When you’re hunting bears in the spring, you’re right beside the boat, a little skiff that gets you in close. Once the meat is taken care of and the hide is prepped, we just load everything back into the boat and head for the barge to process it there.
If you get a moose, there’s usually a crew of us who come help. In our area, we can also hunt late-season mountain goats—as late as February. That’s what makes it so unique. Their winter coats come in thick, with hair eight to ten inches long. The front legs, which we call shafts, have especially long, majestic hair that ripples in the mountain wind. It’s honestly mystical to see them up there.
These goats live in some of the harshest, most rugged places in the world. Challenging yourself to go up there and hunt them for a week or ten days changes you. You come home with a new level of confidence. There’s nothing quite like pushing your limits and realizing what you’re really capable of. And the scenery you hike through is breathtaking. I might be biased, but I think the coastal mountains of British Columbia are incredible—so inaccessible that most people never see them. Which, frankly, is fine by me.
Everyone talks about the Rocky Mountains in Canada—and sure, they’re beautiful. But there are roads everywhere. On the coast, when you stand on top of a mountain and see the ocean, inlets, snow, and glaciers around you—it’s just another level. I don’t think the Rockies hold a candle to what we have here on the west coast.
Moose hunting here is special. We have plenty of moose—we actually saw two just last Saturday while driving. But the country is so thick with forest that even though our quota is high, we don’t hunt a lot. We focus on the rut, when bulls are moving and trying to find the ladies. It’s a narrow window. You can’t just set up somewhere and glass for hours. Instead, we hunt them while they’re moving. Usually, we’ll set up camp for three or four days, or even hunt right from town.
Our bulls aren’t as big as the Yukon bulls—these are Canadian moose, and on the west coast you’ll typically find them in the 40-inch range. It’s a fun hunt. Often, we’ll combine a moose and goat hunt into one trip, stretching it from 10 to 12 days. Depending on your priority species, we’ll chase that first, then switch gears and head after the other once you’re successful.
When you book a hunt with us, you’ll fly into Terrace, our local airport. Usually you’ll go Vancouver to Terrace on a quick regional flight. We’ll pick you up at the airport and have a room reserved for you at the M Star Hotel in Kitimat. The staff there are fantastic—fun to joke with—and the highlight for our crew is definitely the free latte machine in the lobby. Clients get dropped off and there’s practically a stampede for it. We joke about making the M Star famous for that alone.
For a bear hunt, we’ll pick you up the next morning around seven or eight. There’s no need to leave super early. It’s about a six to seven-hour ride down to the boat and base camp, and you’re practically hunting the entire way. Last year, guys were spotting bears as they were pulling into camp. One group literally jumped in the skiff and got their bear before even setting foot on base camp.
When you arrive, we tie up at the dock around two in the afternoon, have a simple but hearty meal, and then head out for an evening cruise to see what we can find. If hunting’s slow or once you’re successful, there’s Shearwater Hot Springs—a natural mineral hot spring about 15 minutes from base camp. The water’s usually around 102 or 103 degrees. It’s tucked in this little bay, with long grass and creeks running down either side. Last year, guys were soaking in the springs when a grizzly walked along the beach just 15 yards away. It’s wild country, no question.
The hot springs themselves are amazing. Snow-capped peaks rise all around. It’s probably my favorite spot on earth. There are two pools: a smaller one built up like a bathtub with a drain plug—you can sit, wash your body and hair, then drain and refill it in a couple of minutes—and the larger pool for lounging. You can take turns in the tub or just hang out in the big spring. When you’re done, you hop back in the boat and return to base camp, refreshed and relaxed.
It’s the best. It really is.