Adventure on the Mac - Yukon
Ralph with his Yukon Moose.
Adventure on the Mac!
Hunter: Ralph Cianciarulo
Cameraman: Vicki Cianciarulo
September 12:
We arrived in Whitehorse at 1:15 a.m., we were beat, Don was there to pick us up and we talked for a bit, and then went to High Country Inn.
September 13:
Woke up at 5:15 a.m., went down to meet Don at 6:00 a.m., had some breakfast and headed out and got on a flight, then landed by 11:00 a.m. on the Upper Mac. We met Greg & Steve and got all settled in. Around 6:00 p.m., we headed up the Mac to check things out and saw a 4-5 year old griz, four small bulls, two cows, and 1 calf. What a first night cruise…
September 14:
This morning we headed up the Mac and saw a nice bull with a cow & calf. We saw some other small bulls, another cow & calf, and went to the end of the river area. As we floated back, I called a bull in and we heard another, so we went in after them. The smaller bull whined as the bigger bull just raked more brush. We didn’t get Vicki a shot, but it was cool footage. This afternoon we went to go up the North Mac, but a log jam is stopping us, so we headed down. Saw a calf standing in the water and heard wolves howling like crazy. We thought they got the cow. We went down further, but didn’t really see much. On our way back up, we saw a cow & calf, and then spotted a good bull. We went in after him, but no luck! It was warm tonight with a clear sky, hardly any wind, and it could be cold tomorrow morning.
September 15:
What a perfect morning! We had some frost along the river, the wind was slight, and we made it to right past Moose Alley, when we spotted a cow and a big bull! We quickly got ready and went after him. I cow called, and we heard at least three different bulls answer. We went into the bush and grunted him to within 23 yards, but the brush was too thick to get a shot and we headed out. He was a very BIG BULL and I know Vicki was bummed! We went further up the river and spotted another bull with a cow, so we went after him, but the wind shifted and off he went. This afternoon, we headed up river again, but got only to the “Y” of the upper & north Mac, right by the old trappers shack, and there stood a good bull. Vicki, Steve, and I went after him, keeping the wind in our favor, we moved in, grunted, and he answered and was coming in. We got set up and had Steve move in back of us and the bull walked directly in front of us at 5-6 ft. and Vicki pinned him. He ran 80-100 yards and down he went. He is a good bull! It took all four of us two hours to get him all back to the boat. On our way out, we heard the wolves and took a slow ride back to camp.
September 16:
This a.m. we took care of Vicki’s bull. Greg & Steve cut and cleaned all the meat while Vicki and I fleshed out her cape, skinned out the skull, etc. At around 1:00 p.m., Don & Jackie flew in to spend a few days with us in camp. That afternoon, we went up river, but movement was very slow—only saw a calf, and it was warm.
September 17:
Still a bit warm, I called a good bull in but he had a cow. We worked him hard, but no such luck! He was on the west end of Moose Alley, Don & Steve, Vicki & I went to check out the north Mac. It looked pretty rough to get up there. Vicki’s moose carcass was doing well, the birds just found it, so we put up a Wildview camera to hopefully get wolves or bear! Steve also caught an Inconnu fish, the first one any of us have ever seen—tasted real good! In the evening, I did some calling and had a bull answer to cow calls. He came in and held tight. When I thought he was committing, I drew back and he held up for a couple of minutes, and I think he caught my movement and spooked! I had gotten to the point of no return! Bummer… He looked like a very good bull…as we headed back to camp, we spotted another bull in Moose Alley. He was searching hard! Camera light was just about over. We also spotted a lone cow.
September 18:
This a.m. we headed back up the Mac. The fog was everywhere! It was warmer than normal and the fog chilled the air. We called from numerous spots with no luck. We started drifting and calling and got a response at a clearing. The Bull looked to be older with short paddles. We played with him a little to get closer footage and then headed back. Stopped by Vicki’s Moose carcass. Wolves and birds have found it, but no bear yet. This p.m. we are heading down river and hope to get the moose active soon. We need some calm, cooler weather! This evening we went down river; Steve, Vicki, and I floated and I called. It wasn’t long and we heard a grunt, then another on the south side of the river. Steve beached the boat, we checked the wind, and started grunting. Next we got another grunt across the river, we had two bulls working. Ours was standing his ground so I made the decision to go after him. Steve held the paddle and I grunted right in back of him. Vicki was filming and the bull started heading away and once he saw us, he turned and got aggressive. We worked to within 15 yards and I took the shot! He was slightly at a quarter to, but not much; he was also three feet higher on a shelf than us. From the lower angle, I didn’t figure on that, so I only took out one lung. He ran, then stopped and slowly walked off. We decided to leave him until the morning since it was starting to get dark, so we left him laying down on the bank—it was a long night!!!
September 19:
I was wide awake well before light. We all got loaded and headed down river right at light. Don, Jackie, Steve, Greg, Vicki, and I were in two boats and my bull was right where we left him last night—I was pumped!!! It was cold enough that nothing spooked. We took a lot of photos and everyone pitched in. It was awesome…we made a great day of it. They even went back to camp and got everything to cook hamburgers and brought it back. We made a fire, cooked, cleaned up all the meat, caped out the head, cut the skull plate, it was awesome. It was one of the best days we have ever had here in the Yukon! We went back to camp, cleaned up and went up the north Mac to see how it was for travel—a bit rough, but Don knows how to handle this river boat stuff. We got back before dark, had dinner, visited and went to bed.
September 20:
Woke up to snow on top of the mountains and colors are beautiful. We are going to take some photos today; we stayed in camp all day. Don & Jackie flew out this afternoon. We cooked some steaks on the fire, took photos, set up another wall tent, cut some wood, cleaned up the kitchen tent. It’s looking like weather is moving in. We believe there will be more snow on the mountains in the morning.
September 21:
We went up river, but didn’t see any moose. Went down to my moose carcass and it looks like a bear hit it. We had to drag it out of the brush, because the bear drug it in there. We cut the track and we think it may be a big black bear—a lot of wolves too, so we put it where we might get a good shot and went back to camp. Our plan was to come back around 3:00 and sit till dark. But plans change—weather is moving in and Don told us on the Sat phone that he has a plane on the way to get us out of camp, “be ready to go in 45 minutes”—PACKED FAST AND LEFT MAC.