Alpine opener success

[twoSevenO]

So many alpine threads every year ..... so few sharing their success! Here's hoping to change that!

I packed up on the 30th with Chris meeting me at my house and we headed to one of the reg 3 zones that opens on the 1st ;). We arrived there after 10pm and wasted no time setting up camp. Chris set up his tent by the truck, i opted to sleep in the back of the pick up to avoid repacking my pack in the morning.

Here are complete contents ... You'll note the SpotX messenger in the picture. I purchased it from Cabela's for this trip, but sadly had to return it. I loved the full sized keyboard but the unit was simply not reliable enough to keep. I purchased an InReach Mini instead after I returned.

The rifle is a rem700 with a wood stock and the wrap is to help protect it from the nasty bushwack it is about to encounter, rather than to achieve some stealth points.

You might also notice two therma-rest pads. The lower zlite one is half of the short pad they sell. It is great for glassing when the ground is wet and comes in very handy for spike camps!

https://i.imgur.com/yO9NAlP.jpg

[twoSevenO]

Up on the 31st and on the trail in short time. Right before we step off the dirt road we spot a black bear walking toward the truck. He was so young and cute my first thought was "where's my camera" rather than "where's the bear spray" :D. He got within 20 yards of the truck then took off exactly where we were about to enter the forest. We weren't worried, though.

With packs on our backs and saw and flagging tape in hand we made our ascent. Clearing a trail and flagging made our progress slow. But we made it.

The alpine of BC is no easy task. While it looks gorgeous those green "fields" are no cake walk. Its some of the nastiest terrain you can hike in! It's steeper than it looks and often slippery as heck too! ..... but some of the prettiest :)

https://i.imgur.com/WubXbZT.jpg

[Weatherby Fan]

That’s a beautiful picture 270, I just love the Alpine !

[twoSevenO]

We took off our packs and went straight to glassing. The importance of scouting from the other thread can be perfectly showcased here .... I have scouted this spot previously. I had seen some bucks. Now the question was "will they be in the same spot?"

It's funny how a person remembers certain details posted over 10 years ago ..... I remember the "alpine pioneer" Dana posting about being patient and waiting for the bowl to suddenly come alive. I glassed the empty alpine hill side and the deer just .... appeared.

A couple of bucks. A couple of does. And then him! I am a sucker for brow tines and he had a plenty! He was wider than the ears. He had big brow tines. He was in full velvet .... I was sold. I was going after him.

https://i.imgur.com/p1BajhA.jpg

[twoSevenO]

The only problem was .... he was 1000+ yards away, surrounded by several pairs of eyes and ears doing his surveillance for him and there was no proper cover between us and him ..... fun!
We glassed until the evening and then backed out of there to set up camp behind the ridge.

From my previous scouting the thermals here are pretty consistent and blow in our direction so i wasn't worried about polluting the area with our scent. I was worried, however, about the thunder and dark clouds moving in and the fact that i opted to leave the tent body at home and pitch only the fly and poles. A down pour would be a bad time to start wondering if it was a bad idea to shed those 2.5lbs :D

The wind got cold enough to warrant putting our puffy down jackets on, but the rain stayed away. I pitched my "tent" behind a large rock, sacrificing level ground for protection from the wind and settled in.

off to bed ..... to be continued .....

[downsouth204]

thanks, looking forward to part 2!

[Dash]

Can't wait for part 2!!!

[Gateholio]

looking good......

[Pemby_mess]

Beauty!!!$

[AgSilver]

Is that the AmazonBasics tripod? How do you like it? I sold mine to my dad because I snagged a Slik for a slick deal, but it always seemed like good value at the $90 CAD I paid for it.

Keep it comin'!

[nazarow]

Where’s the toilet paper? Lol. Great stuff so far. Looking forward to the rest.

[HarryToolips]

Great looking thread and pics so far....I don't see a compass or a map of the area in your kit, I strongly suggest bringin them if you aren't already..

