Winter Elk Hunt in Dawson Creek

We’re back where it all began!

I was awarded a late-season elk draw in British Columbia’s Limited Entry Hunting lottery (LEH) in the Dawson Creek, Peace River area. Our friends at Corlanes Sporting Goods are D.C. locals ( who you may remember from our very first episode) and kindly offered to help us track down an elk. Help we most certainly needed! Even though there are approximately 18,000 elk in Northern B.C., and roaming herds can include as many as 400, they are cagey, cautious, and often completely elusive.

The last time Ryan and I were in Dawson Creek, the thermometer read 33 degrees Celsius. That’s hot! Forest fires were raging just south of the city, we attended the annual rodeo and cook-out and the summer sun hung in the sky some 21 hours each day!

Bush Plane Tour over northern Dawson Creek Area (separate region from the hunt)

This time around, there were long stretches of darkness. Skiffs of snow cover the frozen ground and Icy prairie winds and temperatures as bitterly cold as negative 27 degrees Celsius stung exposed skin.

With these conditions, what we thought would be a leisurely hunt through the gently rolling hills, endless pasture and dense groves of Peace River country, turned into an arduous search for elk and a race against the ensuing dark.

Left to Right: Aaron Matthias, Ryan and Joel

It’s a good thing that the hospitality in Dawson Creek is always so warm!

Long days of hunting turned into delightful nights full of good food and cheer! Craft brewery & eatery Post & Row was our evening watering hole while Beans & Barley served as our much-needed morning caffeine pick-me-up! Both are local favourites and both are full of the northern town’s charm we’ve come to admire and cherish.

Corlanes Co-Owner Aaron Matthias at the Workshop

In this episode, expert hunters, who know this vast, wild and unforgiving land, join us in our pursuit of an elk. We also learn more about the conservation effort and recent controversial changes to hunting in this region. We’re housed in a rather interesting abode, get airborne above the hoarfrost-covered trees, and finally…finally…find some warmth with an ancient remedy—to help us endure the cold winter during our weeklong stay in Dawson Creek!