Winter Days

Recently I was able to head north and spend some time on the north slope hunting Caribou. Temps ranged anywhere from 11 to 38 degrees which is extremely warm for this time of year. I was planning to hunt north of Atigun Pass (the contential divide of Northern Alaska's Brook's range) around the Galbraith Lake area. When I stopped in Coldfoot (only stop along the haul road between Fairbanks and Prudhoe Bay) for a coffee they had announced that a winter advisory was in effect for blowing/drifting snow and to expect delays due to a vehicle that had rolled over blocking the road. Driving in blowing snow is doable as long as the snow is blowing across the road because you can still see the outline of the road, however, with a strong head/tail wind the snow blends in with the road causing for dangerous conditions. With the potential of the winter storm getting worse and rising temps I decided to stay south of the pass and hunt the Chandalar Valley. Pickings were slim and the ones I did see were acting pretty skidish so unfortunately I returned empty handed.

This is the first time we've seen the Aurora this winter