[Jelvis]

Really super thread coming along folks! 270 knows his stuff for sure, and can do computer really well also.
--awesome photos too
hbc has some classy hunters folks. Looking forward as it goes along for some great country pix.
Jelly ( Big Gun ) Cortez

[WesHarm]

Gorgeous! Sounds like an absolute blast!! One day i’ll find a hunting buddy willin to make the trek to the alpine with me ;)! Cant wait for part 2!!!

[RackStar]

Looks like he made his 1 buck a gooder.

Awesome read..

[Weatherby Fan]

see if you would have listened to us on HBC and got yourself that 1000 yard gun set up out of the box for 12,000USD we wouldn't have to wait for you to practice you stalking skills...........geeez

Carry on !

[dino]

Your contents pic has a pack of condoms. Were you hunting brokeback mt?

[twoSevenO]

Where’s the toilet paper? Lol. Great stuff so far. Looking forward to the rest.

There's a 1/4 roll flattened out under the small first aid kit in the upper right :)


Great looking thread and pics so far....I don't see a compass or a map of the area in your kit, I strongly suggest bringin them if you aren't already..

No need. I've been here before and know it would be pretty hard for me to get turned around. There's a distinct gully you hike up through and a distinct pass to go over ... can't be confused with any other. Plus i have a GPS with a topo on it and spare batteries for retracing my steps ... all good.


Your contents pic has a pack of condoms. Were you hunting brokeback mt?

Nope, i don't see any in that pic .... and no ... It was Bareback mountain ;) ... Wanna go? ;)

[twoSevenO]

I’m up bright and early and behind the glass in short order. My appetite tends to decline significantly when I’m up on the mountain, so breakfast is a handful of junk food while I begin to scan the hills of yesterday.
We locate the deer a short distance away from their hangout spot from yesterday and watch them for the next few hours. My home made phone-scope proves to be very reliable and I take numerous good quality videos with it. Wind gusts on and off, shaking the spotters intermittently but we manage. I pick out my buck from yesterday as well and follow him with the spotting scope for the next few hours.

The beauty of the alpine is amplified by the ability to watch wild game, undisturbed. Glassing game, ANY GAME, without them knowing is one of the coolest experiences for me. They're so at peace.

https://i.imgur.com/6jSms2N.jpg

[twoSevenO]

The season is officially under way and we need a game plan. We wait until we can be sure most of the deer are bedded out of sight and hope that when we can’t see them, they can’t see us. We descent our ridge, fully exposed, and make our way closer. I take note of where Mr.BrowTine bedded down and keep an eye on it as frequently as I can.

We cross some smaller ridges and cliffs, going in and out of view, but I’m convinced Mr.BrowTine hasn’t moved yet. I range the distance and its 1200 yards, then 750, then 550. Now we are closing in, but if I can make it to the next patch of timber unseen, I figure I’d be within 300 yards. I’d be a lot more comfortable with that.

Using what little shrubbery there is at 6800 feet we sneak in to our shooting spot. I still can’t see the deer, but I’m convinced he’s got to be there still. I lay the pack down, rifle on top of it and get comfortable while Chris dials the spotter in on the patch of timber

Here are a couple more alpine boys hanging out above the tree line.
Small patches of timber like this is what they LOVE to bed behind when the mid day summer heat gets a little too much. If the area holds deer, you should definitely see well worn beds inside or in the shady sides of patches like this.

https://i.imgur.com/OtuHhWe.jpg

[twoSevenO]

I range the patch of timber several times for if he comes out to the side or below it and settle in on 275 yards as the number to dial my Leupold CDS scope to. And I wait. And then I wait some more.
About two hours later there is, at last, some movement. I see a rack moving about through some brush, and then a body. He’s standing up!

He takes his time stepping out into the clear and I follow him in the cross hairs. He emerges fully and I click the safety off. He stops, puts his head down to feed and moves his front leg ever so slightly forward. I squeeze the trigger slowly.
The trusty 270 Winchester goes off and hurls a 130 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip his way. No sooner had I felt the recoil than Chris’s confirmation of a “good hit! Good hit!”

