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LAST EDITED ON Sep-28-10 AT 03:18PM (MST)[p]LAST EDITED ON Sep-28-10 AT 03:15?PM (MST)
LAST EDITED ON Sep-28-10 AT 03:09?PM (MST)
Well, it seems I have cheated death once again. I just returned from my solo backpacking mountain goat hunt in Montana. I had a really good time, but I must admit that this country really kicked my butt.
I took advantage of the really nice fall weather we have been having, and went a week or two earlier than planned. The forecast was for clear skies and highs in the 70?s, even over 10,000 feet. Really unusual for late September, and I had been planning on hunting in winter weather. Very pleasant conditions, but I ended up suffering from a little heat exhaustion during the pack out. I drank a little over a gallon and a half of water during the hike, and was still so dehydrated that by mid afternoon I was getting dizzy and nauseated. A little rest in the shade, along with more fluids and electrolytes, and I managed to finish the pack out without any major problems. It was still 8 hours later, however, before I could finally take a piss. I really felt crappy, but a little rest, proper nutrition, and a good night's sleep and I am ready to go back again. (Not really, but it sounds good to say it!)
The area I hunted was only about 5 miles from the truck, but I think miles should be measured differently in this nearly vertical country. I only had about two miles of forest service trail, and the rest was bushwhacking to get to the peaks, and then trying to scramble around the ridgelines and cliffs looking for goats. I carried my backpack weighing 45 pounds all the time, enabling me to camp where ever I was when it got dark. I saw a dozen different goats, although only a couple billies before I finally found the one I shot. I also saw 5 bighorn rams, including one really nice ? curl brute. I was actually trying to close the distance on a small group of goats a couple miles away when I encountered my goat late in the day. I was able to get within 350 yards, and took him cleanly with one shot from the Kimber MT in 300 wsm. I used hand loaded 150 grain Barnes TSX and shot him about 5:30 pm.
The photos show the peak where I shot the goat. He was in a nice avalanche chute, which made retrieval much easier. I expected him to tumble to the bottom, but he collapsed and stayed put high in the chute. You can see him as a small white dot in the picture. I hiked up the chute to him, simply touched his horns to get a better look, and he took off sliding to the bottom of the chute. He got banged up and bloody tumbling down, but this was much better than me having him to pack him down through this terrain. Pictures never show how steep the mountains really are, but trust me when I say this country is STEEP! I pitched my tent in the small grove of trees at the base of the chute, and worked until dark boning out the meat and getting the hide off the goat. I kept the full skin for a life-size mount, and was pretty impressed with how thick (and heavy) the hide is on a goat. I had everything down near the tent by 8:30 (damn dark!) and collapsed into my tent with my freeze dried dinner. The GPS said my tent was at 10,400 feet.
I spent Sunday packing the goat and my camp back to the truck. I started at first light and managed to get finished with about 30 minutes of daylight left in the evening. It took two trips, the first with a little more than 80 pounds and the last trip out a more manageable 71 pounds. I like to do the heaviest load first, as by the end of the day even 70 pounds seems like a lot of weight. My feet are bloodied once again, but nothing really too bad. This was my last extreme hunt for the year (I hope!), and look forward to a few simple hunts on the ATV?s and from the camper. I hope you enjoy the pictures. This is really God?s country.
Bill
1.10 ? High mountasin lake in the wilderness.
1.4 ? Looking up the saddle I need to cross to get into the next basin
Stitched ? This stitched set of photos is from the top of the saddle in the previous picture, looking primarily east. Yellowstone Park is in the background.
1.5 ? From down in this basin, looking back up at the saddle where I took the stitched photo. I was in the small notch just left of center in this photo. I had to climb down that little cut to get to the bottom. A little scary with a backpack on.
1 ? live goat taken through my spotting scope just before the shot.
1.6 ? the white speck high in the avalanche chute on the left is the dead goat
1.7 ? picture of the goat where he fell. Nice and clean looking. He started to slide the moment I touched him
1.8 ? A little beat up, but I finally caught up with the goat near the bottom of the chute.
1.9 ? I set my tent up near the base of the avalanche chute at 10,400 ft elevation
1.11 ? The tent is set up behind the small group of trees slightly right of center (not visible). The mountain goat was taken in the avalanche chute on the peak above. This photo was taken from where I took the shot. It was laser ranged at 349 yards.
