This year I decided I wanted a solo backpack hunting trip. After finding some great help with an area in Region G I cashed in my points and started preparing for an adventure.
The buck I wanted to hunt was about 5.5 miles and 3,200 feet from the trail head. I camped near the basin where he had been scouted during the summer. The first two days I spotted seven OK bucks but not the big one. Another hunter from WY found him and got a picture that he shared with me (nice to find other hunters that are willing to give some advice and help). He had moved to another basin about a mile away. This is the buck:
I hunted him every day for the next four days making the hike into the other basin each morning before light. The first time in I got a quick look at him as he moved into the trees. It was the only time I got eyes on him.
This is a buck that I watched the first two days. I had him in range for an hour and half one evening but decided not to take the shot so I could keep looking for the bigger buck.
This is a buck the hunter from WY saw and shared a picture with me. This guy really knew how to hunt the area and was seeing 2x the number of bucks that I was seeing. He ended up taking a very, very nice buck about a mile away in another basin.
This is another buck that I could have pursued the first two days of the hunt but decided to pass. He was about 160 and still in full velvet.
I had packed enough food for six days and had been careful so I could stretch it to 6 and half days. The evening of day six I knew I needed to hike out the next day. The 11 mile round trip would take at least seven hours and would make me miss prime time for the morning or evening hunt and only leave me a little over a day to try to finish the job. I was getting a bit worn out from the daily hikes and retrieving water (about a mile and 600 vertical feet). As I was glassing for the big buck again I happened to look on the other side of the steep ridge I was on and saw a buck that was only 200 yards off the trail I would hike out on (and he was about 800 vertical feet below camp and a mile closer to the trail head). After watching him on and off for an hour while I kept glassing for the larger buck I finally decided he would make a nice ending to an incredible experience. With about an hour of light left I double timed it off the ridge and got into a spot I could take a shot. I worked within 150 yards and finished the hunt.
Being only about 30 miles away from where that guide had been killed by a grizzly a few days earlier I felt a bit more urgency and seemed to hear every small noise around me as I processed him to pack out the next day (I don't think there were any grizzlies anywhere around but your mind goes all kinds of places when you are alone on a pitch black night smelling of blood).
Here is my pack ready to make the trek out. I'm not sure how much it weighed but I would guess 110-120 lbs. I debated making two trips (now only 4 miles from the trail head) but the allure of a shower and a hamburger convinced me to give it a try. I moved at about a 1 MPH pace making sure I did not turn an ankle or slip on a steep slope.
This was one of the most memorable hunts I've ever done. The scenery, frequency of buck sightings, solitude, and general excitement of the hunt were all amazing. I certainly hope to get another chance to hunt this area before I don't have the health to do it again.
The buck I wanted to hunt was about 5.5 miles and 3,200 feet from the trail head. I camped near the basin where he had been scouted during the summer. The first two days I spotted seven OK bucks but not the big one. Another hunter from WY found him and got a picture that he shared with me (nice to find other hunters that are willing to give some advice and help). He had moved to another basin about a mile away. This is the buck:
I hunted him every day for the next four days making the hike into the other basin each morning before light. The first time in I got a quick look at him as he moved into the trees. It was the only time I got eyes on him.
This is a buck that I watched the first two days. I had him in range for an hour and half one evening but decided not to take the shot so I could keep looking for the bigger buck.
This is a buck the hunter from WY saw and shared a picture with me. This guy really knew how to hunt the area and was seeing 2x the number of bucks that I was seeing. He ended up taking a very, very nice buck about a mile away in another basin.
This is another buck that I could have pursued the first two days of the hunt but decided to pass. He was about 160 and still in full velvet.
I had packed enough food for six days and had been careful so I could stretch it to 6 and half days. The evening of day six I knew I needed to hike out the next day. The 11 mile round trip would take at least seven hours and would make me miss prime time for the morning or evening hunt and only leave me a little over a day to try to finish the job. I was getting a bit worn out from the daily hikes and retrieving water (about a mile and 600 vertical feet). As I was glassing for the big buck again I happened to look on the other side of the steep ridge I was on and saw a buck that was only 200 yards off the trail I would hike out on (and he was about 800 vertical feet below camp and a mile closer to the trail head). After watching him on and off for an hour while I kept glassing for the larger buck I finally decided he would make a nice ending to an incredible experience. With about an hour of light left I double timed it off the ridge and got into a spot I could take a shot. I worked within 150 yards and finished the hunt.
Being only about 30 miles away from where that guide had been killed by a grizzly a few days earlier I felt a bit more urgency and seemed to hear every small noise around me as I processed him to pack out the next day (I don't think there were any grizzlies anywhere around but your mind goes all kinds of places when you are alone on a pitch black night smelling of blood).
Here is my pack ready to make the trek out. I'm not sure how much it weighed but I would guess 110-120 lbs. I debated making two trips (now only 4 miles from the trail head) but the allure of a shower and a hamburger convinced me to give it a try. I moved at about a 1 MPH pace making sure I did not turn an ankle or slip on a steep slope.
This was one of the most memorable hunts I've ever done. The scenery, frequency of buck sightings, solitude, and general excitement of the hunt were all amazing. I certainly hope to get another chance to hunt this area before I don't have the health to do it again.