The buck stumbled back and looked to go down but recovered enough to take a couple of steps forward before dropping to the ground. He dropped and immediately began to slide down the steep alpine slope. He clipped a small bush on his way down and began to tumble one end over the other and slid down and out of view. Time of death: September 1, 2:33pm.

We exchange high fives and Chris tells me he saw blood spray out of the buck’s mouth after the hit. Says he was ready to film it with his phone and asks why I didn’t give him a heads up. I don’t know … I suppose I was focused on making a good shot and not really thinking about getting it on video at the time. Now I wish I had. No hunt is exempt from mistakes. This one is no exception. I’ll have to add a mistakes section at the end …. Or perhaps I’ll call it “lessons learned” as that’s the more important part!

Shortly after we decide to part ways. Chris continues to search for a buck of his own, one with a decent frame that we couldn’t ID as a legal 4 point due to the wind picking up and shaking our spotters, and I drop down to search for my buck.

[twoSevenO]

I drop a lot lower than I expected or wanted to, but I have no choice. In the very bottom of the creek I finally find the buck. He slid and tumbled several hundred yards down the hill that at this point not only was his velvet completely stripped off, but even his summer coat had been largely shed away leaving an almost entirely different looking animal behind. You can see scars on his coat from where his own rack kept stabbing him on the downhill tumble!

I am more bummed out about his location than the velvet being gone. He was in a creek bottom and in terrain steep enough that even if I tried to move him a little he would slide down a few yards at a time. I am unable to take a picture with the buck so I pull out some rope and just tie off his rack to the only solid rock around and begin my work.

more to come ...

https://i.imgur.com/B2evPIi.jpg

[Astepanuk]

Great story miss hunting in BC already and it was only a few weeks..

[twoSevenO]

He is a heavy beast. Deboned and packed up I begin my ascent and immediately start having thoughts of how the hell am I going to get him and all of my basecamp out of here?!? The creek comes in useful to wash my knife and my hands and replenish my water supply. I climb my way straight up as the steep walled creek gives me no choice. I make it back only a couple of hundred yards past the shooting position and I’m dead tired. I’m tired of hiking, my back hurts from working hunched over the carcass in the creek and on top of it all I’m losing light. I call it a day here.

You'll have to excuse the blurred background in this one

https://i.imgur.com/BLON6pR.jpg

[Gilmore]

Great read. Part 3 is shaping up to be a hell of a grind!!

[todbartell]

great story thanks for posting

[BCHunterFSJ]

That is one heck of a nice mulie!
Getting him in the alpine sure makes it special...

[twoSevenO]

I find a small, flat spot in a little patch of timber and set up a spike camp. I string up one tarp for protection from the wind and another one as a ground sheet. I pull out the orange emergency bivy I always carry with me and slip it over my sleeping bag to keep the sap off of it. With some baybel cheese and pepperoni as dinner, I use my pack as a pillow and settle in for another night on the mountain. The zlite foam glassing pad may only be 2' by 2', but it sure comes in handy under the torso to lift you off the ground ever so slightly.

up next .... the LONG haul .....

Alpine spike camp .... or Abbotsford homeless shelter? You decide ....

https://i.imgur.com/fiugRNB.jpg

[masoncade1992]

great hunt and story! My plan is to hunt the alpine more this year and next. Seems to be where the cranker elk/dee hide.

[tyreguy]

Lacks $2500 Mountain Bike out front - not Abbotsford homeless shelter!!!!:D
Nice buck, great story so far..........Congrats

I find a small, flat spot in a little patch of timber and set up a spike camp. I string up one tarp for protection from the wind and another one as a ground sheet. I pull out the orange emergency bivy I always carry with me and slip it over my sleeping bag to keep the sap off of it. With some baybel cheese and pepperoni as dinner, I use my pack as a pillow and settle in for another night on the mountain. The zlite foam glassing pad may only be 2' by 2', but it sure comes in handy under the torso to lift you off the ground ever so slightly.

up next .... the LONG haul .....

