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Stanwood, Washington
USA
314 Posts |
Posted - 09/04/2005 : 01:31 AM
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I was planning a solo trip from the southern end of Ivvavik Park to the Dempster Highway. It’s about 300 Km trip and I was planning between twenty and thirty days. The route I had planned went straight west from the southern end of Ivavvik Park through the Barn Range and into the Richardson Mountains then headed south to the intersection of the Dempster Highway along the continental divide to avoid the large river crossings.
I found a group of cool Sierra Club people planning a two week trip into the Richardson Mountains so I decided to join them. I was really glad I did after having several very scary run-ins with all the grizzly bears up there. I am still considering the trip from the park but I will either bring along a very trusted knowledgeable companion or go armed and very cautious by myself.
I was hoping to see wildlife including stone sheep, grizzly bears, caribou, wolves, moose and musk ox. We saw everything except the musk ox. I also had no idea that the arctic was such good habitat for grizzly bears. We saw thirteen bears in the thirteen day trip. I’m guessing the bears eat lots of carcasses and cutworm moths. The vegetation or berry foraging seemed poor, I saw no ants, bees or pinecones which are all eaten regularly by bears in the northern divide ecosystem down south. I suspect they chase a lot of wolves off of caribou kills as well as picking up a few caribou kills of there own. It would be interesting to ask a local wildlife biologist that has knowledge in this area.
Our planned trip was flying to an unnamed peak about 80 km southwest of Aklavik NWT into the Richardson Mountains. Then complete a loop to the Bell River Valley and back near the same spot to be picked up in two weeks.
Day 1
We chartered a helicopter to the destination which was about 120Km west of Inuvik NWT. We got a late start on Monday August 1st due to some fog in the mountains and did not arrive at the drop point until late afternoon. Flying over the Mackenzie River Delta is spectacular. We pitched camp and planned a day hike to a 1700 meter peak the next day. The camp site was on a dry bluff. A very nice spot. We saw lots of caribou passing up and down the creek and we spotted one large grizzly bear on the horizon. The mosquitoes were horrible.
Day 2
The day hike was pleasant without a heavy peak Mostly Hiking in a dry creek bed and up some boulder fields; we saw some stone sheep and Caribou and got some great views of the Richardson Mountains from our peak destination.
  
Day 3
We hiked north up the valley through some very nice open country, creek bottom and some tundra tussocks. We saw a grizzly in the valley on the way to camp and had a young grizzly approach us within about 80 meters when we were eating lunch. He turned away and trotted off once he got a good whiff of us. We camped on a dry bluff overlooking a nice little creek. That evening we watched dozens of caribou run back and forth across the valley in a pathetic attempt to escape the bugs.
  
Day 4
We started hiking due west down a dry creek bed. We spotted three bears at a distance of about 600 meter. We had a large group of people so we felt pretty safe walking toward them. We lost site of them for a while but then spotted the first one about 75 meters away. He got up out of his bed and ran away stopping to look back about every 50 meters.
We then went around a Blind bend and I spotted a grizzly about 200 meters away stand up out of her bed and start charging toward us. She closed in to within about 50 meters when our whole group became visible and she peeled up the steep bank with her cub behind her. In hind site we should not have approached her. We assumed that in a large group that we would be safe but we definitely unnecessarily stressed her out. Again we watched dozens of caribou running all over the place in an attempt to escape the bugs. We camped in the dry creek bed in a nice spot for the night.
  
