king' s outdoor world - Index

king' s outdoor world - Hunting Illustrated April/May 2008 - Index

38
I f
you have not been to Alaska yet,
then I suggest that you change
whatever plans you may have
and visit Alaska - pronto! I can only
describe my own trip to Alaska as
breathtaking and more rewarding
than any other place that I have been
- hunting or otherwise. Fortunately
for me, not only was this trip about
hunting, it was about me getting the
chance to hunt the Alaskan Barren
Ground caribou. Ever since I can
remember, the two game species that
I have always wanted to pursue were
the Alaskan moose and the Alaskan
Barren Ground caribou. Somehow,
this dream always seemed to elude
me, but not this time.
For the last 25 years, I
have been the co-owner of Tru-
Life Taxidermy Studio Inc. located
in southern California. We are the
premier Taxidermy Studio here on the
coast and have a huge base of clients
ranging from the wealthy, the famous,
and hunters and huntresses from all
walks of life. Amazingly, 70% of
our clientele are from out of
state.
HUNTING ILLUSTRATED.com
My hunt began
around February or March
when a small group
of clients came to our
taxidermy studio and
asked my husband,
Steve, to book a caribou
hunt with an Alaskan
guide of Steve’s
recommendation. In
our neck of the woods,
this is not unusual
considering that our taxidermy company
has been around so long. We are very
familiar with the hunting industry and
its guides. By the second or third visit
to discuss the caribou hunt with us
at Tru-Life, this group of clients was
serious about booking. Steve and I felt
the only choice was Mel Gillis’ Sandy
River Camp. In no time, the caribou trip
started to look like a reality and possibly
a trip for me as well. I knew that this
could be the opportunity for me to live
out my dream of hunting caribou.
By summer’s end, I had
convinced Steve that we should go with
Rick Lamb, Mike Woodin, and
Bill Batchelor and visit Mel
Gillis at his lodge at Sandy
River. Thankfully, it did not
take much discussion and we
were on our way to Alaska.
Mel Gillis is the
seasoned and accomplished
owner and guide of Sandy
River Lodge and has been a
friend of ours for some time.
Sandy River Lodge allows
opportunities to hunt silver
and king salmon, moose,
brown bear, wolf, caribou
and some birds. Mel boasts a
great personality and loves to play tricks
of the
5NORTH BORDER5
Annette Leeds
NORTH OF THE BORDER
Three Kings
Alaska, a breathtaking most rewarding
experience.
on
people. He
insists on calling me Anita.
He knows full well that my name is
Annette, but he insists on calling me
Anita all the time. Mel is a great guy,
and a true gentleman. Before I knew
it, September had arrived and we
were headed to Alaska and the Sandy
River Lodge.
Our fi rst day at the lodge
started early and we were introduced
to our guides. My guide was J.J.
Adams. J.J. was quiet; but, boy, what
a great guy. During the next few
hours, we sighted in our rifl es and
made our plans for the hunt. We were
then driven to the fast and beautiful
Sandy River where each excited
hunter was loaded onto a boat with
their gear and rations and whisked
away for the day’s hunt.
Day one started out
beautifully; the sky was clear and
the sun was shining. We rode up the
Sandy River at a good clip for about
thirty minutes and then pulled into a
small alcove by the river’s edge. J.J.
and I jumped out and he explained that
we would travel inland to a nice knoll
where we could glass. We walked for
about two miles before we arrived at