Game West of Boston Bar?

[CooperSscat]

Is it worth to try for Blacktails, Bears and upland birds up Nahatlatch, Scuzzy or Tsileuh forest service road networks? Thanks!

Jeremy

[DBM]

It's gotta be. We'd see close to 100 deer a day up Nahatlatch during the spring, they gotta be around there somewhere.

[Robert_G]

Walk in past the gate at 54 KM (?) on the Nahatlatch FSR .
There are no vehicles allowed in there, and the deer sign is thick. There are Grizzlies for sure though.
Beautiful country. The road hunters all turn around at the gate.

[locdog_99]

is anyone heading up to boston bar for sept 1?

[ruger#1]

If you can get up around or near. Kwoiek valley road. There is a mineral lick close to the lakes. Lots of dear around the clear cuts also some nice bears. Seen one wolverine, And the lakes are fishable , water is ice cold and lime green as they are glacier fed.Was up two years ago and couldn't get in due to a rock slide. If you hunt alone the Fraser in October you might find a four point. First twenty yard walk in is thick , when you get threw you will see all kinds of deer trails . Good luck and have fun.

[Barracuda]

Walk in past the gate at 54 KM (?) on the Nahatlatch FSR .
There are no vehicles allowed in there, and the deer sign is thick. There are Grizzlies for sure though.
Beautiful country. The road hunters all turn around at the gate.

are you sure its no vehicles or is it a deactivated road or simply a gate?

[bsa30-06]

are you sure its no vehicles or is it a deactivated road or simply a gate?
I was wondering if it was legal to venture past the gate

[Freshtracks]

Interesting comments: :confused: ... lets clarify.

DMB ... one would be lucky to see 100 deer in a few trips during the spring. Yes you'll find pockets of them in the spring but I've concurred they migrate way back into the Stein after that or there'd be a rack or two on my wall.

Robert G. ... The gate use to be on this side of the 49k bridge. It was only moved farther up (52K? about 4 years ago) to facilitate access into all of Nahatlatch Park (northern boundry sign at 51K) of which the Grizzly Rd./area just after the bridge entails. As for no vehicles :roll: ... guess my sons 1st bear, taken in 2001 (in my gallery) was packed out from 69K. :eek: The sign is moderate in the spring and yes there are grizzlies as well as goats.

btw - the road goes on past 81k.

ruger#1 - Never ventured up that valley but heard good things and the road being out in a few places. Have surveyed it from the Nahatlatch though ... yes very inviting.

Now in the times I've hunted the Nahattie for deer ... from Sept-season end I've seen 4 deer taken ...of which ... 2 were LEH does, 1 a 2 point, taken :roll: by the natives. In the 80's and early 90's it was a great area, got punched out and is now tough hunting. To answer your ? CooperSscat ... yes deer, great spring bear area, the odd grouse. Pm me and I'll elaborate.

[DBM]

Freshtracks,

Maybe you're right, it could have been 100 deer over the course of a weekend. It was probably 3 or 4 years ago. All does with fawns. Most of the animals were in the cut blocks closest to the burn (that's Nahatlatch, right?). Like you said they were definitely in patches, sometimes a dozen together in the same small cut blocks.
We made a trip out there that fall, didn't see a single animal but found some areas with lots of sign.:x

[ruger#1]

Remember during the spring they are migrating, Its the same around Sunday summit. then come fall they are gone . then November and December they are back again.

[CooperSscat]

Thanks for the tips gentlemen. I'm thinking of taking a poke up Scuzzy and/or Tsileuh in early September to scout it out. If I come across a 4 pt then all will be good. If not it won't matter as it'll be great to get out for the first time of the season!

On a side note........does anybody know if you can do the Harrison East-Big Silver-Kookipi-Nahatlatch-Highway Pavement Loop? That would be a nice day trip for me and my girlfriend since she's not much of a hunter, yet. haha

Jeremy

[Machinist]

I Have Hunted the KWOIEK Valley lot's of times and Have allway's managed to get Blacktail's in there , Have taken several good bears as well , the road can be a Bitch at times , You can camp at the Lake up there and the fishing is usually pretty prductive .

