P
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LAST EDITED ON Mar-05-14 AT 01:43PM (MST)[p]I'm finally getting around to posting some pics from a friend, Brent McGhie?s goat hunt last year.
I've hunted the Box Elder and the Lone Peak unit with friends 9-10 times now for goats since the mid-80s and this had to be the toughest hunt so far. I'm not talking about the fact that I'm now exactly 30 years older than I was on that first goat hunt in 1984; although while sitting at 11,060 feet in a 60mph blizzard a few days before he killed his billy, I was really rethinking my hobbies, and more closely, my choice of friends.
It was the toughest hunt because plain and simple...we couldn't find any goats.
In the past, on any summer or fall day you could find 50-60 goats without much effort feeding across the face of Box Elder Peak. I've watched them countless times from my home or the top of the Alpine Cemetery and I could just count on them always being there. These were nannys, kids and small billys. And even though we never found a shooter in this group, because of these numbers, we could always find several big billys within a mile of these females that we could watch until they furred out better and then shoot one.
This year in 4-5 different trips up on the peak and around the 14 mile loop that surrounds BE Peak, the Alpine Divide and the Silver Lake area we saw two goats on Box Elder, a few on the back of the peak which could have been the same two and a couple on Mine Hill. That's all. I had a guy tell me that he had seen 11 there earlier in the summer, but immediately questioned that when he followed up by saying that one of them was at least a 14? billy. Probably the same guy who saw the pack of wolves up by Lambert Park, (Old Alpine Story) .
I called the Biologist a few days after we got off the mountain with Brent's billy and ask about the decline. He told me they were aware that the numbers were down didn't know why. They were wondering if the big Alpine Fire in 2012 pushed them clear out of the area, but they didn't have any reports of extra goats in the surrounding areas. They also wondered if due to the drought we've had in the last few years that they weren't able to build up there fat in the summer and maybe winter killed. Although the Timp herd hadn't shown any decline in numbers so that didn't make sense. He did tell me then that they would combine the Timp, Lone Peak and Box Elder Units this year (which they did) until they find out.
My wife now has 18 goat points (one of only three in the state) and pretty much guaranteed any unit she puts in for, but now possibly has a ruptured disk. So after all these years of hunting this country and planning she may have to put in for an easier unit or just buy another point this year. So if you all have any ideas on units your familiar with I would greatly appreciate it. We need to decide before tomorrow at 11pm.. Crunch time.
Back to Brent's hunt.
We killed Brent's billy at the base of the center peak two days after I took this pic. I've never found goats here in the past. This was also the day after the storm we were caught in. We were on top of the peak which is just going out of view on the left of this pic.
Brent killed the lower billy. This pic was taken by Kevin through his spotting scope from over a 1/2 mile away. THe billy was actually in the ledges above where they are now when Brent shot him.
Kevin was down by the lake with his scope keeping track of the goats while we made our stalk. Brent and I were on the circular bench in the center of this pic just out from the pines when he shot the billy. 290 yds, and a very steep shot. The billy was about 100 yards further up the hill in the ledges from where it lays in this pic when Brent center punched him and he then rolled to this point. Luckily he caught his foot which kept him from going off a 100' ledge just beyond the jackpines in the pic.
Kevin-right, Brent-center ad myself-left with Brents billy. All of the billies I've helped take have been between 9 1/2" and 10" Billys. This one is the third largest,
"I hate being bi-polar.....Its awesome"
I've hunted the Box Elder and the Lone Peak unit with friends 9-10 times now for goats since the mid-80s and this had to be the toughest hunt so far. I'm not talking about the fact that I'm now exactly 30 years older than I was on that first goat hunt in 1984; although while sitting at 11,060 feet in a 60mph blizzard a few days before he killed his billy, I was really rethinking my hobbies, and more closely, my choice of friends.
It was the toughest hunt because plain and simple...we couldn't find any goats.
In the past, on any summer or fall day you could find 50-60 goats without much effort feeding across the face of Box Elder Peak. I've watched them countless times from my home or the top of the Alpine Cemetery and I could just count on them always being there. These were nannys, kids and small billys. And even though we never found a shooter in this group, because of these numbers, we could always find several big billys within a mile of these females that we could watch until they furred out better and then shoot one.
This year in 4-5 different trips up on the peak and around the 14 mile loop that surrounds BE Peak, the Alpine Divide and the Silver Lake area we saw two goats on Box Elder, a few on the back of the peak which could have been the same two and a couple on Mine Hill. That's all. I had a guy tell me that he had seen 11 there earlier in the summer, but immediately questioned that when he followed up by saying that one of them was at least a 14? billy. Probably the same guy who saw the pack of wolves up by Lambert Park, (Old Alpine Story) .
I called the Biologist a few days after we got off the mountain with Brent's billy and ask about the decline. He told me they were aware that the numbers were down didn't know why. They were wondering if the big Alpine Fire in 2012 pushed them clear out of the area, but they didn't have any reports of extra goats in the surrounding areas. They also wondered if due to the drought we've had in the last few years that they weren't able to build up there fat in the summer and maybe winter killed. Although the Timp herd hadn't shown any decline in numbers so that didn't make sense. He did tell me then that they would combine the Timp, Lone Peak and Box Elder Units this year (which they did) until they find out.
My wife now has 18 goat points (one of only three in the state) and pretty much guaranteed any unit she puts in for, but now possibly has a ruptured disk. So after all these years of hunting this country and planning she may have to put in for an easier unit or just buy another point this year. So if you all have any ideas on units your familiar with I would greatly appreciate it. We need to decide before tomorrow at 11pm.. Crunch time.
Back to Brent's hunt.
We killed Brent's billy at the base of the center peak two days after I took this pic. I've never found goats here in the past. This was also the day after the storm we were caught in. We were on top of the peak which is just going out of view on the left of this pic.
Brent killed the lower billy. This pic was taken by Kevin through his spotting scope from over a 1/2 mile away. THe billy was actually in the ledges above where they are now when Brent shot him.
Kevin was down by the lake with his scope keeping track of the goats while we made our stalk. Brent and I were on the circular bench in the center of this pic just out from the pines when he shot the billy. 290 yds, and a very steep shot. The billy was about 100 yards further up the hill in the ledges from where it lays in this pic when Brent center punched him and he then rolled to this point. Luckily he caught his foot which kept him from going off a 100' ledge just beyond the jackpines in the pic.
Kevin-right, Brent-center ad myself-left with Brents billy. All of the billies I've helped take have been between 9 1/2" and 10" Billys. This one is the third largest,
"I hate being bi-polar.....Its awesome"
