Alaskan Moose Float Hunt : A Father-Son Adventure Brings Both Unforeseen Illness and Success! скачать в хорошем качестве

Alaskan Moose Float Hunt : A Father-Son Adventure Brings Both Unforeseen Illness and Success!

Alaska Moose hunt Sept 2024. A 112 mile long river float trip in Alaska’s remote SW interior. 14 Days. After being dropped off, it was just Dad and I. We were on our own. To be picked up we must make it to the end. Until then; we float, we hunt, we camp, and we move camp. We were well aware ahead of time that this would be a demanding trip, that even under normal circumstances this trip would not be for the faint of heart. Little did we know, was that unplanned circumstances would make this adventure an even more arduous task - a quest for survival at times. The day after we were dropped off, Dad and I both started experiencing symptoms of an illness (e.g., weakness, dizziness, chills, and burning chest/cough). These worsened over the next several days; and this combined with the persistent rainy and cold conditions we were dealing with made for a dire stretch where by night 4 I barely had the strength to stand up without passing out. Feet and hands numb at times. I prayed I would have the energy to perform the necessary tasks like obtaining clean water, cooking food, moving camp, and paddling. We were both in equally rough shape. Being in this condition where we were and with no way out was a serious situation. It was the perfect storm of unfortunate events. But with answered prayers, teamwork, and the will to live we slowly started to come out of it and press on. Incredibly, the next day we found a backcountry safety cabin where the Iditarod trail crossed the river. Beforehand, we knew of this cabin’s existence but only had a rough idea of its location. The fact that we were able to successfully locate this shelter and utilize its warmth was pivotal in our recovery. Soon after our three day stay at the safety cabin, as we were beginning to finally regain some strength, we crossed paths with a large bull moose and dad was able to connect with the harvest of a lifetime. The bull had an antler spread of over 60 inches and was more impressive than we’d ever imagined. After two days of processing the animal and loading the meat on the raft, we floated the remaining 70 miles over the course of several days. Given my condition and complete lack of energy I told myself I would not shoot a moose if I had the opportunity. We simply wouldn’t have had the strength to process another animal and also get ourselves down river. It was one or the other. It took all we had just to reach the endpoint as it was. Given the number of animals we were seeing, we both believe I would’ve likely been able to also harvest a bull had we been healthy and hunted during the latter half of our float. Upon reaching the end pick-up point we had to wait two days until the weather was fair enough for the float plane to come get us. After returning home we both required medical attention.