[Freshtracks]

Freshtracks,

Maybe you're right, it could have been 100 deer over the course of a weekend. It was probably 3 or 4 years ago. All does with fawns. Most of the animals were in the cut blocks closest to the burn (that's Nahatlatch, right?). Like you said they were definitely in patches, sometimes a dozen together in the same small cut blocks.
We made a trip out there that fall, didn't see a single animal but found some areas with lots of sign.:x

DBM ... Sounds like you're referring to the Powder Puff/Trenquility road burn that swings off to the left at 11k ... this is part of the wintering area so in the spring yes one sees allot deer ... one might find a local deer if they were to go really high during open season. :wink: ... the Nahattie valley FSR is to the right ... drop down, cross the bridge ... you've only started exploring this magnificent valley.

http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/parkpgs/nahat.html

Tip ... although one will find mulies/blacktail mulie X's ... the area is the eastern boundry of Coastal blacktail country ... hence one needs to hunt them as true blacktails. :idea:

If you're unfamilar with the area, thinking of heading there and need more info ... I'm know to pass some on.

[Robert_G]

. As for no vehicles :roll: ... guess my sons 1st bear, taken in 2001 (in my gallery) was packed out from 69K. :eek:

Are you saying that you drove past the gate? There is a nasty ditch on both sides. I suppose an ATV could get past, but not a truck. Last time I was up there was in the fall, and no vehicle was getting past the gate. I walked for about 10 kms on the other side of the gate and didn't see a vehicle...it was a Sunday too, you'd think there would of been other hunters.

[Freshtracks]

Are you saying that you drove past the gate? There is a nasty ditch on both sides. I suppose an ATV could get past, but not a truck. Last time I was up there was in the fall, and no vehicle was getting past the gate. I walked for about 10 kms on the other side of the gate and didn't see a vehicle...it was a Sunday too, you'd think there would of been other hunters.

Yes I've drove (my truck) past the gate ... all the way to 81k. Yes there are nasty ditches on both sides of the gate after they moved it from the bridge. Keeps out rift-raft from the camp. Road hunters don't like gates.:grin:

[browningboy]

I've been past the camp numerous times, the country is awesome back there and now would be great for the game as all the slashes would be quiet and full of feed.
There is a road that goes from Harrison rd east to Kookipee then Nahatlatch, then if you want keep going up to Lytton, then keep on going if you want, just need lots of gas.
We've taken numerous deer up there, there are lots of honey holes up there and I've posted/replied to questions like this before, but if one wants a big bear or deer, get out and walk past the gate for a bit, nice country but yes there are grizzlies in there, I've seen them and they had a problem one at the camp when it was operating.
I don't know if Al or Elizabeth still live up the Nahatlatch (caretakers) but I used to have a key for the gate and they were friendly to talk to and informative to the game.
If you want directions for the round trip, let me know, you'll need a 4wd as one bridge is washed out partially but still passible but a nice drive once you hit kookipee.

[rchoward101]

went up koopipi during bear season and there was a big big wash out about 3/4 of the way up, we were forced to turn around. not sure if it is good now or not the bidge that was out is fixed and high clearance is not really needed especially with all the logging on koopipi.

[CooperSscat]

Here's an April 7, 2007 posting from the Chilliwack forest district on road closures. http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/dck/Engineering/fsroadclosures.htm
You'll see the Nahatlatch-Kookipi Creek had rockfalls at 3.0km. I can't seem to find similar postings for the Kamloops forest district's forest service roads. Hmmmm

[MichelD]

Has anyone hiked up into Mehatl Park up there?

I see that it is open for hunting during hunting seasons.

[Freshtracks]

Has anyone hiked up into Mehatl Park up there?

I see that it is open for hunting during hunting seasons.