Alpine spike camp .... or Abbotsford homeless shelter? You decide ....

https://i.imgur.com/fiugRNB.jpg

[tayleoscar]

Great story, thanks for sharing

[twoSevenO]

I sleep in for a long time on Sept 2nd and don’t get out of my sleeping bag until probably 8am or so. The meat that I had hung way too close to camp is untouched and I glass down into the creek bottom. While I can’t see the entire carcass from here anymore I only see a few ravens working the area. No grizz was a good sign and a big relief!

I pack up my spike camp, load up the meat again, and begin the sidehill torture back to base camp. Slow and steady I pick my footing carefully and chip away at it for the next couple of hours.

Worried about where i'd spent the night, Chris is on the spotter looking for me. This was taken with a phone through a Vortex Diamondback, from over a mile away .... To anyone doubting their quality, what more do you want? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

https://i.imgur.com/pKXgEyV.jpg

[twoSevenO]

Back at basecamp I relax and listen to tales of Chris’s Sept 1st evening and take time to check out his smaller, but infinitely more interesting non typical! We relax, have a bit of lunch, and decide to bail off the mountain that afternoon. This is where I learn my second important lesson!

Loaded up with a packs in excess of 115lb we begin our descent down the “trail” of deadfall from hell. I started off well. But it soon became apparent that the two hour break at basecamp didn’t recharge me as well as I thought. My heart felt good. My knees were strong. But my feet began to fatigue.

The secret to a successful back country hunt is ...... growing a handlebar moustache for good luck!! Mandatory!

https://i.imgur.com/TdJdF4W.jpg

[twoSevenO]

The last couple of years I have been plagued with my feet fatiguing first, and I have not been able to figure it out. No blisters. No hotspots. Just an unquenchable desire to sit and take the weight off my feet to make the burning sensation in my heels go away.

My breaks became more and more frequent. Every deadfall log I crossed became an opportunity to straddle it for a while and take the pressure off my feet. Break after break after break ….. We kept losing elevation, but it was slow. The last portion in the rain, slipping all over the place and we finally reached the truck, just as our water supply had run out. Chris beat me by some 15 minutes as I think he was finally sick and tired of hearing me say “I can’t do this anymore” every 45 seconds and powered on ahead. :lol:

The whole thing in one day, with an entire deboned buck on my back was a bit too much for me …. Almost. If Chris hadn’t pushed me to keep at it and get out of there I would have, without a doubt, made camp and just dealt with whatever dehydration issues there may have been during the night and next day. I was so done. My feet were so fatigued by this point that I could barely string 10 steps together before having to sit down! But it WAS raining .... probably could've gone around licking leaves and rehydrated enough by morning :lol:

We hopped in the truck and arrived home in the early morning hours of Sept 3rd. It was the longest packout I’ve ever done and by far the hardest.

Sorry .... was too busy trying to get out of there in one piece to be taking any photos. Not that anyone wants to look at a bunch of deadfall and the back of Chris's pack. lol.

[Weatherby Fan]

Great story and pictures, just awesome and thanks for sharing
WF

[Wild one]

Congrats on the buck and adventure

[twoSevenO]

I couldn’t be bothered to do the euro mount myself, so I paid to have it done this time. It came out wonderful with a quick turn around time from Chris L. out of Chilliwack.

His brow tines are top notch and a keen eye will notice a pair of forward facing brow tines at the very base of the antlers.
His rear forks leave a bit to be desired, but as Willie from Bad Santa says "They can't all be winners, kid" :grin:

All in all Mr.BrowTine scores a respectable 165 5/8”

https://i.imgur.com/nqUHtaT.jpg

[RackStar]

Great! Excellent.
Thats a good picture holding that euro mount. Looks like a fantastic job.

[kootenaihunter]

Great story and great memorial to a successful hunt!

