Elk Country

 

Some final pictures from the elk hunt - mostly pictures that show the landscape. Afognak is a beautiful place and I am very lucky to get to explore it every year on the elk hunt.  There are very few places left in the United States where you can hunt in a wilderness setting.  Hike and camp where you want and not see any other people.  And big enough that you can explore new areas every year.  This year we explored areas where I have never been before.

Patrick

Elk Meat

 

The whole point of the elk hunt was to bring home elk meat, and with that we were very successful. We harvested 2 big bulls and ended up with almost 500 pounds of packaged meat.  Every person on the hunt got about 70 pounds of meat.

After we harvested the elk we butchered them and carried all the meat away from the carcasses.  Within 4 hours after shooting the elk all the meat was behind an electric fence by our camp and we were eating dinner in the teepee.  The next morning we started to carry the meat to the shore and boat.  We ended up taking everything in 2 loads, but there was so much meat and it was so far to shore that we thought about opting for lighter loads and 3 trips.  On the first trip out we did not have a trail and we ended up getting in some nasty bushwhacking and seriously ugly terrain.  

On the third day we hiked back 6 miles to the elk meat cache and camp and scouted out a much better trail.  We found a very fat bear near camp but he wanted no part of all 6 of us, and gave our camp a wide berth. On the final trip to the coast we carried our camp. the antlers, and the last of the meat.  It was a heavy load, but no one wanted to do an extra 12 mile round trip.

Once on the boat we put all of the meat into clean cotton game bags and hung it from the hydraulic boom.  This helps dry the meat and the temperature was perfectly cool.

Once we got home we hung the meat in my shed and started to cut it all up the next day.  The sun shone into my living room and everyone listened to music and happily chatted away while cutting up all the meat.  By Saturday afternoon we were all done.  

Some of the happiest animals around were Red, Rey and Bode the dogs. They were in elk meat scraps and bone heaven.  I think Red, in particular, has been in a happy 'bone fog' for the last week.  All three certainly had 'bone breath' and the back yard is littered with chewed bones.  I actually froze most of the bones and will distribute them out over the next year to maximize dog happiness.

All and all a most successful hunt.

Patrick

This elk had broken both antlers short fighting with other bulls

Elk Hunt Accomadations

 

dinner after harvesting an elk

This year on the elk hunt we went ashore with enough food to camp on the go for a solid 4 nights.  While hunting I like to eat hearty and so that represents a lot of food.  Food is heavy but it also disappears during the course of the hunt while all the fixed gear weight stays the same.  Even with all the food and gear it was not too much additional weight to our packs when distributed out among all 6 of us.  The goal of going on shore is to hike and cover country in search of elk.  And then when you find elk to carry them back to the boat at the nearest place on the coast.

However, this year - like last year - we harvested our elk on the first day and a LONG way from the coast.  We ended up packing our elk meat over 6 miles to the coast. It took 2 trips to the coast to pack all the meat out.  Once we knew that at most we'd be spending 3 nights on shore and most likely 2, we started to eat like crazy to get the weight down.  For breakfast we doubled the eggs and added an extra onion to a frittata.  For dinner we added 2 salamis to the pasta.  I was actually impressed that everybody ate so much and that we had no leftovers!  And in 2 days we ate most of the food we had budgeted for 4 days.

Patrick

cooking s'mores with the woodstove

starting dinner on woodstove and checking in reaches

A late breakfast

Best accommodations of all and with beer

teepee and Luci lights

dinner - trying to use up all our food before packing out to the coast

Tree trunks and sun stars

 

Here are some post elk hunt dog walk pictures. In September and early October I generally try to avoid taking the dogs where there are spawning salmon.  I've learned that the dogs inevitably roll in rotting salmon and then there are the bears feeding on the salmon. ... So lately I've been mostly hiking in the alpine or in Abercrombie.

