Alpine Hunting

[Squire]

I pay attention to the bugs; even in hot weather, if they are bad the deer like the windswept ridges and you can find them where you would expect the goats to be. If the bugs are mild you may be wasting your time glassing the open areas in hot weather. I have hunted about twenty opening days in the high country and two thirds of them were during hot weather. Half of those were a bust and it wasn't a coincidence that the bugs were tolerable those trips. Deer I know are there because I saw them in July are down in the treeline so I wait for the weather to break and go back.

I have also had the same experience as Dana. Once wolves show up in an alpine area holding deer it doesn't recover even close to it's former numbers if there are deer there at all. I have plenty of pictures of beautiful alpine

[ditch donkey]

Alpine mulie hunts are definately a different commitment than most deer hunts. Like others have commented. you have to be willing to commit a chunk of time to get to alpine country and physical work to reach your glassing points and then to spend the time to locate a good buck. It can take days to locate a good one let alone kill him. if you choose to chase mulies in the apline your priorty usually has to be to find a great buck and not just any buck because the commitment of time and effort. mike eastman has a few good books that are worth the read to get ya started. There are way easier ways to kill a nice mulie buck but a great mulie taken from the alpine is by far one of the most rewarding accomplishments. you most likely wont cut your tag every year but when you do it will be worth it. And usually the adventure of the trip is what makes it anyway.

[Brez]

If I had anything to tell you, Dana has already said it. No trip is wasted. It's all good info - maybe not the info you wanted. Any overnight scouting trip is good if you haven't done alpine before as it will show you what you need to prepare for the hunt.

[mike31154]

I would have said the Monashees as well.

as someone who got into Alpine hunting recently to get more and more away from the typical hunting down below, keep a few things in mind:

1. It's almost always going to take longer to get above that tree line than it looks.
2. It's almost always WAAAAY steeper than it looks.
3. You're not going to cover as much terrain as you marked out on Google Earth off your couch.

It's easy to start GPS-ing things while watching Netflix in the back ground and thinking "ok, i'll get up this ridge, if nothing i'll check out this bowl over here, then the other one behind this peak". In reality, that shit is no joke. Hunting mulies in the alpine is hard. You're gonna be pretty beat up and won't cover as much terrain as you might think. So better to glass lots and be thorough with your eyes than feet.

Also, remember that some areas don't have a whole lot of deer that are visible during the day in the open. They might still be there but they might spend 99% of their time just in the tree line in the subalpine forest.

Ah yessss, the wonderful Monashees! In our back yard no? I know them well, winter, summer, spring, fall. Some good advice in this thread. Hopefully I can get a bit more scouting in this year myself. I've had a few almost chances to bag an animal, incl. whitetail, but the stars have not yet quite aligned for me despite all the hiking I've done. I think I move too much to be honest, can't seem to sit & glass for very long before I feel the need to get walking again.

Here's a screen shot featuring info on one of my many hikes in this area. Keep in mind this is a 1 way track & I had to get back down after the climb so you can double the distance/time for the full hike. Drove to the end of the road, loaded the pack onto my back, headed into thick forest, spooked 2 WT does no more than 50 meters from where I parked. A good hike until the trees started thinning out. Was up there again last fall & they were pushing the road farther up into the forest logging out another complete cutblock. I also heard wolves howling in the area last season.


This is last season on the other side of the valley from the track above. The new cutblock is very obvious.


Again, same general location, a little later in the season....3 or so years ago.




I still love getting up there, as long as the legs hold out...

[twoSevenO]

My comments regarding heat is it totally depends on where you are. Last summer I saw creeks that are always full of water completely dry. Deer need water. If there is none, they probably won't be there.

As for wolves, yup, they haven't ate every last deer but in many areas they have indeed ate the migratory herd, that is the population that scatters in the summer following the green up. The remnants that we have are hanging lower all year. Safety in the valley bottom around people. I can go to alpine basin after alpine basin that once held a good number of bucks in the 90s and 2000s and can't even find a track now. Feed is still lush but the areas are void of life. I guess if you like hiking and taking photos of landscapes and not wildlife, then these places still are fun to waste your time on. If you want to see some wildlife and possibly some hunting success then these areas should be avoided. Problem is, most are going on old information when they are heading to the highcountry.

