remote hunting/backpacking

[Evanguy]

Hi all, I'm new to BC and this site. In November I will have lived here for 6 months so I can buy more then a small game tag. I have already got my credentials figured out on the BC web page

I'm not sure what I wish to accomplish wit this thread, i guess I'm just excited and want to start a convo about remote hunting and backpacking, gain some info and read some stories

but I am planning a sheep and goat hunt next September in the Telegraph Creek area (been there before). well the real plan is to charter a boat to drop us off on the Stikine river near where the Iskut and Stikine rivers meet. looks like a good spot from google maps

I'm am not new to hunting but I haven't shot any big game yet and I know a sheep or a goat would be a hard first animal but they are on the top of the list for me, so i figure ill go for them first. (this November ill buy a mule deer tag and I live on Gambier island so I can pretty much feed the deer by hand so there is a good chance ill get a mulie this fall)

im not use to boat/fly in locations, normally a good days hike would get my back to the road. so I'm looking for some info or stories on things i should/shouldn't bring and things I may not think of that are essential for a trip like this. it will be 8 nights in the bush. or id like to even just read others stories about remote hunts and what did you bring for food or fuel how heavy were your packs on the way in.

I have read near every post about goat or sheep hunting in the north on this site and CGN and now im reading lots about what food t bring on a 8 day back packing trip as lots of times hikers are more open with their stories then hunters

I'm just excited and want to talk about goat and sheep hunting.

i will also put in for the LEH for Spatsizi and Mt Edziza so getting that may change the hunting location but it will still be remote and should be a good time

[Alpine Hunter]

Welcome to BC. Sounds like your planning on jumping in feet first to backcountry hunting. I would suggest getting your hands on as many sheep and goat horns as possible in the next year. Analyze them and pick experienced sheep/ goat hunters brain’s regarding mature animal/horn characteristics. Judging both of those animals takes experience and patience. Try and find a good hunting partner who has experience sheep hunting. Good luck this season and planning your trip next year.

[boatdoc]

Well Evanguy you are in for a great adventure.
I would suggest you take a three day pack trip well in advance of your hunting trip just to make sure your gear is working for you. Nothing worse than starting off on a big trip only to realize a backpack, a stove , a tent, you get what i mean , just isn’t what you expected.
My one essential piece of gear now is my Garmin Inreach, weighs almost nothing and is worth it weight in gold. I carry it on me , not in a backpack that I might get separated from.
Best of luck on your adventure.

[Imdone]

Hats off to having goals and inspiration to chase Sheep and Goats.

Tough task to start with and a huge learning curve. But good luck to you. I can guarantee you haven't read all threads on here of sheep and goats. There are just too many. I'd recommend joining the WSSBC, great people, incredible resources of information etc.

Sounds like you want to hire a jet boat packer transporter for your wanted location, not sure if there are any really. Homework will answer that. But if I can give you any advice....... Don't post the exact location or good Intel you get on social media like here.

Use PMs rather than general posts for all to see.

Good luck to you.

[Leveraction]

Good luck to you.

I have backpacked for many many years, Although never backpack hunted.
take your time and look at a lot of packs, put weight in them, try them on,
as sheep and goat are not overly big bodies animals, see if you can knock a deer down first.
closer to home, close to camp or your truck or whatever the scenario.
prep the animal ( deer ) on your pack and pack it out, even if it’s 100 yards off the bush road, give it a try and you will quickly learn how to strap meat to a pack, strap a cape and horns( sheep-goat ) Antlers (deer ) to a pack, your figure out what you do and don’t like quickly.
when you get home from the trial run backpack hunting trip with your deer, assuming you try and spend a night out on the bush, open your pack, this is my advice from a seasoned backpacker, take the stuff out of your pack that you never took out while you were hunting, in other words go light, don’t bring it, if you don’t need it.
#2 would be, get a off grid communicator, many guys use a Garmin Inreach, I use a Spot X communicator
you can send and receive emails and text messages via satellite .
they are great if you are in an emergency and need help.



Hats off to having goals and inspiration to chase Sheep and Goats.

Tough task to start with and a huge learning curve. But good luck to you. I can guarantee you haven't read all threads on here of sheep and goats. There are just too many. I'd recommend joining the WSSBC, great people, incredible resources of information etc.

Sounds like you want to hire a jet boat packer transporter for your wanted location, not sure if there are any really. Homework will answer that. But if I can give you any advice....... Don't post the exact location or good Intel you get on social media like here.

Use PMs rather than general posts for all to see.

Good luck to you.