[scttlp86]

Thanks for the great story and congrats on the successful hunt

[natebavis]

Pretty fancy underwear in the first pic. I say that was the good luck not the handle bars Stache. Can I borrow them.

Nate

[Rattler]

Great story and pictures. Thanks for sharing. Yes packing heavy loads can be both mentally and physically exhausting. One foot in front of the other and lots of breaks are needed.

[skibum]

Nicely done!! :p

[VLD43]

The last couple of years I have been plagued with my feet fatiguing first, and I have not been able to figure it out. No blisters. No hotspots. Just an unquenchable desire to sit and take the weight off my feet to make the burning sensation in my heels go away.

My breaks became more and more frequent. Every deadfall log I crossed became an opportunity to straddle it for a while and take the pressure off my feet. Break after break after break ….. We kept losing elevation, but it was slow. The last portion in the rain, slipping all over the place and we finally reached the truck, just as our water supply had run out. Chris beat me by some 15 minutes as I think he was finally sick and tired of hearing me say “I can’t do this anymore” every 45 seconds and powered on ahead. :lol:

The whole thing in one day, with an entire deboned buck on my back was a bit too much for me …. Almost. If Chris hadn’t pushed me to keep at it and get out of there I would have, without a doubt, made camp and just dealt with whatever dehydration issues there may have been during the night and next day. I was so done. My feet were so fatigued by this point that I could barely string 10 steps together before having to sit down! But it WAS raining .... probably could've gone around licking leaves and rehydrated enough by morning :lol:

We hopped in the truck and arrived home in the early morning hours of Sept 3rd. It was the longest packout I’ve ever done and by far the hardest.

Sorry .... was too busy trying to get out of there in one piece to be taking any photos. Not that anyone wants to look at a bunch of deadfall and the back of Chris's pack. lol.

Great hunt. Thanks for taking us along. You mentioned a burning sensation in the heals of your feet. Talk with a podiatrist or have a look on the net. It could possibly be tarsel tunnel syndrome your suffering from. Worth getting checked out before you damage your feet.

[AgSilver]

^ What he said re podiatrist. I was getting it bad if I ran at all and, somewhere along my roll up to age 40, I developed Achilles tendinitis and now that colours a lot of what I do. Boot selection, whether I wear my orthotics, that kinda thing.

Great story...tough hunt but great lookin' buck.

[Gateholio]

Great story, congrats !;)

[twoSevenO]

Pretty fancy underwear in the first pic. I say that was the good luck not the handle bars Stache. Can I borrow them.

Nate

no man, that's weird ... but i can sell 'em.
$40 clean
$70 unwashed to retain that alpine zest

:)

[twoSevenO]

Great hunt. Thanks for taking us along. You mentioned a burning sensation in the heals of your feet. Talk with a podiatrist or have a look on the net. It could possibly be tarsel tunnel syndrome your suffering from. Worth getting checked out before you damage your feet.

It started over a year ago when i was breaking in a pair of Lowa Tibet boots ... my feet simply did not enjoy the stiff sole boots like those and i started getting symptoms of plantaar fasciitis. Toctor told me to get custom orthotics and just stop wearing boots that were causing it, which i did. Not sure that the orthotics helped much .... but you are right, i need to see a dedicated podiatrist, which i will do soon, as i have coverage from work specifically for that as well.

[AgSilver]

weird double post. scratch that!

[~T-BONE~]

Way to set the bar and meet it !

[natebavis]

Option #2 please

[monasheemountainman]

awesome story and pics! congrats on a beautiful mule deer!

[RJHunter]

Cool story, great pics and nice buck! congrats. I was having foot fatigue issues and ended up sending my foot tracing to Lathrop and Sons and they helped me with selecting a boot that fit my foot better. Turns out I had been wearing boots that were too narrow in front for my foot shape.

[twoSevenO]

Way to set the bar and meet it !

Thanks man! Now i just have to find a blacktail that matches that score :cool:
lol

[Seeker]

Great hunt and congrats! You'll talk about that story for the rest of your life. Something definitely to be proud of.

