Squamish Mulies.

[cunneyBC]

Hi everyone,

Young rookie hunter from Squamish looking for some info on some good mule deer areas. I don't have anyone to show me the ropes so i'm trying to figure it out by myself, I'm down to put in the time and effort to find them but some tips would be nice. Some good trails to hike up? good cut block location? Been putting hours in on the squam valley road exploring some trails but havent really found any great spots.. Any areas up the Ashlu?

Cheers.

[Blainer]

Blacktails!!!!

[TheProvider]

Like Blainer mentioned, blacktails not mulies here. Will post again later. But for now think old growth forest. Find cuts and get above the cuts and get in the thick steep old growth. South facing slopes are prefered but with this hot weather you'll also see them on the north slopes. Weather wise this is very hot for and deer movements. Blacktails love cold wet dark days. The uglier the weather is and the uglier the terrain is is what blacktails love. You'll will see younger bucks along roads and in cuts. Once it snows it will help alot.

[270WIN]

yup what the provider said. when the snow is flying it is a whole new ball game..

[270WIN]

http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/showthread.php?71912-Trophy-blacktail-hunting-2011/page2

[cunneyBC]

Thanks for the feedback, was exploring by myself in cut this morning for a few good hours. Is it worth the drive to try to the Elaho valley? any good spots?

[olympia]

i went up elaho valley a while back and saw one set of prints in the sand next to the river that runs alongs side gravel road, i tried in the thick steep stuff on a north facing slope and saw nothing, i saw 3 elk crossing the river when i was on a ridge

[CamoChris30-30]

Dont waist your time wait till the snow hits

[270WIN]

if your hitting these areas now look for old rubs on trees and look for game trails through the thick stuff. hit theses areas during the rut as I have been finding the deer seem to use close to the same area year after year during the rut. find the pocket of does and make sure you hit these areas during the rut. I have been hunting the squamish valley for the last three seasons.I have been Learning something new ever year. best advice I can give you is get off the roads and if the wind is blowing and it is pissing rain you should be out hunting.

[olympia]

i love this site, so many guys willing to help, thanks everyone, its the guys with the knowhow/willing to share that make this site solid

[squamishhunter]

If you want a hunting partner around squamish, give me a shout.

[cunneyBC]

Since my first post I've put in 5 early mornings up the Squam valley (solo or with another newbie buddy). Been doing about the same routine every time. Head up fairly high (1000m?), Park ways away, Walk way up the road and into the edge of a good cut before first light, spend about 2-3 hours sitting there (had about 4 inches of snow cover on me last saturday morning, nearly froze my fingers off), glassing over everything I can. Then hike/explore down through the thick forest following game trails for another 3 hours, back down to the truck, and pack it up around noon. No deer sightings yet, just trails and deer shit in the thick bush. Having a great time but I keep thinking im doing something seriously wrong, and im really itching to see a deer!

How does this sound to the experienced hunters? Should I just keep doing what I'm doing or maybe go find a new area all together?

[ryanb]

Your timing is wrong. October is a tough month. Things will heat up in a week or two.

[TheProvider]

Rut is fast approaching. Find does and the bucks will come. Getting in the rock bluffs on south facing slopes. I would skip glassing the cut and get in the timber. Snow equals tracks and tracks dont lie. Watch outvfor thermals in the early morning

[835]

Since my first post I've put in 5 early mornings up the Squam valley (solo or with another newbie buddy). Been doing about the same routine every time. Head up fairly high (1000m?), Park ways away, Walk way up the road and into the edge of a good cut before first light, spend about 2-3 hours sitting there (had about 4 inches of snow cover on me last saturday morning, nearly froze my fingers off), glassing over everything I can. Then hike/explore down through the thick forest following game trails for another 3 hours, back down to the truck, and pack it up around noon. No deer sightings yet, just trails and deer shit in the thick bush. Having a great time but I keep thinking im doing something seriously wrong, and im really itching to see a deer!