Day 5
We continued west down the creek bed. We spotted many caribou that were running everywhere. They would run across the valley and then run back across the valley. Every time they would stop they would shiver there hide, shake there heads and kick there legs. They were clearly being eaten alive by the mosquitoes. The mosquitoes were terrible, you had to were long sleeves and deet all the time or you would be eaten alive by them
After eating lunch we started hiking again and within about 400 meters we crested a little bluff and jumped another mother grizzly bear with a cub. This one charged the first person in our group who was about 80 meters in front of anyone else. The grizzly closed in to within 15 feet of him. He said he could see her drooling. When our whole group became visible she stopped and turned around. She led her cub back across the dry creek bed. She was clearly very agitated. We could here her huffing and growling for at least 250 meters. We had spotted her off in the distance and new she was somewhere in the valley but we walked through it anyway. Again, we never should have approached her area. We clearly stressed her out due to our laziness or unwillingness to hike around the area.
We continued down the gravel bed and we noticed her following us. She followed behind us about 250 meters away for nearly two miles. She briefly stopped at one point to nurse her cub. We then stopped and the group huddled together and she closed in again to within 100 meters. She then stood up, sniffed the air and started trotting a semi-circle around us. She then continued going down the creek bed and we watched her until she went out of site. We then camped for the night and watched the evening caribou show.
  
Day 6
We hiked west in a nice open valley with some minor tundra tussocks to this great pass we called wolf pass. The reason we called it wolf pass is an incredible story. We found this nice camp site after a day of great hiking. There was a saddle between a low ridge and a fairly high mountain. We camped there because the caribou were hanging out on this high ridge where the wind was constantly blowing and they could relax without being eaten by the bugs. We put our food area on one side of the saddle and our tents were pitched on the other. One of our trip members was coming by herself between the tents and the cooking area when I heard her yell “help”. I looked over and there was a pack of seven wolves approaching her from out of the draw. She started screaming at them and trying to shoe them away. They could have avoided here all together but they approached and passed by her on both sides. Her husband and I ran toward her to help shoe away the wolves expecting them to run away quickly at the site of us. They just moseyed away when we ran toward them. It was an incredible site. I wish I had a picture, it would have looked like a person in an off leash dog park. We got a couple pictures of single wolves. One of the wolves lagged behind the pack and got turned around. We got a picture of him.
  
Day 7
We hiked down a creek drainage toward the bell river. The hiking in this area was much more difficult than the previous days. We were hiking in very deep tundra tussocks, thick willows and some black spruce. We found a place to camp along the stream on a gravel bar. The wildlife was harder to spot here but it was all around. There were moose, bear and caribou droppings everywhere. We also came across many moose and caribou antlers. The camping was comfortable with my therma rest on sand.
Day 8 and 9
We hiked down to the bell river and found another camp spot on a gravel bar. We spent a couple days in this area. I caught several Arctic Grayling and we had them for dinner two nights in a row. I fished quite a bit hoping to catch some Dolly Varden Char but I think the river only had Grayling. They were beautiful fish and most were nearly 18 inches and around 2 lbs. we were here two days waiting out a socked in rain storm.
  
Day 10
We hiked up one of the creek beds going east that feeds the Bell River. The hiking was difficult the willows were chest high and the tussocks were deep and wet. It took quite an effort to hike only 5 or 6 miles. We saw the usual caribou and other wildlife sign along with a beautiful bull moose. We then found a decent place to camp on some dry tussocks along the creek. That night about 1:30 A.M (still pretty light out) I was awoken to some heavy breathing outside my tent. A bear was sniffing around and thank god walked past my tent but unfortunately he stopped at the next tent. He broke the tent pole of the next tent and then moved on to the next tent. He batted a back pack around for a minute before ripping the rain fly off the tent and collapsing it on our youngest hiker. He moved across the creek bed about 75 meters away and started sniffing around our food cache which we had rolled in a tarp. He then began to roll around in the food. He was really enjoying himself, all four feet were in the air and he was twisting, turning and really getting into it. He looked like a dog rolling in a stinky carcass. The tent that was erected for our food cache began flapping when the wind would gust. This clearly disturbed him. He would run every time a gust would come up and the tent would start flapping. I was convinced we were going to have to sit and watch him eat every crumb of our food but he just wandered off after about the third tent flapping episode. We stayed awake in shifts the rest of the night and watched for bears rolling through camp. Nobody really got must rest the whole night.
   
