When planning a honeymoon with my husband, Hayden Robbins, we had thought hard about what we should do. With weighing our options, we decided to book a flight to Fairbanks, Alaska to hunt caribou in August. Being married a month before our big trip gave us time to prepare, looking over YouTube videos of self-guided caribou hunts in the Brooks Range. Hayden was determined to shoot his caribou with his bow, while I had a rifle for my hunt. Hunting along the Dalton Highway with a rifle, I had to be five miles from the road to shoot one due to the pipeline. We were very anxious for our trip to come.
When the trip finally came, the drive up to the Arctic along the Dalton Highway felt like it was never going to end. As soon as we got to caribou country, Hayden glassed up some nice bulls. We decided to hike up to them for Hayden to get one with his bow. Hiking in the tundra was challenging, so it took us about an hour to get up. While on our way to the caribou, we picked up several sheds. Finally, we spotted the caribou. Climbing rocks, we sat patiently, observing them. When we started seeing them walking fast downhill, Hayden began his stalk. There were about 30 bulls in the herd. I waited from above, watching him take his shot. As the herd was running, he was able to range them. While one stopped to look at him, he took his shot. His caribou was a beautiful animal with giant shovels. He had accomplished his goal of taking one with his bow.
Now, it was time to pack his caribou out. We were over two miles from the truck. We made it in one trip with his entire caribou and several sheds. Walking through the mushy tundra with the heavy pack made me feel like I was about to twist my ankles a few times.
Next, it was my turn to shoot a caribou. Being five miles from the road, we decided for my hunt that we would camp. We packed in a tent, two sleeping bags, two pads to sleep on, food, water bottles, a mini burner to boil water, and our bug nets. Hayden found us a spot to camp on a big hill where we were able to look into 10 miles in every direction. When we got to our camping spot, we started glassing but didn’t see a single caribou. We called it for the night. It was quite a chilly night.
We woke up in the morning, and it had been raining. We took turns glassing all morning and afternoon. We still had not seen a single caribou, and I began to feel like we were never going to see one. I began to pray that we would see just one. I eventually walked down our campsite and found 12 sheds within 30 minutes and a big deadhead. This included two side-by-side sets that were laying together. I went back to Hayden to show him my findings. We then took a nap and woke up at 9 p.m. when it was still so light outside. Hayden went out of our tent to glass. He came back to tell me he had seen a single caribou feeding, but he wasn’t sure whether it was a little or big bull. We were going back and forth, deciding whether 9:30 p.m. was too late to begin a stalk, but we decided to take our chance.
The caribou was two miles away when we saw it from the hill. When we were 600 yards away, Hayden found a giant shed. Then, we began to sneak in closer and got to 300 yards. I was only able to see the tops of his antlers at that point, so we had to sneak in closer. We got to 100 yards, and I still could only see the tops. We decided we needed to get in closer, so we began to crawl. At 30 yards at 11 p.m., he caught a glimpse of us and was about to take off. I released the trigger. I am so thankful for the opportunity that God gave me for this one caribou after seeing nothing all day. It was such a memorable moment, and I will never forget it.
We brought the meat back to the tent at around 3 a.m., and it was still light out. We rested for most of the day until we decided to head back to the truck with my caribou. This pack out was five miles from the road, and we both took very heavy packs. This time, we had my entire caribou, three of our favorite sheds, the big deadhead, and all of our camp gear, and we did it in one trip.
As a track runner, I can safely say that this was one of the most difficult, yet most rewarding experiences I have ever had. I am so grateful for my wonderful husband who helped make the hunt possible and who has taught me so much. It was an unforgettable “huntin’ moon.”
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