The Mystical Side of a
Hunting Trip!
written by Rich Sopko of Safari Nordik
I would like to give you an insight into the entire trip that some of us will be taking and to invite you to join us in the year 2000. I would like to take you now on the first day of my 1993 Caribou hunt.
We awoke about 6:00 am to rays of sunshine which really helps to perk one up. As I exited my tent-cabin's door I encountered a sight reserved but for a few men on this earth. Thousands of migrating Caribou had, like an army at war, surrounded our camp. One of my hunting companions said it best when he shouted "They are all around us!" You might think that we would all rush for our rifles or bows. We didn't but instead we ran for our binoculars and camera to see and record a sight we knew we would probably never experience again. It was mystical and thrilling.
After our initial encounter with the majestic animals we settled to what would be our daily ritual for the next week. First a hot shower. Yes, Safari Nordik has gas generators 1200 miles form the nearest road so that your day can begin and end with the upstart feeling that only a hot shower can give. Then our first breakfast. Bacon and eggs with camp baked bread and cookies. Nothing like starting a full day of hunting on a satisfied stomach.
The animals right at our doorstep would have been easy taking but I think we all came to respect them as honored guests so we struck out for their comrades further down river. Groups of four men entered boats and went both ways up and down the river. As I left the boat with my guide some sort of spiritual feeling came upon me as my foot set down much like Magellan's or Christopher Columbus's did ages ago. It was about to touch the soft tundra of the far North where no other human foot had ever set down. I became kind of misty eyed as these thoughts passed through my mind. But wait, I'm here to hunt. My guide, Willie, and I and two companions began the upward walk to the top of the hill where a better vantage point would be gained. Do all guides have legs that take one step for every two of mine? It always seems so. Why do I have to smoke? I now throw my pack of cigarettes over the mountain and have never had another puff. That alone, my friends, was worth the cost of the trip. On top of the hill we sat down to glass the animals approaching us. One by one they come past us not more than 200 yards away. Truly an easy shot for my Browning 7mm mag. I wait. They are not quite as good as I want. About 50 yards to the side of me a shot rings out and my buddy Rick has dropped a nice animal. Then another shot and Tommy has his first of two down. I hear shots from up river and all of the sudden I have that feeling that we have all experienced on the first day of deer season. Everyone has one but me! My wait seems an eternity but here comes another band of Caribou. I see one that looks pretty good from my vantage point. This shouldn't be too hard I whisper to myself. They will follow like the previous groups and I'll get a somewhat easy shot. But wait, they're turning toward the river. I hear Willie shout, "run". I haven't ran in years but away I go. As I run down the hill strewn with glacier rock I hear Willie yelling louder and nonstop "run faster". I think "no way", but my heart kicks in and down the hill I go. At the bottom of the hill I landed in the soft muck right up to my knees. I'm not sure but I get this feeling that a person who walks into quick sand must experience. I think I'm going to die. However, I climb out, grab my rifle, and try to take aim. I realize, though, that I am out of breath and can't hold steady. I regain my composure and sit down on the riverbank, steady myself, and pull the trigger on the big magnum. The Nosler partition bullet does it's job instantly. Willie and my two companions come down and, after much hand shaking, backslapping, and picture taking, learn how to quarter and pack Caribou to the boat for our one mile trip to camp. On arrival we find that everyone in camp has shot one Caribou that day. The rest of the day is spent either fishing, relaxing, or listening to each other recount their morning hunt. This, my friend, is what I want you to experience with me in 2001.
The sight of thousands of salt and pepper colored Caribou swimming the lakes and fording the rivers is what one envisions when they think of the barren ground Caribou of the far north. The sound of their constantly clicking hooves as they migrate to their wintering grounds across the tundra of upper Quebec is a sound your ears can recall forever. I have experienced this in a land only a couple of hundred miles below the Artic Circle, a place where heaven and earth literally seem to meet. We will live for a week in the wild tundra, the land above the tree line. We will be above the 57th parallel. In other words we are really up there. We don't just look at the northern lights but we bathe in them. We eat foods and home baked goods fit for royalty. We enjoy our evenings with electric lights even though we are 1200 miles from the nearest road. We are in a land where all hunting operations must be owned at least in part by an Inuit Eskimo. But time is running out.
We have all heard the term "limited out". Well folks that is what is about to happen with Safari Nordik's 2001 Caribou trip. This might be your final chance to tag on with us. Don't let the opportunity pass you by. It is only the people in life that take some chances that really get ahead. So go ahead and give me a call and be one of the group of men and women that will have the adventure of a lifetime.
While many outfitters promote their operations as the real deal, the total everything, the utopia to satisfy all needs, only on that I have dealt with has TOTALLY met all my criteria. It is a rare and very nice when that real deal shows up. The real deal becomes reality when you take a hunt with Safari Nordik's outfitter to hunt the migrating Caribou herds of the North. This hunt leaves nothing to be desired, except maybe more of the same and that is the "Call of the North" that brings me back year after year.
There are two fine animals waiting for you in the fall of 2001 and I would like to invite you to share this safari with me. With all the sincerity I have to offer I tell you this is a great adventure at a reduced price. Some chance only come once in a lifetime and how many times already in your life have you said, "If only I had....". Someone once told me not to focus on the problem but on the solutions, so if getting the necessary funds is the problem then it is time to focus on a solution and figure out a way. That is why I am giving you aver one year to obtain the necessary funding. Don't let this be another one of those missed opportunities. Call me at 1-330-296-5463 or email me at safarinordik@cs.com and join us and over 30 others who have already signed on. I thank you for reading my column and I welcome ideas and suggestions from you.
Safari Nordik is a full service booking agency that is available to take care of every aspect of your trip. From applying for your limited-entry permits, to assisting with any travel requirements... right down to what equipment and personal gear you need to pack for your trip.
We are full time booking agents, available to you 7 days a week, year-round.
We are professional hunting consultants and take our business very seriously. Providing you, our clients, with the ultimate hunting and fishing destinations available is our business.Rich Sopko has written many articles for fishing and hunting magazines. Put his knowledge and experience to work for you, give him a call or utilize his no cost consulting services on the Internet.
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