Alpine Hunting

[IslandWanderer]

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.

This all sounds like good information. Unfortunately I haven’t seen much alpine on the island, so I guess it’s a mainland hunting opportunity. It seems like the mountains I see here go from thick trees to vertical rock.

[Pemby_mess]

This all sounds like good information. Unfortunately I haven’t seen much alpine on the island, so I guess it’s a mainland hunting opportunity. It seems like the mountains I see here go from thick trees to vertical rock.

Strathcona has some alpine. But definitely the island isn't where one would would go looking for classic alpine terrain. Deep dark primordial forests are what i think of for deer hunting on the island. That and millions of hectares of clear cuts, thick with regrowth.

[dana]

This all sounds like good information. Unfortunately I haven’t seen much alpine on the island, so I guess it’s a mainland hunting opportunity. It seems like the mountains I see here go from thick trees to vertical rock.

Not too many muleys on the Island either.

[Pemby_mess]

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.

Those are all good points to remember for someone getting into it. I suggest studying topo maps when planning details. Google earth just for the overview. I agree that it can be very deceiving, and hard to get a sense of scale/slope angles.

I have a little rule of thumb formula that serves me well for planning on a map:

Each grid will be 1km by 1km. 1.5km across.
Travel speeds:
5km per hour on easy low grade trails
3km per hour across flat, easy off trail terrain
1km or less per hour for dense coastal bush, or rough, complex alpine terrain

Add to that:
1 hour per 300M gained [or lost)

Now, if you're in good shape, and you travel pretty light you can move way faster than that; but its a pretty good set of assumptions to get one started. If you've not moved around much in the mountains before, be patient with yourself. It takes a bit even for fit folks to get all the little stabilizing muscles working properly while balancing on logs and bolders and other such obstacles that come with off-trail travel.

Depending where you are, I wouldn't discount seeing mulies high above the treeline. IME, in early fall, good sized bucks are often hanging with the goats. i used to always look down around the treeline, but quite often i get my first buck sighting way up in the rocks. still pretty darn hard to see though if they're not moving. Theylll use big boulders for cover just the same as trees and brush in the forest.

[dana]

No amount of google fly overs can beat boots on the ground. The best way to find deer in the high country is to go and look for them. Summer is your friend. Find your access and hike and glass. First 2 hours of light and last 2 hours of light are prime time. Muleys are in their red coats and stick out like sore thumbs in the spotter or binos.

[twoSevenO]

1km or less per HR is a very accurate estimate for climbing above the tree line. Steep, thick crap with blowdown will slow you down big time. But it depends on how high you can get up in your truck/quad. The easier it is for you the easier it is for everyone else. Remember that everyone else has Google Earth, too.

I've yet to see another person in the alpine spot I go to but it's 5 and a half hours from the truck.

Then, it comes down to what you can find .... Is the 130" 4 point worth the three? four? six? hour packout? Probably not.

[IslandWanderer]

Not too many muleys on the Island either.

Lol, I was referring to the experience of being in the alpine but I suspect you’re kidding.

[dana]

One cautionary thing about Google earth combined with the backroads map book, you do not know what shape the road is in until you get there. Alder grows very fast once active hauling is complete. And if it has been 10-20 years since logging, it can be very tuff to even quad those higher elevation roads to get you to your hiking spot. So again, boots on ground in the summer really goes far to setting yourself up for success in early Sept.

[dana]

Lol, I was referring to the experience of being in the alpine but I suspect you’re kidding.

yes I was kidding.

[twoSevenO]

One cautionary thing about Google earth combined with the backroads map book, you do not know what shape the road is in until you get there. Alder grows very fast once active hauling is complete. And if it has been 10-20 years since logging, it can be very tuff to even quad those higher elevation roads to get you to your hiking spot. So again, boots on ground in the summer really goes far to setting yourself up for success in early Sept.

Dana, what time of year did you usually start your alpine scouting? Early July? Earlier?