<\/p>\n
After taking an above-average vacation, it is considered good form to tell the story at the local watering hole.<\/p>\n
Or in the case of the Young\u2019s family\u2019s recent Canadian epic, at least to the local newspaper.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a trip of a lifetime, a dream my dad has always had,\u201d said Tanner Young, manager of the Montezuma County Fairgrounds.<\/p>\n
This fall, Tanner and his dad, Gary, spent a week hunting caribou in the remote, sub-arctic wilderness of the Nunavik region of Quebec, Canada.<\/p>\n
After traveling to Montreal, the two boarded an otter float plane for a day-and-a-half, 1,300 mile journey northward.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe landed on the water at Lac Pau, and set up camp 1,000 miles from any town,\u201d Tanner said. \u201cThe area is just covered in lakes.\u201d<\/p>\n
In fact, much of the traveling for the hunt is done on small oar boats across lakes, then by tramping across the frozen tundra.<\/p>\n
The caribou are not hard to find. The herd in Quebec is 44,000 strong, and their annual migration is world famous.<\/p>\n
Compared to the skittish elk locals hunt in Colorado, caribou act quite differently.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you spot them, they walk up to you and investigate because they have never seen humans before,\u201d Tanner said. \u201cThey are smaller than elk, maybe 300-350 pounds.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another difference is that Caribou travel along ridgelines rather than in the valleys to avoid the thick swarms of biting black flies.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were eaten alive. That\u2019s part of the reason why the caribou migrate, to escape the bugs,\u201d Tanner said.<\/p>\n
He and his dad each bagged two caribou, then spent time hunting ptarmigans. The area is rich in wildlife.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe saw wolves, herds of caribou, and the trout are monstrous,\u201d Young said. \u201cMusk ox and polar bears check out the hunting camps.\u201d<\/p>\n
Joining them in camp was a TV crew from the reality show Savage Outdoors. The Young\u2019s were filmed hunting ptarmigans, and the episode will air next year.<\/p>\n
Father and son drove 2,300 miles back to Cortez with their 200 pounds of caribou meat.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt tastes better than elk, sweeter,\u201d Tanner said. \u201cIt was a cool hunt to go on. Our outfitters Jack Hume Adventures did an excellent job.\u201d<\/p>\n