Caribou and Musk Ox Hunting at Baker Lake

Caribou and Musk Ox Hunting at Baker Lake

by Mary Harter

We flew to Baker Lake with an overnight in Winnipeg and then on to Rankin Inlet on the north shore of Hudson Bay.  A short half hour flight brought us about 200 miles further inland to the north on Baker Lake.

We met Shane Black, our outfitter, in Winnipeg and joined him for dinner with Dan Cabela and his cameraman, Matt.  Another hunter flew with us, Doug Hartzler, from Phoenix.  Dan was going to hunt where we were hunting to film for his TV production, “Hard Truths of Conservation”, on the History Channel.  I had talked to Dan several times as his mother, Mary, was a sister “Diana” with me.  Sadly, Mary passed away last year at 87.

The first day at Baker Lake we met our guide, Jamie Oolamik, and he took us to get our licenses.  Everything was all ready for us at the office and the purchase was very easy.  The wind was expected to reach over 60 mph and it was raining so we decided not to go out hunting that afternoon.

We were out on the second day but Jamie had to get gas and the station didn’t open until 9 am so we had to wait for him.  We drove down to the lake and got in James 18’ boat with a 70 hp Yamaha engine and went down the Thelon River.  We went about 75 miles through a few rapids and up to a lake.  We saw a few caribou and got out to have a better look at several.  We ate lunch in a survival shack on the shore.  We didn’t see any musk ox and that was our primary animal as Don had never shot one and this was a barren ground that I have never shot.  I’ve taken a Greenland musk ox in Alaska but I understand these musk ox were much larger.  We both have shot barren ground caribou.

On the way back to camp, we saw several caribou and one had red antlers as he was beginning to shed.  Don decided to take him.  With three people to help clean him, I just sat and watched and ate wild cranberries.  By the time he was cleaned and loaded, it was getting late.  It was almost dark and passed dinner time when we arrived back in town.  Jamie’s wife picked us up when we landed on shore and took us to our hotel and there in our room were warm take out meals waiting for us.

This town has about 2,200 people and very few amenities.  We ate all of our meals at our hotel and French fries or poutine were the vegetables of choice, which I felt was just what most people there wanted.  Fruit was the jam for toast.  But the food tasted good, the people were very nice, and our room and the dining room were very clean.

On the third day it was raining but stopped early so Jamie came and got us and we again went out on the river with James driving.  We saw only caribou again.

On the fourth day it was supposed to start raining about noon but we went out, Jamie on a quad and Don and I in a side by side.  There was a pretty good road out north of town until you crossed a bridge.  Then it was something else.  There were no trees in this area, only lichens, blue berries, cranberries, and many low bushes all in beautiful fall colors.  There was a lot of moss and in some places, it was like walking across a mattress.  It was very marshy with low hills of rock.  We passed a monument marking the center of Canada.  We crossed a pond and the water came up several inches in the cab.  We followed a primitive trail when we could but it was so rough and rutted that we usually tried to find an alternate route.  Neither of us ever got stuck but we had to back up several times.

We kept hoping to see musk ox over every hill and finally, when we were beginning to wonder if we would ever see a musk ox, there they were!  We drove up around and behind the herd and Jamie walked up to a rock to scope them.  Don decided I should take this animal as he could come out hunting without me the next time.  I slowly joined Jamie.  There was one bull in the herd of about 25.  We were 117 yards away.  Jamie made sure I was on the right one and I shot.  He spun around and went down, got back up and right back down, this time for good.  I had hit him right behind the shoulder as instructed.  The rest of the herd just ran a short distance and stood until a helicopter flew over.  Then they ran.

We tried to help Jamie with the skinning but he had a process.  We helped take samples for a study being done by the University of Calgary.  It started to rain about the time I shot so by the time we returned to town we were pretty wet even in our wonderful Kuiu clothing that Shane Black had provided us.  On the way back we saw ptarmigans and arctic hares as well as caribou.  We were about 12 ½ miles from town.  When we returned to our hotel, we were soaked to our underwear and a hot meal tasted good.

On the fifth day, it was raining and Jamie came to see what we wanted to do.  It was supposed to be cold and rainy all day so we stayed in.  This was Sunday so nothing was open in town.

On the sixth day Don went out hunting with Jamie and each drove quads.  They went out the same road as before but veered off after the bridge towards the gold mines.  There were many musk ox in the area.  By 8:00 a.m. Don had his musk ox taken from a herd of about 30.  They snuck up behind a rock pile to take the shot.  I was amazed when Don returned so early.  He had a much easier time than we did for mine.

Dave Cabela shot a musk ox and caribou, both on the river, and they were filmed for his television show.  Doug Hartzler shot a caribou and a musk ox, both on the barren grounds behind town.  While staying at the hotel we met a few other hunters, three were from Mexico.  Most of the people we met in the dining room were workers in the area or people who came to do testing or work of some sort.

The area industry besides hunting and fishing was working in the gold mines.  James, our boat driver, had driven a water truck in the gold mines but was laid off.  He had also worked in the diamond mines in Yellowknife.

On our way home we met Shane in Winnipeg for dinner and also met six hunters on their way to hunt where we came from.  They were from Dallas, Texas and anxious to hear our stories.

Now at home, we are taping and watching "Hard Truths of Conservation" on the History Channel.  What a great show that we all can really relate to.