When i'd lost most of my elevation the goat was "reachable". With no partner around to guide me, i decided my shooting ability would be my better strength than an attempt to get above them in time and not blow it. They'd been bedded for a long time. They weren't going to stay there all day. I decided to make myself comfortable and kill my target goat from across the valley. From one "wall" to the other.
My Leica rangefinder read 567 yards. Angle corrected to 545. Not for the faint of heart. Not a lot of target there in your view. But i had time still. Time to get comfortable. Time to calm down. Time to prepare. I could scramble down and up and hope they're still there ..... or i can use that time to prepare myself mentally and physically for what could be my longest kill so far.
I waited for a long time. Then, both billys stood up at the exact same time. But i wasn't prepared for him to face straight uphill!!! Thinking about it now, i'm a bit surprised this didn't ruin the zen mode i prepped myself into. I stayed cool, and just waited. If he takes off that way straigth up, he takes off. Not much i can do. It would be a waste of a couple of hours of waiting and prepping, but that is the way it goes. I would still pursue. The younger billy below stayed facing right, but the top billy, the one i really wanted didn't budge for several minutes. I'd waited for a couple of hours already. I can wait more. Then, he turned.
I clicked the safety OFF for the first time on this hunt and aimed real careful. Steady. Controlled. I felt good. I squeezed the trigger slowly. She lets go at about 2.5lbs. All faith was now in my rangefinder, my Leupold CDS setup, and my handloads meticulously done up by my father specifically for this hunt. He weighed the powder for each round across multiple scales. He measured all lengths meticulously .... I was confident all around.
The rifle went off and the 130grain Accubond was sent on its way. It's a HIT! I can see it! I knew that goats were tough, but i was still surprised to see he did not go down! He flinched his front quarter but hopped a few steps to his right and stood still. I reloaded and sent another his way! GOOD! He took his final step forward and folded into some logs. The scope jumped a bit on the second one that it almost looked like the goat bedded down to me rather than a drop. I'm back on the spotter and he doesn't seem to move. I'm now trying to see if he is breathing, but all my calmness at this point has gone out the window. I can't sit still in front of the spotter let alone tell if a goat a half a mile away is breathing. I think he's dead. Pretty sure he is. He has to be, right? I load another one in and line up at the rocks below him. I fire into the rocks and he does not flinch. Confirmed. He is dead!
I pack up my gear and get some flagging tape from my pack. I flag my shooting position well. With no one to guide me i figure if the goat is 567 yards and 10* up from me, the flagging tape should be 567 yards and 10* DOWN from the goat. I scramble down to the creek bottom, fight through the alders and willows and climb back up the other side. The other side feels less steep so the going is easier. I can barely see my flagging through my rangefinder, but my method works! I get to where i need to be and not a minute of searching around goes by until i spot my billy!!!
I take a few pictures and get to work. The "wall" behind me is where we came down. It's where we got go back up. I cape the billy and debone the meat. Load it all into my pack and drop back into the creek bottom, again.
At the creek bottom i refill water that I need not just for tonight, but for tomorrow's hike out as well, as there is none until i reach the ATV. I load up the water. I take out my headlamp, and strap the pack back on. It would be the last time i take it off that night. I leave the creek at 7pm. The steepness of this valley side makes it a tough go from the start. Small steps are impossible. Every step is 18" up. All weight on one leg. Then the other. Trees do help as i'm grabbing and pulling wherever i can.
I trudge along to 8 ... then 9 ..... then 10 ........ then 11pm. At this point i'm falling asleep any time i rest my forehead on my hiking poles. But i can't stop. I'll be too sore for this kind of climb to continue again tomorrow. I'm determinted to make my elevation tonight.
Then midnight .............. then 1 am, then i finally make my elevation gain! I'm so exhausted there is no energy left for anything. I hang the two bags of meat literally 10 yards away on some branches off the ground and the cape on a nearby tree. I have just enough energy to roll out my sleeping bag on a small dirt patch that looks somewhat level and move a few rocks out of the way. Dinner is a Twix bar and a swig of water. I pass out instantly.
I awake the next morning around 8:30 or so. I actually don't feel too bad. My upper calves behind the knee feel like someone cut into them with a hot iron, but other than that i'm not feeling too bad! I take a couple of ibuprofen as an anti-inflammatory, just in case! I pack up my things and load up the pack again and go to find my gear i had stashed the day before. When I get to it i make a mountain house for breakfast. Some real food at last, if you can call it that. It goes down well and i take some more pictures of where i had come from before i depart. I might never be back in that valley again.
I strap the pack on for one last time and begin my descent. I text my girls off my inReach to tell them dad is coming home early and coming out heavy They wish me a safe hike out and a safe drive home. I keep an eye on my GPS this time. I am coming from a different direction i came up now, so i watch my contour lines so as to not "overshoot" it. From my summer scouting i know that one skidder road crosses a creek below where i had left my ATV so i aim there. I work my way down an open draw and leave about 40m elevation before i swing through the thick stuff to where i think the road is. Pick my way through the thick stuff and reach the skidder road 2m too high. Not bad!!! I dump everything off of me and just grab my last water bottle and my keys. Chug it as i walk the 1km or so to get my ATV.
Boy, was it nice to be able to move around without using your legs. I load up my gear and having carried my billy on my back for so long, i load him on the front now. Everything else i load into the big box on the back. Losing the rest of my elevation on the ATV sure was a welcome change!
Getting home early is always nice. More time to do a good job trimming all the meat cleanly
I cooked some up into a stir fry along with some shaggy mane mushrooms i had picked. It tasted great and even my two year old daughter enjoyed it.
Next week is a sleepover at a friends' place who are inside our "bubble" and they will be cooking some up into a goat curry. They are excited as they've never made it with mountain goat meat before!
There you have it. Region 3 LEH mountain goat. Was supposed to watch a movie with the GF tonight, but she fell asleep 5 minutes in, so i figured i'd write the story up instead. Cheers!
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They wish me a safe hike out and a safe drive home. I keep an eye on my GPS this time. I am coming from a different direction i came up now, so i watch my contour lines so as to not "overshoot" it. From my summer scouting i know that one skidder road crosses a creek below where i had left my ATV so i aim there. I work my way down an open draw and leave about 40m elevation before i swing through the thick stuff to where i think the road is. Pick my way through the thick stuff and reach the skidder road 2m too high. Not bad!!! I dump everything off of me and just grab my last water bottle and my keys. Chug it as i walk the 1km or so to get my ATV. 
