Day 14

Friday,
March 16, 2001

We've been riding on the dog sled for what seemed to be an endless sled ride. It just keeps going on and on as if time has gone into slow motion. It's midday and we've finally reached the crack that we had talked about and there are bear tracks everywhere. It's unbelievable! While traveling along the crack we've come across a sow with two cubs. The cubs are real small. We made quite a big circle to go around them so we wouldn't disturb them. Man--talk about something that's cute--it's those two little cubs, but I wouldn't want to have anything to do with getting close-up pictures of them with "mama" around.

Found Bear

We kept following the crack for what seemed like hours until we got to a spot where there were some high-pressure ridges where we decided to stop for lunch. We're having my favorite again--Ichybon noodles--seasoned with caribou hair. Yum yum!

I had a gut feeling about today. While they were warming up lunch, I decided to take a few shots with my bow. After lunch, I grabbed my Swarovski's and climbed to the top of a pressure ridge and started glassing. I couldn't believe my eyes! I saw two bears and they were working their way towards us along the crack. I motioned for David to come up by me and when he did, he looked through my binoculars and his eyes got as big as saucers. In a very excited voice David said, "Those are monster bears." I asked David if we should wait for them behind one of the pressure ridges and put an arrow in the larger bear as they came by, but he shook his head and said, "no". He said it was too dangerous and wanted to work them with the dogs. For the first time since the beginning of the hunt, David was excited. So we hurried back to the dog sled, tied my bow case down to the sled, and waited for the bears to get closer.

The game

One of the bears was following the other one in almost a bird-dog fashion, similar to a love-crazed buck in the peak of the rut. They just kept moving along the crack, coming closer and closer. We waited near the dog sled while the bears continued coming toward us. They either didn't know we were there or didn't care. They walked past us about 200 yards away, zigzagging through the ice chunks. The dogs had no idea the bears were even in the area. The wind was in the bears' favor and there were enough pressure ridges to keep the dogs from spotting them. As soon as the bears got past us, David turned the dogs in the direction of the bears and we took off. David immediately released two of the dogs once they spotted the bears. The two dogs momentarily confused the bears and they split up. At this point we were fairly close to the bears. For
whatever reason, the dogs went after the bigger of the two bears; just what I was hoping for. I asked David if this one was a boar and he said "yes, a big one." I'll tell you--the chase was on. I was on the sled ride of my life. It wasn't a matter of sitting and going for a leisurely ride--you had to hang onto that sled for dear life because those dogs were now at a full run, barking and yelping while running and jumping over the snow and ice chunks. Snow and pieces of ice were being hurled at our faces from off the dogs' feet! We were no longer traveling in a controlled manner--now we were bouncing over large chunks of ice, being pulled by an almost uncontrollable pack of hunting dogs!

Put in his place

I kept watching the large boar as the dogs were following him and I could see that my dreams were starting to unfold right in front of me. Everything that I had imagined was happening. While I was riding on the sled, I kept thinking to myself about the different things I had to do to prepare for the shot. I looked down at my bow case to make sure it was still securely tied to the sled and momentarily lost my concentration. The next thing I knew--I was off the sled and in the air. And then rolling in the snow from the force of the moving sled, and finally ended up face down in a snow bank! The first thing that came to mind was that I was glad I didn't break something! This time, when David put the steel brake down to stop the sled, the dogs just kept going. He was actually digging into the ice with the steel brake and chunks of snow and ice were flying everywhere and yet the sled was still moving. I couldn't believe the power of the dogs! He finally got it stopped. This was another case too, where I'm glad I wear a back quiver. It protects my arrows
and keeps me from getting hurt from razor-sharp broadheads when getting flipped off horses, mules, mountain bikes, or dog sleds. This was turning out to be an all out chase. It was incredible. After I got back on the sled, the chase was on again. This bear wasn't doing what Big Dan's bear did. He didn't run 100 yards up on a pressure ridge and stand there. He just kept running, occasionally swatting at the dogs. It seemed to me that we were following an unstoppable, big white army tank.

The hunt really starts

After about forty-five minutes, David released two more dogs from the sled and they ran forward, pursuing the bear. They were confusing the bear even more as we started to
close the gap between us. About a one-half hour went by and we were within 100 yards of the bear. That's when David pulled the main strap and released all the other dogs. I could see the bear's breath now as he was starting to wear down from the chase. Our sled came to a sliding stop. At that point I thought that the dogs would catch up to the bear and hold him at bay and I would get the opportunity of a lifetime. But that is where the hunt really started. As I had practiced in my mind over and over during the last fourteen days, I took off my heavy caribou skin jacket, my facemask and heavy gloves; pulled the bow from my bow case, put my back quiver back on, and nocked an arrow. Then I said to David (as he was loading his gun), that I did not want him shooting the bear unless it was chewing on me. David got a serious look on his face, looked me right in the eyes and said, "your safety comes first." I didn't say anything after that. I knew he was right.