Shhhhhh!! :wink:

[locdog_99]

why u saying shhhhh haha

[browningboy]

why u saying shhhhh haha
Hey loc, if you hike up there, you will stumble across something, may not always be a deer, but you'll find something!:)

[CooperSscat]

Hey loc, if you hike up there, you will stumble across something, may not always be a deer, but you'll find something!:)


I'm hoping I stumble across something this weekend! Anyhow, good luck to all the youth, bow, and 4 point muley hunters this weekend throughout the province! :smile:

Jeremy

[David Heitsman]

I used to hunt frequently in the Kioeek but when they de-activated the roads to the point that you can hardly walk in and then pulled the bridge on the upper Kioeek, I lost interest.
I have glassed good sized hybrids in August but have yet to find a buck during the season. Took a reasonable bear, had it 3/4 life size mounted coming out of the wall back in the late 90's.
For a couple years you could barely get an ATV past the rock slide right at the Fraser so I would set my wall tent up right there.
There are goats and grizzlies and I have seen cat tracks in the snow in the late fall. Have also caught trout right from the bank of the first lake. I'd like to carry a canoe into the second lake sometime.
You can't get across the river up past the lakes now since they pulled that bridge too. It ticks me off when the forestry firms pull bridges. It's one thing to make it no vehicles but when the bridges are removed then
you can't even walk in.
I used to hike to the alpine between the upper and lower roads looking for deer but now you can't even get an ATV to the top of the forestry switch backs because they de-activate it and return the road to hill side grade.

[David Heitsman]

Photo directions F.Y.I
http://www.riversedgecabins.com/kwoiek_creek.html#

[CooperSscat]

Ok ladies and gentlemen. First off I didn't get a 4 point yesterday. :sad: However, I managed to Cross over from the Nahatlatch fsr to the Harrison East fsr via the Kookipi fsr. I'll give you guys a quick update on what I discovered yesterday.

The morning hunt was around Boston Bar. The North Bend fsr is dead with no sign of life. The Scuzzy fsr is overgrown and has a locked gate at about 16km. Past 16km may have potential as it looks like there may be active logging going on although who knows with the Coastal Steelworkers still on strike.

The afternoon hunt that turned into a twilight offroad scout was along the Nahatlatch Valley. The North West end of the Nahatlatch fsr is gated at 50 plus km. I bumped into a father and son who were popin off some practice rounds and he said just call the forestry company and they are required to issue you a key for the gate. 8-) They had only seen a bear(possibly a small grizz) and a big buck too far off to harvest. The South West end of the Nahatlatch(Grizzly fsr I think) only hold bears as there was scat all over the main road and no sing of ungulates. I did the crossover from Kookipi to Harrison late in the afternoon, alone, low on fuel and with no winch. I didn't see one sole along the Kookipi which didn't help out my moral late in the day. I'll not do that again as last years heavy weather did some wear and tear to that connector for sure! The worst wear is from about midway along the Kookipi towards Big Silver Creek fsr which connects to the Harrison East fsr. All in, I only saw 1 spike buck in velvet and a doe alone on the road on the big silver creek fsr heading towards Harrison Lake. 1 more week until any buck! :grin:

Jeremy

[CooperSscat]

I used to hunt frequently in the Kioeek but when they de-activated the roads to the point that you can hardly walk in and then pulled the bridge on the upper Kioeek, I lost interest.
I have glassed good sized hybrids in August but have yet to find a buck during the season. Took a reasonable bear, had it 3/4 life size mounted coming out of the wall back in the late 90's.
For a couple years you could barely get an ATV past the rock slide right at the Fraser so I would set my wall tent up right there.
There are goats and grizzlies and I have seen cat tracks in the snow in the late fall. Have also caught trout right from the bank of the first lake. I'd like to carry a canoe into the second lake sometime.
You can't get across the river up past the lakes now since they pulled that bridge too. It ticks me off when the forestry firms pull bridges. It's one thing to make it no vehicles but when the bridges are removed then
you can't even walk in.
I used to hike to the alpine between the upper and lower roads looking for deer but now you can't even get an ATV to the top of the forestry switch backs because they de-activate it and return the road to hill side grade.

Thanks may try the Kwoiek Creek Valley during any buck season along the lines of a pack in and pack out trip!

Jeremy

[ruger#1]

Cooper best bet is to take horses, i used to hunt close to the glaicier. Take your fishing rod to. Lots of lakes.

[locdog_99]

i just got bak from boston bar north bend side and saw no deer only a few bears

[CooperSscat]

i just got bak from boston bar north bend side and saw no deer only a few bears

I'll be heading back to the Nahatlatch Valley in the middle of this month after I do some MU 2 hunting. I'll let you all know what I see!

Good luck this weekend boys and girls! :smile:

Jeremy