan or Idaho or Montana. You know, a couple things 1180 01:02:44,040 --> 01:02:47,480 Speaker 2: worth noting if you are ever interested in going on 1181 01:02:47,520 --> 01:02:50,360 Speaker 2: a black bear hunt in the Tongas National Forest, or 1182 01:02:50,800 --> 01:02:52,560 Speaker 2: a deer hunt like this, or if you want to 1183 01:02:52,600 --> 01:02:55,280 Speaker 2: go salmon fishing or do any of these things that 1184 01:02:55,320 --> 01:02:58,080 Speaker 2: are down there, we're just incredible opportunities for this stuff. 1185 01:02:59,040 --> 01:03:02,200 Speaker 2: Pay close attention what's going on with the Tongus National Forest. 1186 01:03:02,360 --> 01:03:06,000 Speaker 2: Like I mentioned, this is an incredible place, seventeen million 1187 01:03:06,000 --> 01:03:11,600 Speaker 2: acres I believe, but it has been in to varying 1188 01:03:11,600 --> 01:03:15,840 Speaker 2: degrees at risk. A handful of years ago, the previous 1189 01:03:15,880 --> 01:03:21,040 Speaker 2: presidential administration had removed the roadless rule protections from nine 1190 01:03:21,080 --> 01:03:23,920 Speaker 2: million acres of this forest, So more than half of 1191 01:03:23,920 --> 01:03:28,200 Speaker 2: the forest lost protections that had been placed on it 1192 01:03:28,320 --> 01:03:33,040 Speaker 2: several decades prior. That kept this place from getting clear cut, 1193 01:03:33,480 --> 01:03:36,439 Speaker 2: That kept this place from getting new roads punched into 1194 01:03:36,480 --> 01:03:39,360 Speaker 2: the last few places that don't have roads. This is 1195 01:03:39,360 --> 01:03:41,440 Speaker 2: one of our last best wild places. And so they 1196 01:03:41,440 --> 01:03:43,640 Speaker 2: had placed these roadless rule protections on it in the 1197 01:03:43,680 --> 01:03:47,320 Speaker 2: early two thousands that would protect those areas that had 1198 01:03:47,360 --> 01:03:49,640 Speaker 2: not yet been carved up in clearcut, because a lot 1199 01:03:49,680 --> 01:03:51,919 Speaker 2: of it had. And in those places there's all sorts 1200 01:03:51,960 --> 01:03:56,080 Speaker 2: of like ecological ramifications and downsides, for example, in the 1201 01:03:56,120 --> 01:04:00,200 Speaker 2: places that were clearcut, which again were big chunks. What 1202 01:04:00,280 --> 01:04:04,040 Speaker 2: happens is that you clearcut a forest, and you know, 1203 01:04:04,040 --> 01:04:06,240 Speaker 2: down in the whitetail world, when we think about cutting trees, 1204 01:04:06,280 --> 01:04:09,080 Speaker 2: we think about benefits to wildlife, and there are some 1205 01:04:09,120 --> 01:04:12,080 Speaker 2: immediate benefits when you cut trees in that you're getting 1206 01:04:12,080 --> 01:04:16,160 Speaker 2: sunlight to the ground and new growth. Right. But clear cutting, 1207 01:04:16,600 --> 01:04:21,760 Speaker 2: especially in forested ecosystems up here up north especially has 1208 01:04:23,080 --> 01:04:25,960 Speaker 2: you know, trickle down effects that are not so good. 1209 01:04:26,040 --> 01:04:29,120 Speaker 2: So in the immediate couple of years after that you 1210 01:04:29,120 --> 01:04:34,600 Speaker 2: would see better food available for blacktail deer. But blacktail 1211 01:04:34,680 --> 01:04:38,480 Speaker 2: deer need old growth forests because they need protection from snows. 1212 01:04:38,680 --> 01:04:41,640 Speaker 2: They need to survive these gnarly, gnarly winters up there, 1213 01:04:41,680 --> 01:04:45,400 Speaker 2: and old growth high canopy forest is the habitat that 1214 01:04:45,480 --> 01:04:48,400 Speaker 2: they need to survive that. Now, what happens is that 1215 01:04:48,480 --> 01:04:50,240 Speaker 2: when you get these clearcuts, they lose a bunch of 1216 01:04:50,280 --> 01:04:53,040 Speaker 2: their wintering habitats. So that's bad, but they do some food. 1217 01:04:53,440 --> 01:04:55,440 Speaker 2: But then you have these clear cut areas that do 1218 01:04:55,560 --> 01:04:58,520 Speaker 2: start growing back, and they start growing back very thick 1219 01:04:58,960 --> 01:05:02,040 Speaker 2: and all the same level. So what you eventually have 1220 01:05:02,240 --> 01:05:06,720 Speaker 2: is something called canopy exclusion, where these second growth forests 