LAST EDITED ON Sep-28-10 AT 03:09?PM (MST)
Well, it seems I have cheated death once again. I just returned from my solo backpacking mountain goat hunt in Montana. I had a really good time, but I must admit that this country really kicked my butt.
I took advantage of the really nice fall weather we have been having, and went a week or two earlier than planned. The forecast was for clear skies and highs in the 70?s, even over 10,000 feet. Really unusual for late September, and I had been planning on hunting in winter weather. Very pleasant conditions, but I ended up suffering from a little heat exhaustion during the pack out. I drank a little over a gallon and a half of water during the hike, and was still so dehydrated that by mid afternoon I was getting dizzy and nauseated. A little rest in the shade, along with more fluids and electrolytes, and I managed to finish the pack out without any major problems. It was still 8 hours later, however, before I could finally take a piss. I really felt crappy, but a little rest, proper nutrition, and a good night's sleep and I am ready to go back again. (Not really, but it sounds good to say it!)
The area I hunted was only about 5 miles from the truck, but I think miles should be measured differently in this nearly vertical country. I only had about two miles of forest service trail, and the rest was bushwhacking to get to the peaks, and then trying to scramble around the ridgelines and cliffs looking for goats. I carried my backpack weighing 45 pounds all the time, enabling me to camp where ever I was when it got dark. I saw a dozen different goats, although only a couple billies before I finally found the one I shot. I also saw 5 bighorn rams, including one really nice ? curl brute. I was actually trying to close the distance on a small group of goats a couple miles away when I encountered my goat late in the day. I was able to get within 350 yards, and took him cleanly with one shot from the Kimber MT in 300 wsm. I used hand loaded 150 grain Barnes TSX and shot him about 5:30 pm.
The photos show the peak where I shot the goat. He was in a nice avalanche chute, which made retrieval much easier. I expected him to tumble to the bottom, but he collapsed and stayed put high in the chute. You can see him as a small white dot in the picture. I hiked up the chute to him, simply touched his horns to get a better look, and he took off sliding to the bottom of the chute. He got banged up and bloody tumbling down, but this was much better than me having him to pack him down through this terrain. Pictures never show how steep the mountains really are, but trust me when I say this country is STEEP! I pitched my tent in the small grove of trees at the base of the chute, and worked until dark boning out the meat and getting the hide off the goat. I kept the full skin for a life-size mount, and was pretty impressed with how thick (and heavy) the hide is on a goat. I had everything down near the tent by 8:30 (damn dark!) and collapsed into my tent with my freeze dried dinner. The GPS said my tent was at 10,400 feet.
I spent Sunday packing the goat and my camp back to the truck. I started at first light and managed to get finished with about 30 minutes of daylight left in the evening. It took two trips, the first with a little more than 80 pounds and the last trip out a more manageable 71 pounds. I like to do the heaviest load first, as by the end of the day even 70 pounds seems like a lot of weight. My feet are bloodied once again, but nothing really too bad. This was my last extreme hunt for the year (I hope!), and look forward to a few simple hunts on the ATV?s and from the camper. I hope you enjoy the pictures. This is really God?s country.
Bill
1.10 ? High mountasin lake in the wilderness.
1.4 ? Looking up the saddle I need to cross to get into the next basin
Stitched ? This stitched set of photos is from the top of the saddle in the previous picture, looking primarily east. Yellowstone Park is in the background.
1.5 ? From down in this basin, looking back up at the saddle where I took the stitched photo. I was in the small notch just left of center in this photo. I had to climb down that little cut to get to the bottom. A little scary with a backpack on.
1 ? live goat taken through my spotting scope just before the shot.
1.6 ? the white speck high in the avalanche chute on the left is the dead goat
1.7 ? picture of the goat where he fell. Nice and clean looking. He started to slide the moment I touched him
1.8 ? A little beat up, but I finally caught up with the goat near the bottom of the chute.
1.9 ? I set my tent up near the base of the avalanche chute at 10,400 ft elevation
1.11 ? The tent is set up behind the small group of trees slightly right of center (not visible). The mountain goat was taken in the avalanche chute on the peak above. This photo was taken from where I took the shot. It was laser ranged at 349 yards.
