#Easyfind ounce drawings plus#

A Springer would have helped with the retrieving but as it was a white bird on the tundra was an easy find. Then it was a matter of flush a group, make the shot and watch the others go down. Once we got onto the ridge where the flock had landed we found them busy feeding on the blueberries that covered it.

#Easyfind ounce drawings plus#

The next three plus hours were better than a dream. Previously, most of the Ptarmigan had been singles or doubles, this was a bonanza. The cold weather and snow overnight caused the birds to begin flocking together in preparation for winter. They were about half mile, perhaps further away, when they settled onto the third low ridge from us. We had probably traveled 3 to 4 miles without seeing any birds when suddenly there were 40 to perhaps 50 mostly white birds flying off to our left. My optimism was about as high as it could get. We had a clear sky, calm wind with a temperature in the lower 20s and 12 miles of trail ahead of us. There was fresh snow on the mountains but only a dusting at 4,600 feet where the ATV train began. Good Day!ĭay # 3, was the kind of day we upland bird hunters cherish. The weather on day #2 was similar to day #1 but the hunting was just as good.

The remaining 2 days she and the outfitters wife would head up into the mountains west of the lodge while I chased more Ptarmigan off to the east. She was successful in taking 3 Spruce Grouse and 3 Ptarmigan so she felt like she had a successful hunting leg. Susie and I were both hunting on the breezy, dreary, often rainy first day. In the tundra it was closer to winter and all the leaves were gone from the dwarf willows and alders and the fresh snow on the mountains made for some spectacular vistas. I might also mention that in Anchorage Fall was just arriving and the vegetation was beginning to turn. Yes, the trip could have been made faster but this was a vacation and we were enjoying the scenery. Sled dogs are just as easy to spot!Ī seven hour drive north of Anchorage took us to Alpine Creek Lodge which was about 70 miles east of Denali Park. Most of you can spot the difference between a 6 year old bird dog and a new recruit on his 1st pheasant hunt. When I asked the Musher about it, a veteran of 5 Iditarod Races herself, she said that those two lead dogs were Iditarod veterans too. However, the two lead dogs just seemed to glide along effortlessly. Of the 9 dogs on the training run, the back 7 were sometimes pulling straight ahead, occasionally pulling at right angles to one another, and always running at varied speeds. The harness was connected to a multi- passenger ATV that was put in neutral and away we went. It included a training run with a group of new recruits. The visit to a sled-dog kennel and training facility is a must for any dog owner. The 26 Glacier Cruise in Prince William Sound was fantastic in terms of scenery and wildlife. A totally white one would be a nice contrast but my suspicion was that late September might be a little early to meet that objective.Ī week in Anchorage doing “tourist stuff” was well spent. Since it was taken in August, it has the reddish-brown plumage with only a little white showing on the legs and wings. One of those birds now rests in my office for friends to view and to rekindle memories of a cold, damp, windy week spent in a tent north of the Arctic Circle. I have shot Ptarmigan on previous big game hunts to Alaska and in fact an August Ptarmigan was # 4 in my quest for the eight major species of North American grouse. We gambled and settled on the last week of September with a journey to the arid interior between Anchorage and Fairbanks which was also prime habitat for Ptarmigan. To avoid the cloud cover and city lights it was imperative that we get away from Anchorage. Since neither of us have the clothing necessary to handle Alaskan weather in February, a compromise was going to be in order. Her number one priority was to see the Northern Lights and I soon discovered that the best month for that activity is February. With one of my guiding principles in mind, it is just plain RUDE to go to Alaska and not hunt something, the keyboard and phone got a workout. OK, the discussion was over and it was now up to me to pull something together.

Talk about a curveball that completely caught me off stride! “I don’t know, what do you want to do”? Her short answer literally sent a chill through my body, “I want to go to Alaska” she replied. Now I have been married long enough to realize that some questions are best answered with another question. It started in February, 2017 when my wife asked me, what I wanted to do for a vacation this year.