1221 01:05:06,840 --> 01:05:08,720 Speaker 2: get to a point at I don't know, fifteen twenty five, 1222 01:05:08,800 --> 01:05:13,680 Speaker 2: thirty five years old, where they are forests. Again, they're 1223 01:05:13,800 --> 01:05:17,960 Speaker 2: very thick forests, and they are completely dark forests on 1224 01:05:18,040 --> 01:05:20,200 Speaker 2: the top, and so there's no sunlight that gets to 1225 01:05:20,240 --> 01:05:23,640 Speaker 2: the bottom, and there's no diversity in the age structure 1226 01:05:23,680 --> 01:05:27,520 Speaker 2: of the forest, and so there's no understory. And what 1227 01:05:27,560 --> 01:05:30,560 Speaker 2: you have then is a deer desert. What deer need 1228 01:05:31,080 --> 01:05:35,760 Speaker 2: there is old growth in which you have naturally occurring 1229 01:05:36,080 --> 01:05:38,520 Speaker 2: diversity and aige structure of forests because you've got the 1230 01:05:38,520 --> 01:05:42,520 Speaker 2: big old trees that provide your winter cover and your canopy. 1231 01:05:42,800 --> 01:05:45,240 Speaker 2: But then there's dead and dying trees scattered throughout. So 1232 01:05:45,280 --> 01:05:48,320 Speaker 2: you get these different pockets and openings where sunlight does 1233 01:05:48,360 --> 01:05:51,000 Speaker 2: come in, and so you get understory and you get 1234 01:05:51,080 --> 01:05:54,280 Speaker 2: over story, and so what you want is a balance 1235 01:05:54,320 --> 01:05:57,320 Speaker 2: of both of those things. There are examples where there's 1236 01:05:57,320 --> 01:06:00,440 Speaker 2: been like wildlife thinnings coming into these second growth force 1237 01:06:00,520 --> 01:06:03,400 Speaker 2: and trying to recreate that. So trying to create some 1238 01:06:03,480 --> 01:06:06,960 Speaker 2: pockets and open up things a little bit, and that's 1239 01:06:06,960 --> 01:06:09,200 Speaker 2: a good thing, but the big thing is we can't 1240 01:06:09,240 --> 01:06:12,959 Speaker 2: have these clear cuts happening again that are not only 1241 01:06:12,960 --> 01:06:15,520 Speaker 2: bad for blacktail deer, but they're also bad for salmon. 1242 01:06:15,600 --> 01:06:18,280 Speaker 2: They're bad for the streams, they're bad for the trout, 1243 01:06:18,520 --> 01:06:20,640 Speaker 2: all the different fish species in these rivers. When you 1244 01:06:21,640 --> 01:06:25,760 Speaker 2: clearcut these rivers, you remove the habitat that's preserving the 1245 01:06:25,800 --> 01:06:28,440 Speaker 2: banks of the streams. You get siltation and dirt and 1246 01:06:28,560 --> 01:06:31,520 Speaker 2: erosion and all stuff rushes into the rivers. It covers 1247 01:06:31,560 --> 01:06:34,400 Speaker 2: up the gravel beds that spawn that salmon need to spawn. 1248 01:06:35,360 --> 01:06:37,560 Speaker 2: All sorts of different kind of trickled on effects from it. 1249 01:06:37,720 --> 01:06:41,880 Speaker 2: So this is my rambling way of saying that the 1250 01:06:42,000 --> 01:06:45,200 Speaker 2: roadless Rule has been something that has been very good 1251 01:06:45,680 --> 01:06:48,160 Speaker 2: for fish and wildlife in that area. We had it 1252 01:06:48,200 --> 01:06:50,160 Speaker 2: for a while. It was taken away in like two 1253 01:06:50,160 --> 01:06:55,520 Speaker 2: thousand and I can't remember eighteen or nineteen or something 1254 01:06:55,560 --> 01:06:58,640 Speaker 2: like that. But then again they were put back in 1255 01:06:58,720 --> 01:07:01,680 Speaker 2: place recently a year or two ago, so we have 1256 01:07:01,760 --> 01:07:05,360 Speaker 2: those roless rule protections on the tongus. Again, there are 1257 01:07:05,480 --> 01:07:08,800 Speaker 2: work that's work being done to have better habitat for 1258 01:07:08,840 --> 01:07:11,040 Speaker 2: deer and for fish. They're doing some of this wildlife 1259 01:07:11,040 --> 01:07:13,960 Speaker 2: fitting work. They're trying to find ways to have some 1260 01:07:14,160 --> 01:07:16,360 Speaker 2: level of timber harvest because hey, we need some logging, 1261 01:07:16,400 --> 01:07:19,120 Speaker 2: we need jobs, we need that, we need managed habitat 1262 01:07:19,160 --> 01:07:21,280 Speaker 2: for wildlife. That's a good thing, but we need to 1263 01:07:21,280 --> 01:07:23,200 Speaker 2: do