Not your average pack-out cont’d from page 6

if all went according to plan. Too easy, right? It certainly wasn’t going to be a cake walk, but with the right mindset, we felt it was doable.

Because we trained hard all year for this hunt, we felt that our bodies were ready to sustain a multi-day pack-out.

Steve was already a seasoned sheep hunter and was no stranger to a good sufferfest. Sean’s years of mountaineering experience easily made him the toughest out of all of us, and no one was worried about whether or not he could handle the grind. On all of our trips together, Rory had proven his exemplary endurance, time and time again, and I was confident that, although I knew it wouldn’t be easy for me, I was up for the challenge.

ounce of meat was wasted due to the distance it had to travel, and we had a moral responsibility, as hunters, to do right by the animal that we intended to harvest.

We used our inReaches to gather weather reports for the next few days, and saw that it was supposed to remain cool, averaging around 2 to 8 degrees Celsius (with the exception of a few mid-day highs). It was not forecasted to rain until our pickup day, and even then it was only calling for light showers. These forecasted conditions were about as good as we could hope for, and even if they were to change, we knew we had the necessary tarps and equipment to keep the meat out of the weather.

rocks, but our hopes of pursuing him were put on hold when we were buzzed, multiple times, by a bush plane from the local outfitter who was clearly concerned about us getting too close to the rams. Not very neighbourly! Spooking sheep in that jagged terrain wasn’t very mindful of their wellbeing, either. Needless to say, none of us were very impressed. Hiking back to camp that night, the other guys started talking more seriously about the logistics of packing out a bull moose over five kilometres.

The next morning we woke up to bad weather and low visibility. The mountain tops were socked in, which would have made going after sheep very difficult. With tired legs from all the miles we had logged, we decided to take some time to rest up and gather our thoughts. We ate all that we could in an attempt to fuel up on calories, and we discussed the logistics of trying to harvest one of the two big moose. The majority of that day was spent talking over two main questions: 1) Could we do it? and 2) Was it ethical to try? As we combed over all of the possibilities, we watched as the bulls fed not 100 metres from where we had first spotted them.

When it came to the question of whether or not it was possible, we had to consider three main factors: time, our fitness level, and meat care. With four days to work with before our scheduled pickup, we would need to be calculated and come up with a solid plan before taking any action.

If we went for it, we would have the first morning to stalk the moose, that afternoon to butcher him (if we were successful) and then whatever time was left in that first day to start packing meat to the lake.

The second full day would give us time to do the hardest job of all—hiking out the four quarters. Moose quarters can weigh north of 130 pounds each, so when we coupled this with the weight of our packs, our water, our rifles and any emergency gear we needed, we knew that we would be coming out heavy.

The third day would be set aside for ferrying meat, by canoe, to our pickup point at the lake, leaving a little extra time to hike back up the mountain to grab the head and the hide. Our pickup would be the following day (day 4), which would give us that morning to fish, tear down camp and enjoy some fresh moose steaks …

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Once we decided it was possible, we still had to address the question of whether it was an ethically sound thing to do. The question of ethics boiled down to whether or not we were confident in our ability to butcher the animal and then transport it to the lake, all the while keeping the meat cool, clean and dry. It would be unacceptable if even an

After a full day of combing over the possibilities, we decided that it was time to change gears. n

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