My story doesn’t involve a once-in-a-lifetime tag, and there’s no team of spotters with high-powered optics and radios scouring the unit. It’s a simple story about a rural Alaskan hunting solo close to home to secure his family’s meat for the winter.

There are no airplanes, boats, or ATVs. I didn’t even have a spotting scope. Because I typically target mature bulls, a spotting scope isn’t needed. If it’s the kind of caribou I’m after, I can see all I need with my 10-power Swarovski’s. It’s just the mountain, the caribou, and me, and it all happens in what I think of as my backyard, the Kenai Mountains. Read more