Hunting, Fishing, Trapping and Peppers

    Hunting, Fishing, Trapping and Peppers

    Movement caught my eye as I rounded the next bend in the creek.  Sure enough it was another moose, number seven on the day but this one was different.  It was a legal bull and he was well within range.  I shut off my snowmachine, ducked behind it and motioned to Bryan and Corey who were right behind me.  The bull, who was standing on the creek when I saw him, cantered up the bank fifty feet and then did what many moose do;  He stopped and looked at us broadside.  This curious move, a hiccup in his get-away was representative of the demise of many-a-moose across Alaska.  Today would be no different.

      Corey and I were crouched behind our snowmachines and Bryan, who was ready to go at a moment’s-notice had already shouldered his 300 ultra and had a bead on our new friend.  BOOOOOM!

    We were proxy hunting for our friend Jim Lanier.  Jim had drawn a tier 2 moose hunt for unit 16B and we were happy to oblige.  

    The moose fell and there was much rejoicing and by noon the deed was completely done.  Skinned, quartered and loaded into my black sleigh, the proverbial pack-out was a mere three feet; It was more of a flop really.

    “What do we do with the rest of our day?” I chuckled to myself.  

    Moose hunts like this in the winter can be stoopid easy.  We were able to drive right up over the bank and straight to the moose.  The willows were super thick here but they were no match for our Skandic Super Wide Tracks.  I would joke later that Indian Creek has some of the best willow riding in the state.  

    The 24 inch wide track is the widest in the industry and since it is also 156 inches long it has the biggest footprint too.   This giant snowshoe of a track provides incredible floatation and is even able to back-up in deep snow.  The big footprint along with an actual transmission with low, high, and reverse makes it great for towing giant loads.  

    With all the meat loaded and all of our gear stashed, I fired up my Super Wide and easily plowed my way back to the creek over improbable terrain.

Best willow riding in AK.

     What now?

   Since we planned to stay at the cabin another two nights we now had some play time.  Aside from cutting firewood, we augured some holes in the ice for our tip-ups hoping to catch some Pike.  No luck.  We also set some traps targeting the local coyote population.  We would have to return on another trip to check the traps.  Okay.

     We also spent some time exploring the nearby hills trying to find the performance limits of our Super Wides.  As it turned out on this day there was no obstacle we could not overcome and by days’ end we returned to the cabin feeling a bit untouchable.  We knew the sentiment wouldn’t last but for now we reveled in the prowess of our backwoods snowmachines.  

600 etec on left, 900 ace on right.

    As luck would have it we brought plenty of fine ingredients for cooking at night.  The highlight had to have been the stuffed poblano peppers over pesto pasta.  Stuffing peppers has become as much of a wintertime tradition as anything else and it’s just one more reason to come out here.

Stuffed Poblano Pepper Boats

6 Poblano peppers

3 Jalapeno peppers (cut into strips)

1/3 cup pesto sauce

1 lb. beef or pork chorizo

1/3 cup sharp cheddar cheese (cut into strips)

6 slices of bacon

Toothpicks

*Pro-tip:  It’s best to use the buddy system here.  Prep time is greatly diminished with the help of a willing volunteer.

1. Carefully cut the poblanos in half lengthwise creating a boat.
2. Baste the boat and the cap liberally with pesto sauce
3. Lay several strips of cheddar in the bottom of the boat.
4. Fill the boat to the gunwales with Chorizo sausage.
5. Lay down several strips of jalapeno on top of the sausage.
6. Replace the top and wrap in bacon.  Use the toothpicks to hold the bacon into place along with both parts of the poblano.
7. Have someone else grill them to perfection in the dancing flames of an outdoor charcoal grill right on the front porch.   Be sure they don’t burn down the cabin or singe their eyebrows too much.
8. Voila! Bon Appetite!

Chef Kirby

Bryan gets a birds-eye view
of a group of moose.

Corey staying warm by way of burrowing-in.

Bryan Kirby and young moose.