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DAY 5

The weather steadily deteriorated and the rivers became flood-stage. That meant the river leading to our beaver swamp could no longer be waded, and the canal would be too treacherous with Johnnie's skiff. Given the forecasts, the duration of this storm would eat up all of the prime hunting days, leaving 1 day to hunt - at best. Johnnie and I decided to end the hunt and head back to Smithers this morning. I rebooked my flights and will be home in 2 days.

One of the reasons I like hunting with Johnnie so much (my fourth time) is his honesty and business ethics. Starting on day 2, he was skeptical about this hunt - due to the weather, and the lack of bear sign. He gave me the option of pulling the plug early and offered to refund 1/2 of my deposit. Doing the math, I don't think that he would have met expenses, so I told him to keep the entire deposit. Many outfitters would have simply blamed it on bad timing - but Johnnie went above and beyond with this gesture. That's what I've come to expect and why I book with him so much.

I'm sorry to disappoint all of you who were looking forward to another exciting hunt. I'm disappointed too, but I'd rather it happen to me than someone who saved five years for this hunt. I've hunted browns before, and I'll hunt them again. There's no guarantees with bowhunting.

We have another live hunt scheduled for this fall. We will be broadcasting a trophy deer hunt live from Kansas starting 11/9.

If you have a chance, please check out Johnnie's hunts by visiting muskegexcursions.com