We had been planning this hunt for a while, and both applied seperatly for an LEH. Both Rhyno and I had hunted this zone before and we knew the odds of finding a couple decent goats was pretty good. We both drew, and plans were made for the past weekend. We wanted to plan a weekend late enough in the season for good haired up billies but also wanted to make sure we'd have good access. A buddy from Calgary (Duk Dog) came out to help out which made for a great addition as well.
Saturday morning we left the house at about 530 AM and headed out towards the zone. We dropped the camper and got a few things organized for the day. The 'plan' was to find some goats from down low and make a play on them that day. Well, those plans didnt work out as we ended up with a really low cloud cover that wouldnt lift. We considered hiking up blind and hunting but decided since we had 3 days that we'd wait it out and scout some country and make a big play the next day. We put on some miles, enjoyed some laughs, glassed a ton of cool country, and managed to shoot a few grouse along the way. Also managed to miss a few as well...
That evening, we spotted what looked like a good billy up high on the one mountain. He had big dark marks on him and we could glass and see that his glands were swollen right up. We also found a handful of other goats on another mountain near camp which had a few billies in it. Plans were made and we decided that we'd go up after the solo goat the following morning.
Sunday morning was an amazing sunrise and we had high hopes. We spotted the billy from the truck and began the 4000+ ft of elevation hike towards him. About 4 hours later we were eye to eye with a nanny and kid, skirting along the ridges and slides peaking over each ridge to find where the lone billy was. We had began to talk about the fact that the goat may have made it over the top or was hiding in a little ridge and we scoured the country. I ran my binos across the one ridgeline one more time and found him. He was looking at us and standing. A quick judge told me that this goat was mature and his cape looked amazing. Best of all, he was in a great spot for a shot. I laid down, the camcorder was rolling, and I made a good 238 yard shot on him. He took a few steps and was obviously quite 'sick' but one extra shot anchored him solid.
After approaching, I was overwhelmed with just how amazing his cape and hide were, and was happily surprised that he was an older goat. I aged him at 7 years for sure, and possibly 8 years. I've never been in a more amazing place for pics and was so happy to share it with two awesome hunting friends. We packed him up and headed down, arriving at the truck about 25 minutes after dark. A Kraken rum back at camp has never tasted so good!!!
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Originally Posted by coach
