I was heading up to visit some researcher buddies who are studying mountain goats but the weather is too extreme today. I have driving rain while they are in a snow storm. They have had no goat kid recruitment this year, zilch for babies. The goats are so stressed out from predators that they didn't even get pregnant. The researchers have seen wolves and grizzlies almost daily so the goats are on the move constantly. This photo is from up there a few seasons ago, so nothing new except no young ones to chase.

The answer is obvious. So many in Alaska bust Ted Spraker's balls about predator control, yet reap the benefits from increased moose and caribou. He gets a huge thank you from me. That said, I don't even live in that country. He has done well for my area, in general, as has the B.O.G. in general.
My hat is off to them. Good luck in your area. Without killing the large predators, well, you know the results

I'm heading North this Sunday for my expedition up to Black Water Lake. I hope to have a good story or two when I return.

But I hope I don't top this one. I'm heading this way and I went to school with one of these pickers. A CBC report










What's the best way to fend off a wolf that's stalking you? Bait it with a bear cub, of course.

It sounds incredible, but that's exactly what Joanne Barnaby did when she got into a terrifying situation while out picking morel mushrooms near Fort Smith, N.W.T., last Friday.

Barnaby and her friend Tammy Caudron headed out to an area burned by wildfires to spend an hour or two searching for the elusive morels. They soon became separated, leaving Barnaby alone with her loyal dog, Joey.

Once her pail was full of mushrooms, she turned to head back toward her truck.

Fort Smith Yellowknife map
Joanne Barnaby was mushroom picking when she got separated from her friend near Fort Smith, N.W.T. (CBC)

"I heard this growl behind me. There was a long, tall, very, very skinny wolf. A black wolf. And his legs were spread and his hair was standing, and he was growling, and baring his teeth."

Joey charged the animal, but the wolf stood its ground.

"I don't think Joey expected that," Barnaby says. "I didn't want him hurt, of course, but I also knew that if the wolf got Joey, I'd be next."

'Trying to wear me down'

The wolf started pacing back and forth in the direction of the truck. Barnaby says it was forcing her to go farther east, away from the highway.

"It took me a while to realize that he knew what he was doing. He was trying to wear me down. He was trying to separate Joey and I," she says.

"I think he was weak. He didn't look healthy. He looked old to me ... I don't think he wanted to take us both on."

What followed was a 12-hour hunt. The wolf continued to pursue Barnaby and Joey, as they were pushed farther from her truck.


'I started praying to not let the mosquitos drive me insane.'

- Joanne Barnaby

"He was dogged. He was just determined," Barnaby says. "I was in trouble."

Barnaby said she became dehydrated, her calves and thighs were aching, and there was another vicious attacker that was testing her mental strength.

"I was going crazy with mosquitoes. There were zillions of mosquitoes."

Dangerous plan pays off

At about 4:30 a.m., Barnaby heard a loud noise. She quickly recognized it as a mother bear. Listening closely, trying to drown out the buzz of mosquitoes, sure enough she heard a cub respond from far away in the distance. The two bears had been separated.

"I realized that there was a chance that the mother bear would tackle the wolf if she felt that the wolf was a threat," Barnaby explains.

"So I made the choice of walking towards the cub."

It worked. After walking about 20 minutes, Barnaby's dangerous plan paid off.

"I heard this big crashing behind me and realized that the mama bear had attacked the wolf, or maybe the other way around, I don't know, but they were fighting and I could hear the wolf yelping and I could hear the mama bear growling and I could hear all this crashing and I just took off!"
Decision to live

Finally free of the wolf, Barnaby and Joey both "perked right up" when they saw a lake.

"I had brought one can of beer with me. Silly choice," she laughs. "That little can of beer ended up saving my life."

She drank can after can of water and finally took a break.


'This one was a decision to live and it was really powerful.'

- Joanne Barnaby

"I started praying to not let the mosquitos drive me insane. Then I just started talking to people I love, some of whom are still with us, some of whom have passed.

"As I talked to them and told them how much I loved them," Barnaby said, her voice breaking, "everything they mean to me, it energized me, and I was determined to see everybody again.