How does this sound to the experienced hunters? Should I just keep doing what I'm doing or maybe go find a new area all together?


That is pretty much it, now all you need to do it "Tune your area"
your hiking around looking, and sounds like your putting in decent effort. Keep yer plan but change bits of it. Hike higher or sit longer... And do it in different places, you need to be seeing sign, And good amounts of it... You will find that during the "Hike" Bit.

but really what you said is kinda the essance it all.

[cunneyBC]

Right on, Thanks for the info.
Come November what elevation should I be getting myself into, Below or above snowline??

[835]

I would go as high as i could...
probably little truth to it but,,, i was always told the big guns dont come down till the snow is chest deep!

Snow is a REALLY big help. It will confirm you are in the right place. Tracks,,,, just remember tracks frozen in snow could have been there for a long time, as well ,,, when it melts, freezes, Melts Freezes they get bigger. No sign is worse then old sign though. But on them days when it is snowing and you are up the hills,,, and you cut a super buck track...... nothin' like that!

[TheProvider]

Get up high and work your way lower. Nothing worse then after a few hours of hiking realizing you should've started up higher. Snow helps alot, like I said tracks don't lie.

[itsy bitsy xj]

Wow! theres so much go info on this forum. I can't wait to get back out there

[aamenta]

Any suggestions on where to head up in Squamish and surrounding areas?

[Gateholio]

A couple of Squampton bucks to get you going....


https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/649_50377910515_2647_n.jpg

https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/18672_215640102991_4750708_n.jpg

[TheProvider]

Pick a mountain and start hiking. Plenty of untouched mountains around Squamish. Snow line is getting pretty low

[aamenta]

I might head up on Sunday to do some scouting and see where the snow line is at.

[TheProvider]

Its roughly around 1200'. Find some pockets of does and thats where the bucks will be in a cple weeks

[BC_Viking]

This is my first year trying to bag a black tail near Squamish , Im pretty familiar with the most forest service and logging roads around here , but from what im reading here i want to hike up high in the snow line .. Im wondering if hunting would be better driving a hour north and trying around Pemberton, Birkenhead area? I have only hunted whitetail deer in the foothills of AB so this is a learning curve for me , im guessing im going to be forced to work harder for a good blacktail buck around here , its so damn rugged .

[TheProvider]

No need to go all the way up to Pemberton or Birken. Of course unless you want too. I highly suggest hiking up into the old growth on a south facing slope. With the snow you learn alot faster and easier areas that hold deer. Believe me youll find deer beds and tracks all around rocky bluffs. Blacktails will seem like phantom deer till you find a few homey holes. Hike up high and your way down. A single set of tracks can lead you to honey holes.

[BC_Viking]

No need to go all the way up to Pemberton or Birken. Of course unless you want too. I highly suggest hiking up into the old growth on a south facing slope. With the snow you learn alot faster and easier areas that hold deer. Believe me youll find deer beds and tracks all around rocky bluffs. Blacktails will seem like phantom deer till you find a few homey holes. Hike up high and your way down. A single set of tracks can lead you to honey holes.

I have went up the valley a few times , but i was wondering about Brohm ridge way or or out past Valleycliff on the Mamquam or indian river service roads?

[TheProvider]

Any of those areas will hold deer just have to hike and find them. I was very stubborn hunting my first year for blacktails I thought I was getting far enough off the road but was only seeing the odd dwer. I was on south facing slopes and there was plenty of snow. Finally I told myself I was going to hike straight up untill I found deer. Thick steep terrain. Deep snow after a cple hrs of hiking I made it up past the second growth and into the old growth. I kid you not as soon as I got into the old growth there was tracks everywhere

[aamenta]

Where can I find a good map of the logging roads for the Squamish area? I'm just trying to pick a road to drive in to, then start hiking from there on.

[TheProvider]

Do you have google earth or the backcountry map book? I dont have any topos of the area I normally just use google earth.

