I hadn’t drawn a controlled spring bear tag since 2019 and was ecstatic to be back on the trigger instead of my more common role as camp cook/ jet boat pilot. My excitement was darkened by the news that the elk population in the area I had drawn a bear tag for had decreased by about 50% in the last two years. Normally I’m stoked to just get out in the spring, see some green grass and spend time hiking and glassing. Knowing that there was an intense biological need to reduce predators in the area was extra fuel to an already hot fire. Game time.
One of the places I spotted a bear and made an approach. The last 600 yards took me a little over an hour to traverse. This is more rock climbing than hiking, and before you pull the trigger, you’d best be sure you can recover the animal from any place it might end up after the bullet and gravity have finished their tasks.The Eberlestock F1 Mainframe turned out to be the perfect pack for hauling four days worth of camp including cold, wet, and warm weather gear, which is classic of an early spring hunt. Being able to place my Sig Sauer Cross rifle between the frame and bag of the pack is more secure, accessible, and convenient than strapping it to the back or sides of packs I’ve used in the past. It also provides enough offset that I can look vertically while climbing in this ultra-steep terrain. I used the Vapor 5000 bag on the frame so I’d have enough room to add an entire bear to my gear. This isn’t the country I like to make multiple trips in. Photo was taken 7ish miles and many vertical feet from basecamp. https://eberlestock.com/Colin with his first bear, about a 200lb chocolate color phase. His pack out took two days.“Sharp Shoes” are standard horseshoes with extra bite forged or welded onto the toe and heel to allow extra purchase in steep country, especially when the ground is frozen. I love finding old artifacts like these and hope for the sake of the cowboy that he wasn’t riding a soft-footed horse this far from home.For my spike camp, I brought the Viam Outdoors Madison Tipi. It weighs about two pounds, has a stove jack, and four 9′ walls providing ample space. 12-18″ of the edges of the tipi tends to collapse under snow of any volume which decreases your space inside, but creates a nice seal to the ground and helps keep the wind out. Viam suggests seam sealing the tipi, which I have not done. I’ve been in prolonged and substantial rain in this shelter a number of times and it’s never leaked. https://viamoutdoors.com/product/madison-tipi/With the weight of the snow and high winds, the carbon fiber pole wasn’t strong enough on its own, so I reinforced it with my trekking poles and parachute cord.While there are many technical gloves on the market, I find leather hard to beat, especially in country with thorns. These are the Ranch Gloves from Kryptek. https://store.kryptek.com/catalog/product/accessories/ranch-glove/ I work with them stretching barbed wire and feeding cattle here on the 6 Ranch, and use them hunting and snowmobiling too. Really good piece of gear, even when wet and cold. They are on sale at the moment for $15.99. I brought aluminum trekking poles on this trip. I’ve found them to be tougher and stiffer than carbon. My buddy Sean ended a grueling two day pack out with his 350lb+ bear with a broken carbon fiber pole.Seeing my friends showing up to the riverbank in my boat, the Valkyrie, as I was packing my bear out was a welcome sight. If you want one of these boats, you’ll have to get on the list and expect to receive it in 2024 https://www.riddlemarine.com/I forgot the stick trick on my bear, a small cinnamon color phase boar.Spring bears are often on the move, and have an amazing ability to disappear quickly in the brush and timber. I try to glass from a distance I can also shoot from, or move into a shooting position quickly. This means I pick my glassing positions based on a compromise between wind dynamics and visibility.My Sig Sauer Cross rifle in 277 Fury is continuing a lengthy streak of one-shot kills with the 150gr Nosler Accubonds Sig is loading into their hybrid case. Mine shoots 2,870 fps from this 16″ barrel. So far I’ve killed a few bears, a mountain goat, a couple of elk, and a grip of deer with this setup. The scope is the Tango 6 3-18 with a TMR reticle. The Spartan Precision Javelin Pro Hunt Tac bipod is my go to for backcountry hunts on this rifle. https://javelinbipod.com/collections/bipods Custom leather from Alice Budd at https://www.runningwaterleather.com/After blowing my legs out hiking around I decided to do some fishing and glassing and napping from my boat. One of the best things about the Sig Oscar8 Spotting Scope is that it maintains a clear image throughout its zoom range of 27-55X. 55X can show you crisp details on an animal several miles away.When you skin the skull our of your bear hide, prop its mouth open with a stick so biologists have an easier time extracting a tooth, which is required in all the states I hunt bears. This will also help your taxidermist or skull cleaner when they flesh the skull and remove the lower jaw.
In five days we killed five bears, for three of the hunters it was their first. This will keep a few extra elk calves alive through the spring, provide a pile of meat to the hunters, and make some fine memories. I’ve been doing these river hunts for about a decade now, and each time there is some kind of drama, usually involving a boat.
On the evening before packed up to leave my boat had a spark plug malfunction and the engine went into “limp mode.” Spark plugs don’t last forever. I texted the owner of Riddle Marine on my Garmin and he offered to run his jet boat all the way upriver in the dark if it was an emergency. He also helped me troubleshoot the problem. There was nothing to be done with the tools I had. Being around 50 miles up a whitewater river from my truck and anything resembling civilization with a boat that was loaded heavily with gear, men, guns, bears, and gear was a long way from ideal. I couldn’t get the boat on plane which made me sit low in the water, cost me maneuverability, and speed. Every single wave came over the bow, and in one class III rapid, we took enough water that the gunwales came within about two inches of the waterline. I credit luck and intimate knowledge of the river with getting out safely. Expeditionary river trips demand skill and experience and offer the same.
If there is a lesson here, it’s to get gear from people who are willing to support you and their product forever. Everything can break. Just don’t let it be your creativity, resolve, or sense of adventure.