"All night I had been making decisions of sorts, but this one was a decision to live and it was really powerful."

Lessons learned

When the pair finally climbed onto the highway Saturday morning, Barnaby saw vehicles parked on the road about a kilometre away.

"I was like, 'OK, we're good. We're really good.'"

A police truck, carrying a local RCMP officer and a Parks Canada worker, drove to Barnaby and Joey.

"They both jumped out of the truck and we had big hugs, and of course they were full of questions, but they didn't have any bug spray for me! I couldn't believe it!" she laughs.

Barnaby is still kicking herself for not bringing her gun into the bush, calling it a "huge mistake."

"Don't do what I did. Don't go without your gun," she says. "Anything can happen.

"If I had had that gun, it would've been a very short situation."

I guess she won't forget that for a while.

Made it to my first stop in the NWT. Stayed the night in Hay River This is my home town and when I was a kid the harbour and town was full of boats and workers. Before the Dempster highway was built everything went on a barge here, and then down the McKenzie River. Pretty quiet now. Off to Ft Simpson today.

Did you look up Andrew Stanley,famous star of the wild north FHA?

Brian I assume this is Caw Ridge you are talking about. Too bad as these goats are always a treat to see. They seem so tame I would think they are a pretty easy kill for a Grizzly unless they can get to some escape cover. I hope to draw a sheep tag in there this year but we will see. Been a couple of years since I have been up there.

He should just keep going past Simpson and come see Muskrat411 we'll jet boat up the Rat River look for the Mad Trapper! If he goes up the Nahanni River, Headless Valley is named after my great uncles. we'll there headless corpses any ways. True story, Game of Thrones Deh Cho style.

What about Albert Faille the famous gold prospector.Did he ever find his gold up the nahanni?

Turns out the gold he was looking for was on the Yukon side. A prospector stumbled on it a few years back while caribou hunting......about 5 km from my cabin. I have since sold that line, but talked to a geologist friend this spring that did some work there last fall....he said he has never seen anything like it...just roll back the moss and the gold is right there. I trapped all over that country for 20-years and never knew it!!

Made it to Ft Simpson with one stop in Jean Marie River to buy Moccassins. Saw two baby great greys on side of raid plus a lot of Sandhill cranes. Heading to Wrigley then into the Mckenzie River this evening and heading north. Already did Nahanni on a couple trips. We might try the Root River and head up into the Mckenzie Mountains. Come on down for visit 411. Remember were connected by Johnny Bouvier!

Everything likes the Yukon better, especially gold.

yea but you got the diamonds!!

My wife and I have returned from our 25th wedding anniversary trip. We did 2000 miles in one week getting to destinations. It was over 90 degrees / 34 celsius when we started out but cooled off as the week progressed. Saw a lot of bird life , Sandhill cranes, Peregrin falcons,





We drove to Wrigley NWT which is as far as you can go on summer road up here. We put our boats into the Mckenzie River and headed 60 miles north to the confluence of the Blackwater River. As we made our way up river we could see a forest fire was burning.





As it turned out the fire was burning where we were headed. We decided to camp the night and see if the fire would pass by. The next day as we headed up the Blackwater river we were in Smoke and flames along much of the way. We were very cautious as a small river is no protection from a fire storm. It was surreal watching flames burning alongside the river, black on one side and sometimes green on the other

As we got closer to the lake we made our way out of the fire zone and the smoke started to clear. We had 7 miles of rapids, bad enough that most locals avoid the river



Actually too hairy in spots to even try and get a picture

Once we broke out into the lake we were in paradise it seemed.

The fishing was exceptional with lake trout right off shore. We had a 17 pounder on line within minutes of throwing hooks in the water.






Also big pike and grayling




We ate fresh fish every day.

One very cool feature is the bear "Ridge" that guards the entrance to the river from the lake, can you see him? Start at the claws by the water edge and the rest pops into view




I found a minnow up on shore which showed why the blue silver hooks worked

From start to finish the trip was great. I enjoyed catching up with old friends and sharing time with my main partner, my wife. She's a keeper.

Looks like a great trip.It also looks like an old burn where your tent is set up.

Yes Boco that country has burned many times. Lots of moose, we saw 5.