Day 11
We hiked up and out of the valley, willows, mosquitoes and tundra tussocks into the higher country. The wildlife is easier to spot and hiking is much less effort. We camped on this gorgeous bluff and stayed for two days since it was such a choice spot. The view of the valley was incredible and the wildlife was plentiful. We saw three grizzly bears and tons of caribou. One grizzly bear was rolling boulders around on a high slope. I assume he was eating cutworm moths but he could have been after ground squirrels as someone else pointed out. We saw two grizzlies approaching at once. It was really neat because there was a strong easterly wind and the bears were both south east of us. They were looking at us but were unaware of one another as they were in separate gullies. When the wind lined up right and they got a real good whiff, one bear took off like a shot. We watched him cover several miles in just a few minutes. He was still running when he went over the horizon nearly 10 miles away or so we estimated. We watched him with a scope all the way. I think he was so scarred because he was real close to the other bear and got a real good whiff of him. The bear that was closest to us just trotted off occasionally looking back at us. It was a cool experience.
  
Day 12
We hiked back to what we called wolf pass where the wolf incident occurred. It was a pleasant hike over one mountain ridge and into the next creek drainage. We got back into some willow hiking but we made plenty of noise so we wouldn’t have any more dangerous bear encounters. We spotted a wounded caribou in the creek bottom that had obviously gotten away from a grizzly attack. His hind end had been slashed open really bad and he also had severe wounds to his shoulder. He was so stoved and fevered up that he did not attempt to run when we passed by him. It was a pathetic site and I felt bad for him but unfortunately that is life in the arctic for the caribou. I am quite sure he was not going to make it another day. Nothing up there dies of old age.
We made it back to wolf pass and saw a large herd of caribou chilling out on the high windy ridge. Relaxing away from the bugs. We pitched our camp in what seemed like a fifty MPH wind. We had a special meal and some Brandi that we'd been carrying the whole way. We drank several toasts and everyone enjoyed reflecting on our trip. We really enjoyed ourselves that evening.
Day 13
We awoke had our breakfast and radioed for the helicopter to pick us up. The sky was a bit smokey but it did not hinder the visibility of the pilot so we were out by early afternoon. The helicopter ride up in the arctic that time of the year is just amazing. Especially flying over the Mackenzie River delta.
 