But yesterday it was super windy and Nora and I decided that rather than hike on the top of Pillar Mountain we'd go to the golf course for a change of pace.  But at the golf course people were playing golf - and so we decided to hike down to the lake.  Salmon spawn around the shores of the lake, but I figured it would be OK because it is getting to be late October - right?  Boy was I wrong.

Half way to the lake Red found an enormous bear poop composed of jellied rotted fish and rolled in it. YUCK.  Nora and I figured we'd clean her off in the lake.  Then at the lake both Bode and Rey immediately found rotted fish to roll in.  We tried cleaning them off and throwing sticks into the lake for them to swim after.  But while some what cleaner they all still stank.  

We continued our walk around the driving range (top photo below) - and gave the first bear poop a wide berth.  But then they found a bear regurgitated pile of rotting fish which they all immediately scarfed up.  YUCK. Doggy rotten fish breath.  

We got them back to the car - no obvious rotting stuff on their coats and drove home with the dogs in the far back of the car.  At home we put them into the penned in yard and closed the dog door to house.  Then one by one I took a shower with each dog and gave them thorough shampoos.  The dogs were not happy about this. 

A reinforced lesson on why I avoid spawning salmon on dog walks. 

Patrick

Mushrooms

 

A pack full of mushrooms - 20 pounds worth!

This year on the elk hunt we hit the mushroom mother lode.  Never before have we found so many hedgehog mushrooms.  Hedgehogs are actually my favorite wild mushroom too - I prefer them even over morels.  They are very 'meaty' and have a sublime taste.  

On the hunt we collected them while carrying meat back and forth from our 'meat' camp to the boat, and had them as an addition with practically every meal.  Then after all the meat was on the boat we went back on shore one last time and collected around 70 pounds to take home with us.  

We also saw but did not collect or eat both Angel wings (not pictured) and what is for me a new type of mushroom - winter chanterelles.  I'll wait to try them after I am a little more positive of their identification. Not that I don't trust my friend who showed them to me - but I'd rather have seen him eat one before I try one. When eating mushrooms it is best to be absolutely sure of what you are consuming!

Back in Kodiak after we had cut up and processed all the elk meat, we processed all of the mushrooms.  Hedgehogs do not dry well.  The best way to keep them is to cook them in a little oil and to sweat all the moisture out of them.  Then you wrap them up and freeze them for later.  I have done this in the past and have found that they last for a couple of years in the freezer.  I also kept a pound or so of unprocessed hedgehogs in a cloth bag in the vegetable drawer of the fridge.  I'll use these mushrooms in various meals over the next month or so.

I add hedgehogs to pasta meals, sauces, stews, and, my favorite, as a topping on pizzas.

Patrick

The distinctive bristles on the underside of a pair of hedgehogs

Hedgehogs in situ

The distinctive inter-woven veins (NOT GILLS) on the underside of a winter Chantelle

Distinctive dimple in the top of a winter chanterelle

Cooking down mushrooms and onions on the woodstove for a meal in the teepee

some mushrooms collected on the go while packing out meat

Processing ('sweating') mushrooms on the stove at home

Elk Hunt 2023

 

We got back from a successful Afognak elk late Thursday night and it has been a blur of activity ever since.  On Friday and Saturday we cut up and packaged 2 large bull elk.  Then on Sunday we processed hedgehog mushrooms and cleaned up gear.  All the out of town elk hunters had to pack up and leave too.  So it has been a super busy weekend.

But now everybody is gone, the elk hunt is over, and that's it for hunting season.  My freezer is full of elk, deer, and mushrooms and it is officially time to wait for the snow to arrive and ski season to begin.

The elk hunt went very well.  We had spectacular weather, traversed some beautiful country, and harvested two bulls on the first day.  We then spent the next 3 days carrying the elk to the boat.  We ended up with around 70 pounds a person of packaged elk meat.  We also collected 60-80 pounds of hedgehog mushrooms.  I think these are just as valuable as the elk meat!

Anyway, more to come in subsequent elk hunt posts!

Patrick