it in such a way that it's not going 1264 01:07:23,240 --> 01:07:26,240 Speaker 2: to destroy the habitat, that's not going to level these things, 1265 01:07:26,320 --> 01:07:28,880 Speaker 2: that's going to still preserve the wild spots that we 1266 01:07:28,960 --> 01:07:31,480 Speaker 2: have left. So I'm very much in supportive of the 1267 01:07:31,560 --> 01:07:35,160 Speaker 2: roleless rule. I would suggest you learn about it because 1268 01:07:36,520 --> 01:07:40,560 Speaker 2: you know the political pendulum swings, and I would not 1269 01:07:40,600 --> 01:07:42,720 Speaker 2: be surprised if we see a debate come up about 1270 01:07:42,720 --> 01:07:44,360 Speaker 2: these things again in the future. And if you want 1271 01:07:44,400 --> 01:07:48,360 Speaker 2: to chase blacktail deer someday or go see this place someday, 1272 01:07:48,480 --> 01:07:50,560 Speaker 2: you won't experience the same thing I did if we 1273 01:07:50,680 --> 01:07:54,080 Speaker 2: lose those protections. And I hope if you've listened to 1274 01:07:54,120 --> 01:07:57,560 Speaker 2: this you can see the value in protecting these places 1275 01:07:57,560 --> 01:08:00,640 Speaker 2: and hopefully being able to see them someday self too. 1276 01:08:01,240 --> 01:08:05,880 Speaker 2: So that is the story of my Alaskan deer hunt. 1277 01:08:06,720 --> 01:08:09,400 Speaker 2: I actually got to stay around for about another just 1278 01:08:09,400 --> 01:08:11,920 Speaker 2: a little less than another week, and got to go 1279 01:08:11,960 --> 01:08:15,520 Speaker 2: in a whole nother excursion learning about salmon and the 1280 01:08:15,560 --> 01:08:18,920 Speaker 2: issues impacting salmon. I got to do some saltwater fishing 1281 01:08:18,920 --> 01:08:23,519 Speaker 2: in the ocean. I caught caught coho salmon. I saw 1282 01:08:23,560 --> 01:08:27,920 Speaker 2: humpback whales. I went to Bristol Bay. I caught massive 1283 01:08:28,000 --> 01:08:31,200 Speaker 2: rainbow trout, the biggest grailing I've ever seen in my life, 1284 01:08:31,720 --> 01:08:38,160 Speaker 2: pink salmon. Just all sorts of really, really fascinating things. 1285 01:08:38,320 --> 01:08:41,880 Speaker 2: I learned about, some incredible places, some incredible animals, and 1286 01:08:41,960 --> 01:08:44,960 Speaker 2: once again I'm just more fired up than ever to 1287 01:08:45,800 --> 01:08:49,160 Speaker 2: do whatever i can to keep these places wild, to 1288 01:08:49,200 --> 01:08:51,639 Speaker 2: keep these wild animals out there, and to make sure 1289 01:08:51,640 --> 01:08:54,760 Speaker 2: that all of us and our kids can experience these 1290 01:08:54,760 --> 01:08:58,400 Speaker 2: things someday in the future as well. So that's my story. 1291 01:08:58,760 --> 01:09:02,720 Speaker 2: I'm sticking to it. Hope you enjoyed this one, and 1292 01:09:02,880 --> 01:09:05,000 Speaker 2: if you have any questions, you know, hit me up 1293 01:09:05,040 --> 01:09:08,040 Speaker 2: on Instagram or social media. I'll try to answer some 1294 01:09:08,120 --> 01:09:11,080 Speaker 2: questions here in the coming days and weeks about this 1295 01:09:11,200 --> 01:09:13,160 Speaker 2: hunt and about this experience, if there's any of you 1296 01:09:13,200 --> 01:09:16,760 Speaker 2: that want to try something similar in the future. But 1297 01:09:16,800 --> 01:09:19,479 Speaker 2: I think that's it for today. Starting next week, we'll 1298 01:09:19,520 --> 01:09:23,479 Speaker 2: be right back into our usual Whitetail content. The season's 1299 01:09:24,080 --> 01:09:26,240 Speaker 2: kicking off here in Michigan in just a handful of days, 1300 01:09:26,360 --> 01:09:30,360 Speaker 2: so I'm about to get real serious about white tails. 1301 01:09:30,479 --> 01:09:33,880 Speaker 2: I'm sure you are too, so until then, best of luck. 1302 01:09:33,880 --> 01:09:37,760 Speaker 2: If you are out there hunting already, you know, dot 1303 01:09:37,800 --> 01:09:40,200 Speaker 2: your eyes, cross your t's. If you're getting ready for 1304 01:09:40,240 --> 01:09:41,920 Speaker 2: the season to start here in a couple of days, 1305 01:09:42,160 --> 01:09:47,400 Speaker 2: shoot your bow. And until next time, my friends, stay 1306 01:09:48,360 --> 01:09:50,040 Speaker 2: wired to hunt.