My first look see....

[WesHarm]

So I took off early this morning to go up the skagit valley a bit today and see if I could find myself a nice place to hunt for next year!

Well ill the first day wasn't SUPER productive, but I was fun, and gorgeous! I think I saw some sign, lots of animal trails, and a great view! Here's some photos!

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e341/WesHarman/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsed756011.jpg (http://s42.photobucket.com/user/WesHarman/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsed756011.jpg.html)

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e341/WesHarman/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsc5ea26fa.jpg (http://s42.photobucket.com/user/WesHarman/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsc5ea26fa.jpg.html)

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e341/WesHarman/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zps0ae949bf.jpg (http://s42.photobucket.com/user/WesHarman/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zps0ae949bf.jpg.html)

[vortex hunter]

looks like the old heli pad

[HarryToolips]

Nice views and a good hike it looks like..enjoying yourself is the main thing:-D

[gutpile]

I wouldn't wast time in the skait !

[WesHarm]

Lol got any tips where I SHOULD waste my time?? Very much open to opinions or helpful directions ;)

[KBC]

I think I drove past you in my Xterra. It was a beautiful day up there but I got a flat just after I passed you so I decided to come back after another 3 guys passed me just while I was changing it. Lots of people up there.

[WesHarm]

Were u in the silver Xterra? That's rough, glad I didn't go much farther down the road!

[KBC]

Yeah that was me, nice sharp rock went right through one of the thick lugs. I was pretty surprised at how many people I saw up there though. With the 3 that passed me while I was changing the tire and the rest of the vehicles I saw there had to be close to 10 different vehicles. I'm not too familiar with the area but just looking at my backroads map book, there isn't a whole lot of places to go up that road so it was pretty crowded.

[vortex hunter]

its always a zoo in there big waste of time .

[caddisguy]

I think I drove past you in my Xterra. It was a beautiful day up there but I got a flat just after I passed you so I decided to come back after another 3 guys passed me just while I was changing it. Lots of people up there.

I loaned a tire iron to a few guys that blew a tire as well.

Got up there on Thursday. I spent a few nights up there sleeping in the jeep... -15C

No deer, but had fun trying... a lot of new sign in my spots. Will post pics / stories later.

[Brizz]

Waste your time an hour further up the highway.

[caddisguy]

I arrived Thursday morning around 8AM. It was -4C in Hope. I knew from previous experience this would mean -10C to -15C nights where I would camp. I was prepared for the long cold solo nights with plenty of insulation and a bunch of shows to watch on the iPhone.

Coming in, I only saw 2 logging trucks heading out and one guy in a little car... he was most likely part of the mushroom picking group. I found out later there was about 20 vehicles in the park harvesting mushrooms.

Made my usual road hunting rounds. I brought the 22 this time since last time I missed out on 6 birds. This time I only saw one and he buggered off right away. I decided to check 2 out of 3 of "my spots" and that I would hunt the one showing the most sign. Up until the last week of August, we had been seeing some great 4-point bucks with blacktail genetics. We had not seen much since.

In one of the spots, I noticed new sign. Tracks, poop, rubs. Of course it had to be one of the steeper places with ice glazed rocks and frosted moss. Time to head up...

http://i1318.photobucket.com/albums/t644/vaporeyes/PB130005_zps08191b57.jpg



http://i1318.photobucket.com/albums/t644/vaporeyes/PB130003_zpsb2c0a9a8.jpg

I have a few ropes tied on various ridges on this hill to help me get in through the stealthy way, rather than the crunchy way... to be continued...

[caddisguy]

I am finding sign right away. In fact, on the tree next to where one of my ropes are tied, a new buck transcribed the following message

http://i1318.photobucket.com/albums/t644/vaporeyes/PB150082_zpscfd76ff2.jpg


For the most part, finding tracks in the frozen moss cover was difficult, but occasionally a print managed to get through. I did see a few huge tracks. In Region 3, I see mule deer tracks in the mud everywhere and this guys tracks though few and far between were on the upper end of the large scale. Sadly no picture of the print. I tried at one point, but realized there was no SD card in the camera. It let me save a few pictures at the time, but for later I'd have to poach the SD card from the dashcam in the jeep. These were the first droppings I came across... they were hard, but not frosted--or completely frozen--when I originally found them, so I figure it was within 4 hours.

http://i1318.photobucket.com/albums/t644/vaporeyes/PB130001_zps10efe2b3.jpg

...continued

[caddisguy]