[Evanguy]

Thanks for all the great replies, so a few subjects have been brought up ill touch on. lots of good points being made.

as for judging the animals and getting an idea for what is legal/sex of the animal is something I really should get some experiences at doing. getting a goat on this trip is at the top of my list and I feel more comfortable about judging if a goat is male or female. a sheep would be awesome but id be more focused on goats and if I happen to come across a sheep that would be great but its not so much my targeted animal (for the cost of a sheep tag ill carry one with me), I would gladly pass on all the sheep if I'm unable to make 100% sure its legal size or age, id shoot them with my Nikon d3400 though. i would like to get my hands on some horns though to see them and get a feel for the size over internet pics but living so close to Vancouver I haven't met ay hunters here yet.

i have done some backpacking, longest was 10 days, but was only 8 hours from my car so it wasn't the end of the world if I had forgot something or needed something, this trip will be a little different so I have to think about it and plan it quite a bit more. im always in the woods hiking and fishing
about 2 weeks ago i got back from a 7 night camping/fishing trip in Gold Bridge (Kingdom lake rec site) I was there to test my gear and do some fishing, turns out there is lots I plan to change with my gear (smaller tent, getting a sleeping pad, leaving a load of gear at home and investing in a jetboil type stove over using a fire) on the 3rd night we woke up to 3" of wet snow, I was happy my buddy had bought a jetboil, hot coffee was a life safer that morning.

it will be a steep learning curve but I'm just going to be happy to be out in the wilderness and in such a remote location, even just seeing a goat or sheep and never pull the trigger would be perfectly fine with me. there is a person that offers boat tours of the Stikine river, his longest tour takes you to the American border for lunch, so I'm hoping I can just get him to drop me off and then pick me up 8 days later (just pay for 2 border tours) (I stayed at their pace last time I was in telegraph creek, im just waiting to hear back) if that doesn't work out I may be able to just pay a guy at the dock that owns a boat to drive me down,

as for not killing any big game while hunting or packing animals, I haven't but before I left Nova Scotia we had a hobby farm with 18 ewes and id do all my own butchering of them, so i have deboned and quartered, skinned and moved big (medium game) (my first job was at sobeys meat department, so I was a meat cutter for 5 years)

ive also been into shooting for lots of years now, im into collecting lee metfords, i reload and cast bullets, also enjoy muzzle loaders and before I moved to BC I was a manual machinist that played gun smith for quite a few years, i have lots of build threads over on CGN. so shooting isnt an issue.

i may not have read all the thread son goat and sheep hunts but I have read all kinds. i love the fly in threads

i should get a pack that can carry game, my go to hiking backpack probably wont cut it (33L LLBean continental rucksack), ill have to look into them (being honest i don't actually expect to shoot anything on my first goat hunt by my self (well with a friend that has never hunted goat either) learning as I go) this trip will be for the memories and experiences, with a pleasant surprise if I do get an animal

and for communication, an Inreach is a good idea. I have hummed and hawed about getting one for a while as my wife worries about me when I go a few days without cell coverage. right now I have a Garmin 64s with BC back roads maps loaded on it for knowing where I am, but it may be nice to have something to let others know where I am as well

and yeah probably best I don't post the exact spot, I was just trying to get some feed back on that location. but it may be more wise to just not. i only posted it on here. maybe ill change the wording of it.

and thanks for the posts guys, it has given me more to think about.

[Citori54]

I agree with the Inreach. I have the 64S like you with back road maps but added an Inreach Explorer+ last year and won't go hunting without it. Needed it last year on one solo hunt and so it paid for itself in that one instance. Good Luck and enjoy.

[jac]

I have been in the area you are asking about twice. My advice would be to buy some high quality rain gear and have a shelter with enough room that you can sit up and make coffee in. We had to spend 36 hours in a tent that was really small and it sucked!!!

[Skull Hunter]

Some of the largest grizzly bear tracks I've ever seen were on some sandbars in the Stikine not far from the Iskut. Lots of bears in that area and tall willows. Not trying to scare you, but be prepared in case you run into one.

[Evanguy]

yeah i think I'm going to buy an InReach before the trip. my wife seems to like the idea.

the tent I have now is a 6 person Canadian tire tent, that is drafty and way to heavy, so I was thinking of a lighter 2 or 3 person tent, that costs a little more but works a little better

and as for rain gear i have a helly hansen workwear 'storm' jacket and 'gale' pants

and yeah i have heard there is some big bears in there. I'm not experienced with bears at all in the wild other then a black bear 20m from me one time in NS when I was blind hunting, luckily he wanted as much to do with me as I wanted with him lol. I will have to do some reading and watch a few videos on reading bears behaver and what do in the in case of them

[Bustercluck]

I recommend doing some more hiking trips in one of the parks or even around where you live. Do lots of elevation and get your gear dialed in. I usually do at least one trip in jasper each year to get ready for hunting. If you enjoy hiking than you’ll enjoy sheep/goat hunting.

Im sure you’ve looked through lots of gear lists, but if you want mine I could post it up. I was going to do a bag dump and take some pics anyways for some other people who asked already. Food list too if you want.

[Evanguy]

Yeah i do hike a lot and really like hiking, although i do need to start gaining more elevation in my hikes. On the island here ive been up all 3 mountains and to all 5 lakes a few times. But the highest peak is only 3000 feet ( starting at sea level) and the close one that i often find my self going up is Mt Artaban (2015') in Gold Bridge i was hiking around at 6000' but started at 4k at our camp site.

And yes please do post your list of gear. And a food list would be nice.that is somewhere im lacking. I always just carry a bunch of food without any real though behind it