Another season has come and gone at Gana River. The move out went quite well—even though we decided to move out a day early to beat some nasty weather that was coming. The horse crews also trailed out a day early as they were tagged out and ready to go earlier than usual. The trip down the North Canol road went quite well—especially considering the horrible condition of the road these days. The horses all made the trip out in good shape and all of the tack and gear has been put away for the winter.
We were all geared up to host the Youth camp again this year but Northern Youth cancelled the camp on short notice. I am not sure if we will do the camp with them again but may try with another organization. We did however host a meeting between the Association of Mackenzie Mountains Outfitters and a group of Elders and some youth from the SAHTU region. The meeting was quite productive and enjoyed by all who were able to attend.
We had a cloudy and cooler than normal summer but not a lot of rain. There seemed to be just enough showers to keep the grass and berries growing but very little high water. The blueberry crop was amazing—the best crop of big fat berries that I have seen in 29 years at Gana. There seemed to be good antler growth on the moose and caribou and we had a great crop of big healthy lambs. We ended up taking 20 rams that averaged 37 inches in length and 10 years of age –100% success for clients who completed their hunts. We took a total of 31 bull caribou with an average B&C gross score of 380—8 bulls grossed over 400 B&C. All caribou hunters were able to harvest bulls except a pair of archery hunters who had some stalk opportunities but some really tough luck. Many of our sheep and moose hunters were able to add a nice caribou to their harvest. The fall was quite warm and therefore the moose rut was slow. One archery moose hunter stalked several great bulls but never did get a good clean shot opportunity and went home without a bull despite staying extra days. All the other clients were successful on 6 bull moose that averaged 58 inches in width—One great bull grossed 247 B&C. One of 3 archery caribou hunters took a great bull that scored 390 B&C after trying several stalks at a huge bull that would have scored well over 400.
On Backpack Hunt #1 repeat hunter Tide Murray took a great old 13.5 year old ram hunting on the south Gana with guide Scott Kennedy. Andy McGee hunted in Boulder Creek with guide Riley Janz and took a beautiful 36 inch whipper ram. On our first horseback hunt Jon Stephens hunted from the Wilber Camp with guide Wyatt Tennant and took a nice 35 inch 10 year old ram. The Fritz River crew started the first hunt at the “Purples Camp” in 2025. Repeat hunter Kenny Whittleman took a nice 36.5 inch ram with guide Jason Wheale. Tanner Schwartz hunted with guide Jayden Drost for a great 38 inch ram. On our second backpack hunt archery hunter Scott Mahoney hunted with guide Scott Kennedy and packer Nathan Grinde was able to take a good 36 inch ram with his bow. Steve Polanish hunted with guide Riley Janz and took a heavy 38.5 inch ram before moving to the “Horsepass” for a 385 early season velvet caribou. Steve’s hunting partner John Galinus hunted with guide Harrison Hook on the Rockpile and took a small bodied 36 inch ram, and also added a good early season velvet caribou hunting at the “Horsepass”. David Knowles and Jon Erickson hunted with guide Henry Boden on their 2 on 1 caribou hunt and both took good early season velvet bulls. On the second horseback hunt Shad Hulse and his hunting partner Brian Nelson hunted with Wyatt Tennant & wrangler Ty Drost. Shad took a great 37 inch 13 year old ram early in the hunt and added a 360 velvet caribou. Brian Nelson tagged along with Shad on the hunt also took a good velvet caribou at the Ram Cabin. The Fritz River crew hunted from “Double Header Camp” on the second hunt where Stan Sapp took a really heavy 40.5 inch ram that green scored 165 hunting with guide Jason Wheale. Rob Burgett and Matt Wetzel hunted 2 on 1 caribou with guide Jayden Drost & wrangler Judd Faehmel. Rod was happy with his 375 velvet bull and Matt took a bull that grossed 385.
On our third backpack hunt repeat client Steve Arnett filled a cancellation and was rewarded with a great 39.5 inch ram and a 409 velvet caribou. Steve hunted with guide Scott Kennedy. Kevin Tyhy hunted with guide Riley Janz and took a nice 36.5 inch ram at 747 camp with some help from packer Anders Grinde. They then moved down to the YaHa Cabin where Kevin harvested a nice grey wolf. Kevin finished off his hunt harvesting a 407 velvet caribou in the valley at Base Camp. Derek Tardif had a great hunt on the “Corner” with guide Harrison Hook and took a heavy broomed 10 year old ram and a 370 velvet caribou. Archery caribou hunters Tom Zais and Michael Haack hunted a couple of different areas with guide Henry Boden and had a few stalks but neither were able to harvest a bull with their bow. On Horseback Hunt #3 Chad Maxfield hunted with guide Wyatt Tennant and wrangler Ty Drost from Ledbetter Camp and was happy to harvest good ram and a 370 velvet caribou. Wrangler Ty Drost also filled his caribou tag on the hunt harvesting a huge 431 gross bull. The Fritz River crew moved down to the Fritz Cabin for Hunt #3 where Ben Ramaker took a 35 inch ram and a 387 caribou with guide Jayden Drost. Jayden had lots of help from trail cook Charlie Grinde and wrangler Judd Faehmel. Brothers Spencer and Alex Hudson hunted 2 on 1 caribou with guide Jason Wheale. Spencer took a good 380 class bull and brother Spencer was rewarded for hunting long and hard for a bull that grossed 401 B&C. On our fourth backpack hunt Matt Tannas hunted with guide Scott Kennedy and had an exceptional hunt taking a 10 year old 41 inch ram and then adding a 400 inch bull caribou.