Back in Inuvik we went back to the Arctic Chalet where we showered and got some booze. I spent the evening drinking beer and walking the sled dogs. The Arctic Chalet owners have a couple teams of sled dogs that you can take out hiking if you wish. They were cute and very friendly dogs.
If you ever get up to Inuvik I would highly recommend the Arctic Chalet for a decent place to stay. Also, if you ever want to hike in the Richardson Mountains please drop me a line and I can give you all the particulars that I know. I have some specific information concerning the maps, charter flights, terrain and wildlife. Or if you have any specific questions I would be glad to try and help out. It really is a spectacular place.
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Shesley Free Pete |
Edited by - Pete on 07/06/2007 10:02 PM
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Vancouver, BC
Canada
21 Posts |
Posted - 09/04/2005 : 09:37 AM
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That was an amazing read! And those pictures are incredible! I have some friends who opened a hotel in the Yukon and I've always wanted to go and those pictures of that terrain with the grizzlies and the caribou, even the pic you managed to get of the lone wolf has reminded me how much I wanted to get up there one of these days. Absolutely beautiful!
GG |
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Port Moody, BC
Canada
458 Posts |
Posted - 09/04/2005 : 10:46 AM
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Great report and great pix... almost imagined myself up there with you...
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Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
Albert Einstein
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Anchorage, Alaska
USA
1340 Posts |
Posted - 09/04/2005 : 12:15 PM
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You're insane. Great trip, though. Would love to re-trace your footsteps but would not do so without my 30.06. I hiked a bit in NE Alaska, saw lots of berry patches and a few caribou, but no bears. You have some amazing pictures there. I wouldn't mind seeing a screen capture of a map with your route traced over it.
You should change your screen name to "Dances with Bears"...
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I'm on holidays! |
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Fields of rain
Canada
183 Posts |
Posted - 09/04/2005 : 12:28 PM
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superb photos and terrific report. I'm just pining for more photos.
I loved your photos of the animals (any telephoto details of the bears? the wolves? the cariboo?) and admired your landscape photos (they look like paintings!)
Do you have any more?
Agree that a photo of a map with your route would be a great addition too. |
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Vancouver, BC
Canada
116 Posts |
Posted - 09/04/2005 : 12:56 PM
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| Let me add my praise for your TR and photos too. You sure got the wildlife sightings! I also would like to see a map with your route drawn in. Thanks! |
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 Kootenay Bud
2695 Posts |
Posted - 09/04/2005 : 1:03 PM
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| Cool - you sure saw some great wildlife. |
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Peak bagging, bushwhacking, zamboni driving, snowshoeing, self portrait artist, and speed demon who loves to hang out on Mt. Seymour
4037 Posts |
Posted - 09/04/2005 : 1:16 PM
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Amazing trip. I can't believe how big the antlers get on some of the caribou. Must be tough for them to keep their heads up at times. You will have some great memories, and thanks for sharing.
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I don't like to beat around the bush. I go through it. |
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Rmd, BC
Canada
1360 Posts |
Posted - 09/04/2005 : 2:53 PM
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wow.... what an experience! Probably makes you think about one's real place in the food chain when you have a grizzly using your camp site as a playground. Too bad they don't eat mosquitos. I don't know if I could stand that many bugs for that long. So sad about the cariboo. That would have broken my heart.
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The Mountains are calling and I must go. ~John Muir |
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ass wigglin, cheese lovin, 4x4 drivin, apostrophe hatin, hiking chick who loves camping on snow
spaceship..
Canada
7209 Posts |
Posted - 09/04/2005 : 4:06 PM
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Wow, what an amazing experience!
Beautiful photos
The Caribou would have broken my heart too.
The bear around camp must have been quite the nervewracking experience, Im not sure Id be able to sleep anywhere after that!
Still, glad you got to enjoy a safe trip, without any mishaps yet experience the wildlife to the degree that you did. I sit here reading your trip in both amazement and envy
Thanks for sharing, and thankyou for your kind offer for help with anyone who wants to make this trip
Inspiring. 
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hakuna matata |
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Telkwa
1176 Posts |
Posted - 09/04/2005 : 7:35 PM
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| Terrific trip. I want to go. |
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Stanwood, Washington
USA
314 Posts |
Posted - 09/04/2005 : 7:40 PM
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Since there were a few questions about the map, I thought I would mention that it was the 117A Blow River 1:250,000 map. We covered most of the area in the extreme SE corner. If you look at that map you will see the Bell River Valley there. That is as far west as we went. Also, I will post a link to the rest of the pictures when I get them up on my website. The pictures were mostly taken by two other guys that I was with and there are some spectacular scenery shots.
