Bear hunting and scouting for the fall

[wchunter]

I just moved to Chilliwack from the island and I am wondering if it is possible to scout for the fall while hunting for a spring bear.
Is it best to stay near valley bottoms or up high?
Deciduous or Evergreen trees?
Will the deer move much throughout the year?
How far from Chilliwack should I expect to go to get away from tons of people?

If anyone is willing to let me tag along send me a PM. I like hiking but also enjoy driving around in the spring looking for bears.

[chris]

Welcome to the area. I know most of chilliwack like the back of my hand and can tell you for sure that just when I feel like I found a good secret spot I find that someone else has been there. That said I have taken deer and bears back there even with loads of people around. The main thing to remember about chilliwack is that the chilliwack river is a major spawning river and more often than not the bears taste like crap. There are tons of good spots though if you are willing to get off the road. Go high at the end of season and glass, you can bank on seeing a few but tough steep access is an issue. Any logging road turns into a disgusting mess of people and garbage after the hang overs subside around noon. My friends and I still head out after work on weekdays but have basically all stopped going on weekends. If you havent been up chipmunk creek road go for a drive on sat afternoon and you will understand. Dont be discouraged though look at a map you are very close to the coquihalla, and although it gets busy at times it is worth looking at. The deer do move in the chilliwack valley but you gotta figure out when and where on your own. If you do go up the coq. wait a month. In regards to deer on the coq. keep in mind that mulies and whities are up there.
good luck

[brian]

Will the deer move much throughout the year?

My experience in the Wack is that the deer don't need to move far to get away from everyone and to get into some pretty tough to access terrain. Locating them in fall seems to be more of a game of finding out what elevation they are hanging out at then locating their pocket of activity than anything else. Although they can be anywhere at any time I have seen the best sign up high in early season and then around the snowline later on.


How far from Chilliwack should I expect to go to get away from tons of people?

I also tried to hunt weekdays there when I could just to avoid the crowds. The brutal steepness of the terrain keeps most people hunting the roads. So it can be a gong show on the roads but empty in the bush. I have never met another hunter hiking there, even on weekends. And in some spots my boot marks were often the only ones in the snow week after week. Otherwise your best bet is to hunt mulies up the Coq.