“Being Caribou” News from the Front April 14, 2003 "Hello Homebase, this is Being Caribou and we’re up on a ridge in a storm wondering how things are back there and it’s going great. There are caribou coming out of the fog and disappearing ahead of us. We had a great lift out from Old Crow last week. Leanne ended up following a wolf for 20 miles on the skidoo and we took part in a caribou hunt. Thirteen caribou shot and we helped to prepare the meat. Leanne got some amazing footage. We spent the night in a cabin with Randall Tetlichi and James Itzi. Brutal snow conditions "They dropped us off the next day and off we headed from near the Bell River. We made our way up the first ridge following caribou trails. If we couldn’t follow the caribou trails we would be dead. Because the snow is just brutal, up to our hips and sinking through. When you’re on the trail it’s like trying to stay on a log a long, long narrow log for mile after mile and you slip off and you just fall in right up to your hips. Lots of bushwhacking for the first couple of days and then we broke out onto a windswept ridge yesterday after probably some of the hardest-earned kilometers over the last three days that we’ve ever had. Now we’re up on the ridge and it was just a fantastic day yesterday. Again, caribou streaming off in the distance, more following behind were definitely in the migration right now. The big question is whether we’re going to be able to keep up because one night they came right past our tent. They move at night, they move during the day, they’re moving in this storm. We’re just hoping we’ve got some chance of moving with them. So it’s going great, its like right out of a book, it’s unbelievable. We’re calling in every Monday and Thursday with our position to Parks Canada. The battery charging is working fine right now. Everything’s going great. We made good choices on the equipment for what we need, we’re keeping good care of each other, we’re in great, great spirits and having an excellent time." (Verbatim from satellite phone message left on April 14, 2003) Copyright 2003 Journey North. All Rights Reserved. Please send all questions, comments, and suggestions to our feedback form