I scoped out a couple canyons before committing to going all the way in one as I like to get a feel for the lay of the land, so I had quite the day under my belt already.
Of course I started up the obvious right side of the river, although had been told to start up the left side and in the end, crossed over, being stubborn as I can be.
Lots of grizzly diggings, maybe a good spring bear hunt, note to self...
Elk and moose tracks were plentiful in the mud and I stumbled across many potential wallows but they didnt seem to be used for as.
The scenery and country immediately became apparent why this area is known as a "locals area" and for such reasons the location will not be disclosed.
I did however, run into a local, of 12 years prior who ironically now lives in the same town I do !
Our intended victims were different though.
My first glassing location was about 3 hours in and I saw several nannys and kids on easy to reach knobs at low elevation.
I knew this was my problem so on I went.
Continuing on I started a good climb, as I had 6 days worth of gear with me and I was already starting my stalk to get a better look at the billy that was hanging with a couple other nannys up top.
This was my first goat hunt but the difference between sexes was quite obvious and with afternoon well underway, I wanted a better look at him.
Three quarters of the way up and about 1200' more to go, I took a breather and glassed what lay further ahead that I could not see from below... and spotted a real billy.
All alone, dirty, yellow and his glands were obvious from well over a km away.
Initial stalk was abandoned and a new gear was found to try and get closer before night fall.
One thing I found in goat country is, you cant "hurry," the odds of falling or making a LOT more noise are greatly increased.
So I went straight down to the valley floor as opposed to sidehilling the whole way, dropped my pack, pocketed my rangefinder, 2 extra bullets and my headlamp and "gunned it" (binos are always on me)
"585 yds" the Leica said as he hopped off the last ridge into the cliffs.
Goat 1- Me 0.
An hour later I was back at my pack and headed up to look for a "flat spot" to camp.
If you didnt get that, thats a joke, a "flat spot" to pitch a tent in goat country.
The basin I had to climb up to even see the goat again after I dropped my pack was hidden from below so I didnt want to camp on the valley floor and I sure didnt want to climb it again tomorrow or any other day for that matter.
I actually ended up camping much higher than I thought I would, 7000' to be exact (garmin)
I made my "flat spot" in about 15 mins and popped the Hillberg Allak's cherry right there.
After setting up I poked around and did some glassing across the valleys and was happy with what I saw, the scenery made the fact the goats were or were not there, irrelevant, what a spectacular place.
The goat sign was nice too
No more goats were glassed up that night.
Winds must have been 60mph and the tent was very quiet as it was completely "taught" and I slept well.
I awoke to pink skies and the forewarned weather promised by them came as surely as each minute following the second hand.
2 hours of glassing and my billy was nowhere to be found.
No biggie, I was fresh and "curious" what was hidding over the 8,500' wall behind me, grabbed a day bag and headed up.
Half way up I was looking at the ice wishing I had crampons and was following it up the mountain with my eyes, looked back and that friggin billy from the day before was bedded 300' above my tent !
The peripheral vision limited by the opening of my tent which I had glassed from, in the comfort of my bag while eating breakfast was "just a wall" that would surely be unnavigational by anything... right ?
So here I was, the 'dumb goat' who was likely watched all a.m by the 'smart goat' and he watched me head back down the mtn towards camp to crawl behind a pinnacle, set up and range find him @ 285yds as he casually walked away.
I was in no hurry nor was he and after several ten mins he turned broadside to overlook his "domain"
As he overlooked his domain I overlooked the ledge he was on and after the 168 gr TSX smashed both shoulders he dropped and lay still.... and slightly twitched once and had a tumble.
I felt sick, I was certain he would be a nanny when he hit the bottom but fortunately he lost aboutan inch on one side and just needs a bit of minor surgery on his chin.
He is a 4.5 year old 9.5" billy and every bit a trophy to me.
In the time it took me to climb down to him, the ravens were already waiting, slim pickin's up there I guess.
http://s1024.photobucket.com/albums/y30 ... oat070.mp4
This was a very fullfilling and rewarding hunt.
One thing I do NOT like about the rocks is how hard they are on the horns, even with taking care they got scratched to sh!t.
I hope my next goat falls on a grassy hill!
I do regret having both hunts come to an end so quickly. I really wanted to explore more of my goat zone and had I known I would get a goat so soon, i would have held out for a better bull.
My goat LEH was priority so I told myself, first legal bull.
I then went on to look for something "else" as I finished my hunt with 9 days left but will leave that for another time when I fill "that" quest.
I will now concentrate on blacktails and I'd like to get away for a mulie hunt at some point.
You know, goats are an amazing animal, where they live, the scenery that goes with them and effort required, to make it successful makes this one of the most rewarding hunts I've been on.
I highly recommend a goat hunt to anybody who thinks it wouldnt be for them.