Chris Drazan hunted on the “Rockpile” with guide Harrison Hook and packer Nathan Grinde and took an 11 year old 42+ ram. Repeat hunter Gord Homenick hunted with guide Riley Janz and checked out a couple of good rams but could not make the climb to get to them because of foot pain. Two on one caribou hunters Kurt Keskimaki and Rob Madsen hunted at Wilber Camp with guide Henry Boden. Rob drew first blood with a huge velvet bull that grossed 429. Kurt was archery hunting and he had several attempts at an even bigger bull that they eventually bumped out of the area. They returned to base camp where Kurt was able to take a 390 hard horned bull with his bow. On our fourth horseback hunt Mak Kern wounded a good 36 inch ram with his bow and ended up finishing it with a rifle. Two on one caribou hunters John Primasing and Doug Eberhardt hunted on the Fritz River with guide Jayden Drost and both took home good bulls. Long time clients Steve & Jack Mulvihill tried for a big old ram on the rockpile with guides Ryan Faehmel & Wyatt Tennant as well as packer Luke Faehmel but could not get him to come out of the cliffs. Steve & Jack next hunted caribou from Base Camp with Wyatt Tennant and Ty Drost and both took nice hard horned bulls. Their next adventure was drifting the Mountain River for moose with guide Henry Boden. The warm weather and slow rut made it tough to call bulls out of the timber but Henry did call in a good bull early one morning but they were not able to get a shot at him when he came out right by camp.
On our horseback moose hunts repeat client Bob Hereau took a hard horned caribou and a 61 inch moose with guide Wyatt Tennant at “Double Header” camp. Father and son team of David & Tyler Kuntz enjoyed their hunt at “Willow Camp”. The weather was warm and the rut was slow so David chose to take a very old 50 inch bull. Tyler was next with a hard horned caribou and a good 55” bull. On our fifth backpack hunt Andrew Baker harvested a great 10 year old 40 inch ram with guide Riley Janz. Repeat hunter Kirk Cleland hunted the North Gana with guide Scott Kennedy for a good old 39 inch ram. Next was hunting moose at the Lower Fritz where they took an excellent 57 inch bull that grossed 216 B&C. Caribou hunters Dennis Bohannon and Mike Whalen took a pair of great velvet bulls (405 & 387 B&C) at the head of the “Timbered Ridge” with guide Harrison Hook. On Backpack Hunt #6 hunt Michael Oswalt and Harrison Hook backpacked on the lower Ram River for a big moose that was seen there last year. They were eventually able to get eyes on him from well up on the mountain and made a successful stalk. Mike’s big bull taped out at 65.5 inches and grossed 247 B&C.
Mike was also able to add a 380 bull caribou hunting out of base camp on the last day of his hunt. Archery hunter Scott Jankowski
hunted for moose with Scott Kennedy in the “Golden Valley” and saw lots of moose but none cooperated to give them a good stalk opportunity. Scott did manage to take a grey male wolf on the hunt. Two on one caribou hunters Jon Bumstead and Randy Shultz had a good time hunting with guide Riley Janz at the head of the “Timbered Ridge” where they worked hard for 2 nice 365 class bulls. As luck would have it a group of better bulls passed through camp once they were tagged out!
On the Helicopter assist hunt up on the Gana River repeat hunter Josh Stapp and his hunting buddy Tom Anderson hunted near Powel Creek with guide Riley Janz. As seems normal in that area they had some tough weather but eventually took a good 56” heavy horned bull. Archery hunter Scott Jankowski was able to stay extra days to fill a cancellation and continued to hunt moose above the Gana where he and guide Scott Kennedy tried multiple stalks on several good bulls but never did get a shot opportunity that Scott was comfortable with. Scott was impressed with all the moose in the area and plans to come back and try again.
All in all, it was another great season at Gana River. Cooks Mary Faehmel, Emery Porte and Elisha Neudorf did their best to fatten us all up with their incredible meals. This year Judd Faehmel worked as trail cook on the Fritz River crew–of course he got to tag along on quite a few hunts as well as cook. Charlie Grinde and Ty Drost wrangled on the horse crews. For these youngsters working on the horse crews is a great way to gain experience and train to become guides. Nathan & Anders Grinde and Luke Faehmel worked around camp cleaning skulls, cutting wood doing other camp chores. They also got to go out and pack on backpack hunts for several of our clients—once again a great way to learn the skills need to become guides. Jessica & Dalli Faehmel as well as Jordanna & Arielle Grinde did their turn helping out in the kitchen as well. All of the kids are a big help processing meat for camp and for our clients. We were very thankful to have Dale Trottier (Trapper) come and fly for us this season. Dale is a great pilot and also a good storyteller! Ryan Faehmel did a lot of the flying during our 2025 season and is becoming a very proficient pilot. Harrison Hook was a great addition to our crew and we look forward to having him back for many more years. We are blessed to have such a great crew, so many wonderful clients and to have had another successful season. We hope to see you in 2026!
Thanks, from Harold and the Gana River Crew!