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Thread: Reg 3 goat hunt

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Aldergrove, BC
    Posts
    4,466

    Reg 3 goat hunt

    I've been applying for a reg 3 goat tag for quite some time. I finally got lucky! In fact, this is my first ever LEH of any kind. Living in the LM, i tend to apply for higher odd tags close to home, so naturally, my success is low.


    Needless to say, i was pretty stoked for this one, so i got to doing a little bit more research. I contacted the biologist for the area first. The most recent goat count map he had wasn't all that recent. It also took me numerous emails to get a response, so i assume he just wasn't giving me the latest info. Whatever. I arranged a weekend with my girls in the summer and took a drive up to see for myself.


    It was blistering hot. The bugs were atrocious. I don't hike well in 30+ degree heat. But, nonetheless i had a productive weekend. I explored every road and trail in the valley and mapped out their max elevations and "grade" on my map for reference. I set up camp where i could glass peaks of interest at first & last light right from my tent. It gave me a good starting point.




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  3. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Aldergrove, BC
    Posts
    4,466

    Re: Reg 3 goat hunt

    I hummed and hawed at the timing of it. I wanted a goat that was haired up nicely, but i didn't want to deal with bad visibility and all that. So, i booked the first week of October off from work. Most people who i'd want on a hunt like this were busy for whatever reasons, so i was packing in solo. Food was planned for approx 4 days, but i always eat less on the mountain than at home, so that could have been stretched out to a week for sure.


    This being my first goat hunt, my priority for the hunt was: 1) It had to be a billy. No compromise to that one. 2) Hair. It had to have nice long hair on it. I knew if i was successful i would do a shoulder mount, and i wanted it to look like a later season goat rather than an early season one. And 3) Age. I wanted it to be an older goat, but i was willing to compromise on this one.


    First week of Oct came around and i departed. Several hundred KM by truck. Then several KM by ATV, then several hours by foot. I don't know why it always has to start off like this, but it does. Deadfall everywhere. To add insult to injury it rained that morning so it was wet as well .... great.


  4. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Aldergrove, BC
    Posts
    4,466

    Re: Reg 3 goat hunt

    I battled through that crap and emerged above the tree line at last. It was a releif to be able to get the binos up and start scanning. I kept working my way up and it wasn't long before i was onto the (possibly same group from summer?) nannies and kids. I glassed up some younger billys hanging nearby as well. I did all the online tests for goat ID i could find from BC, Alaska, Oregon, Colorado .... pretty much anywhere that has goats open for hunting and makes these types of quizes available. I found them helpful to "brush up"






  5. #4
    Join Date
    Oct 2013
    Location
    Vernon
    Posts
    339

    Re: Reg 3 goat hunt

    Good stuff and about time! Looking forward to the rest.

  6. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Aldergrove, BC
    Posts
    4,466

    Re: Reg 3 goat hunt

    Since nothing seemed to perk my interest i just kept climbing and glassing and soon reached the top of the ridge i was on. 7500 ft. I figured, keep going and take a peak over the other side. And when i did, i was onto them. I found where the bigger billys were hanging out at. Not far by mountain goat standards. But pretty far by mine. I glassed here until it started to get dark and with the weather being as mild as it was, and the wind nonexistent, i decided to spend the night right on the top of the ridge. 7500 ft.

    Seeing some bigger billys definitely got the heart pumping. That's probably why i didn't leave to go find a better camp spot *shrug*. Seeing them snoozing on and off out of those well used 6" deep beds was pretty cool. They were safe there. They were comfy. I was less so. My camp is quite primitive. I'm used to it at this point when i'm on the move. The exped mat was quite expensive, but i must say, it is worth it. It is SO comfortable for my aching back. I don't wake up sore and stiff at all like i did on my therm-a-rest. This was an early Xmas gift from my loving GF, and a very welcome one at that! (note: I did level out my sleep position a bit more than that after i took the photo)








  7. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Aldergrove, BC
    Posts
    4,466

    Re: Reg 3 goat hunt

    It was a dry night and the sky was clear. The star gazing was incredible. I even saw a meteor entering the atmosphere and burning up across the sky. The night was calm and mild, but at 7500 ft when a breeze did pick up, you felt it!! I slept well and woke up at dawn to watch the goats some more. Their schedule of who naps and who stands watch was very interesting to see. Particularly in this group of 5 billys. Shortly after i packed up "camp" and moved on to check out some more vantage points and debate my next move.



  8. #7
    Join Date
    Oct 2012
    Location
    region 9
    Posts
    11,528

    Re: Reg 3 goat hunt

    Good writeup so far, and great pics, reminds me of the reg 3 LEH goat hunt I did a few years ago I had to cut short due to a family member passing..I look forward to the rest..

  9. #8
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Aldergrove, BC
    Posts
    4,466

    Re: Reg 3 goat hunt

    From a different vantage point, further down the vally, i spotted a few more goats. One immediately stood out to me. He wasn't as massive as one of the billys i saw the day before, his horns didnt seem to be outstanding, but he seemed to have the longest beard, by far. It looked way longer than that of the other goats there. He really piqued my interest! The only problem was, he was across the valley from me. I'm at 7500 feet and i'd have to lose all the elevation i gained, reach valley bottom, then slog it back up the other side. I sat, glassed, ate a late breakfast and just asked myself "how bad do you want it?".



  10. #9
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Posts
    132

    Re: Reg 3 goat hunt

    Great pics and story! Can't wait to see how the story unfolds...

  11. #10
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Aldergrove, BC
    Posts
    4,466

    Re: Reg 3 goat hunt

    Well, I ditched gear and reduced my pack to standard day-pack contents plus sleeping bag. I found what looked like the most promising descent point and dropped in. The avalance chute was easy going at first, then became too steep and too loose. I swung right for the trees and kept losing elevation at a good pace. I knew this wouldn't be fun on the way back whether coming out heavy or not. It wasn't going to be a hike back. It was going to be a climb. As i kept dropping elevation i realized the steepness of the valley might actually play to my favor.....




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