AK? Was thinking Alaska.....haha. You mean Aklavik, right?

Living where you do would make it very hard to want to go to the city for sure.

Corral pic's great. Hard to figure out exactly but just to know they did it. The Beothuck Indians in Newfoundland had fences, in forested areas along a big river crossing there, that they used to herd the caribou also. And the Naskaupi Innu Indians, of the Northern Labrador/northern Quebec treeline, had a way to do it too with caribou.

Also saw one time in the mountains in Norway saw where they had covered pitts that the reindeer would fall into. And the Naskaupi Innu Indians, of the tree line, had a way to do it too.

And yes back in the day a good capture of herded animals had to be a real celebration of plenty in a real subsistence life. Imagine the buffalo jumps of the Plains people a great cause for celebration after a successful drive too.

Several lakes on the boarder of Nunavut/ Manitoba/ Saskatchewan had the caribou crossing in the fall on their migration off the high tundra along the glacial eskers. The area is rich in archaeological material of several cultures.
Sadly one winter they did not migrate pass there and many were lost and they relocated by the government and a ...sorry I'm to bitter to tell the rest

That old blind John Naditchi use to live in Old Folks home. He said he saw Caribou corals used when he was a kid. There were openings in the coral and they had raw hide snares. The hunters killed the Caribou in snares with spears.
Can you imagine the adrenalin rush of running around trying not to get trampelled and at the same time spearing a big bull Caribou, recovering your spear and moving on to the next Caribou. There would be wolves hanging around for Shure to. When the corral muskox in Sachs the wolfs just get memorized and are really easy to hunt as the ox are released from the corral.

I tried to wait around for you a bit at John Martin on Saturday but you must have been hunting. We went to BFRFish Hole saw about 1000 Caribou in Lil Fish Creek.

Real rodeo releasing a caribou from a snare.
Caught one in a wolf snare on a beaver dam one time-12 foot trail snare-caribou caught by an antler.Lots of beaver pungi sticks all over the place.
Was like playing hockey getting a hold of him and cutting the snare off.
Lucky I had my felco C-7 with me that day.

Good weekend. Shot caribou on Saturday and then hunted wolves Sunday. Seen 6 altogether and managed to get 1. Not an Ideal spot for getting the whole pack due to terrain. Bobby always says one is better than none. Wise young man. Before a started trapping this is all I did. Best to go the morning after a good snow fall. Been a few years since I’ve done any serious wolf hunting but I never forgot how. Hard to be A little cautious and a little crazy at the same time but that’s what wolf hunting like this requires. Took some serious effort to get a chance at the one big male I got and I sure tumbled him on the first shot

Yes what ppl used to do here for wolves.Wait for overnight snow and nil wind. First thing AM then go to where you figure they been working and try to cut fresh tracks.

Not much anymore of that cause the caribou gone.

Nice work on the wolf! Do the newer sleds being quite help you get closer to the wolves or is the terrain too open for that to help?

I noticed the quiet 4 stroke lets me get closer to caribou without getting them nervous. The two wolves we first seen were just climbing out of the creek we were in so I would say the wolves let us get closer too.

Places in Alaska still do snogo hunting of wolves and following tracks!

Yeah. It’s an effective way of keeping the numbers down. Fresh snow and gentle terrain helps. Dangerous and hard to try in overcast dull weather. Pick your routes to push the wolves into valleys away from steep rocky places. I watch for ravens all the time. They’ll give away wolves and wolverine by diving at them sometimes but they’re always cleaning up wolf kills so just seeing them is a good sign. . Lots of time behind binoculars. Nervous ungulates means something is close. Caribou will actually come hang out closer to us when wolves are nearby. Finding tracks. Losing tracks. Taking shortcuts. Back tracking. Howling and listening. Tracks getting fresher. Gaining ground. Losing ground. Then after all that you finally see them. Doesn’t mean you’ll get any. Make a quick plan and go for it. STAY CALM. Don’t mess up. Make the right choices and you’re going home with multiple wolves. Make a mistake and you watch them all get away. Don’t forget to get your breathing under control when you finally get a chance. You might only get one shot. know when the risk isn’t worth the reward anymore and it’s time to give up. Always remember one is better then none. And any day spent in wolf country is better than being in town.