Philip was no longer following us. He stayed back with the sleds. Now David and I were on foot and everything I had planned on happening went just the opposite. The bear had slowed down, however, he kept running in circles and batting at the dogs. They kept him at bay on and off, long enough for us to get close to him, but not within a comfortable shooting range. I knew any mistake on my part would cause David to shoot the bear, so I had to do it right. I thought I would get my shot within the first fifteen minutes of releasing the dogs, however, we kept following and following him. It must have been almost an hour that went by and still we were following the bear trying to get the shot.

There were two times during our pursuit when I felt I would not be physically able to continue. Three different times I got close enough for a good shot, but I couldn't take it because the dogs were swarming around him like bees. As a matter of fact, during the pursuit, the bear grabbed hold of one of the dogs, shook it like a rag doll, and spit it out of his mouth. And the only thing that went through my mind, at that point, was what Gary Bogner had told me. He said that when a bear starts grabbing the dogs and killing them,
that the guides would shoot the bear to protect the dogs. And what was amazing is that this dog must have been made out of iron. There's no doubt about it. After being spit out, he flopped around in the snow a little and then got up and ran right back at the bear, barking at it. That was incredible! I thought the dog was dead. Finally the bear paused alongside some large ice chunks giving me a good broadside angle and this time no dogs were in the way. I checked my range finder and then drew my 104lb PSE Gorilla and released the 655 grain Easton arrow tipped with a 160 grain Thunderhead. In a split second, the arrow passed through the bear hitting the spot I was aiming at.

The bear roared while biting at the entrance hole made by the arrow. Instead of coming toward me he ran the other way. He ran only a few yards and within seconds he collapsed. I couldn't believe what had just transpired. Just like the huge grizzly I had harvested in Alaska in PSE's Video 'Pursuin' the Bruin', one well-placed arrow and the polar bear expired within seconds. I had been so focused on placing the arrow that when David slapped me on the back and said "nice shot", he scared the living daylights out of me! I had completely forgotten he was behind me.

Ray in trouble

With everything that happened, it took me a few minutes to realize that I was having troubles. I had taken my caribou skin clothing off too soon and that proved to really take its toll on me. I believe that during the excitement of the hunt that my adrenalin was up and I didn't realize what I was doing. I had severe frostbite on my face. Two of the fingers on my bow hand had frozen so solid that if I would have hit them against something, they probably would have shattered. They seemed just like two sticks attached to my hand with no feeling. I was almost afraid to take off my thin polypropylene gloves to look at my fingers. Also the index finger on my right hand was partially frozen. At that point I believe I was starting to suffer from hypothermia. I have never been that cold in my life and I was not thinking rationally. (I looked at my fingers and then looked back at the monstrous bear lying there and thought to myself that if I lose these two fingers, it was worth it because look at the bear I had harvested.) Philip caught up to us in about fifteen minutes and as soon as he arrived, David told him to hurry up and heat some water for tea in order to get hot fluids in me. I was so cold that I just stood there and looked at the caribou skin jacket when David set it on the ground next to me, but I didn't want to bend over to pick it up. When David asked me how I was doing, I don't remember what I said, but by my response, he knew I was in trouble and he helped me get my warm clothing on. I stuck my hands down into the pockets of my jacket and within a short time, I could start feeling my fingers again. It wasn't a good feeling. It felt like someone had stuck an air hose in my fingers and was blowing them up, and at the same time they felt like they were on fire. I thought they were going to split open. It was incredibly painful. It took a while, but they started returning to normal. My face also felt like it was burning after I put my facemask back on. I felt I was lucky that I didn't freeze my nose off! A little frostbite I could live with.

A humble man

Once we got the bear set up so that we could take some pictures, it finally sunk in what had happened that day. I was kneeling next to the bear and I was about as humble a man as you are ever going to meet. I thanked my heavenly father for the two gifts he has given me. One was the boyhood dream that he had made come true that day and the other is when my wife, Karen, fell in love with me. Because if it weren't for her love and support, I would never have had the opportunity to do the things I've done in my life.

Changing the culture

I couldn't believe the events that happened today. The last few hours were like a dream. Like a living dream and then to have it end the way it did. I could not have dreamed it any better. Here was this large boar lying on the ground that I had taken with my bow. A boyhood dream come true! My guide was so impressed at how swiftly the bear expired that I believe we may change the Inuit's way of life. They are going to get rid of their "smoke sticks" and change to "sharp sticks." We might even have to open a PSE dealership right here in Resolute.

Forty yard man

Later that afternoon one of the things that struck me kind of funny was when I had talked to Tom Hoffman before the trip; I asked him how close he thought I could get for a good clean shot. He said, "Well it just depends on how brave you are", and said that he "didn't want to get any closer than forty yards." He said that when the bear looked at him, he knew that was all the closer he wanted to get. I want to tell you--I'm also a forty yard man. Because of Tom's experience, that's exactly the shot I had practiced before and during the hunt. Anyone who's brave enough to get any closer to something like that on the open ice, with only a few dogs between them, has got to be a lot tougher than I'll ever be!

We're setting up camp here for the night. I'm looking forward to calling my wife and telling her I'm coming home.