[aamenta]

Do you have google earth or the backcountry map book? I dont have any topos of the area I normally just use google earth.

I'll just redownload google earth then! :)
Thanks.

It's been a real long time since I've been up there. I usually went up to Indian Arm

[Cmdrtron]

This is a great post. Thanks for all the info. Must the same questions i have as i'm new to the Squamish area. I'm also looking for hunting partners that don't mind taking along or going along with a fairly novice hunter. PM me if anyone is interested. Thanks.

[Sangstercraft]

My brother and I went out on Sunday to explore an area we hadn't been to before. Headed up Bonk Hill Rd to the snowline, which was around 800m at that side of the hill (nw). We parked and then hiked two hours up through the snow-covered clearcut to the top of a SW facing slope. The last remaining grove of trees was old growth, with maybe 6" of snow on the ground. Surprisingly we didn't find any tracks after covering some ground, so we headed down low to the Indian Rd along the Mamquam. We crossed the bridge and followed the old road as far as it goes. Its overgrown and you can say goodbye to your paint job. Passed a few other hunters on the way. At the very end of the road it gets to a decent looking cut that probably had deer in it, but we ran out of light and had to head back before scouting it. I wouldn't recommend taking anything other than a beater on that road.

[Cmdrtron]

Where is Bonk hill? the old road after you crossed the bridge, was this on Mamquam FSR or off Indian river road? if it's the one off of Mamquam was it right before the Logging camp heading north up towards Garabaldi? I was scouting for some spots to hunt up the end of Mamquam past Crawford creek. some good old growth up high, my only concern was the active logging site and not wanting to come in contact with a logging truck on my way up. Unfortunately for me some of the only days i can get out there are mid week days.

[Sangstercraft]

If you go up the Mamquam, and not long after you pass the new subdivision, the road forks. If you take your first right if I remember correctly, that's the road. There's a cut block on your right, and the river is on the left. It's a steep road and quite rough. We took an hour to go up it, but if you quaded it would probJ take 15 minutes. what's left of the forest is quite dense as you climb, and it didn't look very good. The old growth at the top looked good, but I'm thinking that the reason we didn't see any sign is because the bucks are heading down low to meet up w some does. I saw some bucks sparing Oct 17, so I assume they're looking for action now.

[albravo2]

not sure if anybody is still reading this thread, but i was up the ashlu this morning in my rhino. i didn't see any sign but it is worth noting that someone has done some clearing on one of the old logging roads and access to the high country is the best i've seen in the area. past the dam about 2km there is a fork and one road goes up steeply to the right. there are a bunch of new de-ac drainage ditches and all the sweepers that choked the road have been removed.

i ended up across from the old mine site, way up on the hillside. the road improvements petered out, but there is still a walkable trail to keep going up.

i plan to go back and hike higher this weekend. otherwise, it feels like tough country to hunt. rarely more than a couple hundred yards of visibility.

I'm thinking if the bucks are still up high, this is a good way to get close.

[cunneyBC]

Im still reading!

Thanks for the info, Im gonna try to get out a few mornings this weekend up high on the east side of the Squamish, but was thinking of spending a day checking out the Ashlu area. How high can get you get a truck up right now? How long would a foot trek to the mine site take?

[aamenta]

Yep, still an active thread! :)
Thanks for the update.

[new hunter]

A key peice of advise several people gave me last season was to go to the back edge of the cut block were it joins the old growth and start looking for sign there.
You may see tracks on the road , but you will see a lot more back in the trees .
I'm pretty inexperienced myself and I hunt in pemby , and I've been the back edges all season , if theres a bit of snow on the ground I've been trying to do a bit of tracking .
So far I've only seen one doe so far , but I have seen a ton of fresh sign which has been encouraging .
I think it might still be a little warm to expect to see deer down low around here , but I figure theyll be coming down soon .

[Cmdrtron]

Has anyone had any luck up the Squamish Valley this year so far?

[brian]

None so far, I think they are up higher than I was.