I was losing light fast and blew it trying to find alternate ways off this micro-mountain... the way off each ridge is normally on opposite sides of this rock, but I'd climb down only to get stuck and have to climb back up. Trying to find short cuts was a bad idea. I tried to shed layers accordingly, but I let myself sweat and it was getting dark. I had to get down or it was going to be a crappy night. I managed to make it back to the jeep. Time to drink some partially frozen beer and watch some shows... it's only 6pm. Cheers to a good day, staying warm and some new bucks in town.

http://i1318.photobucket.com/albums/t644/vaporeyes/PB130036_zpscedc3fdb.jpg

I watched an episode of Highway Thru Hell and some other random stuff I was able to download... Married with Children, Family Guy, Dual Survival, Survivorman... I tried to watch Baywatch... man what a terrible show. Even with all the bikinis on the beach, that show is so bad I had to shut it down after 10 minutes and call it a night. I had to snuggle with my beer, energy drinks and food so that it would not freeze.

http://i1318.photobucket.com/albums/t644/vaporeyes/PB130043_zps1b66abf2.jpg

Continued...

[caddisguy]

Next morning I wake up cold and uncomfortable... had trouble getting going. I need to warm up and load up on caffeine, nicotine and sugar and may as well road hunt while I do it. Back to the main road... rain into some guys I had chatted with the day prior. Their temperature sensor was showing -12C. BS'd for a while... they told me about all the mushroom pickers in the park and we swapped stories about not seeing deer and grouse buggering off before you can get within 30 yards. Yeah, they know what's up. Had one take off on me a few minutes ago too. Now back to my hill, looking at rubs and poop...

http://i1318.photobucket.com/albums/t644/vaporeyes/PB150087_zpsd608cb76.jpg


http://i1318.photobucket.com/albums/t644/vaporeyes/PB150084_zps89e047f9.jpg

I heard a buck grunt from higher up the micro-mountain... amazing... sounds just like the buck grunt call I have, that I was using as I go. It's hard not to be loud in this terrain, so I figure the odd grunt or rattle from vantage points wouldn't hurt. Sadly I lost the ester-doe call earlier in the season. Continued...

[caddisguy]

http://i1318.photobucket.com/albums/t644/vaporeyes/PB150083_zps67db51eb.jpg

http://i1318.photobucket.com/albums/t644/vaporeyes/PB140054_zps1ea72006.jpg

[caddisguy]

This one confused me a little bit... being up so high... maybe from a cat or a bear? I had soon some large cougar tracks lower down. I've never seen a cougar in this spot... but I had maybe 5-10km away. There's deer and hare around, so it makes sense there might be all sorts of cats... we did get jumped by a large bobcat here earlier in the season

http://i1318.photobucket.com/albums/t644/vaporeyes/PB150086_zps803d630d.jpg

[caddisguy]

I wondered what died here...

http://i1318.photobucket.com/albums/t644/vaporeyes/PB140061_zpsb2f43968.jpg

http://i1318.photobucket.com/albums/t644/vaporeyes/PB140062_zps912750f7.jpg

[Wentrot]

They all look like kitty scratch posts. Have lots in my area as well.

[caddisguy]

I'm still findings droppings and the occasionally place the size of a deer that is not frosted, with wet moss that is still frozen... I could smell buck and constantly hear animals moving through... always just one pile of thick away or just one ridge up.... I'm just not seeing him

http://i1318.photobucket.com/albums/t644/vaporeyes/PB140066_zps0ee2ff1b.jpg

I wish I could take a picture of a smell but I can't, so here's what you get

http://i1318.photobucket.com/albums/t644/vaporeyes/PB140064_zps08e139b7.jpg

Time to head back down for a second cold night. It doesn't look like it, but it will be black in just over an hour. I'll make it down micro-mountain before dark, but still have a ways to walk back to the jeep for another cold night.

I woke up in my car the next day. I'm cold again so I fired up the engine and waited for things to warm up. Still kind of dark, I saw another hunter walking up the deactivated road. Oh right, it's Saturday. He turned around and walked back down after seeing that I was there. I was getting myself together so I could get back up just before it finished getting light out. Two guys came up though... they had blown a tire down on the main road and their tire iron didn't fit their lugs. I happened to have a multi-headed tire iron so I figured one would work. Came down and BS'd for a bit while they changed their tire. I needed the social interaction.

Headed back up my hill afterwards... more of the same... I was hearing a lot of rock slides and trees falling down the mountains in the distance... occasionally animals moving through the brush just beyond my reach. I explored a little more, finding animal trails... looking for intersections with vantage points, just getting to know my hill a little more.

Made it main to the road around lunch time... made a fire, cooked a can of chilli. Some guys came up looking for a place to have lunch which was perfect. I could leave them with my fire. I tipped them off to where I was hiking and the sign that was around... suggested they camp/hunt there.

