Glenn
Dunning is a member of New England Outdoor Writers Association
(NEOWA) and contributes monthly to Outdoors Magazine
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Outdoors Magazine, November '04 issue, Traveling Outdoorsman col. Submitted by: Glenn Dunning |
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Drop Camp Caribou Less Expensive Hunt Package, Not for Everyone |
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| Earlier this fall, on September 2nd, a group of guys from the Moretown, Vermont area boarded a chartered prop-jet at Montreal's Dorval airport for their first ever caribou hunt in Quebec's northern tundra region. They were booked with Club Chambeaux but unlike the majority of clients that venture north each year, this group had decided on a European plan or drop camp package which meant they would be flown to a remote camp over a hundred miles from Club Chambeaux's base at Schefferville, where they would be responsible for their own cooking and not have the benefit of guides to help them find game. European plan packages are on average approximately $1,000 cheaper than American plan hunts which include food and guides. It is a tougher hunt that requires infinitely more planning and is best suited for groups of six or more hunters preferably who know each other very well and can work as a team. Tim LeBoeuf and his five hunting buddies were just such a group. Wanting the best possible price and September dates, they had booked 21 months in advance. This allowed them to pay the $2500 plus license hunt cost out over five installments, which proved easier on everybody's budget. Although trip cost was a significant factor, these Vermont boys have spent years together hunting whitetails, moose and turkeys in several states and felt no need for the creature comforts of camp cooks nor the need to be led to game by guides. This type of hunt is not for everyone but it is the preferred package for a number of groups from Vermont and New York, many of whom go every couple of years or so. Club Chambeaux's camps feature a camp manager's cabin and two hard sided tent cabins accommodating six hunters each. Inside there are six bunks, an oil stove for heat, a table and chairs and a corner kitchen area fully equipped with utensils, propane stove and a sink with running water. Boats and motors are provided for accessing the hunting territory and the camp manager is on hand to lend advice and keep tabs on the group of 12 hunters he hosts. He also has a satellite radio in his cabin in case of emergencies. Hunting from a drop camp is significantly different than a guided hunt in two ways. First, hunters rely solely on their own skill and stamina to find and harvest animals and secondly, there are no guides to help skin and quarter game in the field and then pack it back to the boat. Following breakfast each morning the LeBoeuf group climbed into their boats and headed off in different directions down the lake. The camp manager, T-bone, was helpful reviewing where caribou were likely to be intercepted crossing the lake and pointing out general areas where previous customers had had success this season but beyond that this group of Vermonters were on their own. Caribou that are taken near the water's edge present much less work than those that are miles from the boat. Tim and his buddies discovered after the first couple of days however, that there were a lot more animals in the valleys and bogs well back from the lake than those that were occasionally seen along the shore or swimming the narrow lagoons and river inlets. Throughout the week the hunters were thankful that they had brought their walkie-talkie radios, which not only allowed them to communicate game location to other members of the group but also enabled them to call for help once an animal was down. In Quebec and Labrador, licenses allow caribou hunters to take 2 animals. That means that during the course of the 6 day hunt this group of 6 had to quarter, pack and haul all the meat and horns from 12 bulls over what in many cases turned out to be miles of rugged terrain back to the boat. Pack frames are a must for this process and they discovered that big game bags made hauling the meat easier. "We had used the Alaskan big game bags from Cabelas for moose back home," Tim indicated. "They are made out of a material similar but tougher than cheese cloth and work great for keeping the flies off the meat. On the tundra we quickly discovered that inserting a couple of quarters and back-straps in a bag made it much easier to strap to the frames." Tom Urell, another member of the party even improvised one into a makeshift minnow net. Once back at camp the meat needed to be skinned out and butchered into chunks that would fit into the plastic crates provided for that purpose by the outfitter. Out of the 6 days they were in the bush a significant amount of time was devoted to hauling and processing their animals to be ready for loading aboard the single engine Otter float plane that arrived to ferry them back to Schefferville at week's end. Food is the other big consideration when choosing a drop camp package. While many hunters are more than familiar with the planning, list making and shopping required to get a week's worth of groceries back into deer camp, weight restrictions are typically not a consideration. Because you are accessing your camp by floatplane when you caribou hunt you are limited to 100 pounds of food, weapons and gear per person. This typically breaks down to about 400 pounds of gear, leaving only 200 pounds for food for a group of 6 and that includes canned beverages. Tim's group discovered early on in the trip preparation process that this would be a major challenge. They were given references of previous customers who regularly hunt Euro plan and there are definitely some tips worth passing on. Canned goods are heavy so whenever possible food should be repackaged into zip lock bags. Powdered staples such as drink mixes, gravy, coffee creamer, pancake and biscuit mixes and even potatoes will help lighten the load. Seasonings, dried mushrooms, minced dried onions and the like help to make meals livelier without adding to weight. Bread takes up a lot of room but is not heavy and pasta based dishes will feed a large group but are disproportionately lightweight. "We actually had quite a bit of food left over because we never considered the half a dozen or more meals that we had of caribou meat and lake trout." A European plan caribou hunt is a lot more effort than the higher priced American plan packages but for this group of Central Vermont deer hunters they wouldn't have had it any other way. They are already planning their next trip; drop camp elk. |
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