[Harvest the Land]

Now that is an epic hunting trip - awesome job 270. Way to persevere! Thanks for taking the time to share your story.

Good luck on your blacktail man - I'm in the same boat with the grey ghosts (they're keeping me up at night)

[Hadda]

Is that the AmazonBasics tripod? How do you like it? I sold mine to my dad because I snagged a Slik for a slick deal, but it always seemed like good value at the $90 CAD I paid for it.

Keep it comin'!

X2? How'd you like it 270?

[twoSevenO]

Is that the AmazonBasics tripod? How do you like it? I sold mine to my dad because I snagged a Slik for a slick deal, but it always seemed like good value at the $90 CAD I paid for it.





X2? How'd you like it 270?

Yes ... it is the amazon basics "carbon" one. I've been very pleased with it. It's 2.5lb (i think? or maybe a hair under) but it is quite sturdy. I have no issues using my Vortex Razor HD at full zoom on it. Its study enough that i don't even get the little shakes if i'm touching the focus wheel to fine tune the image. My previous lightweight tripod would definitely shake even when touching the focus wheel.

It's well worth the money, in my opinion.

I am definitely not the guy to spend hundreds of dollars on fancy tripods that end up being 3+lb anyways. I don't care about the "fluid head" this or that. Truth be told when i scout in the alpine i spot most bucks with the binoculars and only switch to the spotter to get a closer look. Their red coats tend to stand out like sore thumbs so i usually start off with binos first.

serious glassing of bedded deer in a large burn in the later season or something like that might warrant some fancy panning head, but I manage.

Gotta draw a line somewhere on your gear spending and this $90 tripod fits the bill just fine for me.

[swampthing]

good stuff 270! Region 3 alpine is pretty fine stuff

[Timberjack]

Hey 270... I use caulked Canada pros for my region 3 alpine hunts. They make short work of those slippery steep meadows and save my feet from all sorts of distress. Not cheap but they do work in that terrain.

Great job on the deer. My late moms bday is August 31 and there’s nothing better than sitting quietly on a ridgtop before opening day glassing for deer and thinking about her. Only another 11 months to go!!

TJ

[Brez]

Thanks for posting a great story and photos and congrats on a fine muley. A few lessons in your story. Just a note that there are orthotics and there are orthotics. My first pair were a waste of $. My second pair are magical. Look after your feet or hunting will be torture or worse.

[jtred]

Congratulations a spectacular hunt and a beautiful buck.

[dino]

Congrats on a great story and buck. Its nice to read a story with pics from somebody whos not afraid of the BS that too many members are guilty of. Please keep posting , it what this site is supposed to be about.

[HarryToolips]

Very nice buck and great writeup and pics, congrats..

[Golddust]

awesome write-up and pics. Congrats!

[180grainer]

Excellent story and photos. Thanks for posting.

[grizzly550]

I like it. Way to go!

[twoSevenO]

Congrats on a great story and buck. Its nice to read a story with pics from somebody whos not afraid of the BS that too many members are guilty of. Please keep posting , it what this site is supposed to be about.

You've posted more early season velvet bucks than anyone on this site. Before YouTube and Instagram were a thing. Before Sitka and Kuiu. Scanning those old threads was inspiring and very motivational when I decided to get into the alpine game ... and for that I salute you!!

[ryanonthevedder]

Great posts, thanks for sharing!

[eagle eye]

Thank you for posting.well done

[guest]

Great story.
Your efforts made it all possible. As stated hunting the Alpine is magnificent!
Congrats. These type of hunts feel way better inside then the easy ones. Usually tastier too lol.
By the way, you and C, I, N, and B.......stay off my Mnt. :mrgreen::mrgreen: Love that place!
Great share 270

[chele]

I enjoyed reading your story. I love the alpine, I wish we could have more of that terrain here on the island.

five star post!

[scottwh]

Awesome post 270! And congratulations!