Wasted time in the Skagit? Never. There's plenty of deer there. Maybe a waste of time for road hunting. The odd guy gets lucky off the road... ripping around the main road, Yola, Cantelon, Upper Silver, Hicks Creek, Maselpanik, etc. but otherwise it's thick, steep and there's lots of cover. Lots of deer and lots of cats in them hills. There's a lot of hiking and climbing involved. I reckon it's a long learning curve... maybe a few years, but master it and the gift will keep on giving.

WesHarm, I like your hunting style. Don't listen to road hunters who say it's a waste of time. Hunting isn't a drive-through scenario in most cases. Not finding a deer does not equal failure. This is real hunting. Definitely hunt out-of-town in October for Any Buck where there's tons of muleys. November is a good month to pick a local mountain, weather it's Skagit, East Harrison, West Harrison, Chilliwack, Mission, Squamish, Pemberton, etc. and master it... goal is eventually being king of that hill.

Normally my girlfriend is my hunting partner, but occasionally I end up on these solo trips where I wish I had to help keep safe and work in a pack like wolves. Maybe next season we can team up for some trips in September and November. Lets keep in touch.

[caddisguy]

They all look like kitty scratch posts. Have lots in my area as well.

I have an awesome picture somewhere of a big tree that's clawed and shredded about 12 feet up. Maybe I can find it.

Hunting where cats hunt is a good strategy. So far we've seen one cougar while rattling, got another cougar on the trailcam and got jumped by a big bobcat while still hunting. The bobcat was in the area that I took all these pics... there wasn't any cougar sign until this trip, but a pretty big one seems to be working the area now.

I'm not interested in hunting cats... but there is a big buck on this hill that I'm after. Cougar can take the does/spikes... I get the monster buck. Technically by the books, it won't be a blacktail... but it is a blacktail.

Having the cats around does mess with my head a little. My hearing isn't that great... my gf has busted bears and cats close by that I never would have noticed. It's good to have a partner around while crouched down and sitting still... someone to hunt back to back so you're not always rubber necking.

[caddisguy]

Here's a nice Skagit buck from the end of August... before the first shots start to ring out...

http://i1318.photobucket.com/albums/t644/vaporeyes/sj4000-deer-freeze-01_zpsf8150333.jpg

And a some trailcam footage I posted before but is relevant to the Region


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9bLzAx9e8M

[caddisguy]

And another


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ti-nMVPoqBY

The confusing thing I am trying to figure out is that there's all these resident bucks up until the last week of August. If they are going to hang out in the valley through the head of the summer, I doubt they would head up afterwards. I am pretty sure they are still in the valley come mid September... I just need figure out why the move, so I can figure out where they move.

[WesHarm]

Great story and love all the photos! Im not going to lie, I stole my style from your video and Proguide66's threads :P also i just love climbing steep nasty bush! It's exciting and fun! We should definitely keep in touch and anytime your gf cant go out definitely send me a message! I'd love to head out, always excited for an adventure! I do think I'm going to stick with the Skagit, Its just my kind of hiking even if i never do find any deer! (bu8t hopefully at some point i will ;) )

[caddisguy]

Great story and love all the photos! Im not going to lie, I stole my style from your video and Proguide66's threads :P also i just love climbing steep nasty bush! It's exciting and fun! We should definitely keep in touch and anytime your gf cant go out definitely send me a message! I'd love to head out, always excited for an adventure! I do think I'm going to stick with the Skagit, Its just my kind of hiking even if i never do find any deer! (bu8t hopefully at some point i will ;) )

Proguide's threads are golden. He has a YouTube channel with blacktail hunting, shed hunting and all sorts of good stuff worth checking out.

Technically any deer you find in the Skagit is considered a mule deer, but the area is dominated by blacktail genetics. Ecological studies and inspections of deer taken from the region found mostly blacktails, but a few hybrids and the odd muley as well.

So what kind of sign did you see on your hike? Any rubs, hoof prints, droppings, etc?

A lot of the terrain isn't very favorable to finding signs.

And what you do find out there is sometimes confusing.

http://i1318.photobucket.com/albums/t644/vaporeyes/P1010020_zps5a7facba.jpg

It's a mysterious place. I have seen everything in that valley expect for elk, moose, grizzly or wolf but I won't be surprised when I do.

[caddisguy]

And bears in them woods too...

http://i1318.photobucket.com/albums/t644/vaporeyes/P1010064_zps79b1881e.jpg

This print on my rear drivers side soft plastic window... where often my head is when I sleep. We were out on a hike when it happened though. Pretty sure it is a bear print.

http://i1318.photobucket.com/albums/t644/vaporeyes/P1010052_zps9693daab.jpg