My Hunting Stories
“Greg, break off some of those limbs and get set." "My range finder is telling me it's 180 yards across the gully and 250 yards to where the small creek comes in." That was the elevation the big guy was traveling. He will probably lie down before he gets here so it might be a long wait. “There he is!!"
Looking back on the accident I had a total of 282 hours flying time. The insurance company’s representative told me that statistics show that around that number of hours is when first-time accidents are likely to happen and are quite common. They also say that a major accident usually only happens once. Our cub had a 150HP engine and I know now that a 160HP is much better at high altitudes. I made sure that our next cub was a 160HP. They say you fly a cub by the seat of your pants; you actually feel or experience the plane. This is so true. I believe to this day that with my experience and a 160HP engine and doing everything the same but with a little more finesse in my reaction, I would not have crashed. Every year I found myself landing in areas that I wouldn’t have the year before because of my experience. Experience in your flying environment is the most important part of becoming an exceptional pilot.
It was about a month after the accident that Paul Claus, who was flying for us at that time, was flying me back to Chitina. He asked me when I was going to fly again. I told him I wasn’t sure. He said he thought it was time and landed on a sandbar on the Chitina River. He got out and said for us to trade places. He told me that he had had a few accidents and if the plane hadn’t caught fire I could have flown it out. He climbed in the back seat and said, “Let’s go.” I think that take-off was scarier than my first solo take-off. When I greased the landing at Chitina Paul said, “You’re ready.”
My accident took place over 30 years ago. It has been hard for me and my loved ones to get passed this devastating time but, with God's grace, we eventually moved on but not forgotten. What a wonderful time this was supposed to have been. Our daughter was getting married and my family was in Alaska for the first time. I couldn't believe it turned into such a tragedy. I was overwhelmed with sadness, as I knew I was responsible for the loss of a loved one.
With that, here is my story.
Every now and then I will post a story written by one of my clients or grand kids. This story was written by Tom Wells and it was published in the Alaska Professional Hunter Magazine in 2002. I guided Tom on two more hunts where he harvested a 40" ram and a 60" moose. We had a wonderful time and I am proud to call him my friend.
My granddaughter, Jordan, had just recently taken her first black bear and written a story about her experience on the hunt. The story was then published in the Alaska Professional Hunter Magazine in the fall of 2003. Coincidentally, at about the same time, Boston Gravity was searching for a young, Alaskan outdoor enthusiast to do a guest segment for the PBS children's show, Zoom. Somehow, while completing their search, the Alaska Professional Hunter's Association (APHA) office manager directed them to contact me. In the end, the Boston Gravity team, Alan Grazioso and Steve Eliopoulos, selected Jordan as the "Alaska Girl" for the project.
Steve, my granddaughter Jordan, and Alan fishing during the project.
We decided on a red salmon fishing trip on the Kenai River for the third week in July. Both Alan and Steve were from the East Coast so they had a long flight all the way to Anchorage. They stayed at our cabin with us while filming the project and also had the opportunity to do some fishing of their own. They had a true Alaskan experience, it was great fun. Alan and Steve were great guests and super nice individuals. Everyone had a blast during the filming and the project was an absolute success. The final cut is below, check it out!
It was fall of 1994 at our Western Alaska camp. The day started out as one of those beautiful September days. I had been checking spike camps that morning with the Super Cub. One of the camps had a moose down so I needed to pick up a couple of packers and some supplies. I landed at my strip, taxied the plane into the tie down location, got out and faced into the wind. Most of the morning the wind had been blowing about 20 mph and the weather report never indicated anything about strong winds. It takes me about 10 minutes to tie the plane down and 5 minutes to untie it. Since, I was only going to be at the camp, which was on the other side of the lake for about 30 minutes, I decided to save time and not tie the plane down. I always leave the plane untied when I land at spike camps so there was no difference.
I wrote this story in 2005 right after I retired from the guide business. It was published in the 2006 Convention Issue of The Alaska Professional Hunter Magazine.
This was the first story I wrote after Brent & I formed AAA Alaskan Outfitters in December 1983.
It was our first season and a great one.
"lt Pays To Wait"
As Brent Jones and I stood in the air terminal at Cold Bay
waiting for the Reeve Bird to touch down, I thought back to the
last three months of planning, equipment shipping, and camp
setup. Our first brown bear season as partners of AAA Alaskan
Outfitters was about to begin.
We had worked hard getting everything we needed, but I kept
wondering if we had forgotten or overlooked something. It was
too late now, though, for the plane had landed and our very first
clients, George Caswell, of Enid, Oklahoma, and Tim Orton, of
Walker, Minnesota, were standing in front of us. The excitement
of taking a big brown bear was evident on their faces. After quick
introductions, we grabbed the luggage and were on our way.
In the spring of 2006, my son-in-law, Sagen Juliussen and I went brown bear hunting on the Alaska Peninsula. We were in search of a big bear. As we sat on the spotting hill with the cold wind hitting our faces and chilling us within, I thought to myself, why am I here? I’m sure, at one time of another, that thought has crossed the minds of many Alaskan professional hunters while brown bear hunting during those long, cold, wet and many times boring days. And, I’m sure our clients as they sat shivering, were more than likely thinking, and we paid money for this! I have hunted brown bear in Alaska for 38 years. I have had some great experiences and some miserable experiences but as we say in the business, “that’s brown bear hunting.” My main thought however is, what is really the most important prerequisite for taking a 10’+ brown bear. Is it skill, patience or luck? I have personally guided on eight 10 footers with another 27 being taken by AAA Alaskan Outfitters Inc., in which I was a partner for twenty- one years.
