I had booked an Alaskan Moose hunt in 1999 for September 13-22 2000 with Gary "Butch" King, who owned Cinder River Lodge and Wildman Lake lodge on the Alaskan Peninsula. I flew from Phoenix, Arizona to Seattle, Washington then on to Anchorage, Alaska where I spent the night. Early the next morning I flew to King Salmon where I was picked up by Butch King in a Piper Super Cub and we flew to the Cinder River Lodge. Upon arrival at the lodge we immediately packed all our gear into the super cub and left for our spike camp that would be home for the next 10 days. Upon arrival in camp I met my guide Jae Makee and we started developing strategy and making plans for the hunt starting the next day. In Alaska you can't fly in and hunt on the same day.
During the night it began to snow and the temperature dropped considerably but inside our tent it was very comfortable. I was prepared for the worst weather that Alaska could throw at us. Equipped with everything from long John's, socks, boots, water proof outer gear, rain gear, hats, boots and gloves I was ready for the first morning.
For the next five days we were up two hours before sunrise and in the field before daylight came. It rained and snowed every day making the hunt even more exciting. We saw moose every day, but passed on them always looking for that monster of a life time. On the sixth day as we were glassing from a high vantage point we located a large set of antlers moving through the 10 foot high alders at a distance of approximately 500 yards. The moose was moving parallel to us at a high rate of speed so we made a plan to cut him off about a half mile from were we were located. This was longest half mile that I have traveled in all my years of hunting. The alders were thick and tall making it hard to walk through let alone run like we were trying to do. After we reached our destination we found and climbed a small knoll, got into position and waited. We were hoping all the time that the moose was still coming in our direction.
A hour had gone by and our hopes were dwindlig when we heard the loud cracking of alders in front of us. My fist thought was that it was going to be a big brown bear. Then out of the maze stepped the biggest moose I had ever seen. At just 50 yards he stopped broadside and looked straight at us giving a perfect shot. I put one shot from my 340 Weatherby behind the front shoulder as he bolted into the alders.
For the next 5 minutes we could hear the moose running through the alders. Then it became totally quiet. The sun was beginning to set and we were 2 miles from camp. The decision was made that we would come back early in the morning to retrieve my trophy. We also hoped that no bear would find it first.
When we arrived at the same location early the next morning we found that the moose had left us an easy trail to follow. He had cleared the alders making a good path to follow. We went about 250 yards into the alders where found the moose, the moose of a life time!
After we cleared the area for pictures the the work really began. We had to butcher the moose in more then just quarters and it still took both of us to carry the meat approximately 200 yards for the bush plane to pick it up. As hard a work as it was I found it to very rewarding and actually fun. The last part of the moose to go to the plane was the set of antlers which measured 72”. Yes, I was the one to do the carrying.
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