Mountains are way harsher but the wolves are generally as nice as they get. More space. Delta is lesser quality wolves. Less space. No elevation so less likely for things to get scary. Easier to lose the wolves in the delta too.

Other times you catch them in the perfect place and it’s not as demanding. I can talk for days about wolves. No shortage of respect for wolves but I also know they need to be hunted.

^^^^^

Good write up Ryan.
In order to wack-them-and-stack -them. you have to know-where-to-lay-them.....if your going- to- play- with -them

Youngster Ryan J and his hunting Buddy with a big kill of wolfs.

Nothing to do with this post but Youngster Ryan J skipping his new (then) Polaris across the open water. Also my thumb.

Cool old pictures. We got 18 wolves that winter. Most of them in January. I was crazy with that xc700. I remember we pulled out an abandoned net at the island then ice moved that night.

Seen a few wolf kills this last trip


Good story but I’m too dam tired to tell it right now

Aklavik's spring carnival was held last weekend. Ive never been one to hang around large crowds preferring to spend time in the peace and solitude of the land over nearly anything else. Unfortunately the weather wasnt cooperating until the early evening on sunday. I made two phone calls and before long a couple of my friends, in town for the games and races, were gassed up and ready to go look around with me. We made good time up to the cabin and settled in with binochulars as the weather slowly moved back in. Before long I spotted 4 black and 1 pale grey wolf on a distant hill. We made a quick plan and started towards them all spread out across three ridges so that one of us would likely connect. About halfway to where we last seen them, the fog rolled in. as we got closer we seen the fresh tracks but we just couldnt see far enough to do anything. After a few minutes we found where they had made their escape and with worsening weather we called it off for our own safety. We checked out a bunch of muskox and reluctantly started back to the cabin. I hate giving up!! A small sliver of blue sky to the south made us want to go and investigate so we did and low and behold we drove out of the weather. We covered a lot of ground as daylight started fading. Two more times that day we crossed fresh tracks, once we had the wolves running but terrain prevented anything from happening. we crossed a couple sets of smoking fresh wolverine tracks too but very little for caribou sign besides the 2 sets of tracks that the wolves had separated from the herd. The boys still enjoyed the ride but they had prior commitments that forced them to travel back to town that night. I wasnt too jealous of them as they drove away into the darkness and i sat in the warm cabin and started thinking about what I would do the next day (Weather dependent of course) I hung my clothes to dry, topped up the gas tank and settled in for a good sleep. With the good strong wood heat and a fresh set of clothes it didnt take long before i was dreaming about wolves (and probably snoring like an old bear)

Next morning i woke up to the sound of wind before i even opened my sleeping bag. I got up and loaded the stove and took a look out the window, it was pretty hard to see again. The big skidoo race was in about 6 hours so I figured I would wait around and if the weather didnt improve enough to safely cover some ground I would just head back to town and catch the race. Before long I could see noticeable improvements and distant ridges starting poking through the weather. I text my mom and let her know that i was most likely going hunting shortly so she text back to be careful and that she would pray for good luck and safety for the day. My mom and grandmas prayer have probably kept me alive thus far in my life especially in my younger days. I quickly ate a sandwich and started my skidoo to warm it up.

As i drove away from the cabin i decided that i would just drive and not pay attention to any wolf tracks unless they were fresh since the snow slowed down earlier in the day. No sign of the wolves we saw the day before so I kept going. I thought of my Grandparents as I travelled like I always do and smiled to myself as I passed numerous places that I have been successful on past hunting trips. As i made my way west I came up with a travel route that i would stick to unless i crossed tracks worth following elsewhere. A man with a plan is much more dangerous than a man with no plan or at least i felt better thinking that way. Got to think positive all the time even when things arent perfect. All the new snow made travelling a lot smoother so I made good time back to where i got the last wolf. I stopped to do some howling and i spotted a few caribou up high where you would normally see sheep. I couldnt let the opportunity pass so I made my way towards them all the while scanning the mountain for a potential route to the top. As i made my way up the tributary i started seeing more caribou up on top. With the weather improving and a decent herd right there i felt confidant that i would have a good day.....