High hopes and sore seats: A horseback hunt for Canada’s elusive dusky grouse

The view from the campsite was worth the ride up the on horsebackIt gets dark early where we were hunting, as the sun quickly disappears behind the rocky peaks to the west. Troy and I still had a couple of hours of daylight left that first afternoon, though, so we decided to split up to maximize the early exploration of our surroundings.

Whenever you’re hunting in the mountains you have to be prepared. And given we could only get cell service on the highest nearby peaks, it would be near-impossible for Troy to find me before morning if I had any kind of mishap and wasn’t able to return to camp. So, I pulled on a pack stuffed with a headlamp, extra jacket, fire-starting material and small first-aid kit, along with some water and granola bars. Since the area is well-known for its grizzly bears, I also jammed a few slug shells into my pocket for some well-warranted insurance.

I had a great hike that afternoon, learning the ins and outs of our ridge. I walked along the transition between the open grass and the thick spruce and fir forests that spilled down the steep slopes, scouring the tree tops for roosting grouse, and the forest floor and open grass for feeding birds. I saw little evidence of any creature, however, other than a lone pile of moose scat.

I made it back to our campsite just as Troy was walking in from the other side of the ridge. “I saw one,” he declared excitedly, telling me how a grouse had flushed from the meadow somewhere to his east and flown past him, sailing well down the treed slope, as these grouse are prone to do. It had flown so far down there was no chance to follow it, he said, but the sighting gave us great hope.

It was cool that first evening, and after a freeze-dried meal that was surprisingly good, along with a sundowner around our little fire, I was happy to crawl into the warmth of my sleeping bag.