Sikanni Stalker
09-23-2005, 10:01 PM
I went to Houston for a goat hunt on Sept 16-19. well the goat hunt actually was to take place out on Troitsa Lake. I drove all night Thursday night to get to Hugh's plane for Friday morning. After a little sleep we were ready to go. We had a nice flight in, the area I got my draw for we flew around it a couple times, checking possible routes and looking for goats. we didn't see any on that mountain but definitely lots of trails up there. They were definitely around. We arrived @ the Lodge around 3pm or so and after opening up the lodge and unpacking it was a little too late to head down the lake the 10 miles to start the hunt. I decided to head out the next morning early. So we spent the evening doing a little fishing , telling lies, and solving the problems of the world! You know camp stuff. The next morning I was up and on my way down the lake shortly before 7am. It was a beautiful morning, the water was flat calm and I was stoked about this. I was going up with almost the barest of essentials( or so I thought) and was going to come down with my Goat. When I got to the other end of the lake I trolled around glassing the areas we could see from the air picking my route up the hill. After tying up three times and checking close I decided on what appeared to be a dry drainage about 100 yards from a nice stream that ran down the mountain from the glacier in the bowl above. I started up the hill, and a little amazed that the plush green foliage that we saw from the air was some of the nastiest, most impenetrable shit I have ever walked through. But I hacked and cut my way through and hit a few good spots here and there. It was going pretty well, as I zig zagged across this stuff. In my hindsight I would say in a beeline there was about 500 yards of this stuff, but actually walking it there was a bit more. Once I got through this stuff the walking would get a lot easier as the drainage became gravel and shale. About 2 hours into this thing it happened, I fell through this "fluff" and was hanging suspended about chest high caught by my arms and my pack. My feet weren't touching anything. I was thinking "oh shit, I fell into an old den or something" I had a little chuckle but that soon disappeared as I realized I was stuck and couldn't get out. I sat there, took out a smoke and pondered.......what else could I do. I didn't know how deep this hole was, Wasn't sure if some critter would come by and see this little head and shoulder and mistake it for an easy meal or what the heck. Eventually I decided I was getting out no matter what, so I started breaking of the roots and sticks that had me hanging there until it let me go. All the while not real sure how far down I would fall, when it happened. I began to plummet almost a damn foot until I hit the ground again. HAH! I started to laugh. I took off my pack and with my gun and drag strap I managed to get up out of that hole. I was soaked to my waist almost, legs were scratched to rat #@$# and full of devils club needles, so I headed back down to the beach for a cup of tea. When I got down there I decided that, this trip would just be a fishing trip, got back in the boat and trolled back to the lodge. Caught some nice fish too. On the way out we flew some of the other mountains that Hugh knows have been successful for hunters in previous years and we saw about 30 goats. I definitely know I will be applying for another area next year, but as usual a trip without a successful hunt is still a great trip. I have a better idea what to expect now and I am better prepared. I have some great photos now from the air. I have learned you can not be too prepared for mountain hunts. I can't wait until next year now.