My husband and I first visited Kodiak in November of 2021. It was a trip we had booked in 2019, and it would be our first out-of-state hunt together and our first time going on a substantial vacation without our children who at that time were 8 and 11. The trip was a dream, more than we could have ever envisioned. We booked again with Kodiak Combos of Old Harbor for transport for 2023 before we even left the island.
In spring of 2022, my dad found out that he had two tumors in his liver that would require a life-saving liver transplant for his best chances at living a longer life In March 2023, my brother and I spent two days in Seattle at UW Medical Center testing to see if we were possible candidates to donate a portion of our liver. After three long weeks of waiting, we got the phone call that I was the best match. Before making the final decision to go through with donation, I spoke to my nurse practitioner at length about the hunt we had planned for November and she reassured me that at almost five months post operation I would be fine.
June 20, 2023, I successfully donated the right section of my liver to my dad. I spent the next five months slowly returning to my old self, building back to be able to conquer Kodiak.
November 2023, our trip was finally here! I’d prepared as best as I could, moving well. Most days, I didn’t even feel as if I had major surgery five months prior. We flew into Old Harbor on a Monday with Island Air in a little Piper Cherokee with boxes of potatoes for the school sitting next to me. After the quick and bumpy 30-minute flight, we landed and Jeff with Kodiak Combos was there waiting to take us to the lodge. Twenty minutes after dropping our stuff in our room, we were loaded back up to get to the boat to hunt for the afternoon.
Dave and I were dropped off at an old shipwreck and were told that most people just sit there and wait, so sit we did. About an hour into sitting and glassing, a small 2-point showed up. It was hard to not want to shoot him, but being that Alaska changed their rules to one deer for non-residents, we had our sights on a slightly better buck, so we let him walk.
Day two was a weather bust. Wind, rain, sleet, snow, we saw it all. We only lasted about two hours before we called for pickup and then ended up spending the rest of the day in the lodge.
Day three, we were dropped off and then started hiking to higher ground to find some deer. We were getting a little frustrated because hunting was different than 2021. A gentle reminder that an amazing experience creates expectations that might not always be reality. After spending a couple hours in that spot, we called for pickup to move to another location. Once we were dropped at the afternoon location, we decided to change our attitudes. As soon as we did, we spotted a buck worth shooting across the next ridge. At this point, he was 550 yards away, which in Kodiak feels like miles. Soon after we saw him, another buck popped up next to him. They quickly disappeared, and we discussed where to head them off.
We started the vertical trek through grass and alders and ended up where we thought they would come out, but now we were directly facing the sun, which made it hard to see. We sat and watched for a couple hours and finally saw him again but not where we expected them to be. They didn’t seem to be heading any closer to us. We sat until pickup time, and the first thing out of my mouth was, “Can you drop us here tomorrow?”
On day four, with two days left, we still had two tags to fill. We were dropped near where we had hunted the day before and saw the two shooter bucks. They were just enough out of the way that we couldn’t get to them without crossing a deep ravine. At this point, I was frustrated and losing hope. I wanted a deer in Kodiak badly this year. I wanted to prove I could have major surgery and five months later work hard and be rewarded, but the opportunities were dwindling fast.
After sitting for about an hour and seeing nothing, Dave says we should move to the other side and see what we could glass that way. I quietly followed him to other side of the ridge we were sitting on. The wind was blowing hard and cold right in our faces, making it hard to hold my binoculars without shaking. I heard, “There’s a good buck.” My heart started racing as Dave ranged it and said, “450 yards. Let’s see if we can sneak closer.” We got closer, and once again, Dave ranged it. “291 yards,” he said as he slowly started to get his rifle out. He set up and told me it was a
2-point.
I asked, “Are you going to shoot it?”
“I’d rather not,” he said.
I immediately got my rifle out and set up to shoot. I said I was on him. Dave asked if I was steady. I replied, “Yes!” as I flicked the safety off, my eyes never leaving the scope. The wind was blowing straight in my face, and the next calm moment, I shot. “Did I get him,” I asked. No, it was a clean miss. My heart sank. I looked through my scope, and he was still in the same spot sniffing the air. I couldn’t believe it. I quickly reloaded and breathed calmly. Boom! I hit him this time. He started to run, and Dave was already saying, “Grab your stuff. Let’s go!” We took off down the hill, and not too far from where we saw him last run, we saw him again. One more well-placed shot and he was down.
We got to the buck, and Dave looked at me with a big grin and said, “He’s the big 2-point we saw yesterday.” I was overwhelmed with pride that I fought hard for this buck with perseverance and determination. He was a true trophy to me. Many times during those four days, I got disappointed and frustrated that I could go home empty-handed. Now that I’m home, I realize coming home empty-handed wouldn’t have taken away from my pride.
If you have never been to Kodiak, or in our case Old Harbor, you are missing out. It’s one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen, and I feel extremely grateful to live a life that allowed me to enjoy this place again.
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