Dear AR-Canadians,

very much to my disappointment, the announced trip to the Yukon is not going to work out.
See earlier thread:

https://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/7621043/m/161107076

We are headed to our "second best" location instead - northern BC! Oh, well...

Anyway, we are going to hit the mountains for Caribou, Sheep, Goat (I believe) and look in the lower levels for moose.

What kind of temperatures will I be facing? Below zero? Fairly warm under the day?
I was planning for layer clothing with insulating long underwear, fleece jacket, windproof jacket and gore tex against rain.

Will I still need bug repellent? Is there any good stuff in Canada you can recommend? The European mixture does not seem to be working in your neck of the woods...

Oh and one more thing: can anyone recommend a good pair of gloves for my purposes? Tried Neoprene last time and my hands were warm but sweating like hell!

Thanks for sharing your advice with a really-wanna-be-a-Canadian from hopelessly-overcrowded-Europe!

elwood.

Northern BC is a big area, can you be specific? Will make a difference weather wise.

End of September is very variable throughout the north. You can get warm "Indian Summer", or it could snow a couple feet on you. If you are nearer the coast, the weather is somewhat moderated.

Cheers,
Canuck

Good point, I will try to get some better info...

The name of the outfitter would do. I know where they all operate.

Cheers,
Canuck

Oh no, sorry, thats a misunderstanding - I am going to accompany a buddy of mine who is Canadian from BC. No outfitter involved. I´m not hunting myself!

He first had a sponsor in the Yukon but then the sponsor had a motorbike accident (nothing fatal) so thats the end of that.

Now we are "stuck" with BC. He is gonna buy a tag for anything available and we are gonna set sail for some remote part he has hunted before.

Are bugs usually still around at that time of the year?

quote:

Are bugs usually still around at that time of the year?

Nope! Unless its really warm out, you probably won't see a bug. Expect frost at night wherever you go.

Let me know the general vicinity of where you are going (broad region, don't need to know your friend's "patch"), and I'll tell ya what I can.

Cheers,
Canuck

He says west of Fort Nelson. Something like Stone Park? Or Mountain Park??? Does that make any sense???

yes.........that would be the Toad River area, Stone Mountain sound about right? So your friend is a BC resident....doing all the hunting and you are just on a ride-a-long? You should enjoy the country. If you are not already there by the time you do get there the bugs will be down to a dull roar or gone.

Stone Mountain Park, for sure.

I've hunted there in early September. The type of gear you are talking about should be fine. I would normally have some polypro underwear and nylon pants, wool shirt, down vest and a polar fleece or rain jacket on top. There are a million ways to skin that cat though.

Expect on nice days for it to get up to 15 deg C or so (maybe a little warmer), on wet days probably less than 10 deg. Frost over night. Could snow, particularly at higher elevations (and Stone Mountain is all fairly high elevation).

I doubt you'll see a bug, unless the temps are way above seasonal.

I don't wear gloves much, if at all, until the dead of winter. If I do, its usually just fingerless wool gloves. Hopefully someone else can help you there.

The country is absolutely beautiful up there..you'll love it.

Cheers,
Canuck

@ Skyline:

Yes, you are right - Stone Moountain Park, thats the one! I met my buddy a couple of years ago when I was a wrangler for a BC outfitter. He was one of the most successful guides in camp and I hope he puts us on some game on this trip too!

Yes, I am just coming along for the adventure. Pulling the trigger with an outfitter would cost 10.000 $ so I rather leave out that tiny part in hunting and soak in all the other nice aspects while saving tons of money!

Apart from Stone Sheep, what other species are we most likely to encounter? Are there many black bears, grizzly, moose, elk, mountain goat???

@ Canuck,

thanks a lot for your advice - cant wait to get there. Next Friday I´ll hop on a plane to Prince George via Montreal and Vancouver. long trip, but what the hell...

So after all Stone Mountain Park seems to be quite a popular place - will it be "crowded" with other resident hunters? Sorry, I know there arent really any "crowded" places in Canada (compared to Europe), just interested if there is high hunting pressure...

Thanks for your comments everybody - you are really helping me a good deal here!!!

P.S.: Do you know a dealer or any source where topographic maps can be purchased???

quote:

So after all Stone Mountain Park seems to be quite a popular place - will it be "crowded" with other resident hunters?

No. That time of the year will be pretty quiet. Very few tourists passing through and most hunters are there for August or the first couple weeks of September.

Its well known, but not that many guys actually make the long trek....and its a jumping off point to a vast wilderness area. So you may see more vehicles and horsetrailers than people.

There are caribou, moose, elk, black and grizz bears there. Depends how far of the beaten track you get as far as goats are concerned. Assume you will be going up one of the main drainages as opposed to hunting Stone Mt itself (although for sheep, there is nothing wrong with Stone Mt - especially later in the season).

For maps, check out http://www.mcelhanney.com/

The have an office in Fort St John...you can pick up maps on the way through.

Cheers,
Canuck

Canuck, cant thank you enough for your tips. Already shot them an email so we´ll see how it works out.

How has the weather been so far? Any chances for cold temperatures for the moose rut?

Cheers,

elwood.

Lots of gamein that area, you shoudl have a good time!

Thanks, cant wait to get there. Have got all my gear packed (travelling light this time) and am ready to hit the mountains any time!!!