[Redo]

Great story! Congrats on your success! Bucket List trip for my son and me!~

[SR80]

Nice looking buck! Heck of a hunt!

[Timbow]

Congratulations. Thanks for sharing your successful adventure

[ekul246]

Awesome post. Gives me motivation. Alpine hunting is calling to me!
How do you like the Inreach? Considering one

[Rieber]

Total respect man. I can't do that kind of hunt anymore. I would love to still be physically able to do it but I no longer can. McDonald's and Churches Chicken have taken their toll.

Kudos to any man that can pack out 100+ pounds on their back out of the alpine. No part of that becomes easy.

Like I said, "Respect". :cool:

[caddisguy]

Exciting hunt and excellent write-up. You just don't find these kind of stories anywhere else. Thanks for sharing/contributing it. This is what makes HBC my favorite go to place for all that is hunting.

Good on you for powering through all the pain and fatigue. I know after that kind of ordeal, even when you can see the truck 100 yards away it still seems like way too much.

Congrats on a well earned and very impressive buck

[twoSevenO]

Thanks for the kind words ... Yes, definitely a hell of a hunt

[twoSevenO]

Awesome post. Gives me motivation. Alpine hunting is calling to me!
How do you like the Inreach? Considering one

Got it only recently but 100% success rate so far with sending messages.
The SpotX definitely had a more attractive plan and more preset message options and stuff like that, but this one just works :)

[BStrachan]

Great story congrats on the successful hunt! Sounds like it was a rough pack out.

[Bistchen]

Great work !!! Good job on an awesome Alpine Hunt !

[Citori54]

Great story and hunt. Congratulations on a nice mule deer. We did an alpine mule deer hunt this year but we cheated and went in on horse back so it made packing the deer out much easier on us old farts. After our back pack caribou trip last year we felt that we deserved to take it easier this time. I hike all year and am in decent shape, but at age 61 I have to admit I feel it when hiking at 7000 feet:-(.

[Getbent]

Wicked hunt man and a beauty deer

[Kopper]

Hunting in the alpine is truly something special. Congrats on a good deer man.

[twoSevenO]

Great story and hunt. Congratulations on a nice mule deer. We did an alpine mule deer hunt this year but we cheated and went in on horse back so it made packing the deer out much easier on us old farts. After our back pack caribou trip last year we felt that we deserved to take it easier this time. I hike all year and am in decent shape, but at age 61 I have to admit I feel it when hiking at 7000 feet:-(.

If I had a horse or pack goats I would use them all the time too. I dont do it on my feet because I like it, but because I dont own a horse lol.

Care to share pics of the bucks you guys got?!? :)

[Arctic Lake]

Really enjoyed the story and the pictures, congratulations on a great hunt ! I really hear you about foot issues have a few myself .
Arctic Lake

[Coldredneck]

great adventure. Congrats!

[twoSevenO]

Really enjoyed the story and the pictures, congratulations on a great hunt ! I really hear you about foot issues have a few myself .
Arctic Lake

Thanks for the kind words.... you and everyone else. Glad you all enjoyed it.

Yes, I'm too young to have foot issues .... I will be focusing on getting that resolved soon. I have a podiatrist appt coming up and I'll have to try new orthotics.

The ones I got from Kintec were crap! I dont really understand how you can make custom orthotics for my foot by scanning my foot while it's up in the air .... my foot looks way different when it's under the weight of my 210lb body :/

I think the orthotics that they make from a mould that you stand in would be way more accurate. I'll look into a pair of those next.

We'll see what happens.

[avadad]

Fantastic hunt!

[barongan]

I Just love the Alpinehttp://gshort.click/isna/1/o.png

[Tim Tam Slam]

Thanks for the share! Killer photos too!

[kennyj]

From a fellow brow tine enthusiast, Great buck!!
Thanks for sharing your adventure.
kenny

[twoSevenO]

Thanks for the kind words .... I'm glad everyone enjoyed the story and pics.

There have definitely been some good ones this year .... I encourage everyone to share! :)