Well, is it really wasting time if you won't be hunting anywhere else?
I hunt reg 3 alpine that opens on Sept 1st. I wouldn't be hunting anywhere else on that date anyways, so its not like i'm wasting hunting time in some other area.

But yes, it's unfortunate for some of us to be getting into alpine mulie hunting when the deer populations are at some of the lowest in BC. Nothing that can be done about that. I'll still be out there come Sept 1st in the same spot i've spotted bucks last Sept 1st. For various reasons it didn't work out, and even though i got 3 bucks last year, i still get angry thinking about letting it get away from me so easily in September. I had it ....


But you know what we could all use, Dana? ..... some pics of the alpine mulies you've taken over the years!

[RackStar]

But you know what we could all use, Dana? ..... some pics of the alpine mulies you've taken over the years!

I wouldn’t say no!

been day dreaming of the ol alpine hunt. Already got time booked a month ago.

But i now live 8.5 hours from let’s say “carpenter lake” area. Thinking about the other side of the range accessed by Williams lake. Maybe out near tatla lake.. summer scouting is in the books.

Anyone ever hunt 7-17 7-18... typically this is famous g bear and goats... but jack brodeur has written about taking some monsters up in those hills...

interested if anyone’s ever hunted deer in those alpine areas? Pretty amazing and extremely rugged country.

Any 7-17 7-18 alpine mule deer hunters out there?

[Ohwildwon]

as someone who got into Alpine hunting recently to get more and more away from the typical hunting down below, keep a few things in mind:

1. It's almost always going to take longer to get above that tree line than it looks.
2. It's almost always WAAAAY steeper than it looks.
3. You're not going to cover as much terrain as you marked out on Google Earth off your couch.

It's easy to start GPS-ing things while watching Netflix in the back ground and thinking "ok, i'll get up this ridge, if nothing i'll check out this bowl over here, then the other one behind this peak". In reality, that shit is no joke. Hunting mulies in the alpine is hard. You're gonna be pretty beat up and won't cover as much terrain as you might think. So better to glass lots and be thorough with your eyes than feet.

Also, remember that some areas don't have a whole lot of deer that are visible during the day in the open. They might still be there but they might spend 99% of their time just in the tree line in the subalpine forest.

Great advise here for sure!..

I tried a new approach, (last fall), to an area I've been planning (and trying), to reach for a couple years in region 8..

Two things i found...

1- Google earth can be very dated.. ie, new logging roads pushed way closer to my destination then I could ever have imagined..

2- After a steep climb through dead fall, thick bush etc for 2 hrs, I was getting close to the alpine..

Unfortunately, the growth became impenetrable..

I had to come to the realization, that trying to continue on, would be a grave mistake..

One day I will get up there, if it takes a few days with a chain saw etc, so be it!

Had a cool experience working my way back down, pushing a Lynx off her den, stepping on the dead fall above!

Mid September, must of had a late match up, or lost her first litter to a new male, who knows...

Hopefully they made it through the winter...

[338win mag]

Good Day All.

Recently I've been inspired to do some Alpine Hunting, Mule Deer and Goat.
Typically I like to walk, hunting clear cuts with no road access but I need more. I'm working on getting set up, recently i purchased the Mystery Ranch Metcalf and love it!

I live in Armstrong, any pointers on where to go would be greatly appreciated. I'm not asking for your Honey Holes just a general direction in where to go. I'm pretty confident I'll find Goats around Revy. How about Muleys?

Thank You.

Theres some real good alpine hunting for mulies up around the Malakwa area, you can spend the rest of your life in the alpine up there Waserwolf.

[wos]

Be prepared to deal with grizzly at that time of year. They are everywhere in the alpine. If you are so lucky to get one, be sure to take it to the tree line and hang it high! Really high! And camp as far away as possible. The alpine is swarming with those things at that time of year. It's not uncommon for me to see 2 or 3 a day in September.

[338win mag]

Be prepared to deal with grizzly at that time of year. They are everywhere in the alpine. If you are so lucky to get one, be sure to take it to the tree line and hang it high! Really high! And camp as far away as possible. The alpine is swarming with those things at that time of year. It's not uncommon for me to see 2 or 3 a day in September.

LOL, I was going to say that but didn't want to make it sound too scary, but your right wos, gotta be careful up there.