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Shesley Free Pete |
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Trail blazin', backcountry bushwackin', pine huntin', photo takin', long winded story teller
3839 Posts |
Posted - 09/04/2005 : 10:05 PM
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I don't think I would use my wolf call up there to ward off grizzlies. Probably bring the bears arunning thinking it was lunch time. So far it seems to work in most places in northern BC. I won't use it on close encounters as most bears are more attracked to a single wolf. When they are in abit of a distance and I change the tone in the call to sound like a pack, I have actually had them change direction away from my calls.
When I was in Dawson City, they were arranging vehicle caravans to take the Dempster Hwy. to Inuvik which they said was about a 400 mile trip each way at the tourist Information Center. Apparently it was recommended to travel as a group instead of going by yourself. I believe the reasoning was because the road was quite muddy in places and cars might have be to be pulled through them. Was this correct or is the Dempster Hwy. in good shape now? Or did you fly directly to Inuvik?
Great TR. Once in a life time trip. Wonderful.
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Wildman |
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Stanwood, Washington
USA
314 Posts |
Posted - 09/04/2005 : 10:18 PM
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Wildman
I have a good friend that is a wolf biologist in Yellowstone Park down in the states. She invited me to back track wolf kills with her last spring on snowshoes, I didn't get to go but I might this next spring. According to her it is very common for grizzly bears to run wolf packs off of elk and bison kills in the spring time in Yellowstone. Even large packs of wolves don't screw around with the grizzlies down there according to her. I would suspect that it is the same in the arctic but I could be wrong.
I flew to Inuvik this time but I have driven the Dempster highway in 2000. My truck had three flat tires and a broken windshield during the drive. I have heard that the road is much improved but that is second hand information for what it's worth.
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Shesley Free Pete |
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Trail running, bike hucking, fast packing, beer drinking collector of pine cones on a day pass
AKA
Dances with Trees
Forest Gnome Cabin
Canada
13090 Posts |
Posted - 09/04/2005 : 11:44 PM
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| Great adventure, Pete, especially seeing the bears and caribou |
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Manitoba's misadventurin' bushwhackin', dog sloggin', dehydratin', beer drinkin' biggie - who's eager to peak bag Mt Currie in a dress
Squamish
5057 Posts |
Posted - 09/05/2005 : 09:02 AM
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Great stuff, Pete. Nice photos and story, I've always wanted to go up there. When I do, I think I'll bring my bug shirt  |
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Vancouver, BC
Canada
1013 Posts |
Posted - 09/05/2005 : 09:37 AM
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| Awesome!! |
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Trail blazin', backcountry bushwackin', pine huntin', photo takin', long winded story teller
3839 Posts |
Posted - 09/05/2005 : 12:28 PM
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I totally agree with you and your biologist friend, if the scent of a kill is in the air any kind of action would not deture a Grizzly, especially an arctic grizzly from getting to that carrion, they have such a short feeding period and long hybernation that their soul purpose is to eat everything and anything. If I ever went on a trip up there, I definately would bring other protection if we were only a couple of hikers. Very fortunate you were in a large group.
Most of my wilderness hikes were on native or outfitters trails, in the northern half of BC, the bears I came across I am sure would have heard gun fire before and even shot at. My calls may have detured them or they may have caught my scent and were running for their life, at any rate I still think I was lucky. I don't recommend my unorthodox method to anyone. There has been a few human fatalities in the Kootenays, from the discovery that even gunshots bring on Grizzly's there because they already relate gut piles to gun shots and some hunters paid the price.
The Dempster Hwy. may have been muddy in 91 when I was in the Yukon, I don't know, I never went on it. It sounded like that at the Info Center in Dawson City, it seems there was lots of crushed gravel on it by 2000 from all your flat tires and thrown rocks.
And WOW! A trip to Yellowstone Park to track wolf kills in the spring on snowshoes. Another incredable trip. I won't pass that up. Fantastic.
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Wildman |
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Stanwood, Washington
USA
314 Posts |
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 | Dru
Mountain Grammar Police
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Sardonic sandbagging scoundrel, Cascade Climbers lobotomized spraymeister, space blanket flyer, new millennium vulgarian betaboy and friend to all squids
Climbing, a mountain
Canada
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Posted - 10/06/2005 : 10:35 PM
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| How did I miss this TR the last time? Cool |
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Simpson quoting tree hunter and canyon rapping rockhound who longs for the return of his trapped Toyota
Salt Lake City, UT
USA
2268 Posts |
Posted - 10/07/2005 : 07:54 AM
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| I missed it too, Dru. 'tis an excellent read, Pete. A good reminder of the equalizing effect of wilderness. Between the Richardsons and the Ogilvies, there is certainly a lot of beautiful, wildlife-rich country up there. |
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Yukon, Richardson Mountains Aug 1st -13th
