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Currently Playing: 3 Days Moose Hunting in Grizzly Country | Remote Alaska

This week we loaded the canoe and pushed deep into the country, miles from the road, to make a moose camp high on a bluff. Dennis had hunted this country a week before. He’d come out with a grizzly and, more importantly, had found plenty of moose sign. So we returned, this time turning the other way, following the lake toward the foot of the mountains. The weather had turned cool for this time of year. That suited us just fine. When the first cold comes down from the mountains, the moose begin to move. The rut is coming on, and as the season wears on, more and more of them are taken. We made camp on the bluff and settled into the work of hunting—glass, wait, move, glass again. But the first game we found wasn't a moose. Across the lake stood a sow grizzly with two cubs. One was black, the other blond, both of them busy among the berries while their mother watched the country. The cubs wrestled and played their way toward the ridge below camp. Then their mother saw us. She rose on her hind legs, barked, and gathered her cubs away. We thought that might be the last we'd see of them. We spent our days hunting the old way: high on the ridges with the glass, paddling the lake in the canoe, and pushing through the brush on foot, looking for tracks, trails, fresh browse, anything that might tell us where a bull had passed. The country was beautiful, but the moose were scarce. Then, on the last day, the weather began to close in. Rain moved over the mountains, the temperature dropped, and the whole country seemed to change. That morning the bears were on the move. The sow and her cubs were coming closer to camp. We thought to run them off then, but they made their way off the ridge and back away from us. At the same time, I spotted something down at the foot of the mountains—a moose, or perhaps another bear. The boys went to have a look while I stayed behind with Lena. Dennis eventually started back when he saw it wasn't a moose. We had already made up our minds to pull camp and try another country. He arrived just in time to see the sow pop back up, this time closer than ever. She spotted Dennis glassing within a few seconds. She gathered her cubs and stashed them in the brush. She charged hard, running full speed down the ravine and straight toward camp. There wasn't much time to wonder what she intended, and Dennis fired off 3 shots with the 500. The warning shots turned her, and she disappeared back into the timber with her cubs. When we told Jamie what had happened, he decided to pull out too. He hadn't found enough moose sign to justify staying. You can spend days walking ridges and paddling lakes, reading tracks in the mud and glassing timber until your eyes ache—and still come up empty. There isn't much season left- so we'll keep moving. This year, subsistence hunters in our area have been given an extra week. One week might not sound like much, but it can make all the difference. Thank you for following our life on the last frontier! -Dennis, Amy & Lena End Music By: @HawkenHorse, who wrote us "Holdfast". Frontier music and history. Become a Channel Member for exclusive videos, sneak peaks, and behind the scenes. Get in Touch with Us: Westerlind Family P.O Box 906, Slana, AK 99586 We are also on Instagram @holdfastalaska Donate to the homestead if you wish: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=6B2249KCY6STE